Cat Cora's Kitchen: Favorite Meals for Family and Friends

What could be better than family and friends gathered around a table laden with laughter and good food? The Food Network's Cat Cora is the perfect companion in the kitchen to help create meals and memories to share and remember. With recipes inspired by Cat's Greek heritage and her roots in the American South, honed by her experiences in restaurants in France and California, Cat Cora's Kitchen shines with simplicity and flavor. Organized by menu, these dishes tempt palates with specialties such as freshly baked Spana-kopita, the traditional Greek favorite of spinach, dill, and feta in pastry, and savory chicken stew, redolent of wine, garlic, and cinnamon. Desserts are also not-to-be-missed, with treats such as the Orange-Scented Almond Cookies or an unusual rolled version of Baklava. The pantry offers basic recipes for homemade stock and a resource section gives suggestions for finding unusual ingredients. With gorgeous photographs throughout, these approachable, elegant dishes will leave everyone asking for the recipe.

Cat Cora is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. She was Chef de Cuisine at Napa Valley's Bistro Don Giovanni and went on to be executive chef of Postino in Lafayette, California. Cat has been featured on the TV Food Network's Melting Pot and Date Plate and she writes a biweekly food column for the Contra Costa Times . She lives in Northern California.

Ann Krueger Spivack wrote the series Michael Chiarello's Napa for public television. She lives with her husband and two children in Berkeley, California.

Maren Caruso is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work also appears in The New Complete Coffee Book (0-8118-2867-0).