Cookbook Chronicles is an on-going series at The Bookery. Over the course of the next year, we’re exploring The Pioneer Woman’s (Ree Drummond) latest cookbook, The Essential Recipes , cooking one recipe a month and sharing our thoughts.  I'm a sucker for pasta recipes, so when I saw the Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe in Ree's latest cookbook, I knew it was one I had to try. I've heard of Million Dollar Spaghetti, but most of the recipe's by that name involve a thick layer of cheese, ranging...

When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter? Not a text or an email, a letter. Sent a card recently or jotted off a note of encouragement to a friend? If you're like me, it may be a little difficult to remember the last time you actually put pen to paper, then dropped that missive in the mail. But as I was preparing for our upcoming Bookery Book Club episode on our March book club selection, Virginia Evans' The Correspondent , I ran across a TedX Talk from Peyton Christensen. Then...

I try a lot of recipes. Here are a few of my recent favorites.  I’m one of those weird people who likes to read cookbooks like a novel. Sometimes, right before I go to sleep, I scroll through the NYT cooking app, looking for must-try recipes.  For me, cooking is a way of life, a creative outlet and a fun, relaxing way to end a hard work day. So, I cook a lot — and here are a few of the recipes I’m making on repeat these days.  One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Carmelized Lemons I think chicken...