Amanda Hesser brings her voice and expertise to this compendium of recipes from chefs, home cooks and food writers. Cooks will find many treasured recipes, as well as favourites from Craig Claiborne's earlier The New York Times Cookbook and a host of other classics-from 1940s' Caesar salad and 1960s' flourless chocolate cake to today's no-knead bread. Hesser has cooked and updated all of the 1,000-plus recipes gathered here from 150 years of distinguished food journalism. Her chapter introductions showcase the history of American cooking and her witty and fascinating headnotes share what makes each recipe special. The Essential New York Times Cookbook is for people who grew up in the kitchen, for curious cooks who want to produce a nineteenth-century raspberry granita and for the new cook who needs a book that explains everything and will serve as a lifelong companion.