Yes, food fuels our bodies, but it also nourishes our souls, a fact novelist Ann Hood celebrates in heartwarming, occasionally heartrending fashion in this delicious book. Part memoir, part cookbook, Kitchen Yarns is Hood's love letter to the meals and culinary traditions that shaped her life, from the meatballs that were staples in her Italian-American grandmother's kitchen, to Hood's early attempts at "adult" dinner-party fare, to her children's favorite potato dishes and the "dinner for one" meals she mastered after her divorce. Each remembered dish celebrates a formative period in her life, and—often most important—her relationship with the people sharing it. (I dare you not to tear up at the author's descriptions of her father's lovingly prepared, yet usually terrible dishes.) Thankfully, Hood closes each reflective chapter with a delectable recipe, including chicken Marbella, meatball grinders, pasta Amatriciana, pork roast with garlic, never-fail soufflé, and "better than a restaurant" caprese salad. Mangia!