Willard Roth is a topnotch cook who grew up in a sprawling Iowa farm family. He has always loved food—growing it, preparing it, eating it. As a Mennonite church leader and journalist, he is as well-known for the dinners he prepares as he is for his sermons or editorials. The man has traveled North America and much of the world, always making notes about the great meals he's eaten. Then he's routinely gone home and fiddled around in the kitchen until he can make the dishes he's loved eating.
In this book are recipes inspired by the food made by his Mennonite mother and grandmothers. Other recipes are inspired from the monasteries he's visited in Ireland and England. There are recipes of the food he's eaten in Ghana, Jamaica, Cyprus, the Netherlands, India, and Nepal.
Roth mixes his keen food memories with his years of experience in the kitchen to create recipes that work for the home cook. Among his Soup recipes are Thai Coconut Shrimp, Chilled Melon Mint, and Hawkeye Corn and Chilies Chowder. His Small Plates recipes include Cheese Grits with Chunky Tomato Sauce, and Corn Leek Bake. Among his Mains are Lemon Turkey Stir-Fry with Pasta, Monastery Cornbread Casserole, Hearty Polenta Florentine, and Pecan Crunch Salmon Bake. Plus Beer-Braised Short Ribs and Balsamic Honey-Glazed Lamb Chops.

Cooks will also find Chutneys, Cordials, Rum Sauces, and Relishes. And lots of Vegetables and Salads. You'll love the tons of Cakes, Candies and Cookies, Pies and Puddings, and Fruit and Frozen Desserts.
Willard Roth breathes hospitality and gives us the tools to practice it ourselves, along with unforgettable, easy-to-prepare recipes.