18 Food and Drink Essentials For June

Typically I skip over chef-driven cookbooks, as the recipes within aren't practical for home cooking. I'll make an exception for New Prairie Kitchen: Stories and Seasonal Recipes from Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans of the Great Plains by Summer Miller ($30). A compendium of recipes sourced from chefs, farmers, and artisanal producers based in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, it sheds light onto what's cooking in an oft-overlooked region of America. A good chunk of the recipes are multicomponent affairs best suited to restaurant kitchens, but plenty are accessible, enticing, and interesting.

— NP