A Common Table: 80 Recipes and Stories from My Shared Cultures by Cynthia Chen McTernan made my best cookbooks of 2018 list and is one of our May selections in The Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. 

This book is one of those sleepers that slipped in with all the major titles of Cookbooktober and because of that did not get the attention it deserves. When I saw the book on Amazon, I had to order it but with the rush of those busy months, I didn't have a chance to really soak it up until November.  

 

A Common Table is a cookbook lover's dream. If I didn't fall in love with the recipes, I would have toppled over from the stories and dreamy photographs (the author photographed her own book) weaved throughout the title. So happens that it is the trifecta of cookbooks - interesting, fresh recipes, incredible stories and photographs that will inspire and draw you in.

Cynthia grew up in South Carolina and inserts her Chinese flavors and Southern roots into her dishes. Her husband's Korean-Irish, Hawaii-born influences also make an appearance in her recipes - grilled cheese with egg and kimchi, anyone? This fusion is what makes this book special. I love a book where you can find a recipe for Cheddar-scallion biscuits on one page and then Korean barbecue beef on another.  

The following recipes are available online for you to try now:

While searching for subscription boxes, I came across CrateChef and when I saw that Cynthia was the featured chef for February and March, I had to learn more. CrateChef was founded in 2016 as a way to deliver a subscription box that felt like a personal gift from a top-name chef. Every other month, the box is filled with the featured chef's favorite products including a selection of artisan foods, kitchen tools, gadgets or cookbooks, selected recipes and a letter from the chef.

Cynthia's CrateChef box was impressive and contained: black vinegar, black sesame seeds, tapioca pearls, green matcha, a French tea towel, mochi rice flour and a copper measuring cup set. There were recipes, a letter from the author and information on each of the products within the box. I can now make the gorgeous Matcha-glazed swirl bread or any number of recipes from her book using these ingredients and I can never pass up a tea towel or beautiful measuring cup set.

CrateChef is generously offering one of Cynthia's boxes in our giveaway below and Rodale is providing three copies of the book. One grand prize winner receive a copy of the book and the Crate Chef box and two other winners - a copy of A Common Table.

The publisher is offering three copies of A Common Table to EYB Members in the US. One of those winners will also receive a Crate Chef box featuring Cynthia's favorite products. Two of the entry options are to answer the following questions in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Which CrateChef box would you like to try?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won't be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post and this forum post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option - the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries.

Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on April 23rd, 2019.