Publisher:  Ten Speed Press

Having realized that my digestive system has become more sensitive to gluten and dairy products, I've been on this quest to find and/or make food that works for me and for my family. During the holidays is extremely difficult, as they are still on a "regular" diet without much restrictions, except the nut allergy to one of my nephews.  For me, gluten free is already a challenge as bread is one of my comfort foods, possibly because I'm still a newbie to this, and I'm just dabbling at it, starting off slow. Now add in the dairy sensitivity, my dreams of baked sweets have gone down the drain, until books like Against All Grain by Danielle Walker. This year, she has introduced Danielle Walker's Against All Grain Celebrations, targeting the holidays and special occasions. Of course, I picked it up right away!

Now, let me tell you, that cover is yummm-my! Don't you agree? It looks clean and fresh and that dish in her hand looks delicious. As you peruse the book, you will appreciate the gorgeous photographs for each recipe. I have this pet peeve that I don't like cookbooks where there isn't a photo for every recipe. How do I know what I made looks like what the author is talking about, at the very least?! Don't you agree? Well, Celebrations has one for every recipe, AND a nice little "make ahead" blurb on the bottom, so you can make a portion or the full dish/drink ahead of time. Smart!

Celebrations book tour through 11/16

In terms of layout, it is categorized by the type of celebration, with a chapter of recipes dedicated to each celebration, totaling 12 chapters. One thing I do have a little gripe about with Celebrations is that it does not list the recipe name until you get to the first page of each chapter.  Even though this is a cookbook targeting certain events, I don't always want to make, say the "Cabernet-braised short ribs with parsnip-turnip puree" only to celebrate Valentine's Day, so it would require me to head to the back of the book to the "recipe index" (page 336) to find what I want based on type of recipe.  Though it's only a minor issue. For those interesting in knowing what special diet a specific recipe falls under, there's a handy dandy "special diets index" at the back of the book (page 338). The front of the book comes with an ingredient glossary and substitutions that I've referred to constantly.

So in all, a very pretty, informative and useful cookbook for those looking for dairy-free, gluten-free and  paleo recipes for every occasion.

Want to meet Danielle Walker or take a closer look at Celebrations? Check out the book tour info on her website or the image above. (Click to enlarge.)

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.