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One of my favorite food writers is Laurie Colwin. When the prolific novelist and essayist published Home Cooking in 1988, there was a space for books like hers—narrative essays about cooking that were punctuated by recipes. She stood alongside other food writers of an earlier generation, like Jane Grigson and M.F.K. Fisher, whose work was noted for bein…

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From corporate world to jam maker to chef of multiple international restaurants, Pim Techamuanvivit’s cooking evolution has always hinged around her effort to stay connected to her Thai roots while sharing her cuisine with the world. Cooking Thai (Ten Speed Press) is a culmination of that effort, and it’s a stunner. Written alongside veteran cookbook au…

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You can feel the joy as soon as you walk into Coastal Table and Tales, Savannah’s first culinary book shop and cooking space. Open less than a year, the Bull Street space feels lived-in and welcoming behind its striped awning and historic facade. That’s all thanks to owner Dawn Anderson, the well-traveled spouse of a retired US diplomat who spent decade…

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Just in time for peak tomato season, Mexico City-born chef Santiago Lastra drops his cookbook Mexican Soul (Quadrille), which includes this end-of-summer banger using tomatoes and cherries. “The name aguachile means ‘chilli water’ and refers to a bright, sour and spicy marinade typical of the Pacific coast of Mexico that is most often used for fish and …

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Scroll down for Caro’s Lasagna-Vibes Turkey Zucchini Skillet

After the wild success of her bestselling first cookbook, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking (Union Square & Co., 2024), recipe developer and fellow Substacker Caro Chambers wasted no time. She was ready to dive into her second cookbook—and right in the middle of the project, gave birth to her fourth son. If anyone understands how brutal it can be to cook for your family at the end of a hectic day, it’s Chambers. But more than delivering expert, super-easy recipes, Chambers talks to us the way she might text with a bestie, with solid tips (for cooking, mothering, life), an easy-going banter, and even shopping recs. She’s also fiercely tuned into her audience: Her second cookbook, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast (Union Square & Co., 2026) came directly from learning that her readers want even more of those 15- to 30-minute meals. Before she headed out on book tour, the Winston-Salem, NC-native sat down with our questions to share what went into this second cookbook, how she incorporates her Southern upbringing into her recipes, and where she loves to eat when she’s back home.

The Local Palate: First, huge congrats on the new cookbook! Life has changed a bit since your last book, including a new baby (!) and the growth of your Substack audience. How has your cooking life changed?

Caroline Chambers: It’s so nice to chat with The Local Palate again, hi! A fourth kid has meant even less time to spend in the kitchen. A fourth kid also meant a move to a new house that is right beside the Sunday Farmers Market, so I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my local farmers better and cooking with the seasons more. I think people often see farmers markets as a luxury item—think fancy woman in giant straw hat with beautiful straw bag—but really, they’re the most old school, traditional way that communities have fed themselves. I’ve really enjoyed seeing what’s growing in my area and cooking based on the seasons. My big thing, with my newsletter and with my books, is teaching people how to swap in whatever they have on hand, or whatever’s in season, so I love putting this into practice in my own cooking. Just last night I made a really delicious summery sheet-pan gnocchi recipe using this formula but swapping in summer squash, corn, and sungolds. It was absolutely delightful.

TLP: Because you’re developing recipes regularly for the newsletter and then this book, does “family” cooking take a back seat? How does it all blend for you on a daily basis?

CC: Cooking for my family does take a back seat some nights, definitely. Some days I’ll be recipe testing all day, but it’s something the kids won’t eat, or maybe it’s just several components of different recipes (like re-testing a salad dressing, a crouton, one component of a pasta dish…) so it doesn’t actually mean that I have prepared a full meal. By the time dinner comes around, I am truly the epitome of I don’t feel like cooking. I love a rotisserie chicken on these nights. I’ll steam broccoli in the microwave. Whatever fruit is in season gets chopped up and thrown on the plate. And my husband and I always have plenty of food to scrounge from my different recipe testing adventures.

TLP: Where does inspiration strike for you?

CC: Oh gosh, everywhere. The farmers market, big time. Talking to friends about what they’ve cooked lately. Restaurant menus—I love walking around and perusing different menus. Even if the whole dish doesn’t sound right for What To Cook, maybe a sauce sounds really interesting so I’ll borrow that idea and pair it with a sheet-pan chicken recipe to make it really sing.

TLP: What did you learn while making the first cookbook that changed the way you made this one? Did you do things differently this time around?

CC: I learned that everyone was really drawn to the quicker, faster, easier recipes! My first book had 15, 30, 45, and 60 minute chapters. The recipes that get cooked over and over again ALL come from the 15 and 30 minute chapters. So, I wrote an entire book of 30 minute and under recipes! It was a major challenge, and really fun to do.

TLP: You’ve written that your pregnancy landed in the middle of the production of this book. How did that influence the making of this cookbook?

CC: I was so tired. And really, really didn’t feel like cooking. Ha! So many recipes benefited from this. Do I really need that herb garnish? No? Nix it. Do I really need to chop an onion for this soup? No? Not doing it!

TLP: What would you say is your biggest challenge being a creator at this scale?

CC: Figuring out how to grow and offer my readers more value, more recipes, more content, without sacrificing the human connection with them!

TLP: Any advice to others who want to build a brand through recipes and lifestyle content?

CC: Just do it, and cook the exact recipes that YOU want to cook and eat. If you can talk passionately about them, and share why they work for you in your phase of life, you’ll find your audience of people who they also work for!

TLP: Talk about the influence that living in the South, specifically Winston-Salem, has had on this cookbook.

CC: Infinite influence! On everything I do. My mother is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is a wonderful home cook. She is also an incredible gardener, so is always cooking with whatever she has, making it up as she goes. She taught me from a young age that you never have to go to the grocery store to get dinner on the table! She’s the ultimate pantry-scrounger and substitute-r.

TLP: We love the example of Country Captain casserole as something you created from a dish you ate growing up. Talk about that recipe and how you updated it for this cookbook.

CC: I’m so glad you brought this one up! Country Captain is a classic chicken and rice Southern dish. I have so many memories of my mom making it for dinner parties when she needed to feed a huge crowd! She would, however, I kid you not, dirty up every single dish in the house. The kitchen would be a WRECK. So I made it a one-pan casserole. With all of the toppings, it feels just as special as the original!

TLP: What other recipes should our Southern readers turn to in this cookbook?

CC: Yellow summer squash always reminds me of North Carolina in the summer time—so be sure to check out the sheet-pan summery lemon oregano chicken and squash. The corn and basil pasta salad will be right at home at any potluck or backyard barbecue. The 21st-century tuna noodle casserole will please any cream of mushroom lovers out there!

TLP: What’s the response been to your success in W-S? Are you recognized when you come to town?

CC: Oh man, everyone is just so supportive and wonderful. I wish I made it home more often, but I’m more often meeting my family at Bald Head Island, off the coast of Southport! It’s an island where golf carts are the only mode of transportation, so we’ll pass another cart and the driver will turn around and yell “I love your newsletter!!!!!!” And I’ll yell back “what’s your favorite recipe????” and they’ll yell back “hella green pasta!!!” or whatever it is. It’s good fun.

TLP: You mention Mozelle’s in the book. Can you share a few other Winston-Salem fave restaurants and tell us why you love it and what to order there?

CC: The Greek chicken salad from The Olive Tree Deli is a forever go-to. It’s shredded iceberg and a perfect vinaigrette and I just love it. Do not expect an elegant meal, but it’s delicious.

The smoked cauliflower tacos from Taste of Eden. And a big fat margarita. It’s such a good vibe there—the kids run feral outside.

The cinnamon roll from Louie & Honey—I dream about it!!!!

And because I am a good Moravian gal, gotta grab some sugar cake at Dewey’s to bring back to California.

Thank you, Caro! Readers: Don’t miss Caro’s newsletter and check out her newest project, these quick cooking shows where she preps and cooks a meal in real time—with kids and family in tow!

RECIPE: Lasagna-Vibes Turkey Zucchini Skillet

Nashvillian Lokelani Alabanza takes us on a delightful romp through ice cream history in her debut cookbook, Ice Cream Queen, sharing untold stories tying Black joy to an American favorite. She’s the perfect guide: An ice cream maker for 15 years, she’s also a collector of historical stories and artifacts, a keeper of Black history in her own way, and h…

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Erin Byers Murray | Editor-in-Chief

Erin Byers Murray joined The Local Palate in 2020 as editor in chief and oversees the editorial content across all platforms, including the magazine, The Local Palate Marketplace, the website, and social media channels. She began working with the magazine as a freelance writer in 2015 and brings with her 20 years of magazine editing and food reporting experience. Murray is an award-winning author and cookbook collaborator, and her work has appeared in publications from the Boston Globe to Food & Wine. Murray’s fascination with recipes and ingredients extends into her home life—the Syracuse University alum loves testing and experimenting with new recipes or figuring out dishes to try in her outdoor pizza oven. When she’s not cooking, she spends time walking the hills of West Nashville or digging into a good book, and is usually surrounded by her husband Dave, their children Charlie and Maggie.

Amber Chase | Digital Director

Amber Chase thrives balancing big-picture possibilities with small-scale detail. She brings a breadth of food knowledge, a hearty work ethic, and a very high gluten tolerance to her role as Digital Director for The Local Palate. Her years have been shared between Charleston, South Carolina and her hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, thoroughly securing her as a Southern native. In a past life, she co-owned a bakery, starting her mornings at dawn and returning home covered in flour and coffee grounds. Her other full-time gig is parenting her daughter, Nova, who will no doubt grow to be her superior.

Emily Havener | Managing Editor

Emily Havener likes contradictions—she was born in the South but moved to the North at the age of 12 and attended the University of Pittsburgh for a BA in English writing before returning to the Charleston area. She is an avid reader and writer and started her editing career by cofounding a boutique editing firm in 2005 while bartending on the side. Charleston’s creative food scene turned her into a foodie who dabbled in restaurant reviews and food blogging. In 2009, she graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s health coach certification program and developed recipes for a meal planning service. She loves to eat, especially tacos, seafood of all kinds, charcuterie, and pickled everything. As long as she has some kind of cheese on hand, she can make a meal. She has found the perfect combination of her love of food, writing, and organization at The Local Palate. Emily lives in Summerville, South Carolina, with her family.

Tate Jacaruso | Associate Editor

Tate Jacaruso is a food and travel lover from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she went on to work in media covering news and lifestyle across the South. When she isn’t working on an article, she’s reading fiction, trying a new recipe, or traveling. Tate is based in downtown Charleston and is making her way through every bowl of pasta and oyster on the half shell in town. She enjoys celebrating Southern food and culture with The Local Palate team.

Erin Oliver | Newsletter Content Manager

Erin Oliver’s journey with The Local Palate started as a digital editorial intern after graduating from The University of Kentucky. After gaining marketing and hospitality experience in Hilton Head Island, she returned to central Kentucky to work and write for a local marketing publication. Now, she’s thrilled to be back in an industry that revolves around what she loves the most: food. From watching her eastern Kentucky grandparents grow their own food to enjoying the freshest caught seafood during countless trips to South Carolina, Erin has learned the incredible value of local farmers and traditional foods of the south. In her spare time, Erin is hovering her phone over a plate to document her latest meal, making a mess in the kitchen, or continuing her quest to discover the best margarita.

Emilee Calametti | Assistant Digital Editor

Emilee Calametti is a sucker for a good story and reads many as Assistant Digital Editor of The Local Palate. As a Southern native who calls Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home, she values both good food and good people. She holds a B.A. in English from Louisiana State University, an M.A. in English from Georgia State University, and an M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Her work has appeared in EntertainmentNOW, inRegister, Houstonia Magazine, The Center Square, Yahoo! News, AOL, MSN, The Shreveport Times, Bookstr, Planetly Travel, and other publications. Outside of The Local Palate, you can find her exercising, baking something delicious, or spending time with her husband, son, and their three dogs.

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I had the good fortune to live on Hilton Head Island for a period of time after graduating college. To say I spent breezy, beachy evenings sipping something boozy would be an understatement. Painkillers from Coast in SeaPines, Transfusions while on the Harbor Town golf course, and smokey margs from Starbird were my jam.

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Recipe reprinted with permission from What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make it Fast by Caroline Chambers © 2026. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. Photography by Erin Scott.

Take a look around, Cookbook Clubbers!

We’ve been working hard this summer to ensure our new Substack home is in the best possible shape for you—we hope you dig the fresh look. On our homepage, start exploring:

Cookbook Reviews— thoughtful reviews of the best Southern cookbooks by The Local Palate staff members & contributing writers

Recipes— exclusive recipes from popular Southern books that you can access at any time

People Who Cook—meaningful conversations we have with, you guessed it, people who cook!

If you ever have any questions with how to navigate Substack, please do not hesitate to reach out with questions to newsletter@thelocalpalate.com.

If you know of any other cookbook lovers in your life, send them our way and get rewarded for it through our referral program!

Be on the lookout for your new recipe this Saturday (hint: it’s boozy and delicious).

In the meantime, happy Substacking!

Erin Byers Murray

The Local Palate Editor-in-Chief

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