The books

I wrote it all down.

Comfort Classics is the first of my Second Helpings books. Seven recipes, every one named for somebody, and a story to go with each. It's available now, and there's more on the way, a new book every couple of weeks through the fall. Pull up a chair.

Second Helpings: Comfort Classics — a cookbook by Bonnie Hartwell. A Sunday table set with pot roast, rolls, and a pie.
Second Helpings · Book One

Comfort Classics

Tried-and-True Recipes from a Makersville Kitchen

Welcome to my kitchen, where nobody leaves the table hungry and there's always room for one more.

These are my comfort classics — the ones I come back to, season after season. Roy's Sunday pot roast. A sour-cream coffee cake worth a slow morning. Carol Ann's blue-ribbon apple pie. Seven recipes in all, every one tested in my own oven, written down plain, and meant to be shared.

Now, I believe in knowing exactly where everything comes from. I don't buy my meat at the store — haven't in years. And every recipe in this book came from someone who once sat at my table: a first husband with a great many opinions on my cooking. A neighbor who borrowed what wasn't hers. A clever woman from the book club. The dearest friend I ever had, who won the one blue ribbon that was always meant to be mine.

They're not all still with us, I'll admit. But I keep them the way I keep everything — with love, a place set, and not a single question answered. That's the lovely thing about cooking. Nobody's ever really gone, so long as you keep making their dish.

So pull up a chair. Stay a while. There's always room for one more.

Get Comfort Classics → Out now on Amazon.

the dedication

For Roy.

It's almost there, hon.

Be on the lookout for

Second Helpings: Holiday Entertaining

The most wonderful time of the year — and the most crowded. Houseguests who won't take a hint. In-laws who overstay their welcome. That one relative who turns up every single year, no matter what. Recipes for a houseful of company — and for the quiet that settles in once the guests have all gone home. Coming next season.

The whole series

Second Helpings, all six

Comfort Classics is out now. The rest are coming, a new one every couple of weeks through the fall — you can reserve your copies now.

  1. 1Comfort ClassicsAvailable now →
  2. 2Holiday EntertainingPre-order
  3. 3Cooking for OnePre-order
  4. 4Where I Come FromPre-order
  5. 5Company's ComingPre-order
  6. 6LeftoversPre-order
In the meantime

There's plenty to be getting on with.

Come browse the recipes I've put up here for free, and join the kitchen so the book — and everything after it — comes straight to you.

Browse the recipes Join the kitchen