Move over Martha: Bringing a Ray of Sunshine Your Way Every Day Book

Regardless of the size, location or makeup of a family, one tie binds like no other: food. Good cooking makes memories a little sweeter, and Dixie Ray helps everyday chefs learn the tips and tricks that can turn any meal into an unforgettable occasion with her new cookbook, Move Over Martha: Bringing a Ray of Sunshine Your Way Every Day (now available through Authorhouse).
     Ray's book is designed to help beginning cooks and those whose skills in the kitchen do not quite rival a master chef's. Her easy recipes forego five-star fare and replace it with items much more likely to be found on the average table. Favorites like grilled pork chops, deviled eggs, baked ham and peach cobbler can be found, along with a host of helpful hints like how to time food preparation so each meal is served hot and fresh.
     "Good cooking is one major expression of the care and concern a person can show for the rest of their family," says Ray. She also provides information not found in most other cookbooks; she shows the chef-to-be how to make cooking fun.
     "I wrote this book to offer to anyone who is looking for another perspective and method of achieving not only terrific cooking but also living a fuller life," she says. "[It] is designed for people who are brand new to being on their own, have never cooked before for whatever reason and have to learn now, and are looking for some practical guidance in the mystical arena of food preparation."
     Recipes begin not with a list of ingredients but with a brief anecdote. Rays' conversational style immediately eases the novice cook's nerves as she explains each step in narrative form. She also lists standard items that should be stocked in every pantry and includes a list of the utensils no cook should be without.
     "I want [readers] to feel as if I am in the kitchen by their side coaching and guiding them through the whole process and making it fun for them at the same time," she says.
     By her own admission, Ray was a "military brat" whose growing up years were spent in many different places, especially the South. She is a self-taught cook who spent more than 30 years becoming "pretty good at it".