'My Kitchen Year' follows the change of seasons as Ruth Reichl heals through the simple pleasures of cooking after the abrupt closing of 'Gourmet' magazine. Each dish Reichl prepares for herself - and for her family and friends - represents a life's passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; slow-cooked beef, wine and onion stew that fills the kitchen with rich aromas; a rhubarb sundae to signal the arrival of spring. Part cookbook, part personal narrative, part paean to the household gods, 'My Kitchen Year' reveals Reichl's most treasured recipes, to be shared over and over again with those we love.