Join us for a culinary cookbook extravaganza. If your table could talk, what would it say? Alyssa Alia is one of the top professional food stylists in the U.S. and a working mother of two who is proud to present her first solo cookbook, IF THE TABLE COULD TALK - A Taste of Celebrations from the Menus and Memories of the Life of a Food Stylist. Captured by the menus she's created and saved from decades of home celebrations, you'll find within these pages a treasure trove of well-loved family recipes - delectable, fun, easy-to-prepare and filled with joy! Over 200 recipes, developed and prepared lovingly by Alyssa over many years, are presented here with time-saving tips, make ahead tricks, decorating ideas and hints for how to make every gathering you host, big or small, a success. She presents this cookbook as an autobiography of her culinary life. Alyssa entices you with gorgeous photographs for every recipe - to anticipate every bite. Her life has been centered around beautifully prepared and delicious food as a professional food stylist and certified culinary chef. Her specialty is entertaining and she wants to show people how to do that without fuss as she's done for the last 31 years through recipes that culminate into menus for a variety of occasions. "Each recipe is a living short story from Alyssa's life...that's what this book is all about, love! Love of food and the people to whom we express that love through cooking, sharing meals and creating new memories," Al Owens, photographer of the cookbook, said. Alyssa is a graduate of Cornell University, has a chef certification from the New York Restaurant School, and was an attendee of Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. Through her lifelong culinary and artful career, she shares a taste of celebrations that will encourage you to create new, cherished memories around your table. A Letter from Alyssa If your table could talk, what would it tell you? In my life the most heartfelt loving memories were made when gathered around my family's table. Whether it be an everyday dinner with your children or a celebratory occasion, every moment that you gather and share food at the table brings people together. I wanted to recreate these memories by sharing recipes that were served around my table with love, throughout my life. I have said, so often, that eating and enjoying meals around the table reinforces the most precious memories of family and friends. The menus in this book are a lifelong autobiography, recorded memoir of milestone events and impromptu occasions at my table. I still have that menu 30 years later. I must have 100s of them. My menus are a treasured journal through time. I have been a professional food stylist for over 30 years, so I have included delicious photographs throughout the book that I prepared and food styled for your enjoyment. These cherished recipes are easy and fun, and most are even make-ahead. Since my professional life is styling food in the most beautiful way it can be for the camera, I have also included easy garnish and serving suggestions to make your parties showstoppers with minimal fuss and ease. Keep your table talking! En-JOY and cook just for the love it, Alyssa xo