Book excerpt: From the acclaimed owner of Brooklyn’s Diner, Marlow & Sons, Marlow & Daughters, Reynard, The Ides, Achilles Heel, She Wolf Bakery, Marlow Goods, Roman’s, and the Wythe Hotel comes this debut cookbook capturing a year’s worth of dishes meant to be shared among friends. Andrew Tarlow has grown a restaurant empire on the simple idea that a meal can somehow be beautiful and ambitious, while also being unfussy and inviting. Personal and accessible, Dinner at the Long Table brings Tarlow’s keen eye for combining design and taste to a collection of seventeen seasonal menus ranging from small gatherings to blow-out celebrations. The menus encompass memorable feasts and informal dinners and include recipes like a leisurely ragu, followed by fruit and biscotti; paella with tomato toasts, and a Catalan custard; fried calamari sandwiches and panzanella; or a lamb tajine with spiced couscous, pickled carrots, and apricots in honey. Dinner at the Long Table includes family-style meals that have become a tradition in his home. Written with Anna Dunn, the cookbook is organized by occasion and punctuated with personal anecdotes and photography. Much more than just a beautiful cookbook, Dinner at the Long Table is a thematic exploration into cooking, inspiration, and creativity, with a focus on the simple yet innate human practice of preparing and enjoying food together.