The Art of Escapism Cooking by Mandy Lee

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm kicking off the TLC blog tour for Mandy Lee's (aka Lady and Pups) debut cookbook, The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story With Intensely Good Flavors.

What do you do when your spouse's job takes you to a foreign land where you're increasingly irritated by your surroundings? Well, in Mandy Lee's case, you cook. A lot.

This is a gorgeous cookbook with tantalizing dishes a person can lose themselves in. And that's the point—cooking as escapism! Food makes Lee happy. Intricate dishes as much as easy dishes. It's something she was able to dive into while at the peak of unhappiness. And the reason for that level of unhappiness is made clear in a piece she includes about China called "Meet Richard."

This is a cookbook perfect for reading as much as it is for cooking. Lee heads up almost every section with an essay like "Meet Richard" and "My Days as a Ma-jiang Line Cook" giving you a chance to get to know her in the same way longtime followers of her blog have gotten to know her. And the table of contents itself is a good indication of what you're in for too:

For Getting Out of Bed
For Slurping
For a Crowd
For Snacking
Shit I Eat When I'm By Myself
For Sweets
For Pups

And the recipes are a cool amalgamation of cultural food influences: Buffalo Fried Chicken Ramen, Mochi Challah Bread Stuffed with Proscuitto and Dates, Pizza Tonnato with Chinese Pancetta, and that amazing burger on the cover, Crackling-Studded Pork Belly Burger!

If cooking is your lifeline, your addiction (as Lee puts it), this is the best cookbook you can buy!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Mandy Lee you can visit her blog here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble