THANKS TO Elizabeth Baird—the former food editor of Canadian Living magazine—readers can enjoy a selection of dishes from many Maritime cookbooks, all compiled into one convenient digest called Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces: The best tasting recipes from home cooks and leading chefs.

Baird has compiled her favourite recipes from books that include Fresh & Frugal by Craig Flinn, Low-Salt DASH Dinners by Sandra Nowlan, and Maritime Flavours: Guidebook & Cookbook by Elaine Elliot and Virginia Lee. In fact, the book’s some 400 recipes are drawn from more than 30 cookbooks that span three decades of Maritime cooking.

It serves as both a window into the minds of today’s chefs and a walk down memory lane.

Traditional fare such as Cullen Skink (a smoked haddock chowder), Tourtière and Lobster Bisque appear alongside more non-traditional fare like Mediterranean Braised Lamb Shanks and Glazed Beef Short Ribs with Corn Polenta. The book’s 19 chapters cover everything from appetizers to mains, desserts, preserves, sauces and more. Formac; $29.95. ~AB