Dallas-based author Merle Rosenbloom immigrated from South Africa to the United States in the 1980's, bringing her love for entertaining and food to our city. She opened a food-basket business and later a successful catering company.  Fast forward several years, on the suggestion from a friend, she started hosting cooking classes for her newlywed friends.  Starting from Scratch: Cooking and Entertaining Made Simple  began as a simple collection of her favorite recipes bound in a book for her daughter-in-law as a bridal shower gift.  After requests for copies poured in, Merle took her cookbook to the next level.  The recently released 160 page cookbook includes 77 recipes along with a) how to stock your kitchen with the necessary tools and equipment, b) the essentials you need in your pantry so that you can make recipes on-the-fly, c) sample table settings and d) menu suggestions.  Through the years, Merle has realized that many people are overwhelmed with the cooking process and they don't know where to start.  So she has focused on making it easy for you whether you're just beginning or are returning to the kitchen after a break.

Merle is the featured author next month at Dallas' Canterbury Book Review Club.   

Here's an example of an easy-to-make appetizer featured in the cookbook, which only calls for 3 ingredients: