About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Ms. Catalano has a laser-eyed clarity on flavor and a knack for deploying a short list of ingredients to great effect. . . . By Heart [is] not just a trove of delicious ideas but also a reminder of how fun (and personal) cooking can be." --Adina Steiman, The New York Times

Growing up cooking the Sunday gravy, meatballs, and pasta alongside her Italian American grandmother, Hailee Catalano developed a huge passion for food. This passion led her to the Culinary Institute of America, and then to cooking in restaurants. But somewhere along the way, Hailee started to miss the home cooking that made her fall in love with food in the first place. Restaurants made it seem like beautifully made food was too difficult to recreate at home.

In By Heart, she presents over 100 restaurant-quality recipes designed to be made in your home kitchen. You'll find seasonal pastas (Pasta alla Norcina with Roasted Squash), veggie-forward recipes designed to make the most of your CSA box (Caponata with Dried Cherries and Green Olives), simple meat dishes (Roast Chicken with Red Wine Vinegar and Honey) breads (Hearty Seeded Rye Bread), butters (Calabrian Chile Honey Butter), condiments (Chicago-Style Fennel Giardiniera), perfect beach sandwiches (Brie and Butter Sandwich with Shallot-y Frisée), simple sweets (Malted Milk Butter Cookies), and so much more.

Inspired by her professional training and love of seasonal cooking, Hailee includes details on how to keep a calm kitchen, navigate a farmers market, make your own broths and the perfect sourdough loaf, and plan out a Friday Night Dinner menu. Carefully crafted from the heart, this is a book you'll return to again and again.

Review Quotes

"[Catalano's] inspired, approachable recipes come with a secret stowaway: a methodical pace she learned from cooking on the line. The dishes. . . are joyfully exciting -- Ms. Catalano has a laser-eyed clarity on flavor and a knack for deploying a short list of ingredients to great effect. . . . By Heart [is] not just a trove of delicious ideas but also a reminder of how fun (and personal) cooking can be." --Adina Steiman, The New York Times, A Best Cookbook of 2025

"I have never eaten as many delicious things in such a short period as my first weeks with By Heart. . . . It's a cookbook that reads as personally as a diary. The dishes inside are thoroughly comforting, while also driven by seasonal ingredients and a small amount of chef-y ambition. She spans every corner of the menu, so let Catalano do the planning, head to your local farmers market, and invite some friends over for a dinner party!" --Lucas Chen, NPR: Books We Love 2025

"In Catalano's debut cookbook. . . her easy-to-follow tutorials become even easier to follow with tried-and-true tips, farmers market guidance and more. . . . It's approachable for every level of chef, and brimming with dishes for dinner parties and weeknight meals alike." --Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, A Best Cookbook of 2025

"Catalano's skill and sincerity come through in By Heart, a cookbook that feels neither showy nor trendy but timeless. . . . In all, it's a highly cookable book with recipes that'll give you something to be excited about every season -- fried squash blossom mozzarella sticks in the summer, pot roast au poivre with charred onions in the winter -- and enough emphasis on technique and efficiency to make you feel like you're becoming a better cook." --EATER: The 20 Best Cookbooks of Spring 2025

"Hailee Catalano has been my most delightful Instagram follow the past couple of years. Her charming demeanor is only superseded by the fact that every single time she makes a recipe onscreen, I think, I have to make that. Her debut book -- which features such recipes as Shaved Radish and Persimmon Salad with Ricotta Salata, Chicken Fat Mashed Potatoes, Creamy Corn Orzo, and Pot Roast au Poivre with Charred Onions -- already feels like a classic." --Emma Wartzman, The Strategist, The Best Cookbooks to Gift This Year

"Ambitious cooks who want to experiment with new techniques and flavor combinations will get spectacular results with Catalano as their guide in the kitchen." --Ellery Jones, Chicago Sun-Times

About the Author