America's favorite self-taught cook opens up about the most memorable moments of her life in this candid memoir-inspired cookbook featuring more than 125 all-new recipes. As her fiftieth birthday approached, Ray started thinking, not just about what to make for dinner, but how her passion for food and feeding people developed over a lifetime. Here she opens up about her family, and how they instilled in her a strong work ethic, problem solving skills, and overall love of cooking. The recipes range from all-time favorites to the unexpected, and peppered throughout is her kitchen and life wisdom, along with her philosophy on how we can better serve the world and each other. -- adapted from Amazon.com info

Includes index.

Family: The princess who lived in a fort -- Sardines don't make you friends -- Notebooks -- Nixon was my favorite president -- No baloney bolognese -- Memories of Mamma Leone's -- Half-baked -- The lost girls' adventures in Italy -- They lived happily (and loudly) ever after -- Dogs make you a better person -- Every night is movie night -- I have a black thumb -- Friends: My friend Jacques -- The political animal -- Life is a mixtape -- Awkward celebrity moments -- I hate Paris in the springtime -- There's always room at the inn -- Golden dreams of Tuscany -- Work: The girl with the ice cream boobs -- How I got to Carnegie Hall -- The iron cook -- #IHateRachaelRay -- I never lost a nickel in the restaurant business -- What chefs really eat -- Epilogue: The next 50.