One of the joys of vacationing is the food. When you’re out of town, it’s so much fun to try out the regional fare at those little word-of-mouth restaurants the locals always recommend. But if you’ve rented a gorgeous cottage right on the beach, staying in can be even more fun.

The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook is packed with a collection of delicious recipes created for leisurely get-away weekends and trips. The fresh and delectable dishes showcase indigenous ingredients from local farm stands and open air markets tailored to your destination. There are entire chapters devoted to lunches at the beach, dinners near the lake and tea on a cool and shady back porch and a handy chart in the back that offers shortcuts to choosing the dishes that best fit your needs and schedule.

The chapter, A Visit to the Farm Stand, is a handy guide for selecting fresh, local produce at road-side stands and farmers’ markets. You’ll have to try the fresh corn on the cob with flavored butters and the free form fruit tart if you’re taken in by the hand painted signs leading you to the boiled peanuts and hand-picked berries. There are recipes for dishes prepared in a city setting, breakfasts, brunches and cocktail parties too. Try the grilled pizza if you’re vacationing at the beach or the sizzling porterhouse steak with herb salad if you’re in the city. Staying at a friend’s mountain cottage for a week? This cookbook makes a great hostess gift! After you get home from your fabulous week of fresh, delicious foods, don’t settle for fast food just because you’re tired, Country Weekend offers a chapter filled with recipes for Quick Suppers After a Long Trip.

Recipes and advice from renowned chefs and food writers like Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, Mark Bittman, Daniel Boulud, Rick Bayless and Jean George Vongerichten were compiled in this invaluable vacation resource by best-selling cookbook editor Linda Amster. Previously, Linda has edited The New York Times Passover Cookbook, The New York Times Jewish Cookbook and The New York Times Chicken Cookbook. She is the former director of The Times’ news research department and has left no stone unturned in this project.