New York Times writers Julia Moskin and Kim Severson were all of the former, until legendary Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni challenged them to go head-to-head in a culinary duel—a battle for dinner dominance that turned them into kitchen combatants. Armed with only $50 each, Bruni dared them to prepare a full meal for six, a showdown which he would judge for the newspaper.The thrill of battle proved too exhilarating to resist, and that initial clash turned into a yearlong kitchen war as Julia and Kim faced off to tackle the most vexing kitchen predicaments, from how best to console friends in need through old-fashioned home cooking to conjuring kids' food that keeps both parents and children happy at a party.

CookFight is the delicious result of their brinksmanship, a chronicle of their skirmishes over the course of twelve months and a look at how two very different people—best friends from wildly divergent backgrounds—approach the kitchen. In each heartfelt and hilarious chapter, Kim and Julia confront a new "challenge"—those quandaries all home cooks deliberate, from how to strategize a dinner party (the Fancy Food Challenge) to how to eat more seasonally and locally (the Farmer's Market Challenge). Every recipe, from Julia's Caramelized Corn with Mint to Kim's Carnitas, is a delectable testament to their creativity and savvy—only the reader will be able to call the winner.