Adding to the growing “food memoir” genre, Michell Maisto shares her story of the six months preceding her marriage to Rich. Although they’ve dated for many years, with Rich even packing up his life to follow Michelle across country when she returns to university, it’s not until they’re engaged that they actually live together. And this is when their love of food, previously a strong bond between the couple, becomes problematic.

Since "Rich craves the light fare his mother learned to prepare as a girl in China" and "Michelle leans toward the hearty dishes her father knew as a boy in Italy", the nightly question is: “What should we have for dinner?”

Their secondary problem is paying for their wedding. In order to give Rich, a freelance writer, more time to take on work to pay for said wedding, Michelle volunteers to take on all cooking duties. What follows is an honest and endearing account of the meals that work, and those that don’t.

Over the time of their engagement, their eating differences and preferences are magnified: Michelle is a vegetarian; Rich eats meat. She has an Italian heritage; his is Chinese. While Michelle can digest just about anything, Rich's system is more delicate, yet she is content with a very light evening meal, and he requires something rather substantial.

When it comes to meals, Michelle is a planner while Rich would rather be more spontaneous. Food, it seems, is the metaphor for their relationship as they learn to meld two independent lives into a marriage. And along with the cooking, Michelle and Rich must also figure out how to avoid the pitfalls of a multi-cultural wedding.

Of further difficulty for Michelle are her post-feminist ideals about homemaking: she believes all domestic duties should be equally shared. Growing up, her mother was the cook and cleaner. She was also the person with the least power in her marriage, and Michelle is afraid of falling into the same trap. As Michelle and Rich negotiate their relationship, she also relates another love affair – her intense affection for their Brooklyn neighborhood and the city of New York, which she describes in glowing detail.