Books for Cooks: Use these design tips to make your next holiday spread pop

Former ballerina Jessie-Sierra Ross — the voice behind the “Straight to the Hips, Baby” blog — knows a thing or two about the art of presenting something beautiful.

Growing up, she writes, she loved helping her mom bake and observing icons like Julia Child and Martha Stewart make culinary magic. As her career into professional dancing progressed, she found that role complicated her relationship with food — she describes feeling like she had to deny herself decadence in what she ate, but...