Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook


Carla Lalli Music - 2019
    The food director at Bon Appetit, her intuitive recipes are inspired by the meals she makes at home for her family and friends and the joy she takes in feeding them. Here, too, is her guide to the six essential cooking methods that will show you how to make everything without over-complicating anything--and every recipe includes suggestions for swaps and substitutions, so you'll never feel stuck or stymied.Where Cooking Begins is also the first recent cookbook to connect the way we shop to the way we cook. Music's modern approach--pick up your fresh ingredients a few times a week, and fill your pantry with staples bought online--will make you want to click on a burner and slide out a cutting board the minute you get home.The no-fail techniques, textured recipes, and strategies in Where Cooking Begins will make you a great cook.

A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes


David Tanis - 2008
    The other six months, Tanis lives in Paris in a seventeenth-century apartment, where he hosts intimate dinners for friends and paying guests, and prepares the food in a small kitchen equipped with nothing more than an old stove, a little counter space, and a handful of wellused pots and pans. This is the book for anyone who wants to gather and feed friends around a table and nurture their conversation. It’s not about showing off with complicated techniques and obscure ingredients. Worlds away from the showy Food Network personalities, Tanis believes that the most satisfying meals—for both the cook and the guest—are invariably the simplest. Home cooks can easily re-create any of his 24 seasonal, market-driven menus, from spring’s Supper of the Lamb (Warm Asparagus Vinaigrette; Shoulder of Spring Lamb with Flageolet Beans and Olive Relish; Rum Baba with Cardamom) to winter’s North African Comfort Food (Carrot and Coriander Salad; Chicken Tagine with Pumpkin and Chickpeas). Best of all, Tanis is an engaging guide with a genuine gift for words, whose soulful approach to food will make any kitchen, big or small, a warm and compelling place to spend time.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone


Jenni Ferrari-Adler - 2007
     If, sooner or later, we all face the prospect of eating alone, then Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant provides the perfect set of instructions. In this unique collection, twenty-six writers and foodies invite readers into their kitchens to reflect on the secret meals they make for themselves when no one else is looking: the indulgent truffled egg sandwich, the comforting bowl of black beans, the bracing anchovy fillet on buttered toast. From Italy to New York to Cape Cod to Thailand, from M. F. K. Fisher to Steve Almond to Nora Ephron, the experiences collected in this book are as diverse, moving, hilarious, and uplifting as the meals they describe. Haruki Murakami finds solace in spaghetti. Ephron mends a broken heart with mashed potatoes in bed. Ann Patchett trades the gourmet food she cooks for others for endless snacks involving saltines. Marcella Hazan, responsible for bringing sophisticated Italian cuisine into American homes, craves a simple grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. Courtney Eldridge, divorced from a fancy chef, reconnects with the salsa she learned to cook from her cash-strapped mother. Rosa Jurjevics reflects on the influence of her mother, Laurie Colwin, as she stocks her home with salty treats. Almost all of the essays include recipes, making this book the perfect companion for a happy, lonely-or just hungry-evening home alone. Part solace, part celebration, part handbook, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant offers a wealth of company, inspiration, and humor-and, finally, recipes that require no division or subtraction.

The Vegetable Butcher: How to Select, Prep, Slice, Dice, and Masterfully Cook Vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini


Cara Mangini - 2016
    The skills of butchery meet the world of fresh produce in this essential, inspiring guide that demystifies the world of vegetables. In step-by-step photographs, “vegetable butcher” Cara Mangini shows how to break down a butternut squash, cut a cauliflower into steaks, peel a tomato properly, chiffonade kale, turn carrots into coins and parsnips into matchsticks, and find the meaty heart of an artichoke. Additionally, more than 150 original, simple recipes put vegetables front and center, from a Kohlrabi Carpaccio to Zucchini, Sweet Corn, and Basil Penne, to a Parsnip-Ginger Layer Cake to sweeten a winter meal. It’s everything you need to know to get the best out of modern, sexy, and extraordinarily delicious vegetables.

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe


Joanne Chang - 2010
    From Brioche au Chocolat and Lemon Raspberry Cake to perfect croissants, Flour Bakery-owner Joanne Chang's repertoire of baked goods is deep and satisfying. While at Harvard she discovered that nothing made her happier than baking cookies leading her on a path that eventually resulted in a sticky bun triumph over Bobby Flay on the Food Network'sThrowdown. Almost 150 Flour recipes such as Milky Way Tart and Dried Fruit Focaccia are included, plus Joanne's essential baking tips, making this mouthwatering collection an accessible, instant classic cookbook for the home baker.

Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation


Michael Pollan - 2013
    Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements - fire, water, air, and earth - to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process, is the cook.Each section of Cooked tracks Pollan's effort to master a single classic recipe using one of the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue pit master tutors him in the primal magic of fire; a Chez Panisse-trained cook schools him in the art of braising; a celebrated baker teaches him how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread; and finally, several mad-genius "fermentos" (a tribe that includes brewers, cheese makers, and all kinds of picklers) reveal how fungi and bacteria can perform the most amazing alchemies of all. The listener learns alongside Pollan, but the lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships: with plants and animals, the soil, farmers, our history and culture, and, of course, the people our cooking nourishes and delights. Cooking, above all, connects us.The effects of not cooking are similarly far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food means we consume huge quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste


Bianca Bosker - 2017
    Until she stumbled on an alternate universe where taste reigned supreme, a world in which people could, after a single sip of wine, identify the grape it was made from, in what year, and where it was produced down to the exact location, within acres. Where she tasted wine, these people detected not only complex flavor profiles, but entire histories and geographies. Astounded by their fanatical dedication and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, Bosker abandoned her screen-centric life and set out to discover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a cork dork.Thus begins a year and a half long adventure that takes the reader inside elite tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, a California winery that manipulates the flavor of its bottles with ingredients like Mega Purple, and even a neuroscientist's fMRI machine as Bosker attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what's the big deal about wine? Funny, counter intuitive, and compulsively readable, Cork Dork illuminates not only the complex web of wine production and consumption, but how tasting better can change our brains and help us live better.

Come Home to Supper: Over 200 Casseroles, Skillets, and Sides (Desserts, Too!) to Feed Your Family with Love


Christy Jordan - 2013
    Conceived and written to reflect the reality of today s hectic schedules and the need to gather around the dinner table Come Home to Supper offers more than 200 deeply satisfying dishes that are budget-minded, kid-friendly, and quick. These are the everyday meals that Christy Jordan most loves to cook, and her family most loves to eat, and she serves them up with generous helpings of her folksy wisdom, gratitude, and lively stories.Many of the recipes make ingenious use of the slow cooker or a single pot or skillet; require easily found supermarket ingredients; and are packed with time-saving tips and shortcuts. And the menu, well, it's all good, including: Crispy Breaded Pork Chops with Milk Gravy, Beef and Broccoli, Spicy Fried Chicken, Craving Beans, Summer Corn Salad, Slow Cooker Baked Apples, Ice Cream Rolls, and Cinnamon Pudding Cobbler. Or to put it like Christy Jordan, food to make your family smile louder.

A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Companion Cookbook


Chelsea Monroe-Cassel - 2012
    R. Martin’s bestselling saga A Song of Ice and Fire and the runaway hit HBO series Game of Thrones are renowned for bringing Westeros’s sights and sounds to vivid life. But one important ingredient has always been missing: the mouthwatering dishes that form the backdrop of this extraordinary world. Now, fresh out of the series that redefined fantasy, comes the cookbook that may just redefine dinner . . . and lunch, and breakfast. A passion project from superfans and amateur chefs Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer—and endorsed by George R. R. Martin himself—A Feast of Ice and Fire lovingly replicates a stunning range of cuisines from across the Seven Kingdoms and beyond. From the sumptuous delicacies enjoyed in the halls of power at King’s Landing, to the warm and smoky comfort foods of the frozen North, to the rich, exotic fare of the mysterious lands east of Westeros, there’s a flavor for every palate, and a treat for every chef. These easy-to-follow recipes have been refined for modern cooking techniques, but adventurous eaters can also attempt the authentic medieval meals that inspired them. The authors have also suggested substitutions for some of the more fantastical ingredients, so you won’t have to stock your kitchen with camel, live doves, or dragon eggs to create meals fit for a king (or a khaleesi). In all, A Feast of Ice and Fire contains more than 100 recipes, divided by region: • The Wall: Rack of Lamb and Herbs; Pork Pie; Mutton in Onion-Ale Broth; Mulled Wine; Pease Porridge• The North: Beef and Bacon Pie; Honeyed Chicken; Aurochs with Roasted Leeks; Baked Apples• The South: Cream Swans; Trout Wrapped in Bacon; Stewed Rabbit; Sister’s Stew; Blueberry Tarts• King’s Landing: Lemon Cakes; Quails Drowned in Butter; Almond Crusted Trout; Bowls of Brown; Iced Milk with Honey• Dorne: Stuffed Grape Leaves; Duck with Lemons; Chickpea Paste• Across the Narrow Sea: Biscuits and Bacon; Tyroshi Honeyfingers; Wintercakes; Honey-Spiced Locusts There’s even a guide to dining and entertaining in the style of the Seven Kingdoms. Exhaustively researched and reverently detailed, accompanied by passages from all five books in the series and full-color photographs guaranteed to whet your appetite, this is the companion to the blockbuster phenomenon that millions of stomachs have been growling for. And remember, winter is coming—so don’t be afraid to put on a few pounds.Includes a Foreword by George R. R. Martin

Chinese Soul Food: A Friendly Guide for Homemade Dumplings, Stir-Fries, Soups, and More


Hsiao-Ching Chou - 2018
    Chinese Soul Food draws cooks into the kitchen with recipes that include sizzling potstickers, stir-fries that areunbelievably easy to make, saucy braises, and soups that bring comfort with a sip. These are dishes that feed the belly and speak the universal language of "mmm!" You'll find approachable recipes and plenty of tips for favorite homestyle Chinese dishes, such as red-braised pork belly, dry-fried green beans, braised-beef noodle soup, green onion pancakes, garlic eggplant, and the author's famous potstickers, which consistently sell out her cooking classes in Seattle. You will also find helpful tips and techniques, such as caring for and using a wok and how to cook rice properly, as well as a basic Chinese pantry list that also includes acceptable substitutions, making it even simpler for the busiest among us to cook their favorite Chinese dishes at home. Recipes are streamlined to minimize the fear factor of unfamiliar ingredients and techniques, and home cooks are gently guided toward becoming comfortable cooking satisfying Chinese meals. Any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen!

Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes


Peter Meehan - 2015
      Your friends and lovers will marvel as you show off your culinary worldliness, whipping up meals with fish-sauce-splattered panache and all the soy-soaked, ginger-scalliony goodness you could ever want—all for dinner tonight.

A Modern Way to Cook: Over 150 quick, smart and flavour-packed recipes for every day


Anna Jones - 2015
    Chapters are broken down by time (recipes for under 15, 20, 30 or 40 minutes) and also by planning a little ahead (quick healthy breakfasts, dishes you can make and re-use throughout the week). Anna’s new book is a truly practical and inspiring collection for anyone who wants to put dinner on the table quickly, without fuss, trips to specialist shops or too much washing up, but still eat food that tastes incredible and is doing you good.

The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food


Ian Knauer - 2012
    In The Farm, Knauer brings his creations to your kitchen. From Cold-Spring-Night Asparagus Soup to Brick Chicken with Corn and Basil Salad, the 150 recipes in this book will help you make the most of your market, garden, or CSA. They are fresh, modern spins on American classics, with ingredients anyone can obtain. Each one is simple, distinctive, and satisfying, getting the best food to the table in the least amount of time. They are both homey and sophisticated. You’ll find recipes that incorporate all parts of the vegetable, like Pasta with Radishes and Blue Cheese, which incorporates the radish leaves as well as the root, and spritely Swiss Chard Salad. You’ll learn how to make great food from simple ingredients you have on hand, like Potato Nachos. You’ll discover recipes for less-familiar produce from your market or your backyard, such as Chicken with Garlic Scape Pesto and Dandelion Green Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing. Many of these recipes have been in Knauer’s family for generations, like Pennsylvania Dutch-Style Green Beans or Cloud Biscuits. You won’t want to miss his expertly tweaked renditions of his mother and grandmother’s desserts: Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, Blueberry Belle Crunch, and Mary’s Lemon Sponge Pie. Whether you want to learn how to roast a pig, make your own hot sauce, or brew hard cider, The Farm brings artisanal cooking home, even as Knauer’s vivid stories trace a year in the seasons of the farm.

SAVEUR: The New Classics Cookbook: 1,000 Recipes + Expert Advice, Tips, and Tales


Saveur Magazine - 2014
    This masterful selection celebrates the brand’s authority, heritage, and depth of worldwide culinary knowledge in what will become an indispensable and treasured guide for everyone who relishes authentic cooking and SAVEUR’s standard of excellence.Offering authentic, from-the-source recipes for virtually every type of dish (from tapas and cocktails to salads, dumplings, one pot meals, and more), essential techniques, and practical advice, this thorough collection of recipes from the pages of SAVEUR represents a comprehensive foundation for any home cook looking for a go-to guide—and daily inspiration—from a trusted source. Also includes suggested menus for holidays and occasions; illustrative sidebars that showcase groups of ingredients (such as the Mexican pantry, different varieties of tomatoes, what makes a good tagine) or provide easy-to-follow instructions for techniques (like how to crimp a dumpling or fold an empanada); and two sections of gorgeous full-color photographs that bring the cuisine to life. The 16 chapters are organized by course and food type. A robust selection of pantry basics (DIY condiments, stocks and sauces, spice blends and rubs, and more) is also included. Each recipe includes a headnote (explaining the origin of the dish, offering suggestions for perfecting the method, or a serving suggestion) and there are illustrations and cook’s notes, imparting helpful tips (wear gloves when working with hot chiles, use young ginger for the best flavor) scattered throughout the book. Icons call out vegetarian dishes and other helpful information at a glance. Multiple indexes make it easy to find recipes for any occasion.Since its founding in 1994, SAVEUR magazine has provided vivid and unprecedented access to the world's cuisines, telling the stories of authentic meals and the cooks behind them through impeccable photography, faithfully reproduced recipes, and expertly crafted articles from the world's most celebrated food writers. SAVEUR's editors are passionate about the stories behind the meals, be they classic dishes known to all, or obscure traditions worth sharing with the world. They understand each ingredient, each person, each meal, has undergone a special journey and this knowledge is at the root of every article and image in SAVEUR. Cherished by travel enthusiasts, home cooks, and professional chefs, and culinary adventurers alike, SAVEUR is the magazine of choice for people who experience the world food-first, whether they're slurping noodles from a street cart in Vietnam, or savoring the pleasures of a three-star meal in Paris. Honoring both the humble and the elevated, spontaneous meals and those that take days to prepare, every issue of SAVEUR is a celebration of real food made by real people.

Milk Street: The New Home Cooking


Christopher Kimball - 2017
    Now, with his team of cooks and editors at Milk Street, he promises that a new approach in the kitchen can elevate the quality of your cooking far beyond anything you thought possible.Christopher Kimball's Milk Street, the first cookbook connected to Milk Street's public television show, delivers more than 125 new recipes arranged by type of dish: from grains and salads, to a new way to scramble eggs, to simple dinners and twenty-first-century desserts.At Milk Street, there are no long lists of hard-to-find ingredients, strange cookware, or all-day methods. Skillet-charred Brussels sprouts, Japanese fried chicken, rum-soaked chocolate cake, Thai-style coleslaw, and Mexican chicken soup all deliver big flavors and textures without your having to learn a new culinary language.These recipes are more than just good recipes. They teach a simpler, bolder, healthier way to cook that will change your cooking forever. And cooking will become an act of pure pleasure, not a chore.