Cookbook Review: The Kitchn Cookbook
Earlier this month I had at least 5 brand new cookbooks arrive within a few days and I intended to try at least one recipe from each throughout one or two weeks. Instead, I ended up cooking from only one over a two week period.I have been following The Kitchn, a website dedicated to recipes, kitchens, and cooking tips and tutorials - amongst many other things (Are you familiar with Apartment Therapy? If not, you should be because they are owned by the same wonderful people.). I was pleasantly surprised and very excited when The Kitchn announced there would be a new cookbook coming out and knew the final product would exceed my expectations.
The Cookbook:
The Kitchn Cookbook: Recipes, Kitchens & Tips to Insire Your Cooking by Sara Kata Gillingham and Faith Durand is not only a book of recipes, but also just what Gillingham and Durand advertise on the cover: tips to inspire your kitchen and cooking! The first half of the book focuses on setting up your kitchen (great for someone getting their first house or apartment!), organizing, stocking your pantry, as well as essential cooking techniques. Best of all, if you are a list freak like myself, you will love the many different lists you can copy and modify to use in your own home -- I have the "Daily Cleaning Plan for a Constantly Clean Kitchen" (p. 73) calendar bookmarked for me to make a copy! Personally, I like how this cookbook is divided: The Kitchen, Setting Up the Kitchen, Tools, Caring for your Kitchen, How to Cook Well, Stocking the Pantry & Planning Meals, The Kitchn's Cooking School: 50 Essential Skills, The Recipes, and finally Gathering. Again, so many lists are included! I could see this making a great gift for newly weds and college graduates.Recipes I tried:
- "Breakfast Pizza" p. 144
- "Pizza Dough" p. 207
- "Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce" p. 144
- "Skillet Roasted Whole Chicken" p. 187
- "White Bean & Roasted Tomato Chili" p. 206
- "Wild Mushroom Ragu" p. 209
Everything I made was easy to follow and truly delicious. Not only was everything easy to make on a weeknight, but there were plenty of leftovers for lunches and the meals only got better over time. To be honest, there are not a ton of recipes in this book compared with others, but I liked that because I tend to get almost overwhelmed when I have too many choices. This narrowed it down for me and forced me to choose between two or three of the recipes from the "One Pot Meals" section and the same goes for the dessert section, the most important part of any cookbook. It will not happen until after this is posted, but "Perfected Chocolate Chip Cookies" is also on my list and I must know if they have been perfected.
