The Way We Cook: Recipes from the New American Kitchen

`the way we cook, Recipes from the New American Kitchen' is written by two food writers / journalists in the Boston area, which gives this somewhat pregnant title the expectation that it is nothing more than a collection of `Boston Globe' food columns. If it were, I would dismiss it with three stars and little comment. The first clue that more is afoot here than culls from the Wednesday food section are the blurbs on the back of the dust jacket from Christopher Kimball, Anne Willan, and Steven Raichlen. Kimball I could expect, being a good old boy Yankee New Englander from way back, but Anne Willan is serious stuff.The chapter titles are a bit unusual, but they are exactly the range of topics you would expect to find in newspaper food columns. They are:Appetizers such as deviled eggs, liver pate, ceviche, crab cakes, eggplant caponata, toasts, crackers, etc.Salads such as Eggless Caesar, French Market Salad, Creamy Potatoe Salad, Fattoush, Greek Cypriot, etc.When You're in a Rush with Soups, Chicken, Tuna, Salmon, Bass, and Scallops, quick Bolognese, etc.Dishes We Make All the Time such as Vege Soup, Chili, Yankee Pot Roast, Meatball, Lamb Stew, etc.New Classics such as Corn Chowder, Oyster Stew, Boulangere, Baked Beans, Salmon Cakes, etc.Good Enough For Company with Rack of Pork, Leg of Lamb, Ossobuco, Duck Breasts, Roast Salmon, etc.Simmering Pots with lots of soups and stews such as Cuban Stewed Chicken and Beef Daube, etc.Sides such as Fresh Corn Risotto, Scalloped Tomatoes, Quick Couscous, Blue Cheese Popovers, etc.Rise and Dine with Frittatas, Muffins, Soda Bread, Quesadillas, Banana Bread, Blueberry Loaf Cake, etc.If You Love to Bake with Strawberry Shorkcakes, Carrot Cake, Pies, Tarts, Cookies, Gingerbread, etc.Simple Fruit Desserts with five recipes for apples, oranges, and peaches.The first thing which bumped my opinion up from three stars to four was with the description of how to cook hardboiled eggs. For starters, they recommended my preferred method of pricking a hole in the shell and dropping the eggs into just boiling water. Then, they gave the additional tip of rolling the just dropped eggs around a bit in order to center the yolk in the cooked egg. To cap things off, they gave a recommendation on how to crack the hot eggs to make them easier to peel when they cool.The next thing which warmed my opinion of the book was that I could not find any steps in any recipes which I would do differently. There are few fancy techniques called for in the recipes and almost all of them take no more than a page, but there were also no short cuts.The last thing which appealed to me was the lack of processed ingredients. All pie crusts are made from scratch and I detected no cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. I did find the directions for the pie crusts to be less than perfect, as it was lax in calling for very cold ingredients, combined in such a way to keep them cold and to leave bits of butter to fluff up the crust. But then, this is

The first cool crispness of fall sends many home cooks back to the kitchen, eager to cook something new and different. Julian and Riven, who write a weekly column for the Boston Globe's food section, understand this seasonal urge for something new to cook. Their first book is designed for "accomplished" and busy home cooks and features straightforward, unfussy recipes with plenty of room for variation and timing options.After "Salads" and "Appetizers" the book is organized around occasion. "When You're in a Rush" features weeknight meals like Ten-minute Bolognese Sauce, Pork Chops with Apples and Onion, and the five-ingredient Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Red Curry Paste, which takes longer to say than to cook. Not all of the dishes are so quick - Eggplant Lasagna requires assembly and baking - but they share a simplifying "one-pot meal" approach."Dishes We Make All The Time" includes homey fare like Baked Meatballs and Tomato Sauce, Yankee Pot Roast with Caramelized Vegetables and Bow Ties with Pot Cheese and Peas. There's also a French Onion Soup made with roasted onions and Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce that can be served in bowls or over pasta."New Classics" offers tweaks to the tried and true to reflect the modern tastes for leaner, more highly seasoned food, like Oven Fried Fish and Chips and Roasted Coq Au Vin with Sugar Snap Peas. "Good Enough for Company" features Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce, Chicken breasts stuffed under the skin with Ricotta and herbs, Roast Side of Salmon, Salmon and Mushroom Pot Pie.There's a chapter of stews and braises - Spring Garden Stew, Braised Beef in Balsamic Vinegar and another of side dishes like Harvard Beets, Sautéed Apples, and Noodle Pudding. "Rise and Dine" features Salmon Kedgeree, Warm Cheese Pie and Blueberry Muffins; a baking chapter focuses on cakes, cookies and pies and the book ends with Simple Fruit Deserts from Apple Crisp to Baked Peaches in Brown Sugar.Attractively designed, the book is a comfortable combination of the familiar and the new, with simple, practical advice for serving combinations, do ahead tips and variations. A book for cooks who like a relaxed feel in the kitchen, and who doesn't?

I bought this book after reading a review of it. The recipes are simple and easy to follow. They do not use any ingredients that you cannot get at a regular supermarket. No recipe requires the cook to stand over the stove stirring or watching it cook. I highlighted all the recipes I want to try and easily have a month's worth of dinners. I'm so glad there's finally a cookbook for cooks who don't have time to cook!

I am a cook who needs a recipe. No experience at my mother's knee. (She worked.) At long last here is a cookbook of recipes that are not too complicated but that have a certain flair. They are, I would say, uncommon but uncomplicated. The onion tart, for instance, consists of onions and thyme, with a dollop of sour cream in its crust. Simple, yes; devoured by my guests, yes. I suggest one should read it through first, for the introduction and the chapter headings are very informative and present the authors' wonderful philospohy that the home cook should not try to duplicate restaurant presentations. This is a cookbook that informs, encourages, promises -- and delivers. Trust me, you will enjoy this cookbook. You can, with this collection of recipes, relax and enjoy cooking for family and for discerning guests. Julia, Silver Palate, and Joy will remain on my shelves, but "The Way We Cook" will remain on my counter!

"The Way We Cook" contains a great collection of really authentic, home-cooked and "American" recipes. I keep it on my counter and refer to it whenever I have people over or when I'm in a rush and need to make my family supper or lunch quickly!The photos are quite beautiful and help instruct along with the charming, personal and clearly-written recipes.Thanks Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven for such a delightful new book!