Jake Cohen wants to feed everyone with joy and intention.

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The self-described “nice Jewish boy” has made a career from sharing recipes — and joy — with the world. The chef, author, and TV personality literally started his culinary career by watching Food Network shows and recreating the recipes for his friends. That joy of breaking bread has led to a successful career with Cohen, authoring two New York Times bestsellers: Jew-ish and I Could Nosh. In addition, Cohen is a frequent guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Good Morning America, and the Food Network — bringing it all full circle.

Cohen doesn’t just call himself a “nice Jewish boy” — he is. The author and cooking maven is involved with City Harvest, an organization that helps provide New Yorkers with nutritious food. According to its website, about 1.4 million New Yorkers are currently experiencing food insecurity, including seniors and one in four New York City Children. City Harvest has launched its annual High Holidays Food Drive, aiming to provide kosher food to Jewish New Yorkers facing food insecurity during the High Holidays. This specific drive runs through October 13.

Cohen is also publishing a new book called Dinner Party Animal. Set to be released September 30, 2025, the book encourages people to make every day a celebration. Broken Palate chatted with Cohen to find out more about the book and how to turn any day into its own holiday.

Broken Palate: Your new book, Dinner Party Animal, comes out later this month. In it, you talk about turning everyday life into a celebration. Can you share what that means to you?

Jake Cohen: Intention is everything! When you put headspace towards meaningful gatherings with those you love over good food, it’s always a celebration that deserves gratitude and abundance!

BP: I think we all stress throwing a gathering at our homes -- you strive to make it more simplified. Can you share three tips for making a gathering less stressful?

JC: This is going to sound crazy, but the first tip is looking at yourself in the mirror and saying, “I got this, it’s going to be a wonderful night.” I’m big on energy and manifesting, and your vibe rubs off on your food and the way you host. Go in positively and you’ll always see a better result. Tip two is prep to the max! Each menu in my book has a timeline for every component that can be prepared, so you don’t end up chained to the kitchen all night. And third, pivot with ease! Not enough plates? Use paper! Somebody cancel? Invite your neighbor! Something didn’t go as planned? A lesson for your next party!

BP: What is your favorite holiday/non-holiday to throw a gathering? With the holidays coming up, what is your favorite?

JC: I love hosting Yom Kippur break fast, since everyone is so hungry that great food tastes even better. I have a bagel menu in the book that I’ll be making with all the fixings and homemade bagels. They’re much easier than they seem!

BP: You do work with City Harvest -- and your book is about sharing food with loved ones? Can you share what it means to you to help people put food on their tables?

JC: The book is truly about community, so there’s no better way to give back and support the local New York community than by making sure everyone has easy access to nutritious food.

BP: You have an entire section in your book for last-minute get-togethers. Can you share a tip or two for those last-minute "Hey I'm in the neighborhood" calls?

JC: Be stocked on the pantry or freezer staples you can pull out for a last-minute get-together! When you have a few recipes you can jump to, you get to focus on the people. Keep it simple.

BP: What is in your kitchen that we should all have to keep just in case a friend comes so they can have a nosh and a drink?

JC: My go-to is cookie dough in the freezer to bake a little something sweet to enjoy! But for healthier noshing, I like to have dips and crudités or chips on hand for my own snacking, ready to share.

Taylor Swift has, once again, stolen the spotlight, headlines, and hearts of the world with the announcement of her new release, The Life of a Showgirl, available October 3. Swift teased the new recording while chatting with her boyfriend on the New Heights with Travis and Jason Kelcie podcast.

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More importantly (at least to Swifties that double as foodies) was Swift’s admission to another passion: Baking or — as Taylor put it — “grannny shit”, which also includes sewing (especially children’s purses and baby blankets), painting, and cooking.

She did point out one hobby in particular that turns her on. “Right now, we're very deep in a sourdough obsession that has taken up my life,” she confesses, adding that she’s currently workshopping not a song — but a Funfetti sourdough for (possibly future brother-in-law) Jason Kelcie and wife Kylie’s daughters.

Seeing how friendship bracelets turned into a collective hobby by almost every human, we predict an uptick in sourdough bread making, corresponding to this confession.

With that in mind, we asked some of our favorite kitchen creators to share some of their sourdough tips with Broken Palate readers.

Before we get into baking, we cannot put the cart before the horse. If you’re going to make sourdough, you need to have a starter.

Alyssa Rivers, known as The Recipe Critic, shared an easy sourdough starter:

How to Make Sourdough Starter

1. Day 1: In a quart-sized jar, add the cup of flour. Add the cup of warm water and mix into a paste. Screw on the lid tightly and set aside on the counter for 24-48 hours.

2. Day 2-5: After about 24 hours, you should see some bubbling activity. If it has bubbled significantly, it’s time to feed it! Discard all but ½ cup of the starter and add ½ cup whole wheat flour and ½ cup water, and mix. Screw the lid on and set aside again for another 24 hours. If the starter is bubbling up in less time, switch to feeding twice a day instead of once a day.

3. Day 6: Do this for 6 days, and when you reach the 6th day, instead of discarding half of the starter, remove half and set aside to use in your sourdough bread.

Once you have your starter, you’re ready to bake your first loaf. New York Times bestselling cookbook author Natasha Kravchuk, shares an easy recipe on her Natasha’s Kitchen site.

Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

• Flour – we prefer organic flour, but regular will work as well. Bread flour has a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, giving the bread a chewy texture, but either flour will work.

• Rye, whole wheat, or whole grain flour (optional)– these give the bread more flavor. You can substitute this portion with bread flour.

• Fine Sea Salt – this ingredient is so important! It aids in fermentation, gives flavor and color, and gives a good oven spring (rise in the oven).

• Water – filtered, bottled, or dechlorinated water is best and should be room temperature or lukewarm (85˚F). You may need to experiment with water quantities. This recipe was made in an Idaho kitchen, which is in a dry climate. If you live in a high-humidity area, use less water.

• Active Sourdough Starter – this is a starter that has been fed within the last 6-12 hours, has more than doubled in size, and is bubbly. (See above for starter).

• Rice Flour (optional) – for dusting the bread basket, or use bread flour.

Timing Tip: The process of making sourdough is mostly hands-off rising time. To help you gauge, if you start with step 1 in the morning, say 10 am, you should be ready to mix the dough by 2 pm and in the fridge by 6-7 pm for overnight cold fermentation.

Make the dough

In a large bowl, whisk the flours and salt until mixed. Add the water and active starter and stir using a wooden spoon then use your hands until thoroughly mixed. It will be a wet and sticky dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.

Bulk Fermentation Stage

Rest the dough for a total of 4 hours, performing a stretch and fold routine after every hour. Stretch and fold: Wet your hands so the dough doesn’t stick. Stretch or pull up gently on one side of the dough without tearing it. Then fold it over itself, turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch on the other 3 sides until all 4 sides are stretched. Cover and repeat each hour for 4 total stretches. It will be tougher to stretch towards the end as the dough develops.

Shape the Loaf

After the 4th stretch and fold, lightly flour your work surface to shape the dough. Flour your hands, turn the dough out onto the surface, and gently stretch and shape the sourdough bread for your cooking pot.

• Shape a Round Loaf: stretch the dough from the top down onto the center. Turn a quarter turn and repeat until all the sides are folded in.

• Shape an Oval Loaf: Fold the sides of the dough alternating left and right from top to bottom. Then tightly roll the dough from the top to the bottom.

Bench Rest

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. First, turn the dough seam-side down. Then cover with a towel. After 20 minutes, if it seems to have loosened up too much, gently re-shape it using the same process as above.

Tighten the Loaf

Flour your hands and cup the outsides of the dough. Then tuck the sides of the dough underneath. Slide the dough down the counter in a circular motion about 6 inches, using its slight stickiness to tighten the ball/oval. Don’t over-flour your surface and try not to tear the dough.

Pro Tip: A banneton is a bread basket made to hold dough as it ferments. It should be shaped to match your pot (oval for oval baking dish, round for round baking dish). Before your first use, season the basket or liner by lightly spraying it with water, dust generously with flour (preferably rice flour for a nicer crust and less sticking), let it fully dry, then scrape out any excess with a spatula. Always let it fully dry after use and scrape out excess flour before storage.

Cold Fermentation/Proofing

Flour the banneton proofing basket, or tea-towel-lined bowl, generously. Place the dough inside seam-side up and cover with a towel. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours. It can stay refrigerated for up to 48 hours until you’re ready to bake the sourdough bread. It will rise slightly but won’t double.

Preheat Oven & Pot

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and set the pot inside to preheat at the same time. This may take 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes for some ovens. If using a combo cooker with low sides, cut a piece of parchment to cover the bottom. I recently discovered that using a bread sling prevents too much browning on the bottom and it’s easier to transfer in and out of the pot. If using a Dutch Oven with higher sides, lay a piece of parchment (or bread sling) on the counter. Put the Dutch oven/combo cooker into your oven to heat (without the parchment) at least 30 minutes before baking. Optional: Set a pizza stone on the bottom rack, if using (a pizza stone helps to keep the bottom of the bread from getting too dark).

Score the Sourdough Bread

Remove the dough from the fridge. If using a combo cooker, place the parchment circle into the hot pan, and turn out the dough into the hot pot seam-side-down. If using a Dutch oven, turn the dough out on the parchment paper. Using a bread lame (A curved lame works best to get the distinctive ear) or a serrated knife, make a crescent shape cut from the base of one side of the dough to the base of the dough. Keep the blade at a 45-degree angle to the dough and cut 1/3 to 1/2″ deep (it’s ok to go over it a second time, just be confident).

Bake the Bread

If using a Dutch oven, lift the parchment paper to place the dough (on the parchment) into the Dutch oven. Using hot mitts, cover the Dutch oven/combo cooker with the hot lid and place it into the oven. Reduce the heat to 450 degrees and bake for 20 minutes to allow the trapped steam to cook the crust of the bread. Then, remove the lid and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the finished sourdough bread to a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.

What is the Best Cooking Pot for Sourdough?

You can use a variety of pots. Either a 5 1/2 qt cast iron Dutch oven or a cast iron combo cooker with lid are great options. My combo cooker is my favorite because the lower sides make it easier to score in the pot, but you can score the bread on the counter and transfer the dough ball into a Dutch oven using parchment paper

Pro Tip: Dust the banneton with rice flour for a prettier, crispier crust. My cousin Enna introduced me to this idea, and while it’s not necessary, it makes for a beautiful loaf. The extra flour just brushes away after it’s baked.

How to Get the Best Oven Spring

Oven spring is the rise the dough gets when it’s in the oven, mostly occurring in the first 10 minutes. Here’s how this sourdough bread recipe creates the best rise:

• Covering the pot – A Dutch oven or combo cooker helps trap the steam to create a good rise.

• Bulk Fermentation and cold fermentation help to prevent over-proofing (exhausting the yeast), so the yeast has plenty of life left for a burst of activity as the oven heats the dough.

• Tightening the dough is a critical step in getting the best oven spring. You want the outside of your dough to be taught to trap the air bubbles but not to tear it.

• Scoring the bread is also important to help it open up and rise properly

• Salt helps the yeast slowly ferment, creating a better crumb with more big and small bubbles and better oven-rise

Do I need to “Slap and Fold?”

Some sourdough bread-makers will slap the dough against the counter and then fold it onto itself right after the dough comes together. This is called the ‘slap and fold’ and is supposed to tighten up the dough. I used to do it but found it to be unnecessary. It just makes you counter messy and the ‘stretch and fold’ during the bulk fermentation tightens up the dough without this extra step.

Can I Bake Right Away?

You can skip the slow fermentation in the refrigerator, but your bread won’t have as much sourdough flavor. If you prefer to bake right away, you can cover and let it proof at room temperature for 1 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the room temperature, or until it is puffed but not doubled in size, then score and bake as directed.

Miami is a city full of wonderful food, thanks to its rich melting pot of cultures that have landed on its sun-filled shores.

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Because of its semi-tropical climate, there’s an abundance of fruits and vegetables that grow both in its agricultural communities and in backyards all over the Magic City. It’s commonplace for residents to grow their tomatoes, papaya, avocados, mangoes, limes, and bananas. In just a few short weeks, Miami streets will be lined with boxes filled with ripe, juicy mangoes next to signs saying “too much fruit, please take some”.

Ellen Kanner, a native Miamian, has long been showcasing her city’s natural bounty in various publications and on her Broccoli Rising Substack.

She’s just released her latest cookbook, Miami Vegan: Plant-Based Recipes From the Tropics to Your Table. The book features more than 80 recipes that capture the soulfulness and flavor of the city she calls home. Kanner likens Miami to a “potcake”, the cooked crust of rice and beans that sticks to the bottom of the pot. The term “potcake” is also a Bahamian name for a mixed-breed dog. Nothing could be truer of Miami, where Latino, Caribbean, European, and American cultures blend.

Kanner has taken some of the most loved Miami staples, such as Caribbean pigeon peas, fideos, ceviche, and Cuban black beans, and turned them vegan. She’s even tackled that most beloved of Floridian dishes — the Key Lime Pie, writing a vegan version of the dessert that she said even her ancestors would approve of. A rare fifth-generation Miamian, Kanner has been a vegan for a quarter of a century, before the grocery store had Impossible Burgers and an entire section devoted to nut milks. Being vegan in a city where pork is king, Kanner started reverse engineering favorite dishes so that she could enjoy them. This book is the result of her ingenuity and culinary skills.

Though Kanner will proudly tell you that the reason why she gave up meat a quarter century ago (she loved cows and subsequently wanted to piss off her parents), she will not preach the gospel of veganism. Instead, she wants to convince with kindness and flavor.

In other words, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat a grouper. But teach a man that a vegan Bahamian chowder is satisfying and complex, and he might just eschew animal protein forever. Or not — Kanner is just as pleased when people choose to eat a few plant-based meals a week.

That’s the case for me. I’m not completely vegan, but I do like to eat as clean as I possibly can at home. Plus, while I really like Cuban food, I don’t relish the idea of most of it being cooked with lard. With recipes from this book, I can have the flavors I crave without the animal-based products.

I’ve also written before about how I love a useful cookbook. Beautiful pictures and aspirational recipes, are all fine, but give me something that I can use. Show me a cookbook that’s been dog-eared and food-stained and I’ll show you a book that’s well-loved and worth space in my tiny condo.

Miami Vegan does have pretty pictures, but it’s also supremely easy to use.

Kanner starts by listing the staples you should have in your vegan pantry — take a picture of these four pages with you next time you go shopping, and you’ll have everything you need.

The recipes — divided into “Miami Flavors” and “Miami Favorites” are comprehensive (you’ll find everything from instructions on how to make a cafe Cubano (Miami’s own rocket fuel) to a vegan arroz con leche. They’re also very easy to follow. Let’s put it this way: I may write about food, I may love food, and I may cook at home a lot — but I don’t pretend to have mad kitchen skills. Even I can follow these recipes.

In short, if you’re vegan, vegan-curious, or a Monday vegan (Kanner doesn’t like the term “Meatless Monday” because she doesn’t believe being vegan means giving anything up), you’ll enjoy this book. If you love Miami, you’ll enjoy this book. And if you simply love good food, you’ll enjoy this book.

As Kanner says in her introduction, “Come visit Miami. Wear sunscreen. Eat plants.”

Kanner has shared a few recipes with Broken Palate. Enjoy!

Caribbean Pigeon Peas and Rice

Traditionally, this dish is made with pigeon peas—cute, round, and tan, also called gandules, or the fun name, gungo peas. They’re a staple in markets with Latin American and Caribbean communities. If you can’t find them, no worries. Use red beans (another island favorite) instead. No harm will be done.

The beans and rice need to be cooked in advance before you start this dish. Plan ahead. In fact, the whole dish can be made ahead and reheated when you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients

• 2 cups pigeon peas or red beans, cooked and cooled, or 1 15-ounce can of beans, rinsed and drained

• 2-1/2 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 green or red pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1/4 (Scotch bonnet pepper, minced or 1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped, depending on how hot you like it*

• 2 celery stalks, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

• 1 tomato, chopped (or 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes, drained)

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• 1 small handful fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried

• 1 small bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chile and celery, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomato and season with the allspice and cumin.

• Add the cooked pigeon peas and rice, stirring until the mixture is well combined. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the moisture from the vegetables is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, cilantro, sea salt, and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6. Doubles beautifully.

Cuban Black Beans

In Cuban restaurants, black beans often come as a pork accompaniment or afterthought. They deserve center stage. Cuban black beans have a smokiness and richness all their own, thanks to a slow-cooking sofrito. The only tinkering with tradition here is my addition of greens. Totally optional, but hey, they’re sustainable, nutrient-dense, and anti-aging.

Cuban eateries traditionally serve black beans as a side dish with white rice and sautéed plantains. I like black beans as a main attraction, with a big green salad.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 onions, chopped (about 2-1/2 cups)

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 red pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 jalapeño or other hot chile, chopped

• 1 pound dried black beans, cooked and cooled

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

• 1/2 pound kale or Swiss chard, sliced into skinny ribbons (aka chiffonade), about 2 cups

• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until they start to sweat, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and both the sweet and hot pepper.

• Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes, until they’re soft- ened and aromatic. Add cumin, tomato paste, and smoked paprika, and stir until combined, and vegetables have taken on a warm and rosy glow.

• Stir in the black beans and about 1 cup of the bean cooking broth. Reduce heat to medium, and set the pot lid on halfway, leaving a little steam vent. Cook the beans for an hour, longer if you’ve got the time. Add more bean broth, 1/2 cup at a time, if the beans seem dry. Aim for thick, not over- dry. The goal is a divine beanly sludge.

• Stir in the sherry or cider vinegar. Remove from heat.

• Add the chiffonade of kale or chard by the handful. Stir gently, letting the greens wilt into the beans.

• Season generously with sea salt and ground pepper.

Serves 6 to 8.

As a food writer, I receive plenty of cookbooks in the mail for review. Most are pretty, but few have staying power in my kitchen, and here’s why:

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While I cook at least one meal a day, I don’t consider myself an inventive gourmand in the kitchen. At the end of the day, I have no patience for preparing a meal that takes hours, and, on the weekends, the last thing I want to do is to bring a long ingredient list to the store. When I cook, I want something delicious but quick and simple. If it can’t be made in one pan with little prep time and cleanup, I turn away.

That’s why I am delighted whenever Jamie Oliver releases a new book.

For the past few years, Oliver has released books that speak to real people with real recipes for everyday living. In 2023, Oliver released One: Simple One-Pan Wonders. Last year, his Five Ingredients Mediterranean made eating light and fresh easy-peasy.

It seems that Oliver loves to capitalize on our New Year’s resolutions to eat better because he’s just released Simply Jamie: fast & Simple Food (list $39.99, available at Amazon for $27.99).

In the introduction, Oliver confirms the fact that we’re all too busy and harried to commit to a Wednesday evening beef Wellington: “Right now, it seems that time is our most valuable currency,” he writes, adding, “The digital revolution has turned how we access information on its head. We have instant access to numerous recipes and ideas, and endless inspiration at our fingertips, and yet we’re cooking less than ever before.”

Oliver wants his book to be an inspiration for us to start or to keep on cooking, and the ease of its use makes it very likely that this book will become a dogeared favorite.

As always, Oliver stresses his five must-have pantry items — the basis of most of the recipes in this book: olive oil for cooking, EVOO for dressing and finishing, red wine vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper. He also suggests having the following basic equipment: a set of frying pans, a few Dutch ovens, a chopping board, and a decent knife. While you’re at it, why not add a vegetable peeler, a box grater, and mortar and pestle to your kitchen set-up?

Once you’ve got your basic kitchen ready, it’s time to cook. Oliver’s new book is divided into midweek meals, weekend wins (slightly more time-consuming and perfect for Monday leftovers), one-pan dinners, pantry love, and delicious desserts (which includes an ingenious granita made with canned fruit.

As a test run, I made Oliver’s Herb Pea Pasta, since I had everything at home already. After raiding my neighbor's herb garden (with permission), I went about assembling the sauce, which took me as long to make as it took the fusilli to cook. After about 20 minutes, the pasta was ready to eat. I topped mine with a mountain of cheese, and some red pepper flakes, and had a comforting dish in about the same time it would take to make a sandwich.

Since I have a tiny apartment, I like to rotate out my books now and again, but Jamie Oliver’s past books have stayed in my kitchen, getting soiled, banged up, and loved. This new one joins its siblings.

Herb Pea Pasta

(reprinted with permission)

Serves four

Ingredients

10 1/2 oz. fusilli pasta, dried

2 cups frozen peas

12 green olives

4 teaspoons capers in brine

1 big bunch of mixed soft herbs such as basil, chives, Italian parsley, mint, arugula

1 1/2 oz. Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve

• Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, adding the frozen peas for the last minute.

• Tear the olives into a blender (discarding the pits). Add the capers, tera in the herb leaves, 1/4 cup of EVOO, and 1/4 cup of starchy pasta water (from the pasta cooking). Finely grate in the cheese (or add grated cheese). Blitz until smooth and season with sea salt and black pepper.

• Drain the pasta and peas, reserving a cup of starchy cooking water, then return the pasta and peas to the saucepan, pour the green sauce, and toss together over heat, adding a splash of cooking water as needed.

• Serve the pasta, adding more cheese if desired.

With Christmas a week away, if you’re looking for a last-minute gift, there’s nothing better than a book. We’ve picked out a selection of books that will appeal to a vast number of people — not just home cooks (personally, I read too many cookbooks where the recipes are too difficult and instantly turn me off).

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From a travel guide to the country’s best craft spirits to cocktails inspired by everyone’s favorite mob boss, here are books to gift to friends (or yourself).

Pro tip: Order from Amazon and choose the gift bag option for a last-minute gift that will arrive festive in no time.

The Sopranos: The Official Cocktails Book

The Sopranos is, arguably, the greatest television series of all time. This master class in screenwriting and acting gave dimension to Tony Soprano and his family. Sopranos fans will love this book which includes 60 recipes inspired by Tony, Carmela, Christopher, Adriana, and more.

Fodor’s American Spirits

I am in favor of bringing back the travel guide. Sure, there are apps, but there’s nothing better than a well-worn travel guide on your shelf that’s been dog-earred and filled with notes and doodles. This travel-sized guide includes the best distilleries, breweries, and wineries in the United States. If you have a friend with wanderlust and a taste for craft spirits, this is the perfect gift. Side note: look out for the Florida section — I wrote it.

McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches

Author Gary He explores the diversity of cultures through one lens: McDonald’s. The book features McDonald’s restaurants in more than 50 countries and the way the mega fast-food company caters to each though its menu and decor. Beautiful photos accompany each country, making this a fantastic addition to the book collection of pop culture aficionados.

5 Ingredients Mediterranean

There’s nothing I like better than cooking at home, but I have neither the time nor the patience to use a million ingredients and 30 pots and pans to feed myself. Master chef Jamie Oliver makes everyday cooking easy (and affordable) with his five-ingredient recipes, which are also easy to follow. The recipes are bright, filled with flavor, and can get dinner on your table with little effort — After all, we’re not all Julia Child. A win-win for new couples, singletons, and people who value flavor without the hassle.

Bread and How to Eat It

The owner of New Jersey’s Bread and Salt bakery and Eater New York editor, Melissa McCart collaborate on a book that takes a new look at bread. This unique tome is not a recipe book for baking bread — rather it’s a guide to what to do with that gorgeous loaf you picked up at your local bread baker. Buy it for someone who can’t live without their daily bread.

Alex Guarnaschelli is best known for her work on Food Network shows like Iron Chef America, Chopped, the Kitchen, and most recently Ciao House. Guarnaschelli also helms New York City’s Butter and is mom to daughter Ava, a culinarian in her own right.

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Though formally trained in French techniques, Guarnaschelli has her roots — and her heart — in Italian American cuisine. The chef grew up in a household of dueling cooks: her mother (legendary cookbook editor and publisher, Maria Guarnaschelli) of Sicilian roots and her father (John Guarnaschelli, an Italian-American psychotherapist) both made dueling marinaras with Alex torn between the sauces.

Those core memories return with Guarnaschelli’s new cookbook, Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat (available now on Amazon.com and wherever you purchase your books). The book is filled with recipes for 120 classic Italian-American comfort dishes ranging from Carmela Soprano’s lasagna to stuffed artichokes. In other words, food that you actually want to cook and eat.

I asked Guarnaschelli about her new book, including the reasoning behind the amazing working title:

Broken Palate: You almost called your new book, Things People Always Want to Eat -- and as a native New Yorker that hit me in the heart -- red sauce Italian joints are pretty much iconic.  Why is red sauce Italian a universal love language?

Alex Guarnaschelli: I honestly think it's the flavor profile of tomato sauce that hits home with every person. Whether it's the tangy taste from the tomatoes or the comforting herbaceous notes from oregano or the ranch dressing adjacent vibes from the garlic and garlic powder, there is comfort in one aspect of the flavor for everyone. It's also always piping hot. 

BP: If I were to start cooking today (and there are so many tools out today), what do I absolutely need to start the right way?

AG: Start simply with a good sauté pan, a pot, a pairing knife and a larger knife. It's always good to begin with the basics and see where your habits take you. Coming home with 1 million tools and then engineering your life around them doesn't work.

BP: Now that you have explored Italian with Ciao House and written a book on Italian cooking, what are three "dos" and one "don't" when it comes to cooking?

AG: Do make something that you are curious about. Don't make something you've never made and are curious about the night you decide to have a huge dinner party. Do explore the traditions/food you grew up with. Do whatever you want in your own kitchen, it's your food!

BP: What is your most comforting bowl of pasta to eat and make -- and why? 

AG: Funny. It's so simple it almost doesn't comprise a whole recipe. Nights when my parents were working late and I was a latchkey kid on her own for dinner, I would cook spaghetti and mix a little pasta water with grated Pecorino cheese and a splash of vinegar. If I was feeling fancy, a few cracks of black pepper. 

Divine still. 

BP: What foods are you and your daughter (please say hi to her) eating right now?

AG: We are on a big artichoke kick lately. We are also exploring the merits of Yukon Gold and Idaho Baker potatoes in various preparations in anticipation of Thanksgiving dinner. Ava is obsessed with figs and oranges also. We ate a delicious salad of oranges with slivered pickled onions, ice cold out of the fridge.

Food is a never ending journey. 

Rocco DiSpirito may be a multiple James Beard Award-winning author and chef, but he’s just like us when it comes to cooking at home. When it comes to preparing food for family and friends, DiSpirito would rather spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying food and conversation with loved ones.

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His latest book, Everyday Delicious, is the chef’s answer to the age-old question, “What do I eat?”. Each recipe uses ten or fewer ingredients and takes no more than 30 minutes from the time you walk into the kitchen until the meal is plated. “Everyday Delicious was conceived during the pandemic when we didn’t have a lot of access to fancy chefs’ stuff,” DiSpirito tells Broken Palate.

The book, according to DiSpirito, includes recipes for dishes that people want to eat, prepared in a way that makes it easy to create at home. “I think people want to eat a lot of pasta, foods from Southeast Asia, Japan, South America, and Eastern Europe,” says the chef. Recipes in the book include Mama Nicolina’s cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sweet sausage, linguine vongole, pesto crzo Caprese salad, salmon with miso marmalade, tuna avocado furikake crudo, hot chili BBQ ribs, and a perennial favorite that’s simpler than most people think to prepare. “One of my favorite recipes is fettuccine alfredo and it only calls for three ingredients: butter, parmigiano, and fresh fettuccini,” says DiSpirito, noting that the creaminess comes from the emulsion of pasta water and cheese.

DiSpirito also says that, despite higher food prices at the grocery store, cooking at home is still cheaper than dinner at a restaurant. The chef says he also worked to find the most budget-friendly ways to create each dish featured in his book.

As for the people who still don’t like cooking? “The book will provide at least 100 reasons to step into the kitchen. For me, most of the recipes are easier than ordering takeout,” says DiSpirito.

DiSpirito says a key factor in making cooking at home easier, is to stock your pantry with staples. The chef lists about 40 essentials in the book, but shares the pantry items that he can’t live without with Broken Palate readers:

Chicken bullion powder - Remember when our grandmothers would peel the foil off that little cube? Well, this is the same thing — dehydrated chicken stock. This adds a full range of flavor to soups, stocks, stews, marinades, and dressings. A pinch of bullion powder will take a dish from a six to a nine.

Rooster sauce - This is a chili garlic sauce that’s basically chili and garlic crushed together. It’s something that will get you five steps ahead in flavor.

Kewpie mayo - Chefs have been using Kewpie mayo for a long time, and now it’s available everywhere. Without question, it’s a great-tasting mayo that’s greater than the sum of its parts. It has a little sweetness and it’s a little richer than conventional mayos. It’s so tasty, that it’s treated more like a finishing condiment than an ingredient.

You’re going to need a beverage to pair with your meal, and DiSpirito predicts watermelon cocktails will once again dominate summer. He’s also a fan of rosé: “Out in the Hamptons, we drink rosé like water. The fact that there’s a wine called Hampton Water says it all,” says DiSpirito, who also likes Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, and Grüner Veltliner. “They’re pretty available and they’re thought of as a friendly wine.”

DiSpirito is also hosting Dan’s Taste of Two Forks on Saturday, July 6 at Southhampton Arts Center in Southhampton, New York. From 6:30 to 9 p.m., guests will be able to sample food from the best chefs of the Hamptons. There will also be a friendly competition to see whether the North Fork or South Fork has the best food. Tickets cost $125 for general admission and include food and drinks. VIP tickets cost $179 and include an afterparty. “The event brings the best chefs from the North Fork and South Fork together. There isn’t another opportunity to sample all their food like it — you’d need ten summers,” says DiSpirito.

Visit danstaste.com to find out more about Taste of Two Forks and to purchase tickets.

Gifts — giving and receiving — are an integral part of our lives. And, oftentimes food and drink play a major role in what we give — a bottle of wine for a dinner party, a favorite bourbon for Father’s Day, cookies for Christmas, some soup to soothe the soul.

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Author, stylist, and America’s Test Kitchen cast member, Elle Simone Scott is taking the concept of gifting with food up a notch with her new book, Food Gifts: 150+ Irresistible Recipes for Crafting Personalized Presents (America’s Test Kitchen, $30), set to be released April 16, with more than 150 recipes, hundreds of packing and gift basket ideas, and more.

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The Detroit native shares with Broken Palate that she grew up with the idea of sharing food, starting with her memories of after-church Sumday meals where the entire family would bring a potluck dish. Scott, who now resides in Boston, has meshed her culinary career with her love of giving to create this book. Broken Palate caught up with Scott to learn how to give gifts that feed the body and soul.

Broken Palate: I know everyone loves getting food gifts. Can you tell me how your connection between food and sharing started?

Elle Simone Scott: My love for food gifting started as a child. I came from a potluck family. We went to church on Sundays and we would have a potluck meal after. My favorite thing was my Aunt Loretta’s amazing pound cake. She didn’t make it every week, but when she did, I knew it was just for me. That was my first experience with receiving food as a gift.

The experience solidified when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. I was receiving treatment and my family came to support me and my coworkers all cooked food for us. Not a single thing was bought from the store. It made all the difference to me. After that, food gifts resonate with me in such a deep way.

BP: How do we start to create a food gift for someone? Do we start at a store?

ESS: It’s all about thinking: How do we show the people we love that we love them?

I think sometimes when people think of gifts, they think of something that people can have for a lifetime. But I do know when you walk into a home with a bottle of limoncello that you made, people will remember that! Bringing that gift would rock my boat!

We came up with many ideas. If someone loves cocktails, maybe make them a bloody mary mix. There are recipes for Mediterranean candies and babka buns.

BP: So does that mean making everything from scratch? Does food gifting need to take hours?

ESS: In this book, the only thing that is required is intentionality. I think this book encourages home cooks to think specifically about the person that they’re giving the gift to. I also think that a food gift should add value to the receiver’s life in some way.

If I’m going to give a gift to someone who has just moved into a new home I don’t want to give something that would require someone to pull out all their pots and pans.

I like to ask, “How will this gift make the receiver’s life a little sweeter? It makes you think about what’s the end game, which is making someone happy.

BP: So it’s all about the intention.

ESS: Yes. I think because the world is so busy and go go go there’s not anything that a person couldn’t buy for themselves. So I encourage people to give something that someone can’t buy or give for themselves. This is an opportunity to do something that they wouldn’t do for themselves. They wouldn’t make a bloody mary mix or babka buns. Do something special, it’s a rise to the occasion. Step up to the challenge of making yourself a better cook or making yourself an exclusive gift giver. It’s very much all about the personal. We share a lot of great ideas. We have a stuffed shells situation that we send in a reusable pan, which is perfect for someone in a new home. But that dish could be anything.

BP: That’s so lovely. Back in the day, people would bring over a meal or a casserole to someone’s home. We should bring that back.

ESS: I hope we do. If someone’s family member passed away we would take a whole meal. That was how you did it. I think this book will ask people to revisit the way we have relationships. We should step outside of an email or a facebook. You can only be truly there if you’re there. It’s about time and intention.

BP: Easter is coming up - how would you make an Easter basket?

ESS: I come from a family of elaborate Easter basket makers.

I would say not to feel rigid about what an Easter basket looks like. It can be wicker, it can be metal. Go metallic. Get funky with it.

From a food side, I treat children like adults. Mini bundt cakes are super cute, or maybe even challenge yourself to make some chocolates. Get some cute mold shapes and do your thing.

To start your gifting, try this Babka Bun recipe:

Chocolate Babka Buns

Makes: 8 buns   

Total time: 2½ hours, plus 4½ hours rising, chilling, and cooling

How I Gift This

Packaging: A windowed bakery box or boxes will show off these beauties.

Storage: The buns can be stored at room temperature for about 2 days.

Make it a duo: Give with vanilla ice cream for ice cream sandwiches!

Dough

2¼ cups (12⅓ ounces) bread flour

1½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup (1¾ ounces) granulated sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softened

Filling

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon table salt

Syrup

½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar

¼ cup water

1. For the dough: Whisk flour and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Add milk, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Fit mixer with dough hook and mix on medium­low speed until cohesive dough comes together and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sit for 15 minutes. 

2. Add granulated sugar and salt to dough and knead on medium speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and, with mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time, allowing each piece to incorporate before adding next, about 3 minutes total, scraping down bowl and dough hook as needed. Continue to knead on medium-high speed until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl, 7 to 10 minutes longer. 

3. Transfer dough to greased large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. 

4. For the filling: Just before removing dough from refrigerator, combine chocolate and butter in medium bowl. Microwave at 50 percent power, stirring often, until chocolate is fully melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt until combined; set aside. 

5. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and turn out onto lightly floured counter. Pat dough into rough rectangle and divide into 8 equal pieces (about 3 ounces each). Cover loosely with plastic. 

6. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll into 10 by 5‑inch rectangle on lightly floured counter using a floured rolling pin, with short side parallel to counter edge. Spread 1 tablespoon reserved filling evenly over dough, leaving 1‑inch border along one long side of rectangle. (If filling becomes too stiff to spread, microwave for no longer than 30 seconds at a time.) Starting on long side opposite 1‑inch border, roll dough tightly into cylinder, pinching seam to seal. 

7. Place cylinder seam side down. Starting ½ inch from top of cylinder, cut in half lengthwise (leaving top ½ inch intact). Forming tight twist, cross left strand over right strand. Continue to twist until you reach bottom of cylinder, about 8 twists total; pinch end to seal. Gently form strand into knot, tucking ends underneath. Place buns on prepared sheets and cover loosely with plastic. Let sit for 30 minutes.

8. Bake buns until golden brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. 

9. For the syrup: Meanwhile, combine granulated sugar and water in small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves; set aside. Remove babka buns from oven. Brush reserved syrup evenly over entire surface of hot babka (you may not need all of syrup). Let cool for at least 1 hour. 

Broken Palate loves to share interesting Substack authors with our readers.

Today we’s like to share Eve Matheson’s Something Eve Read. It’s a site about great reads, thoughts on life, and joy. This week, Matheson reviewed the book, Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Danny Licht

Check out her review and subscribe here to get Something Eve Read in your inbox.

A Review of Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Danny Licht

This week I read a perfect book. My mom gave it to me several months ago. She gave a copy to my sister as well, who read it immediately and said she loved it. I delayed. Why? I’m not sure. My mom would say, have you read the book I gave you? and I would say, not yet, but I will! So often we delay things that we should have done right away. Why did I live through months as a person who hadn’t read this book when I could have lived through those same months as a person who had read it?

It’s perfect. To my knowledge there’s nothing else like it, and there’s not a single thing I would change about it. It is devourable in an hour. I suggest you read it that way. It will buoy you along on its gentle wave. I could have, and gladly would have, read 300 more pages of Danny Licht’s writing, ideally about food, but really about anything at all. I understand though, that he said all he needed to say.

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Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again is a cookbook in the form of the poem. Anyone who likes to cook must read it. Anyone who wants to know how to cook must read it. Anyone who hates to cook must read it. Required reading is what it is.

Licht begins with a suggestion against recipes. I use the word suggestion because that’s all this book is full of. Licht tells us he will be our grandma, that all we need is some faith in our taste. Both faith and taste must be exercised to develop. A recipe is good for inspiration but it is not a replacement for taking your faith and your taste to the gym (kitchen).

From there, Licht when-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookies his way through a series of recipes, though they’re only recipes in the loosest sense of the word. A pot of beans makes him want pasta, he wants to garnish that, and you know what else might need a garnish? A bowl of soup. A good garnish for soup is a little green sauce. When there’s green sauce in the fridge, a roast chicken is in order. Roast chicken is good with potatoes, and a fresh salad too, and so on.

Not a single thing could make more sense—this dance through food. That’s all Licht wants you to do—make sense, and maybe dance a little if it feels right.. Cooking should make sense and be fun, and it will if you trust your taste. What could be more sensical than making food to feed yourself? What could be more sensical, or more necessary, than making sure that the food you’re feeding yourself with is good?

Pay attention, use your senses, listen to yourself. If something is good, it is good! And repeatedly throughout this little tome, Licht reminds us that things can be good just because they are good. To call on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, there are some things that simply have that unexpoundable quality of Quality. The act of nourishment through food can be, and should be, one of those things.

Here, I planned to share a sampling of quotes with you—just three or four of my favorites. I flipped through my book and typed out all of my underlined phrases, sentences, paragraphs. They filled up two pages. So here’s just one instead on salt, and beauty, and goodness. Know that I struggled to choose it:

“With more salt, things taste better and better until they just taste like salt. This is a fine line and tempting, so be aware of it and taste often. Some say that using a lot of salt is unhealthy, while others say that it is healthy. I say that it is delicious and therefore required. My delusion is that beautiful things are generally true, and I think it is beautiful to imagine that food that tastes good and feels good is good for the body. Only time will tell, but I have faith in the good.”

Inspired by Licht, I made myself a pot of beans the other night. Really it took a large part of the day too, but a pot of beans is a relatively passive thing to make. It started in the morning, at 8:00am when I cut open my bag of cranberry beans. I tend to cut open bags of beans, pasta, rice, etc. instead of tearing because I don’t like for the dried goods of my choosing to go flying out of the bag and because I like clean edges.

So I cut open my bag of beans and handful by handful sifted through them for little stones or other debris. This was my favorite part of making beans without a doubt, and one that I hadn’t thought much about. Dried beans feel so good in the hand. The weight of them, the feel of the outer shell. The sound they make against each other. Just thinking of it now makes me want to sing or funnel them in a used paper towel roll and tape the ends and call it a rainstick. Maybe both.

I submerged my sweet dried beans in water in my big orange mixing bowl, running them through my hands one more time. The bowl went in the sink, and I went to work.

When the clock struck 4:00pm, all I could think about were my beans. They were ready for me. Unable to wait, I left the office early. How they had grown. I drained them of the water they hadn’t yet soaked up and poured them out into the pot I would cook them in.

I prepared my aromatics. Shallots, a head of garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves (multiple because the ones I have are weirdly small (see pic above)). Plus a few sprigs of parsley that were about to go bad in the fridge. I cut the shallots in half and peeled off the outer skins. I cut my head of garlic in half but left the outer skins on. Still, my countertop was covered in fluttery allium papers. I made a righteous and crinkly mess flinging them down and around, not caring.

I rinsed the herbs and bunched them together. I got out the kitchen twine that my friend Maddie lent me quite a while ago, that I’ve fallen in love with and therefore kept all this time. There might not be a more useful thing to keep around the house than kitchen twine. I tied up my herbs and laughed at the way my bay leaves looked like prisoners tied to a tree.

Everything went into the dutch oven with plenty of water and a glug of olive oil and it looked beautiful. Then I turned on the heat and walked away for an hour. My apartment began to smell like what heaven must smell like. I checked on the beans. Things looked decidedly less beautiful in one sense of the word, but decidedly more beautiful in another. The water was becoming bean broth. The beans were expanding and some of them split. Aside from the lost aesthetic of unspilt beans, I don’t see anything wrong with the splitting. It only meant that the beans were becoming something I could eat, and that’s beautiful.

At the hour mark, they weren’t quite ready, so I waited another 15 minutes. Then they were perfect. I ate them with garlicky chard and chicken cutlets that my Baba made for me. Grated pecorino went on top of all of it and a bit of pepper.

The next day I had beans with mini rotelle pasta, which is a delightful and whimsical shape. The miniature ones are even better than the normal ones (which are still good) because they fit in a spoon, and I prefer to eat with a spoon. More pecorino.

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The day after that, I had a bowl of beans with two soft-boiled eggs scooped out on top. More pecorino.

Then beans with toasted sourdough, and then there were no more beans.

Celebrity chef and tenured toque, Alex Guarnaschelli, has just released a new cookbook with a very special co-author: daughter Ava Clark.

The book, Cook it Up: Bold Moves for Family Foods: A Cookbook, is available now, and offers 75 family-friendly recipes, created and tested by both Alex and Ava.

Alex Guarnaschelli trained at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy, France, while Ava Clark honed her skills watching her mom and studying techniques on TikTok. At 16, the young chef-in-training has amassed quite an Instagram following for her culinary prowess, so expect a collection of sophisticated recipes that will elevate family meals.

Broken Palate caught up with Alex Guarnaschelli to talk about the new book, cooking with Ava, and tips on how to get the family together for a meal.

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Broken Palate: This is your first book together as mother and daughter. Alex, your mother was a cookbook editor. How does it feel to come full circle with your own daughter?

Alex Guarnaschelli: What's great is that Ava did this organically. She definitely put a lot of my mother's spirit in the pages of this book and that was very heartwarming to see. We bring to the table family traditions she's growing up with and are also creating our own at the same time. I think my mother would be really proud of her. 

BP: When did Ava start getting into cooking? She’s quite the chef (as I’ve witnessed firsthand and through social media).

AG: One day she cooks up a storm. Another day, all she wants to do is eat a cheeseburger from the diner. Like everything when you're 16, passions ebb and flow. Ava does love to cook and clearly finds it relaxing.

BP: Some parents want their child to follow in their footsteps -- some do not -- what's your view?

AG: My parents let me do whatever I want. I think there was a whole year (when I was a kid) that I had nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches. My mother actually worried that I'd never eat a good meal. Or cook one for that matter. So ironic how things turned out. I want Ava to enjoy a lot of different things, from art to food to writing to fashion, and see where she lands with her professional desires on her own.

BP: Some families don't even eat dinner with their teens, let alone cook with them -- any tips on how to share kitchen experiences with the entire family?

AG: You don't have to make a big elaborate meal from scratch every night to eat together. Ordering takeout and just sitting down to go through your day together is a lot. Take whatever family moment you can get and in whatever form. Don't set the bar and expectations so high that you never reach them or never even try. Some cold pizza in the door of the fridge or standing by the kitchen sink chatting can be enough. If you do some home cooking along the way, even better…

BP: What do you both enjoy cooking together the most?  What meal is your favorite?

AG: I don't think we really enjoy cooking much together, funny as that sounds. Ava likes it when I make vegetable side dishes and she cooks up fish or meat with a really great sauce. Ava loves to make sauce. Beurre blanc for fish. Chimichurri for steak. Salsa Verde for a taco. She likes to really be at the heart of whatever she's making and develop great flavor.

Susan Jung loves fried chicken.

A trained pastry chef, the former food editor for the South China Morning Post, and current food writer for Vogue Hong Kong, Jung says that wherever she travels, she seeks out the region’s most loved fried chicken dishes.

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“When I’m taken around or go to a restaurant, I gravitate toward fried chicken,” she confides to Broken Palate. “I just love fried chicken and I don’t really know many people who don’t love it,” she adds.

Jung adds that fried chicken is universally popular for its value and its ability to work well with different flavor profiles. “Chicken is reasonably priced, and I tend to think of it as a blank slate. It can take any kind of spices or herbs to make it taste better.”

With that obsession in mind, Jung set out to write a book profiling her 60 favorite fried chicken dishes inspired by travels throughout East and Southeast Asia. Kung Pao & Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia includes recipes for Vietnamese butter wings; sambal goreng wings, chicken cutlets with Cantonese curry sauce, coconut milk and curry powder nuggets, and more.

Cooking through the book is like taking a journey through flavors, with many recipes using fragrant lemongrass and lime leaves, savory soy and fish sauces, or pungent garlic. “The only ingredient that ties everything together is chicken, It can be flavored in so many different ways,” says Jung.

If you’re looking for a place to start while leafing through the book, Jung suggests her mom’s chicken wing recipe. The wings are coated in corn starch then potato flour and double fried before being finished in a soy and ginger-based glaze and finished in the oven. "It’s a very easy recipe, “ she says.

Of all the dishes, however, the one most likely to be a hit at parties is the chicken poppers with instant noodle coating. These babies are made by coating chicken pieces in a mixture of dry noodle powder and ground ramen noodles. “They’re really crunchy because of the fried instant noodles,” says Jung, who adds, “They taste so good with a cold beer or soju.”

Jung says she came up with the idea for the recipe after listening to some friends talking about instant noodles. “I wondered how instant noodles would work as a coating for fried chicken, and fortunately had a packet of Nongshim Shin Ramyun in my cupboard.” (Jung recommends looking for the ones made in South Korea, because they taste so much better than the ones made elsewhere.)

Jung shared her chicken poppers recipe with Broken Palate. Be sure to make sure your friends bring the beer and soju!

Chicken Poppers with Instant Noodle Coating (serves four to six people)

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken thighs with coarse salt crystals, as necessary

2–4 packets of instant noodles, depending on size

about 2 oz. potato, sweet potato, or tapioca flour

2–3 eggs

3¼ cups cooking oil

Preparation:

Butterfly the chicken thighs, cut them into 1 inch chunks, and put them in a bowl. Weigh the chicken, then multiply the amount by 0.005 – this is the amount of salt you need. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken, mix well, then set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Put the noodles with the contents of the dry seasoning pack in a food processor. Process until the noodles are about the size of rice grains.

Put the potato, sweet potato, or tapioca flour in a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs in another shallow dish and put the instant noodles in a third dish. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour and shake off the excess, then dip in the egg. Dredge in the instant noodles, pressing firmly so they adhere. Lay the chicken on a cooling rack placed over a tray.

Pour the cooking oil into a pan, preferably a medium wok, and set over medium heat. Fry the chicken in two batches at 320°F. Fry the pieces for 4 minutes, then put them on the rack placed over the tray – there’s no need to fry again.

A new cookbook from Rick Easton of Jersey City, NJ’s Bread and Salt Bakery, and Eater New York editor, Melissa McCart, drops today.

Bread and How to Eat It may look like a baking book, but it very much is not — with only a couple of obligatory baking recipes — and an emphasis on supporting your local bakery.

“Why make your own when you can buy something great from your local bakery, as people have for thousands of years?” says Rick. “Baking bread at home is like riding a bike on bent rims: You can do it, but most of us wouldn’t.”

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Read on for a few questions John McDonald asked Rick about his work.

John: How is the life of a baker more unique than a typical chef? Tell me about your daily routine.

Rick: I’m not sure it is. The hours are different: a baker starts their day way earlier. Both jobs require a ton of organization, though you’re focused on different things. I don’t have to concern myself with menus, plating, and guest experience in the same way since I’m always at the oven when customers visit.

John: What was the inspiration to put all of your recipes into a book?

Rick: Melissa McCart, my partner in the book and in life. Also, the recipes in the book are only a fraction of the ones I have.

John: Do you have a favorite item that if you had to just bake one item a day would be it? 

Rick: Loaves of bread, served with beans (scroll through to the end for a great beans recipe).

Here are some tips from the book on how to choose a bakery and how to slice and store bread, along with a recipe for beans and greens that’s surprisingly simple to make yet infinitely satisfying to eat.

How to choose a bakery

Can you find good bread at a grocery store? I’d say no, but I’m not going to argue you out of your preferences. Maybe what you can find is fine. If you’re not confident about buying bread, and you’d like to buy better bread, though, I’m here to help you. 

When you enter a bakery, look at the bread selection. What is the style? What kinds of breads are displayed? Are they baked on-site? What color are the loaves? You can choose whatever style and color you’d like — but it’s worth paying attention to variety, textures, and flavors to help shape your palate and your preference.

Develop a relationship with your local bakers and ask them questions about how they bake or how they achieve certain characteristics. Shop during both the bakery’s peak and off-peak hours. Go back again and again. Get to know the people who work there. Most places will try to educate employees to answer basic customer questions. If you like bread, a bakery that will help you learn more is a good place to start. 

Slicing and storing bread

I’m telling you: Do not buy bread that’s pre-sliced. This dries out the bread. You’re shortening its life cycle. 

Whether it’s cheap or expensive, buy a bread knife. Higher-priced knives take longer to go dull, but they will go dull, too. Look for a long blade to cut through larger loaves of bread. When you buy it, pay attention to how the handle feels in your hand. Too flimsy of a blade is dangerous. You want one that’s sharp enough to get through the crust easily without tearing the crumb.

While you can cut a loaf on a variety of surfaces, wood feels more natural to me, but if you use a plastic cutting board, it won’t affect the lifespan of the knife.

Good bread doesn’t go bad. Just store it in a dry place, like on your counter or on a cutting board, cut side down. You’ll be able to slice it for a couple of days; after that, turn leftovers and crumbs into a hearty meal. 

Beans and Greens

Serves 2 to 4

I grew up eating greens and beans (or beans and greens depending on proportions and whom you ask). I think of it as a quintessential Pittsburgh food.  It has been served in nearly every Italian restaurant in the city for as long as I can remember and I am sure much longer. Everybody has their own take on it: You can use spinach or even kale or a mix of greens instead of escarole, and black-eyed peas or borlotti beans rather than any of the ones I list below. Or serve it with a fried egg or sausage or grated cheese on top. 

The combination of greens and beans is a natural one and it can be found in almost all cuisines in the world that involve beans. This version is much closer to the scarola e fagioli of Campania. It is humble, honest, simple food cooked in the home and you are not likely to find it on restaurant menus outside of Pittsburgh or specific types of osterie in Southern Italy. In my view, it is one of the greatest things you could ever eat. For the beans here, I suggest cannellini or controne, or dente di morto if you want to go that extra mile. (You could use Great Northerns in a pinch, but their texture would not be ideal.)

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 large heads of escarole

• Olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 small hot dried red chile pepper, plus seeded/finely chopped chile pepper for serving

• Salt

• 3 cups cooked white beans, with their cooking liquid 

Instructions

Escarole is tricky and easily hides gritty dirt or sand in its leaves, so the heads well in a few changes of cold water. Cut just the greenest portion of the escarole leaves to use in this dish. The white and yellow portions brown out when cooking and are incredibly unattractive; eat those parts raw in a salad or on a sandwich.) If your escarole is excessively bitter, blanch it in a large pot with vigorously boiling salted water before proceeding with the recipe.  Blanched or not, cut the greens into bite-size pieces.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer about ⅓ of the cooked beans to puree in a food processor or blender, or mash them in a mortar and pestle. Return them to their brethren in the cooking liquid and stir to thicken.

Pour a light film of olive oil into a pot large enough to hold all of the escarole and beans. Add the 2 garlic cloves and the chile pepper, starting the heat on low. The garlic and chile pepper will slowly flavor the oil. Keep stirring and turning the cloves over after the garlic begins to sizzle and turn golden, about 6 minutes. 

Add the escarole, salt to taste, and stir, increasing the heat to medium. Saute the greens for about 10 minutes, or until they are wilted and well-flavored with the garlic and chile. Stir in the beans, their now thickened cooking liquid, and a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Cook for at least 15 minutes. If you can do this for longer over lower heat, the dish will be more flavorful. You can do this for up to an hour at a very low temperature, but the escarole will begin to turn brown otherwise. You want to cook it long enough so the flavors are married. Remove the whole chile and the garlic cloves. Check for salt as needed.  

Serve the greens and beans in bowls with or on toasted bread with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped chile pepper. I like this thick with the escarole and beans and a shallow pool of broth in the bottom of the bowl. Some people prefer it soupier. 

— Recipe from Bread and How to Eat It, from Rick Easton and Melissa McCart, Knopf 2022

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Recently, I decided to overhaul my closet and book collection. It was then that I realized that nearly all of my cookbooks were aspirational and impractical. I mean, I love to dream about hosting dinner parties where I present a beautiful beef wellington to my guests, but that’s never going to happen.

My reality is that most days it’s just me and the dogs. And, while I do cook nearly every evening, I’m usually making vegetables, fish, or pasta in the Only Pan I purchased last year and am still obsessed with (read my review of this kitchen miracle here).

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I received a review copy of Jamie Oliver’s book in the mail, unsolicited, and was immediately impressed. Did Jamie Oliver, a chef known for helping revamp England’s school food system, also know that there are millions of people who simply want to create good, simple food at home?

The recipes in One: Simple One Pan Wonders ($35) use ingredients that we probably readily have in our apartments (or can easily get in the grocery store). The dishes have prep times in minutes, instead of hours. And — gloriously — they’re meant to be cooked and consumed by real people.

The pasta section is my favorite for many reasons. First of all, all the pasta dishes are created for one person. The recipes also call for fresh lasagna sheets so there’s no boiling of pasta — you simply add all the ingredients into your pan. I tried the balsamic pepper pasta recipe — mainly because I had all the ingredients (including a jar of roasted peppers that I received in a holiday gift basket). The result was impressive.

In short, One is not a book to add to your bookcase. It’s that rare cookbook that’s meant to live in your kitchen and become stained with sauce and juices.

Whip up the balsamic pepper pasta for dinner tonight (reprinted courtesy of Jamie Oliver) and you’ll want to try all the other recipes in the book.

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BALSAMIC PEPPER PASTA

Serves 1, takes 15 minutes to make

Ingredients

• 4 1⁄2 oz fresh lasagne sheets

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1⁄2 a fresh red chili

• 1 sprig of basil

• 2 large jarred roasted red peppers

• 1⁄3 oz Parmesan cheese

• 3⁄4 cup passata (strained tomatoes)

• Thick balsamic vinegar

Directions

Boil the kettle. Cut the lasagne sheets lengthways into 1⁄2-inch strips to make tagliatelle. Peel the garlic, then finely slice with the chili and basil stalk, reserving the leaves. Drain the peppers and slice them the same size as the pasta. Finely grate the Parmesan. Put an 11-inch frying pan on high heat.

Once hot, put a little drizzle of olive oil into the pan with the garlic, chili, and basil stalk.

When the garlic is lightly golden, stir in the peppers for 1 minute, followed by the passata.

Scatter the pasta into the pan, then carefully pour in enough boiling kettle water to just cover the pasta – about 1 1⁄4 cups. Let it bubble away for 4 minutes, or until the pasta has absorbed most of the water and you’ve got a nice rich sauce, stirring regularly and loosening with an extra splash of water, if needed.

Turn the heat off, tear in the basil leaves, stir in the Parmesan and a good drizzle of balsamic, then season to perfection. Finish with a kiss of extra virgin olive oil, if you like.

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Argentine chef, Francis Mallmann, one of the most memorable among those profiled on the Netflix original series, ‘Chef’s Table’, is famous throughout the world — even though his residence of choice is as remote as one can get on an island in a Patagonian lake. Mallmann, with nine international restaurants, is known for his open-fire, primal cooking and his hands-on, lusty enthusiasm for cooking and, well, life.

While his 2015 Netflix portrayal depicts his outdoor whole-animal cookery, his newest book, Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, is a departure from that image. Broken Palate sat down with Mallmann to talk about the book and its influences.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Broken Palate: What do you do when you visit New York?

Francis Mallmann: Well, I like very much going to have a lunch to a place that is called Mary's Fish Camp. I like the lobster roll or bun or whatever it's called. I like the fried oysters. I feel really far away from three-star-whatever. I like to sit in a simple place and have something delicious to eat. I don't want any dancing or waiters or all those sort of poems they say to you when the plate arrives.

BP: Many people think of you as the whole-animal chef. How did you about-face to cooking fruits and vegetables?

FM: I was inspired by young people who wrote to me saying that they loved my work, but that they were vegans or vegetarians. After years of getting hundreds of messages like that — and they were so respectful — I thought I owed them something.

Then when I started this book, it was like having a very precise mirror of my life. Every time I did a recipe and every time I thought about what's happening on the planet with meats and fish; I thought about how we have destroyed the oceans and we are doing a huge amount of harm to the earth with all the cows that we grow, antibiotics, and whatnot. So I think that this new path of grains and vegetables won't take away the meat, but it will certainly make it more healthy.

When I was like 13, I lived in Patagonia, but I felt that I was holding hands with this incredible movement all around the world of music and the hippies and the protests of the Vietnam War. We were really holding hands. Nobody could stop us. It was so strong what I felt, and in fact, when I was 16, I moved to California because of that, because I wanted to feel on my own skin what was happening. I have this feeling that the 16-, 18-year-olds today are holding hands; the most beautiful thing that they own is their ambition not to collect properties as we did, paintings, cars, or whatever, but they have the ambition of making a better world.

I have this feeling that the 16-, 18-year-olds…. the most beautiful thing that they own is their ambition not to collect properties as we did, paintings, cars, or whatever, but they have the ambition of making a better world. — Francis Mallmann

BP: Are there any young people in particular that you've mentored or that have sort of mentored you on some level?

FM: My children. I have seven. Two of them are vegans, and again, in a very nice way, they don't drink wine from my cellars because they only take organic or biodynamic wines.

BP: What products are you excited to cook with when you're home?

FM: I think that what I most love are potatoes. They're the most elegant, versatile…

BP: They're elegant?

FM: They adapt to whatever you want. They can become a cream; they can become a French fry. You bake them in the oven cut like dominoes for two hours and they're crispy outside and wet inside. So they react to different techniques of cooking and they always surprise you, and they have this sort of balanced taste…..I want to make a book about potatoes.

BP: What is your connection to the reader in this book?

FM: Well, the first time I wanted to publish a book when I was 27, a cooking book, I went to see this very nice publisher. He was quite grown up. He probably was older than me now. I'm 66. He probably was 70, and he read my ideas and he read the recipes and he looked at me and he gave me back the manuscript and he said to me, ‘Well, whenever you want to do a cooking book for the people, come back. This book is for you.” He stood up to say goodbye very nicely, but I never forgot that.

So this book is a very simple book where I didn't try to invent anything. I didn't try to make new recipes. I just tried to embrace my love for vegetables and respect for each vegetable in a simple way. [For example] I think that the three most important ingredients for cooking vegetables are first of all, patience, second in the quality of the ingredient, and the third, the respect of the ingredient, the respect to the ingredient. Those three things can't be taken lightly.

I think that the three most important ingredients for cooking vegetables are first of all, patience, second in the quality of the ingredient, and the third, the respect of the ingredient, the respect to the ingredient. Those three things can't be taken lightly.

— Francis Mallmann

BP: Who is a chef you have most enjoyed cooking with?

FM: I think Ruthie Rogers from River Cafe in London stands for democracy of thought and cooking, which is very beautiful. She listens to her staff.

BP: My last question: I read on Air Mail that you never leave home without your berets and a textile for your bed. Did you bring them to New York?

FM: Yes, I have a black, beautiful rug, very old rug, wool rug from Bhutan on my bed. This one is very light, very big, but very, not heavy because I have this long trip and I'm going to Singapore. It's a hundred degrees.

BP: Are the berets always the same?

FM: Pink or blue. And the top is always sewn by me. You see? (He leans over).
I sew every day. I fix things for my children. I do my patches on my jeans, on my shirts. I do hats for my little children. I always have a couple of projects.

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Carrots with Cream and Thyme

Serves: 6

I am, by some standards, a French-trained chef making gaucho cuisine. This recipe—quite simple—showcases both sides. The carrots are cooked in a skillet on a parrilla with a reduction of thyme-infused cream, a time-honored French way of adding flavor and texture.

Ingredients

• Coarse salt

• 6 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick (1.25 cm) rounds

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more
  if needed

• 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Prepare a fire for high heat and set a grate over it.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the carrots and boil for 3 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Brush the surface of a large cast-iron skillet lightly with olive oil and set the skillet over the grate (or over medium heat on the stovetop, if cooking indoors). When the oil shimmers, add the carrots, working in batches if necessary. Cook until they are browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then turn and brown them on the other side. If you cooked them in batches, return all the carrots to the skillet and slowly add half the cream. Cook until the cream has reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining cream and the thyme and toss together with the carrots using two spatulas. Cook until the cream thickens and blends with the carrots, then serve.

— Excerpted from Green Fire by Francis Mallmann (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2022. 

Carrots With Cream And Thyme

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The drinks visionary who helped usher in the era of craft cocktails beyond his hometown of Washington, D.C., Derek Brown has a new book out that reflects where he’s at as far as drinking is concerned: It’s Mindful Mixology: A Comprehensive Guide to No- and Low-Alcohol Cocktails, and it speaks to a decision to drink booze in moderation or to cut it entirely — while still enjoying drinks.

The author of Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters, Brown says his second book isn’t about dictating whether you should or shouldn’t drink and it’s not a Sober Curious book, “even though I love those books and I respect them, and I think they’re very necessary,” he says. Rather, it’s about showing people how they can make drinks with no- or low alcohol: “There’s no judgment in that.”

Co-owner of The Passenger and the pioneering Columbia Room, among other D.C. spots; writer for The Atlantic; lecturer and James Beard nominee, Brown has always been ahead of the curve. Assuming he maintains his role as prognosticator, his book speaks to the future. 

Non-alcoholic bars are as novel as craft cocktail bars once were, he says, citing Getaway Bar in New York and Sans Bar in Houston, and a lot of non-alcoholic bottle shops that are popping up, too. Rather than ditching booze at bars, “What I think is more likely to happen,” he says, “is that you have a variety of choices, but it starts from the idea that the drink in itself doesn’t have to have alcohol.” The bar of the future, “is one in which alcohol is not the center of it.”

Brown cites the pop-up in his own Columbia Room, called Disco Mary — tagline: “Party like there’s a tomorrow” — run by his partner, Maria Bastasch. “She says, ‘Here’s a cocktail.’ It has some functional ingredients or ingredients that have a health effect — whether it’s calming or energizing. You could have coffee in it, or it could have lemon balm. And then, if you want, you can add alcohol or have low alcohol, or whatever.” 

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Cocktails of the past decade or more have adhered to a sense of history, to the classic, to what came before now; Brown cites the 1806 definition of a cocktail as spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. Yet dishes in America have long been divorced in many ways from culture, a sense of place, or even culinary rules in general — thanks, in part, to giant industrial farms where our food is grown and apps like Instagram.

“When most people sit down to make a dish,” Brown says, “they may or may not be using classic French technique or an Italian sort of recipe. But ultimately, they’re just kind of pulling all these influences and what is the basic structure.”

Brown encourages an embrace of that culinary free-form when it comes to making drinks. “We’re saying you can create the cocktail without alcohol and we can stop thinking solely about the historical references to it and just kind of make it what we want it to be.” Brown suggests we consider different ingredients in the place of booze, like ginger, vinegar, teas, or chickpea water.

“We have all this confusing terminology about what is a non-alcoholic cocktail. There’s the M-word or mocktail. There’s zero-proof. There’s spirit-free. There’s alcohol-free.” he says. 

“But what I’m trying to tell people is that at the end of the day, it is a cocktail if it’s a cocktail: It does not matter if it has alcohol in it or not.”