When I first opened the Modern Larder, Michelle immediately drew me in with her stunning photos and no-nonsense cooking approach. She — like me — prefers to bypass the lengthy building processes of many contemporary cookbooks and instead deploys the hardworking ingredients in her larder to get maximum impact for minimal effort.

With optimism high, I whipped up her labneh, chili infused vinegar, and preserved lemon oil in preparation for the review ahead and jumped in ready to sauté carrots in schmaltz, infuse dried limes into a pot of simmering beans, and add expand our spice drawer with some new blends.

That initial excitement took a drastic dive after the first day, when I made her "Job’s Tears "Stonepot" with Crispy Mushrooms and Jammy Eggs". The dish looked excellent, but the flavor was like eating the color beige. Don’t get me wrong, the chili vinegar was a welcome addition, but the spice and acid just couldn’t cut through the other bland flavors without overpowering everything else in the dish.

That trend carried through the rest of my week and by the time it was over, I was feeling like the author was tossing a preserved lemon in a boring pot of chickpeas just to say it was in there, rather than to create a compelling dish.

Where this book stands out is in the detail she gives to each larder ingredient which I could definitely see being helpful from a technical perspective. She also suggests some unique and practical tips to get you using these ingredients like adding whey to scrambled eggs for a little extra fluff, sprinkling dried shrimp powder on popcorn to bump up the umami, or tossing a little pomegranate molasses in pasta sauce for a unique zing.

I also appreciated that the author provided alternatives to ingredients not available in many locations. The crispy-skinned fish can be made with anything from trout to branzino. If you can’t find Job’s tears (like me), farro or barley will work just fine.

If you’re the type of cook who enjoys playing around with interesting flavor combinations and you cook several meals per week you may enjoy the introduction to this book — detailing how she thinks about adding her 58 larder ingredients to boost flavor in everyday dishes. Do yourself a favor and skim the recipes for context, but don't rely on them verbatim.

At the very least this book and its gorgeous photos would make a great addition to your coffee table.

"The Modern Larder" by Michelle McKenzie

I think Eric and I would be friends if our paths ever crossed. 

I say that because we have a similar love of simple and comforting "grandma foods", we had the same first job as a sandwich artist at Subway, and we have a shared nostalgia for Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. 

But most importantly, because we both like to take things a little less seriously.

Eric doesn't claim to be a professional chef. He's just talented and loves eating, cooking, and sharing what he knows with the world. Better yet, his charisma so clearly comes through in the writing — which is increasingly rare in cookbooks. There is zero stress in this book and that's a downright miracle.

With the exception of fig leaves, most of the ingredients in these dishes are readily available at any grocery store or supermarket, and the recipes themselves come together in a little under 2 hours. Easy-peasy!

The only thing I would have adjusted in his recipes is timing. Giving a little extra time to marinate or simmer would have resulted in a more developed flavor in dishes like the green globe curry and in the mushroom sauce for those "bonk" (his words, not mine) chicken frites.

Between the tasty pizzas, smashburgers, simple pastas, and crunchy fried chicken, this book is super kid-friendly. What kid doesn’t want their own personal pan pizza!? I can almost taste the graveyard soda fountain concoction my brothers and I would make from the Pizza Hut down the street as I type.

This book is great for crowds too! Eric’s got tips and recipes devoted to building the ultimate snack plate, hosting caviar and shrimp parties, and even throwing a raclette party (think fondue but fancier). Even his simple recipes throw in crowd-pleasing add-ons like pairing champagne with your fried chicken to elevate it from delicious to showstopper.

Lastly, I love that Eric shares his inspirations with you. He'll name the places he first encountered a dish — from LA to Sicily to Thailand — and you better believe those are all going on my list of places I one day want to eat.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading and cooking out of this book. If you are a beginner to cooking, and the idea of trying your hand at an overnight pizza dough or a roast chicken and fries sounds exciting to you, I think you’ll also really like this book.

"Foodheim" by Eric Wareheim w/ Emily Timberlake

The unexpected hero of this book is the sauce.

Even if you have an overcooked lamb chop or prawn, that intense, punchy sauce will still turn it into the best damn version you’ve ever had.

The bread directions were also impeccable. They were written with intention and were super easy to follow for a home cook with a basic grasp of shaping dough. As long as you can fold and flip in 90° angles, you’ll have no problem.

We always love a book that makes it possible for a home cook to make a dish look just like the photo representation. This book does an excellent job of showing you exactly how your dish should look at the end, and I don’t think there was one dish that turned out with more than a sprig of parsley out of place.

Where I deducted points for this book was in the use of flower waters, and to be fair, that may just be personal preference — but I don't entirely think it was. When a recipe asks for 2 tablespoons of orange blossom or rose water, you know you're in for a flavor that'll drown out everything in its vicinity. If you’re someone who is sensitive to overpowering flavors like those, I recommend skipping out on these altogether, especially if you plan to make the turmeric chicken. The orange blossom water in that recipe made it almost impossible to taste any other flavor.

All other deductions in my scoring went to measurements because after 3 days of multiple recipes asking for "2 tablespoons plus 2.5 teaspoons" of turmeric or whatever, I was seriously losing my patience. That kind of measurement clearly comes from translating from weights to volume measurements. Please, for the love of god, stop doing that. Kitchen scales are easy.

I developed a falafel recipe a few months ago alongside a flatbread recipe I’d had rolling around in my head. I cracked open every book we had that referenced falafels. Bavel happened to be one of them.

I have to admit that when I tried to make the Bavel falafel from the book I failed miserably, and while I ended up going down a different route for the final version, I couldn’t stop flipping through the Bavel cookbook.

I was intimidated by it because it meant making yogurt, pickles, breads, and all those sauces from scratch — but this series isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about trying to make something new from a different cook's perspective, and that's when I knew I had to give this book an honest try.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of flavor in the sides and starters, but a bit disappointed by the main dishes in this book — and at the restaurant. If they didn’t rely so heavily on the pickles and sauces, I’d be thrilled. But most of the mains are too bland on their own to give my whole-hearted recommendation.

That being said, those Turkish eggs have become a staple breakfast since this review, the baba ganoush — while high effort — was amazing, and I will definitely be attempting to make those harissa prawns again.

I won't deny that this book takes a lot of time, and asks you to make a lot of things from scratch. If you’re not a fan of blending and grinding spices, making yogurt from scratch, or baking bread, this may not be for you. If you are the type who finds making everything from scratch therapeutic however, I'd highly recommend this book. 

With the warning that the orange blossom water and rose water measurements should be converted from tbsp to drops. As usual, taste along the way, and you'll do just fine.

If you find yourself in the LA area, I highly recommend trying to grab a table at the Bavel restaurant. When you get there, skip the mains but enjoy as many of the incredibly flavorful sides, starters, and cocktails as you can. If you like seafood, order at least two orders of the prawns for the table. You won’t regret it.

"Bavel" by Ori Menashe, Genevieve Geris w/ Lesley Suter

This has quickly become one of my favorite books to cook from. Not only did I get to learn about these various cultures and their amazing food, but I also got to read some of the most heartwarming stories from grandmothers who view cooking as a way to show love to their families and community.

Really the only area that I struggled in was a common one in cookbooks: many recipes underestimate the time required to do a task properly. This often happens due to a writer's desire to make something sound as easy as possible. That being said, if you’re cool taking 10 extra minutes to brown some meat or caramelize some onions, you’ll have no trouble at all.

As someone who is brand new to African cooking, I can say with confidence that this book is a delicious first step.

African food is a group of cuisines I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with. These cuisines haven't been commoditized in the way that so many other cuisines have in America, so any time I've eaten food from Ethiopia or Kenya or Nigeria, it's carried such a strong tie to cultural identity that it felt off limits for me to cook myself.

 back in early 2021, I immediately got sucked into the stories of these incredible grandmothers how they think about sharing their heritage and nostalgia with others. The next thing I knew, I was planning out how I would make mukimo, kicha, kunde, and the other dishes that represent and celebrate these cultures.

I noticed something throughout my week with this book: the dishes tasted familiar. Not in flavors so much, but in the way only food a loving grandmother could make for her family. You can feel the genuine love in every bite and Hawa and Julia did an amazing job translating ingredients so that anyone can cook these dishes. Don't even get me started on the photography! Khadija M. Farah shot in a way that the women and their food featured in this book were beyond beautiful.

If you’re like me and want to take that first step into cooking African food, I highly recommend adding this book to your shelf.


"In Bibi's Kitchen" by Hawa Hassan w/ Julia Turshen

Long story short: I think this book was under-edited. Some of the ingredients were listed at the bottoms of the pages in light blue or purple which — don't get me wrong, looks cool — but makes it pretty easy to forget those items when creating a grocery list.

The photos often depicted significant variation from the recipe which made it hard to know what to expect. The format also required a lot of flipping back and forth between recipes for a single dish, which can make it easy to miss a step.

That being said, when the dishes finally came together they were packed with flavor and absolutely delicious. Not exactly what you would get at the restaurant, but pretty damn close and Kris usually offers a unique wine pairing suggestion to go with your meal.

Between the long drive, our belongings still in transit, and having spotty electricity we needed to figure out meals on the fly. It was the perfect opportunity to try some new restaurants.

I'd been eyeing the Night + Market cookbook for this series for a few months — drawn in initially by the bright colors and vibrant photography. So, when we arrived in LA, the first place on my "Must-Eat" list was Night + Market.

One taste of the khao soi and I went home needing to cook more of their dishes pronto. Within the first week of our things arriving I cracked open this book and started mapping out the dishes I would make.

Khao soi and tom khar gai were top priorities and took a little extra time, but turned out just as I'd hoped: spicy, warming, and packed with flavor.

The hiccups that I experienced during my week (aside from those induced by spiciness) boiled down to recipe formatting issues. Missing ingredients that weren’t clearly visible, having to navigate multiple recipes at once to make the sauces, and an inconsistent level of detail throughout made some meals trickier than others.

The book does a good job of explaining why the restaurant exists, what the intention is behind the food, and how it evolved over the years... but where it struggles is accessibility to home cooks.

Therefore, I ultimately think that if you’re a fan of Night + Market's restaurants and you're up for a culinary adventure well worth the effort, add this book to your shelf. 

If you’ve never been to the Night + Market restaurant... 

2. Order a spicy margarita, a bowl of khao soi, and some coconut rice.

3. See above, because it's damn near impossible to not leave the restaurant as a fan.

"Night + Market" by Kris Yenbamroong

Kitchen Scales That Punch Above Their Weight Class (2022)

These meals are fun to make and genuine crowd pleasers, but most of these dishes are extremely time-intensive. The ramen alone required 7 different recipes throughout the book, and a lot of them had to be done between 6 and 24 hours in advance. I definitely considered making a Gantt chart more than once just to make everything happen on time.

This book isn't beginner-friendly because a lot of the techniques are written for someone who's in the kitchen regularily and knows how to julienne carrots. However, if you have some experience cooking Asian dishes, I think you'll find this book challenging in the best ways. 

Either way, if you're a fan of Chang's work, you should have this on your shelf.

Confession time: I don't love ramen. I don't hate it, but I'm not the type to go out of my way to get my hands on a bowl either. Then this winter happened and our little farmhouse in rural California was freezing. All I wanted to eat was soup. So I opened Momofuku, saw the ramen and the kimchi stew and that was it. It was time to brave the unknown and finally make my first batch of ramen.

I'll go on the record after cooking through this book saying that ramen — when you have the time — is delightful and I will probably be making that again. I say probably because this book has you going through a lot of hoops to get ramen in your belly. Of course, once I took the time to make ramen, I suddenly had the majority of the ingredients I needed to make kimchi stew, ssam, and most of the rest of the book. 

This cookbook is interesting because it was written with the purpose of documenting the hypergrowth that Chang experienced while opening Noodle Bar, Ssam Bar and Ko in the early 2000s. The recipes reflect that purpose and read like they're written more as a biography of a restaurant's opening rather than to be a guide for home cooks. So, if you're new to cooking, this book might be tough to get into for that very reason. If you're a superfan of Chang's and you want to know more about how he got started in his food journey or want to challenge yourself and try cooking like he does, then picking up a copy of 

"Momofuku" by David Chang & Peter Meehan

The Best Immersion Blenders on the Market (2022)

Sandwiches are incredible. If you disagree with me, do us all a favor and move on. Obviously this review is on a sandwich cookbook and if you don’t like sandwiches what are you even doing wasting your time reading this?

Ok, if you’re still reading this, you do like sandwiches and you’ll have an open mind about what I’m going to write so let’s go.

This cookbook is not meant for anyone who wants a recipe for a basic BLT or for someone who wants to shut their brain off and follow a recipe to the letter. This cookbook is meant for the explorers of sandwich possibility.

If you are someone who likes making literally every part of the sandwich from scratch (aside from the cheese and maybe the bread) then you will love this cookbook.

Not only is this book entertaining as hell to read, but the recipes ask you to push the boundaries of sandwich construction and all Tyler asks of you is to include something within the following category: Salty, Fatty, Acidic, Sweet & Crunchy.

Why not try making that leftover turkey into a sandwich with Bacon, Fermented Pickle, Carrot and Potato Chips? The sky is the limit here and as long as you can modify a recipe to fit what you want out of your sandwich, you’ll love this book.

The recipes themselves are not complex and they are easy to follow, but you need to be able to taste for the flavors you want in a sandwich and modify for missing elements.

I deducted some points on flavor only because the recipes in my opinion were a 50/50 chance of success. Some were amazing as is, while others needed a lot of help to get them where I wanted to go.

Long story short, if you’re interested in making every part of your sandwich from scratch, and that might mean making your own Canadian bacon, then I think A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches would be an incredible addition to your shelf.

"A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches" by Tyler Kord

The Best Chef's Knives You Can Buy (2022)

I have a fascination with what the staff at restaurants eat for dinner before service — what's known in the biz as "Family Meal". So when I read that The Family Meal is a compilation of the 31 staff favorite meals from the kitchen at El Bulli, you better believe I had to do a review of this book.

By 31 meals, I don’t just mean leftovers with a side of bread. No, these recipes include a custom side, main course and dessert that the staff at this restaurant ate together every night before dinner service started.

The book was written so that no matter the experience, anyone can make a recipe out of this book. To test the theory I approached a group of food that I have very little experience with: fish.

Listen, it’s not that I’ve never cooked fish before, but I grew up in a landlocked state and good fish wasn’t something you could just go out and buy. Where I hailed from, you had to catch your own fish and that restricted your options to sunfish, crappie, walleye, or perch. The default method of cooking them being just a big vat of oil, a lot of heat, and a mysterious spice blend called "lemon pepper".

Upbringing aside, I chose a lot of fish dishes to work with out of this book. Aside from some of the varieties being common in Northern Spain but completely unavailable to me in Northern California — and unlocking a new fear in gutting a fish — I found the writing to be fairly straightforward.

After a week with this book, I can confidently say that if you’re just getting into cooking and want to have a few fine dining recipes at the ready to impress a significant other; I think this would be an excellent book to add to your shelf.

The book is very readable. Each recipe has pictures and a timeline that helps to keep the project moving along. However, while most of the dishes are not complex, they do make bold claims such as browning whole turkey legs and braising veal shanks only take 10-20 minutes. Either they were working with a magic stove, they used a huge pan, or the meat I purchased for this review was particularly stubborn. In both cases, I doubled the amount of time it took to get a color and texture that I expected. All this to say, if you're new to cooking you might need to spend a little extra time reviewing their photos or googling your way through a task or a preparation to understand what the author is asking you to do vs following the timed guidelines to the letter.

"The Family Meal" by Ferran Adria

If you cook daily, already have (or are willing to get) classic Middle Eastern ingredients like barberries, preserved lemon, rose harissa, sumac, urfa chile flakes, and za’atar. If you know the basics of cooking fish, chicken and steak, and have a little time to prep; then this is an excellent book to have on your shelf.

I met another Sarah at a barbecue. Honestly, if you were born between 1985 and 1990 there’s a good chance you could throw a stick and hit a Sarah K, Sarah H, Sarah M, or — god forbid — a Sara.

Sorry to all Sara’s without the “H” out there. It’s nothing personal and I’m sure you’re a delightful human being, but your parents were monsters for leaving that last letter out and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Anyway, I met another Sarah and started talking about this project and she suggested Yotam Ottolenghi’s work. I’d had “Simple” on my shelf for years and never opened it because it always looked too gimmicky to be any good, but I took her recommendation and 14 dishes later, here we are.

These dishes aren’t super complex, the recipes are mega easy to follow and with a little bit of time and the correct ingredients you’ll be eating like royalty and loving all of these meals. (unless you’re feeding a kid who exclusively eats buttered noodles or you’re an adult who hates flavor, then you should just get a rice cooker and call it a day).

If you’re brand new to cooking, this book might be challenging, but who doesn’t like a good challenge? Just do a little research on properly cooking your chicken, fish, and steak and you should be well on your way. Even a mediocre chicken still tastes awesome, so just go for it already and even if it’s a little dry or overcooked, congratulations! You’re a master chef now, who can do anything and you should ride that high by cooking more things.

"Ottolenghi Simple" by Yottam Ottolenghi

The Best Nonstick Pans for Your Kitchen (2022)

If you're someone who likes to explore classic cooking techniques and make spicy, warming foods available to guests when you entertain, then this cookbook is for you.

I found my way into this book because I wanted to make paneer from scratch one night. No reason — I just thought it would be fun to try. Anyway, I started rifling through a few cookbooks to see what the overall strategy was to making this dense and glorious cheese (spoiler: it's lemon juice).

While reading Madhur's paneer recipe, I quickly found myself down a rabbit hole and an hour later I was working out how to make her parathas, potatoes, and lamb. All I wanted to do in that moment was read more of her recipes; the paneer would have to wait.

So, after a week (and 18 dishes) of working exclusively with An Invitation to Indian Cooking, I learned that a pickled onion and some yogurt go a long way to fix any kitchen mishap and that the combination of fried rice and black-eyed peas is divine.