How to Cook Everything – Cookbook

My Cooking bible!

How to Cook Everything has been called “The Joy of Cooking” for today’s 20 and 30-somethings and it’s absolutely the case! The recipes in this cookbooks are for people who need to know the basics, and gives you the tools to understand the properties of different foods so that you can modify and create dishes to your liking.

Let’s say you had an artichoke, or an aubergine, and you didn’t know how to prepare it. Look up ‘artichoke’ or because this book is American ‘eggplant’ and you will find a short history of the item in question, different ways of preparing it, and in many cases suggestions for how to use it in recipes, sauces that go well with it, and so on. I’ve been using the description for how to make beans from their dried state, for example. I know it sounds obvious, but it really isn’t if you haven’t done it before.

I use the recipe from this cookbook to make bagels and the house favourite is bagel pizza dough which is divine. Add sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed onions and fresh basil and you can turn it into breadsticks, rolls, whatever. A very highly recommended cookbook!

The author, also a columnist at the New York Times, has a blog.

While I’m on the topic of cookbooks, there are many I adore (such as the Moosewood Vegetarian cookbook)

but my favourite vegetarian cookbook still remains “Great Vegetarian Food” by Women’s Weekly, an

Australian publisher. It features a lot of pumpkin, chili, curries, risottos, tofu dishes and soups that are sublime. There is nothing in this cookbook that hasn’t had rave reviews.

This cookbook also has pictures, which helps when preparing something different. I have given away this cookbook twice as presents I like it so much. If you can find this cookbook do get it!

Available in: US, Canada, UK, Australia