The back cover copy of Home Cooked leads with a quote from Mario Batali:
“If there is one book you buy this year, let it be Home Cooked, it will rejuvenate your passion for cooking. This book is a simple reminder of the excited and poetic deliciousness of handmade food, both emotionally and physically.”
Even Harold McGee chimes in on the back:
“For years I’ve looked on with admiration as Anya Fernald has made big things happen in the food world, mostly from behind the scenes. Now in Home Cooked Any takes center stage . . . It’s a wonderful debut, full of solid practical advice, straightforward but unusual and boldly flavored dishes . . . “
I was so excited to dive into this review copy. And while I found so many wonderful recipes and advice –from explanation and uses of beef fat, or Tallow, to a wonderful recipe for Bagna Cauda (an anchovy dip) and Eggplant Capanata—I disagree with Batali. This is not the one cookbook of the year to buy. While the recipes are boldly flavored and the exquisite photography lead to much mouth-watering anticipation, this is just not a cookbook for “A New Way to Cook,” as the subtitle suggests.
Many of the recipes are based around meats that I do not touch—and that many people, for that matter, rarely eat. Pork, lamb, veal, and small woodland creatures are not on my list of edibles. Whipped Lardo and Bird & Bunny Ragu rather turn my stomach.
However, Fernald’s nearly 40 pages of delicious vegetable recipes and her tantalizing desserts are worth the time to create.
Home Cooked will make a wonderful addition to any experienced cook’s library, especially a cook with an appreciation for pork, lamb, squab, and rabbit.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I RECEIVED Home Cooked, Hard Cover, FROM BloggingforBooks.com FREE OF COST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. I WAS NOT PAID FOR MY OPINION. ALL OF MY OPINIONS ARE MINE AND MINE ALONE.