Publishers Weekly – August 05, 2019

Review_NONFICTION

60 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ AUGUST 5, 2019

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rely on the magic of dry heat to bring out

the depth of flavor in food: simple suppers

include roasted sausages combined with

apples, blackberries, and maple syrup, as

well as a lamb fillet with herb butter,

radishes, and peas. Recipes for chicken

thighs (Henry’s go-to ingredient) feature

chicken with lemon, capers, and thyme,

as well as chicken with plums, honey,

and pomegranates. Vegetables take center

stage in two chapters with variations of

roasted eggplant and a Moroccan vegetable

medley with labneh. Oven-roasted grains

and legumes offer a flexible stuffed

roasted pumpkin (choose from farro,

barley, freekeh, or lentils) with mushrooms,

scallions, and Gruyère cheese. For enter-

taining, there are whole fish dishes and

elegant roasts, such as a leg of lamb with

basil, pecorino, garlic, and wine. Desserts

include chocolate and red wine cake, and

ginger-roasted plums topped with lime

and rum cream. With a few of the right

pans along with Henry’s foundational

pantry list, home cooks can get fabulous,

flavor-packed food on the table every day

with ease. (Oct.)

Milk Street: The New Rules:

Recipes That Will Change the

Way You Cook

Christopher Kimball. Little, Brown, $35

(336p) ISBN 9780-316-42305-2

This clever collection of savory dishes

illustrates 75 rules, such as using copious

amounts of herbs to amp up flavor or

incorporating mashed potatoes into

dough for a tender crumb. Each rule is

illustrated by at least one recipe, and

Kimball, founder of food media company

Milk Street, offers dishes that feel modern

and international, such as stir-fried

Malaysian noodles and shrimp in spicy

tomato sauce from the Kerkennah Islands

off of Tunisia. Most of the rules are sensible

and useful: for example, use baking

powder for a lighter frittata, and chill

meatballs so they retain their shape. Some

rules, however, overlap or contradict each

other: readers are instructed to sauce a

Peruvian-style chicken dish rather than to

marinate the meat in order to add flavor,

and then to sauce previously marinated

meat in Japanese-style ginger pork for

the same reason. But this is a quibble in

an otherwise generous and accessible

volume. Additional two-page “Milk

Street Pantry” spreads are loaded with

information on ingredients, such as info

on pomegranate molasses, and countless

useful tips (to wake up bland tomatoes,

roast, pickle, or simmer them). Plenty of

I-never-thought-of-that moments fill this

enticing and instructive book. (Oct.)

Salt & Time:

Recipes from a Russian Kitchen

Alissa Timoshkina. Interlink, $35 (240p)

ISBN 978-1-62371-921-0

In a debut that is simultaneously austere

and sensuous, supper club host Timoshkina

taps into the culinary history of Russia.

Having lived in Siberia until age 15, she

looks back to the foods of her youth,

offering old-world dishes either as she

remembers them or in modern variations.

She recalls that squid poached in smetana

sauce (sour cream) was the “ultimate

comfort dish” of her childhood, and then

presents other rich recipes, such as prof-

iteroles with chicken liver pâté, and an

extravagant salmon and caviar blini cake.

Burrowing into Russian history,

Timoshkina recreates such dishes as a

crayfish and spinach savory rice pudding

that dates back to 1861 and a Napoleon

cake that originated in 1912 to mark the

100th anniversary of the failed French

invasion of Russia. Despite Siberia’s remote

location, it is not without its international

culinary influences: there is a Soviet-

Korean ceviche called khe as well as an

updated Polish stew, vegan bigos with

smashed new potatoes. As for the tradi-

tional Russian vodka, Timoshkina shakes

things up with four different infusions,

including pine nut, and a silver birch tears

cocktail that calls for a half-cup of sap

from a silver birch. At once contemporary

and classic, this collection provides an

inviting introduction to a rugged cuisine

that has stood the test of time. (Oct.)

Skillet Love: From Steak to Cake:

More Than 150 Recipes in One

Cast-Iron Skillet

Anne Byrn. Grand Central, $30 (304p)

ISBN 978-1-53876-318-6

Byrn (The Cake Mix Doctor) salutes the

cast-iron skillet in this eye-opening and

tasty collection. Calling it “the only pan

you’ll ever need,” Byrn offers instructions

for using it to sear, caramelize, roast, and

bake. She presents a top-notch variety of

recipes for small plates, salads, and vege-

tables, such as potato-onion latkes with

cucumber raita; peppers stuffed with

quinoa, raisins, green olives, and zucchini;

and pan-roasted beets with spinach,

cherries, and candied pecans. Her brunch

and main dish offerings are less inspired,

with more commonplace recipes including

blueberry pancakes and chicken pot pie.

Where Byrn really shines is in her chapters

on desserts and breads, biscuits, and buns,

where she showcases appealing items not

traditionally made in a skillet: pound cake,

a cranberry and almond tart, Irish soda

bread with drunk raisins, and skillet

Yorkshire pudding. For those looking to

learn about cast-iron skillet cooking, Byrn

is an astute teacher, and this collection

showcases new and appealing ways to create

delicious meals using a kitchen mainstay.

(Oct.)

★ South: Essential Recipes

and New Explorations

Sean Brock. Artisan, $40 (376p) ISBN 978-1-

57965-716-1

In this masterful follow-up to his James

Beard Award–winning Heritage, Brock

observes, “The American South has a

geographical area roughly equal to that of

continental Europe.” Thus, he describes the

territory as a land of microregions, finding

the similarities as well as the differences

that exist in the foods of the Southeast.

Among the more than 125 recipes, a

chapter of snacks includes deviled crab

from the Low Country, fried bologna with

pickled peach mustard from Appalachia,

and two versions of shrimp and grits. The

chef’s love of heirloom tomatoes is evident

not only in his salads and side dishes but

also in grilled catfish with barely cooked

tomatoes, as well as a rhubarb-tomato

conserve that pairs well with poultry. The

recipe for basic cornbread is accompanied

by four variations, including a “sour”

version that calls for a cornmeal, butter-

milk, and bacon fat mixture to ferment for

three days. A grill is the preferred source

of heat for many dishes, including grilled

quail with red-eye gravy, while canning

mavens will appreciate a stellar chapter of

preserved pantry items that includes

watermelon molasses. Brock wears his

Southern heart on his sleeve in this

mouthwatering, virtuosic collection. (Oct.)