Cookbook Review: Molly Baz, More is More
A bold, in-your-yummy-face delight
I promised you all I would have this to you before February 1st, and what do you know, it’s January 31st. I made recipe #53 last night, and I am ready to talk about Molly Baz and all things More is More.
The Summary
In one word…Bold
In one sentence…Molly Baz’s second cookbook, More is More, is an invitation to “let loose in the kitchen”, to set down the measuring cups, to experiment with flavor, to become a student again, and to welcome people into your home.
Before I started this cookbook…I didn’t realize how apologetic I had become for the intense side of my personality (more on this at the end).
This cookbook is for…the host; the wannabe host; the spicy food lover; the carnivore; the cook who prefers to work without measuring cups; the person inspired by those who think outside the box; the auditory learner; the savory food fiend
This cookbook might not be for you if… you don’t love food with a kick; you never venture beyond vanilla ice cream for dessert; you want to get into cooking but you’re in an overwhelming stage of life right now
The Breakdown Analysis
Flavors/vibes: Spicy, bright, lemony, briny, umami, hearty
Skill Level: Minimal to moderate (See “Audio Cook-Alongs” below)
Instructions: Thorough, including the footnotes. Although, Molly designates some recipes as “Quick as Heck,” which she defines as taking 40 minutes or less. I found this to be true for some, but others took a bit longer than that.
Welcome back! This is my second full-length cookbook review. In case you forgot — or you’re new here — I published my first cookbook review back in early October 2023. The first review was of Ali Slagle’s cookbook, I Dream of Dinner. I made 76 of the 150 recipes in Ali’s cookbook, but my biggest accomplishment was getting some of you to try the cookbook out for yourselves. Some of you bought it, others were gifted it for Christmas, and a few of you figured out the best-kept secret: you can borrow cookbooks from most libraries.
Molly Baz’s cookbook, More is More, has a total of 105 recipes (including 8 drink recipes). I told you all that before I write a full-length cookbook review I make 50% of the recipes, and I am a woman of my word. I made 53 recipes from More is More. Some of them I made quite a few times. As you can see in the photo below, it shows.
I’ve mentioned before that the cookbooks I love the most often look like they’ve been subjected to the vilest of treatments. In this case, one of my twin daughters knocked it off my armchair as I was doing some meal prep. Oops. My copy is signed by Molly, however, so I will not be replacing it. Duck tape will just have to do.
As a reminder, the complete list of 53 recipes — along with links to the recipes when available — can be found at the very end of this review.
What’s important for you to know before we begin is that Molly is a culinary entrepreneur.
Where others create slight variations for enchiladas, Molly adds mint to meatballs, dumps the contents of three bags of Earl Grey tea into scone dough, adds a bottle of Guinness to a mac & cheese bechamel, makes cucumber salad in a Ziplock bag, and invents things like Crackle Sauce. You’re going to hear a lot about Crackle Sauce in this review. Warning you now.
The title of the book, More is More, implies this right off the bat. As she says in her introduction:
When it comes to cooking, More is More is an ideology I live by. It is a guiding principle to embrace boldness in the kitchen…in order to level up your food. It’s a commitment to doing anything and everything in our power to land a delicious meal. It’s about refusing to settle for something mediocre and instead figuring out how to transform that mediocrity into something stupendous. If your first reaction is to think I mean ‘more bacon, more salt, more cheese’ — gluttonous excess is not what this book is about. It’s about finding more confidence in the kitchen, gaining more trust in our own cooking ability, and having the nerve to go for bigger, bolder, more explosive flavor.1
If any of this bothers you, if you’re more of a run-of-the-mill type of guy or gal, then this is your last chance to exit the ride before we take off.
Audio Cook-Alongs
I think this is where the genius of Molly Baz really shines, and it’s what I value most about More is More.
In her first cookbook, Cook This Book, Molly had the single greatest idea of the 21st century: QR codes in a cookbook. It’s one of those ideas that’s so obvious once you think about it. Cooking is a visual craft that lends itself well to the visual medium of video. There are entire cable networks dedicated to cooking shows, and yet to my knowledge, no one had connected the dots between a physical cookbook and the visual world of cooking shows. In Cook This Book, Molly provides QR codes that take you to short 2-3 minute videos that show you how to do things like chop an onion, carve a chicken, delobe a bell pepper, and make aioli.
In More is More, Molly takes this QR code idea one step further. Of the 105 recipes, 25 have QR codes that take you to an audio cooking lesson specifically tailored to the recipe at hand. In other words, she provides one-on-one cooking instruction, measured out in real-time, as you make Bring Back Bruschetta or Miso-Braised Chicken and Leeks or Pistachio, Brown Butter, & Halva Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Even better, she plays classical music while you do tasks — like chopping garlic — that take some time.
These Audio Cook-Alongs are treasure troves of knowledge. Because of their conversational nature, Molly is able to provide detailed instructions for each audio experience. This not only helps to guarantee that these meals will turn out successfully, but through these audios, Molly demystifies the seemingly intuitive nature of cooking. She goes above and beyond to teach you many of the best practices that are often the difference-makers between a good meal and a great meal.
Cooking is like any other craft. The more you know and the more you practice, the better you get. But, when recipe developers don’t go the extra mile to tell you how to cook meatballs, such that they remain intact, and, as a result, you’re left with amorphous blobs of ground meat, it can feel like there is some “x-factor” skill that you don’t possess.
Conversely, in her Audio Cook-Along for Mollz Ballz, she explains that when browning meatballs, a meatball that resists being turned is, in fact, not ready to be turned and needs to continue browning. And, what do you know, this is also true for browning the skin on chicken thighs/legs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cooked meatballs and/or tried to brown chicken only to have bits of ground meat or sections of chicken skin stick to my pan. There is no “x-factor”. You simply need a good teacher and practice.
I also value these audios for the wisdom they provide that extends beyond the recipe at hand. For example, in the audio for Ramen Noodles with Shrooms & Soy Butter, she tells you never to wash your mushrooms — rub the dirt off with a paper towel instead. The reason you don’t wash them is because mushrooms are like sponges and once water gets in it’s hard to get it out. Because moisture is the enemy of browning, getting water trapped in a mushroom all but ensures you won’t get the mushrooms to caramelize properly. I’ve employed this education time and again while cooking non-Molly meals such as a mushroom & cheese omelet.
Use More is More to Host
If you enjoy cooking, interesting flavors, and aren’t scared of a little salt, then this cookbook should be on your radar regardless of whether or not you care to host anyone for dinner.
BUT, what makes this cookbook unique amongst all cookbooks — aside from the Audio Cook-Alongs — is its ability to operate as a guide for the host (or aspiring host) in you.
For each recipe, Molly provides suggestions for other recipes in the cookbook that will pair well. Now, admittedly, sometimes this is a little easier said than done.
I work in a small kitchen (79 sq ft to be exact) so it can be hard to work on two recipes at the same time and get everything out on the table while it’s all still warm. So, I will say that some recipe pairings prove to be a little more challenging for an at-home cook to pull off than others. But, there are moments when this can work very well, and unless you're hosting every single weekend you only need a few multi-course meals at your fingertips to become a regular New York socialite.
My main suggestion is to pick one recipe that utilizes the stove and one that utilizes the oven…and never the two shall cross.
Using Molly’s pairing suggestions as my guide, here are a few ways to consider coordinating a two-course meal:
While The Only Meat Loaf That Matters cooks in the oven (70-90 minutes), make the Marinated Zucch & Mozz with Fried Sunflower Feeds on the stove. After you’re done with the zucchini, finish up by pan-frying slices of meatloaf as Molly directs.
During the final 15 to 20 minutes of cooking The Flakiest Fish with Shingled Potatoes & Walnut Gremolata, first, make the walnut gremolata as instructed and then quickly whip up the Bring Back Bruschetta. This combo will work best if you have all your ingredients out on the counter and ready to use (which Molly always recommends anyway).
Make the Pickle-Marinated Feta up to three days in advance of hosting and serve it as an appetizer — after letting it come to room temp — while any of the following finish cooking: Hot Sauce-Braised Short Ribs with Winter Squash; Chile-Basted Half Chicken with Caper Chimichurri; and Curried Lentil & Sweet Potato Potpie.
Meat on Repeat
In the next section, I offer some suggestions for the best meals to make depending on your mood, groove, or level of sanity. At first, I had a list for “Best Meat Meals” and then I realized I was simply listing every single meat dish I made in More is More, so instead I’ll take a second to get on my carnivore soapbox here.
No one does meat — especially chicken and fish — like Molly Baz. Chicken and fish, but especially chicken, can get a bad rap because they are often dry and relatively flavorless. I think this public opinion is warranted because a lot of chicken recipes suck. This is really unfortunate because chicken is a cheaper meat. So, hear me now: if you like chicken but are under the impression that it’s always going to be a subpar meat-forward dinner, you don’t have to suffer in silence anymore.
To prove it to you, I’ll share this video wherein Molly claims that chicken au poivre is better than steak au poivre. This recipe isn’t in More is More (it’s from her recipe club) but make it, and you’ll see that chicken is an incredibly flavorful and versatile meat to make. If you like this, there is More ;-) where that came from.
Rachel’s Recommendations:
Best for having guests over: I offer a few suggestions for two-course meal pairings above. But, if you’re in more of a charcuterie-board-for-appetizer mood, here are a few meals that work very well as the main course for an evening with special guests:
Grandma Pie with Morty-D & Peperoncini Pesto (but make two pies), pg. 100
Broken Noodle Bolognese, pg. 107
Umam Lasagn!, pg. 116
Mollz Ballz, pg. 142
Hot Sauce-Braised Short Ribs with Winter Squash, pg. 149
Miso-Braised Chicken & Leeks, pg. 178
Best for family dinners: Because I see you, parents. I’m not here just for you, but I am here for you nonetheless. I’m not going to pretend that this cookbook is the easiest when you’re trying to get dinner on the table at 5:30 pm while three young children cry at your feet (just in case it happens to you too). More often than not, this will be your special cookbook. The one you cook from when you put the kids down early, open a bottle of wine, and opt for a dinner that’s yummier and more romantic than takeout (see my romantic dinner recs in the next section). Nevertheless, let’s review what might work for a weeknight family dinner, keeping in mind that any meal in More is More that has a sauce can be served without a sauce:
Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint, pg. 78
Marinated Zucch & Mozz with Fried Sunflower Seeds, pg. 90
Grandma Pie with Morty-D & Peperoncini Pesto (without the Pepperoncini Pesto, if the kids insist), pg. 100
Broken Noodle Bolognese, pg. 107
Mollz Ballz, pg. 142
Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce (minus the crackle sauce for spice-averse kids), pg. 146
The Only Meat Loaf That Matters, pg. 153
The Flakiest Fish with Shingled Potatoes & Walnut Gremolata, pg. 158
One-Pot Chicken Mujadara, pg. 194
Not So Basic-B Turkey Sando (make a boring-a$$ turkey sando for the kids and save extra chimichurri mayo for yourself), pg. 236
Best for date nights at home: Now that we’re eating dinner as a family of 5 regularly at 5:30, I see my husband and I sneaking away for more date nights in the city in 2024. That being said, I’ll tell you honestly — and you can accuse me of a lack of humility, if you please. I’ve become a much better cook in the last year, even the last 6 months, so my standards for a date night out are high and probably a little pricey. I’m not going to pay for something if I could make a comparable (or better) version at home. The point being, even with a few more date nights out this year, we’ll still be opting for date nights at home on a weekly basis. You can just assume I am serving the Martini Thrice with every meal.
Crispy Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage & Collard Ragu, pg. 111
Skirt Steak with Juicy Tomatoes & Salsa Macha, pg. 141
Mollz Ballz, pg. 142
Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce, pg. 146
Hot Sauce-Braised Short Ribs with Winter Squash, pg. 149
Last-Meal Scallops, pg. 174 (see photo below)
Miso-Braised Chicken & Leeks, pg. 178
Saucy, Glossy Spanish Eggs, pg. 208
Pistachio, Brown Butter & Halva Chocolate Chunk Cookies, pg. 283
Best for the “Quick as Heck” moments: Of the 45 recipes designated “Quick as Heck”, which Molly defines as taking 40 minutes or less, I made 25. I found these 16 to be both delicious and the quickest of heck.
The 6 “Quick as Heck” Recipes in the Snick-Snacks section
Purple Salad, pg. 71
Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint., pg. 78
Cucumber Bag Salad with Miso-Poppy Dressing, pg. 93
Skirt Steak with Juicy Tomatoes & Salsa Macha, pg. 141
Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce, pg. 146
Last-Meal Scallops, pg. 174
Spicy Green Fregola with Salty Yog2, pg. 204
Not So Basic B Turkey Sando, pg. 236
Arty Reuben, pg. 247
SmashPatty Breakfast Sando, pg. 251
Best Sauces to Try Elsewhere: One of the things that More is More is missing is a collection of all the sauces compiled together in the back of the book. In her first cookbook, Cook This Book, Molly provides every sauce recipe called for in the main part of the book in a “Sauce” section in the back. She, then, suggests other ways you can use each sauce. For example, the Walnut Bagna Cauda from Charred Leeks & Burrata can also be sprinkled over a roast chicken. There were some truly great sauces in More is More, and I want to know how else I can use them. Nonetheless, you should know which ones are the best.
Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ranch from Raw & Roasted Cauli Salad with Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ranch, pg. 82
Peperoncini Pesto from Grandma Pie with Morty-D & Peperoncini Pesto, pg. 100
Salsa Macha from Skirt Steak with Juicy Tomatoes and Salsa Macha, pg. 141
Crackle Sauce from Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce, pg. 146
Garlic Parsley Butter from Last-Meal Scallops, pg. 174
Salty Yog from Spicy Green Fregola with Salty Yog, pg. 204
Fried Herb Aioli from Crispy Potato Skins with Fried Herb Aioli, pg. 226
Chili Crisp Mayo from Cold Fried Chicken Sando with Chili Crisp Mayo, pg. 235
When the “More” was not necessary. I have nothing but respect for Molly’s ingenuity. You can’t create truly great works of art, food or otherwise, unless you question what’s “usually done.” However, there were a few recipes that seemed a bit unnecessarily extra, at least in my opinion. In other words, these weren’t my favorite. Notice that the list is short.
Drunken Cacio e Pepe, pg. 96
Triple Threat Garlic Bread, pg. 99
Orange Creamsicle Poppy Cake, pg. 2923
And the Oscar Goes To…Ryan Gosling for Barbie. But also a list of favorites
Most Surprising: Bring Back Bruschetta, pg. 57. I didn’t make this one until closer to the end because I relate to the sentiment Molly articulates in her blurb for this recipe: “If you’re like me, you may associate bruschetta with watery, flavorless versions passed around a party ad infinitum.” Well, this recipe is far from that. I should never have doubted Molly’s ability to resurrect an overdone classic and turn it into something worth dreaming about.
Most Fun to Cook: Party Chix, pg. 185. There are few things more satisfying than watching chicken sizzle and fry in oil. Unlike other fried chicken recipes I have made, the chicken and oil did not become dark brown/black with each subsequent batch.
Most instructive: Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce, pg. 146. At its heart, More is More is a teaching cookbook. If you take advantage of all the educational tools — recipe blurbs, footnotes, audio and video cook-alongs — you will come out a much better cook. I promise. I counted no less than seven useful nuggets from this recipe. I think my favorite was Molly telling me to intentionally over-salt and over-spice the Crackle Sauce because it’s going to be mixed in with a bunch of other extremely fatty foods (coconut rice and salmon) in addition to the crunchy, crisp cucumbers.
Most Made: Pickle-Marinated Feta, pg. 65. As my brothers would say, “This is baller.” The combination of flavors in this recipe is nothing short of fantastic. The brine from the capers and pickles, the creamy feta, the smokiness from the paprika. It’s sensational. As I mentioned above, it’s also a great one to whip together hours or days in advance, making it a great appetizer for hosting. Just make sure to listen to Molly and let it come to room temp before serving…which is how cheese should always be served. I recommend pita chips and fresh bell peppers for dipping.
Most Versatile: Raw & Roasted Cauli Salad with Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ranch, pg. 82. I debated making this because my love of cauliflower kept running up against my strong opinions about tofu. Well, I’ll cut to the chase. It was close to — if not actually — the best cauliflower I’ve ever had. I mean what else do we expect at this point? The spice can be adjusted by using less jalapeño (or just skip it entirely). You can serve it warm, room temp, or cold. Best of all you can serve it to vegans and carnivores alike because I promise no one will guess there is tofu in the dressing.
Messiest: Ooey-Gooey Carrot Cake, pg. 287. Not surprising, as the name might suggest.
Favorite Section: “Don’t Be A Chicken”, pg. 176. I doubt there will ever be a Molly Baz cookbook wherein the section devoted to chicken is not my favorite.
Best Dessert: Pistachio, Brown Butter, & Halva Chocolate Chunk Cookies, pg. 283. Although my love for Molly and Molly’s recipes runs deep, I have to insist on disagreeing with her claim, made in the video for these cookies, that “chocolate tastes like butt.” What I will say is that because Molly doesn’t like chocolate she comes up with some one-of-a-kind desserts. Here she created a cooking recipe that she claims tastes fantastic before adding chocolate in. Being a chocolate lover myself, I only make them with the chocolate chunks. Either way, I highly recommend!
My 2-yr old’s favorite: Triple Threat Garlic Bread, pg. 99. I mean, he’s two. Are we surprised?
Twin A’s (1 yr) Favorite: Green Chicken Soup with Chickpeas & Sizzled Coriander, pg. 197. My daughter Maggie will eat anything. It makes me so happy. Moroccan lamb meatballs? Absolutely. Short-Rib? No brainer. Well, this soup not only has an entire bag of spinach blended into it but it also has a bit of a kick. Anyway, I sat with her at the table after everyone else had excused themselves, and she kept eating. One spoonful after another.
Twin B’s (1 yr) Favorite: The grains from Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint, pg. 78. My other daughter, Josie, on the other hand, is more of a dairy and carbs girl. I used barley when I made this recipe — and barley is high AF in fiber — so honestly, she can eat it as often as she wants.
My husband loves Molly Baz….’s food. I know him well enough to know that he’s going to need a few “favorite” categories, so I am letting him pick a fav first course, main and dessert. These are his exact words.
My husband’s favorite first course: Bring Back Bruschetta, pg. 57. “Because now I don’t tell people I hate cottage cheese.”
My husband’s favorite main course: Grandma Pie with Morty-D & Peperoncini Pesto, pg. 100. “Because NYC Pizza competition is fierce, and this wins.”
My husband’s favorite dessert: Ooey-Gooey Carrot Cake, pg. 287. “Because my midwestern carrot cake tastes are very refined, and this deserves a hat tip.”
The one I am most excited to cook next: Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint, pg. 78. This is not quite the same as “My Favorite”, which you can find directly below. I am most excited to cook this one again because everyone in my family loves broccoli, and this recipe felt like the exact facelift that a traditional pan of roasted broccoli needed. It was also very “quick as heck.”
My favorite: Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce, pg. 146. There were a few close contenders: Mollz Ballz, Miso-Braised Chicken & Leeks, and Last Meal Scallops, but at the end of the day nothing — and I mean nothing — actually came close to the perfection that was Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce.
Concluding Thoughts
Similar to Ali Slagle in I Dream of Dinner, Molly also incorporates the work into the directions (i.e. she tells you to thinly slice garlic in the instructions rather than list “Garlic, Thinly Sliced” in the ingredients). Like I said in my review of I Dream of Dinner, this is such a game changer. You aren’t constantly looking back and forth between the ingredient list and the directions.
I really enjoyed learning the “rules” that Molly sets down to encourage you to “cook without inhibition,” which is one of the stated goals of More is More. Rules such as:
“If You’re Gonna Use It, Use It”: A call to make ingredients in your recipes known. I.e. use a whole head of garlic
“One Ingredient, Many Ways”: The skill of using something like mint or anchovies in multiple ways in a single dish. See Mollz Ballz for more details.
“If It Ain’t Yummy, Fix It”: A directive not to settle, and a reminder to always, always taste and adjust.
I appreciated Molly’s push to move past measuring cups for things like olive oil and salt. Focus on intuition (but also taste and adjust).
I wish Molly would have included time estimates for the meals. I appreciate that she designates certain recipes “Quick as Heck.” Although, as I mentioned, this wasn’t always the case. However, for the remaining recipes that aren’t “Quick as Heck”, there is so much variability in time. The Broken Noodle Bolognese took hours whereas the Miso-Braised Chicken & Leeks took took a little over an hour and most of that was inactive cook time. Neither was designated “Quick as Heck” but they felt very different to me — each belonged in its own category, if you will. Miso-Braised Chicken & Leeks is easy on a weeknight, whereas Broken Noodle Bolognese should be saved for a special weekend meal.
I know that professional chefs recommend reading through a recipe in its entirety before beginning, so maybe Molly anticipated that we would do that and, thus, would figure out how much time to budget. But, I’ve got three young kids, which means that most days I barely have time to shower. I need to look at a recipe and quickly see, at a glance, if it’s something I need to start prepping shortly after breakfast or not. ;-)
I tend to associate mint with mojitos and little else. But, as Molly demonstrates, when used well, mint is the perfect herb.
My new default is to always buy lemons at the grocery store, whether I need them or not.
I prefer the Audio Cook-Alongs, but the 15 Video Cook-Alongs are also great.
Also, you should know the Audio and Video Cook-Alongs can be explicit, so use headphones accordingly.
I appreciated that the salad section was so unique. There isn’t a single salad with lettuce as the base. I love a good Molly Baz Cae Sal, of course, but it was exciting to switch things up with recipes like Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint., Raw & Roasted Cauli Salad with Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ranch, and Purple Salad.
The Broken Noodle Bolognese and Umam Lasagn! are both noteworthy recipes, especially for hosting guests. That being said, learn from my mistakes and give yourself ample time to prepare these dishes. We’re talking like 3 hours from start to finish. Some of this is inactive time, but still. Grab a good book and settle in for the afternoon.
Visually the pages were a bit jarring at first. I eventually got used to it, but I did find the layout overwhelming during my first few uses.
There are more than a few recipes that overlap with Molly’s recipe club, better known as “The Club.” I saw a few people griping about this on Amazon reviews, and I have thoughts.
In addition to new recipes unique to the cookbook, More is More has features and tools that cannot be found in The Club, namely the Audio and Video Cook-Alongs.
Molly still continues to come out with new recipes weekly in The Club, so it’s not like you’re short on recipes.
If you’re really upset about it, just return the cookbook. But, you probably won’t because you want the recipe for Mollz Ballz, so stop complaining.
My Takeaway, A Reflection
I like to end every full-length cookbook review reflecting on how I’ve changed as a cook as a result of working my way through a specific cookbook. As I’ve said before, I believe cooking should change us. Sometimes these changes will be small — barely perceptible — and other times they will be monumental. I don’t consider one better than the other. Small changes can be just as refining and enlightening as the monumental ones.
In my case, the change with More is More was monumental. In More is More, Molly is bold, experimental, and unorthodox. She invents things like “Crackle Sauce” and rewrites what a lasagna can be with Umam Lasagn!. She has respect for the traditions of her trade, but she unapologetically moves beyond them, which is often a sign of a great artist. And, it inspired me. Not to go and do something. It just inspired me in a manner that was uplifting and personal. The way an epic novel does or a stunning painting. Each of these things — good food, good books, good art — call you out of yourself. They remind you that you’re a part of something bigger, a world of creativity and human emotion.
And, no, I don’t think it’s ridiculous to compare a meal to a book that sticks with you or a painting that takes your breath away. These are the things that make life worth living after all. My life would be much more boring — and self-centered — without the likes of Kristin Lavransdatter, Vincent Van Gogh, and Molly’s Last Meal Scallops. I read Kristin Lavransdatter, and I’m hit square in the face with my own prideful proclivities. I look at a Van Gogh painting and I am reminded that I have the choice to turn my own small, daily sufferings into beauty, if I can be brave enough. I make Molly’s Last Meal Scallops as a way to celebrate 7 years of marriage, and I am reminded of a single, monumental, life-defining commitment that I made to someone else.
I think that’s what I mean by Molly’s intensity. She treats her recipe developing as art because she knows that food has the capacity to be transformative. She wants what you make for dinner to be as close to perfect as possible.
Not passable.
Uplifting.
What I appreciate about her intensity, though, is that it’s not intensity for intensity’s sake. It’s intensity in pursuit of something truly meaningful: the best food you’ll ever eat and all of the moments that flow from a great meal.
As I was working my way through 53 of the recipes in More is More I found myself reconnecting with the extremely intense side of myself that I often temper. I found myself smiling and nodding along when Molly would drop one of her 12 rules:
“Turn Ya Burners Up (Let’s Burn Some Shit)”
“Thou Shalt Not Waste Herbs”
“You’re Probably Not Using Enough…”
“When In Doubt, Refry”
Her rules are reminders that timidity and complacency are not ways to achieve a phenomenal dining experience. If you want caramelized mushrooms, well then, damn it, there’s only one way and that’s by cranking the heat. But, also, are timidity and complacency any way to live life? It’s almost as if we should see Molly’s rules for the kitchen as rules for life. We’re often told to — and often do — live life on medium heat because the middle feels safest. Just like with cooking, however, there is a time and a place for it but by no means should it be the default.
As I was working my way through More is More and thinking through all of this, the work of
, a contemporary thinker who has also significantly impacted me, came to mind. In one part of his book Wanting, Luke describes the experience of college — and honestly post-college — as one that turns idiosyncratic individuals with all their innate, endearing, and frustrating quirks into copycat iterations of each other. I will say, for the record, that I attended a phenomenal college, one that helped form me more than any other college would have. That being said, there was still the pressure of mimetic behavior — a pressure to conform to and mimic other people’s desires. This was true of college and true after in the “real world” as well. Throughout my 20s I fell prey to the pressure to be a little less this, a little less that. And, by the time I reached my late 20s, I felt so disconnected from the once intense, driven, quirky version of myself. To the point of looking judgmentally upon others who boldly, if silently and confidently, rejected these social pressures in pursuit of their own style of living.In the same vein, my Dinner with Van Gogh essay is about trying to gain public recognition at any cost. In other words, it's about misguided motivations, often as a result of mimetic behavior, as Luke would say. It is about moving aimlessly toward fame and popularity for their own sakes. What I am talking about now is reconnecting with an innate — albeit quirky and sometimes off-putting — side of myself.
It’s about offering no explanation for committing to 30 minutes of wiping the dirt off of 3lbs of mushrooms (which is a lot of mushrooms) because skipping this step and washing them will detract from the perfect dining experience. There is no fame to be found in wiping dirt off of mushrooms, and maybe no one would have noticed if I had taken the shortcut. But I would notice.
It’s about unapologetically excusing myself to take a bite of the Arty Reuben while my husband is asking me to help him catch the mouse he’s just spotted in our apartment because Molly says the sandwich needs to be served “hotttttt!” It’s about knowing and accepting that I will always choose the perfect bite over circumstantial details like getting rid of mice.
But, with More is More the intense side of myself, the cook who wants to get the small things right because cooking is a craft and it does in fact matter — that person felt understood and seen. And, at the end of the day, I am grateful to Molly for giving me that experience.
As we were sitting, eating one of Molly’s many incredible meals, and I was pontificating (not for the first time) on the genius of Molly, I looked at my husband and said, “I just like people who think differently, people who think outside the box.” In a very sweet moment that just showed me how well he knows me, my husband looked at me, smiled, and said “Yes. You absolutely do.”
List of Recipes:
Mortadella-Wrapped Grissini
Sizzled Dolmas with Yogurt & Brown-Buttered Pine Nuts
Crick-Cracks!
Caesar-ed Oeuf Mayo
Pickle-Marinated Feta
Purple Salad
Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains With So. Much. Mint.
Halloumi, Cuke & Walnut Spoon Salad
Raw & Roasted Cauli Salad with Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ranch
Chicken Salad with Coconut Crunch
Marinated Zucch & Mozz with Fried Sunflower Seeds
Cucumber Bag Salad with Miso-Poppy Dressing
Triple Threat Garlic Bread
Crispy Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage & Collard Ragu
Kedgeree with Jammy Eggs & Smoked Fish
Umam Lasagna
Ramen Noodles with Shrooms & Soy Butter
Cozy Bowl
Skirt Steak with Juicy Tomatoes & Salsa Macha
Mollz Ballz
Crispy Salmon with Coconut Rice & Crackle Sauce
Hot Sauce-Braised Short Ribs with Winter Squash
The Only Meat Loaf That Matters
The Flakiest Fish with Shingled Potatoes & Walnut Gremolata
Last-Meal Scallops
Chile-Basted Half Chicken with Caper Chimichurri
Party Chicken
Chicky Chicky Bread Bread
Yummy Juice
Red Curry Hot Wings Rolled in Peanuts
One-Pot Chicken Mujadara
Green Chicken Soup with Chickpeas & Sizzled Coriander
Spicy Green Fregola with Salty Yog
Faux French Onion Soup
Saucy, Glossy Spanish Eggs
Crispy Potatoes with Fried Herb Aioli
Cold Fried Chicken Sando with Chili Crisp Mayo
Not so Basic-B Turkey Sando
Arty Reuben
SmashPatty Breakfast Sando
Earl Grey & Apricot Jam Scones
Sunken Drunken Apple Cake
Ooey Gooey Carrot Cake
Orange Creamsicle Poppy Cake
Cheers!
Xo,
Rach
Pick the Next Cookbook I Review
If you enjoyed this cookbook review and would like to help select the next one I review, vote here. I currently have a poll open with a list of six cookbooks. You have until February 8th to vote.
Related Articles:
Cookbook Review: Ali Slagle, I Dream of Dinner
Welcome to the first cookbook review of Can’t Help But Cook. I could not be more excited to share this review with you! I’ve been hard at work in the kitchen making my way through 75 of the 150 recipes (this does not include the many iterations that Ali Slagle provides for a majority of the recipes), and honestly, I would happily have worked my way thro…
Dinner with Vincent van Gogh
My dinner guest series is a theoretical dinner table discussion that I have with one special, and often deceased or fictional, guest. It’s a place for reflection, a place to talk through the challenges in our lives and the desires of our hearts. Our dinner tables, both those we inhabit in our homes and this one, which I simply inhabit in my mind, are sp…
Molly Baz, More is More, pgs. 16-17.
Yog like Yogurt. Molly likes her abbreviations.
My husband would like you to know that he vehemently disagrees with me here. He has yet to meet a Molly Baz dessert that he couldn’t eat in its entirely in one sitting, and he loved the Orange Creamsicle Cake.
The smash patty breakfast sandwich is a weekend STAPLE in our house. It's so good, so savory, and fairly easy to make. (To be fair: I have no kids and I'm only cooking for myself and my husband. So "easy to make" has its own definition for me.) I also LOVE Molly Baz (a fellow member of The Club) and I don't think I've ever been disappointed with a recipe of hers. I've been dying to make the biscuits and gravy from More is More, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Just found your Substack, and I'm loving it so far! Here's to those of us who just can't help but cook!
Referencing this review for the 4th time. It's really so good.