What's Cooking? Vol. 7

Bi-weekly recipe links, techniques and more (+ a poll)

Happy January everyone! For the rest of the world, January is a dull month filled with lots of rest and recuperation. In the Remmes household, four of the five of us have birthdays, so we’re still partying like it's January 2020 over here. My oldest started us off. He turned two yesterday, which means I can no longer tell people I have three children under the age of two. If I’m being honest, I’m going to miss the look of utter shock (and horror) that appeared on people’s faces when I relayed that information.

For his birthday we threw him a Dragons Love Tacos party. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the beloved children’s classic — in the book, the dragons only love tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese, so that’s what I made. I took one bite and was like “yeah we’re gonna need some guac, sour cream, and lots of Cholula. Stat.” As much as I love my kids, there is a line I won’t cross and that line just happens to be bland tacos.

Poll: Pick the next full-length cookbook I review

I am almost done with my review of Molly Baz’s More is More. Come hell or high water, I will have this to all of you before February 1st. There are 104 recipes in the cookbook, which includes 6 drink recipes. These days I only imbibe in all things wine and cocktails on weekend nights, so if I have to make the Bloody Molly on a Friday night at 9pm to get this review to you in time, I will do it. I have no doubt that it’s the best damn Bloody Mary that has ever graced planet Earth. 

After that, I have two mini-cookbook reviews in the works: Molly Baz’s Cook This Book (so you can compare it with More is More) and Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Bakes. My mini-cookbook reviews are fairly straightforward: truncated reviews of cookbooks. The mini-reviews aim to temper your impulse to pick up just any cookbook at the bookstore. Shop blindly for your bucket hats - if you must - but not your cookbooks. 

Conversely, not only do the full-length cookbook reviews give you insight into the cookbook to help you decide whether or not it's worth your time, they also act as guides - a reference, if you will - after you purchase a given cookbook. My full-length cookbook reviews aim to answer questions like:

“What should I cook from this book after a long day?”

…or, better yet, “Should I make anything in this book after a long day?”

“What should I make when having guests over?” 

“What recipe will keep me the most sane whilst trying to manage the puffs, nut bars, and fruit purees being scattered haphazardly around my home?” 

All that is to say, after I publish my review of More is More I will begin working on a new full-length review, and I’d like you to help me pick it.

If you’d like to suggest a cookbook to include in the poll, leave a comment below or email me at canthelpbutcook@substack.com. I will send the poll out with the next edition of “What’s Cooking?”, so you have until January 25th to suggest a cookbook for me to consider including in the poll.

Reasons to suggest a cookbook, to name a few:

1. You’re excited about a cookbook but just aren’t sure how to approach it

2. A cookbook has been collecting dust on your shelf

3. There’s a new cookbook out and you wonder if it’s worth the hype

Cookbooks Under Consideration:

1. Carla Lalli Music, Where Cooking Begins (70 recipes) 

2. Molly Yeh, Home is Where the Eggs Are (120 recipes)

3. Defined Dish, Dinner Tonight (100 recipes)

4. Lidey Heuck, Dining in Real Life (100 recipes)¹

5. Alison Roman, Nothing Fancy (125 recipes)

   Keep in mind. I make 50% of the recipes in a cookbook before I publish a review, so if you all select a cookbook with more recipes, it’ll take me longer. But, if this happens I will happily publish more mini-reviews along the way. 

Sourdough Success

We left off two weeks ago with me and a moldy sourdough starter. Well, maybe 2024 is my year.

I don’t know why, but my starter 2.0 is on fire. If you live in NYC and want to make your own sourdough, give me a call because I have starter bubbling out of mason jars over here. This time around, I am exclusively using NYC tap water, and I think that might be the difference maker. People claim NYC water is the “secret ingredient” to all of our amazing carbs. If you’ve had a NYC bagel, then you know…there has to be some explanation. Well, evidently it's our water.

If you missed the last edition of “What’s Cooking?”, this is the sourdough book I use.

A classic NYC sourdough loaf

Not Everything Can Wait

Even though I will be sharing my Molly Baz More is More review with you so soon, I need to share the recipe for her Bring Back Bruschetta immediately. It can’t wait.

Disclaimer: This recipe calls for cottage cheese. I hate cottage cheese. But, I loved this bruschetta. I went to bed dreaming about it. It’s a top three fav recipe from More is More!

Make it. It will rock your world.

Molly Baz’s Bring Bach Bruschetta

If you need a sweet thing

I consider myself to be a good cook and a so-so baker - with the exception of sourdough (evidently). When I am baking I always, always mess something up. Last week I made a cake for book club and half of it collapsed because the middle was undercooked. And, I wish I could say that was the first time.

Well, Yossy Arefi’s recipes have been extremely enjoyable to make and, so far, fairly foolproof. Her two cookbooks most recent Snaking Cakes and Snacking Bakes champion one-bowl baking. I went to a cookbook event in Brooklyn back in early November with my friend Elizabeth. Specifically, we went to a live recording of a podcast episode, which featured a panel of bakers, including Yossy. She was 8 weeks postpartum at the time and mentioned that her recipes are great to sneak in during nap time. My type of baking! If you can’t wait for my forthcoming mini-review, find a collection of recipes here or on her blog Apt 2B Baking Co.

I made her Simple Chocolate (Cup)Cake for my son’s birthday yesterday, and they were delish.

A list of Braises

I hope you all have enjoyed our focus on braising over the last two months. If not, well, we’re moving on in two weeks. 

As promised, here are a list of additional braises you can try:

Best Pulled Pork

• When I make this I skip the BBQ sauce and use the pulled pork in a Bahn Mi sandwich. Serve on a baguette with mayo, quick-pickled carrots and radishes, matchstick cucumbers, cilantro, and sliced jalapeños (optional…but not really). I recommend Sriracha for dipping.

• The recipe direction say to brown each side for 2 minutes. I’d do it a little longer. You want a golden brown color. Try for 5-6 minutes.

Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon

• My friend Erin shared this with me. I haven’t been able to make it yet, but it’s a family favorite of theirs, so I am absolutely going to share it with you now. They’ve been making it for years, which is the biggest stamp of approval any recipe can receive.

Mustardy Cider-Braised Pork Chops

• Well, what do you know. Bon Appetit’s latest magazine featured braising as the meal-type to make this winter. This meal was their cover feature. I haven’t made it yet either, but it looks warm and cozy.

Bon Appetit really likes their braises. They have a few collections, each with a list of braises. I’m sharing a couple with you below. You only get so many recipes (I think it’s three) for free before a paywall goes up, so use them wisely.

3 Cozy Braises that Don’t Take Forever - Or Even an Hour

16 Healthy Braising Recipes to Ease the Pain of Winter

and…

How to Make a Braise Without a Recipe

One Non-Food Related Thought

My 32nd birthday is just around the corner (I am one of the January four) and the more I enter into my 30s the more I love them. I really dreaded turning 30, but you would be hard-pressed to pay me any amount of money to go back to my 20s. I don’t know why that is, but it is.

Don’t forget to send me cookbook options to include in the poll. See you in the kitchen!

Xo,

Rach

1.  This cookbook won’t be out until March, but Lidey’s recipes have me excited, so I am including it here.