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A review by benmsmith
Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson
5.0
Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for an ARC of this.
Nigella Lawson's books have always been some of my favorites for the writing alone, and this new book is no exception. Food writer Helen Rosner has a wonderful newsletter about the process of writing a recipe (which ends in a kale/bean/sausage soup called Roberto), and the balance of economy of space vs. teaching someone who doesn't know what size of onion you need when a recipe calls for a large onion. When I copy out a recipe for friends, I also find it shifting and changing from the original text - I hew closely to the original instructions, but also add in bits written in my voice that elucidate the things I needed to figure out for myself and want to make sure they get right the first time since I was the one who raved about the recipe in the first place.
Nigella's always been good at threading this needle, and I love that the essay approach this book takes in places (including a chapter on just how you get to a recipe) gives you the feeling of having a friend guiding you through a recipe while sitting at a kitchen island, letting you figure out the magic with your own hands. As with her last few books, there's a nice balance of more classic preparations with a few nods to current cooking trends - I feel like if Nigella's tried something and is telling me about it (in this case, 'nduja sausage, or cooking pasta in beet juice both for color and flavor), it's probably worth seeking out and trying for myself. I also like that a few of the essays in the book call out the current food climate we're in with quarantine, and how cooking can be both a balm and something where we just want to reach for something quick because we're tired of things being a balm and just want to eat.
Nigella Lawson's books have always been some of my favorites for the writing alone, and this new book is no exception. Food writer Helen Rosner has a wonderful newsletter about the process of writing a recipe (which ends in a kale/bean/sausage soup called Roberto), and the balance of economy of space vs. teaching someone who doesn't know what size of onion you need when a recipe calls for a large onion. When I copy out a recipe for friends, I also find it shifting and changing from the original text - I hew closely to the original instructions, but also add in bits written in my voice that elucidate the things I needed to figure out for myself and want to make sure they get right the first time since I was the one who raved about the recipe in the first place.
Nigella's always been good at threading this needle, and I love that the essay approach this book takes in places (including a chapter on just how you get to a recipe) gives you the feeling of having a friend guiding you through a recipe while sitting at a kitchen island, letting you figure out the magic with your own hands. As with her last few books, there's a nice balance of more classic preparations with a few nods to current cooking trends - I feel like if Nigella's tried something and is telling me about it (in this case, 'nduja sausage, or cooking pasta in beet juice both for color and flavor), it's probably worth seeking out and trying for myself. I also like that a few of the essays in the book call out the current food climate we're in with quarantine, and how cooking can be both a balm and something where we just want to reach for something quick because we're tired of things being a balm and just want to eat.