Just Cook It!

Starred review from January 1, 2018
Preparing food doesn’t have to be drudgery, as this fun collection shows. Chapple, Food & Wine deputy test-kitchen editor and host of the web series Mad Genius Tips, approaches his recipes with a light and humorous tone and a realistic focus on the time and budget constraints people face. Bacon can be cooked in the oven, preserved lemons can be made in 10 minutes on the stove, and truffles can be made with condensed milk in place of butter or cream. Chapple’s recipes, which feel both current and homey, cover most of the bases from family meals to entertaining on special occasions, and they include recipes for onion dip, white chicken chili, ravioli lasagna, and pineapple-roasted pork shoulder. Throughout there’s a smart intersection of flavors and presentation that enlivens the food without seeming gimmicky. An avocado pizza sprinkled with dukkah, an Egyptian spice mix, combines Middle Eastern and Californian traditions; a croque madame, baked as a casserole, blends French bistro fare with Midwestern ease; and tacos made with crispy fish sticks amp up a freezer staple. This is an accessible call to action for home cooks of every skill level.

February 15, 2018

Working in Food & Wine's test kitchen, Chapple (Mad Genius Tips) often adapts celebrity chef recipes for home cooks. Keeping the latter in mind in mind, he fills his second cookbook with doable crowd-pleasers, including French toast casserole with caramelized peaches, California-style fattoush, apple cider pulled chicken sandwiches, and chocolate-peanut pie. These recipes employ a variety of time-saving techniques and will entice readers who favor an easy gourmet style of cooking. Throughout, Chapple does an excellent job of balancing trendy foods such as cauliflower "rice" and avocado toast with timeless classics like pasta carbonara and roast chicken. VERDICT A solid collection of fast, good food.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018
Trust that magazine test-kitchen editor Chapple (Mad Genius Tips, 2016) knows great shortcuts to tasty, popular dishes. (He really earns his adaptation of the Nike slogan to chefdom.) In his second collection, he takes more than a page from his grandmother Barbara's book to simplify oh-so-elegant gourmet recipes. Crisp bacon in the oven. Conquer perfect soft-boiled eggs in seven minutes. Understand that slashing and sugaring chicken drumsticks allow the marinade to be fully, completely absorbed. And learn the intricacies, via photographs and captions, of prepping for pork shumai, ravioli, lasagna, oven-fried cornflake chicken, and other delectables. Folksy introductions to each recipe, good tips (go ahead and wash mushrooms?quickly), and favorite dishes?red-curry peanut soup, classic meat-loaf sandwiches and tomato jam, chocolate-peanut pie, Reuben toast with poached eggs?done simply and well make this a must-have.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)