The Milk Street Cookbook

September 21, 2020
Milk Street founder Kimball (Milk Street: The New Rules) collects solid recipes with six ingredients or fewer that build flavor with powerhouse components rather than fussy prep. Most of these meals, in which “time is no longer the key ingredient,” are prepared in a single pot. The simplicity is appealing and the flavors are bright: a salad of shredded fennel and celery root pops when tossed in mustard dressing, and harissa brings the heat to pasta with yogurt. Sections are conventionally broken down by main ingredient, but then subdivided by method, so that the section on beans and grains includes heating canned beans in a microwave, tossing in flavorings (like charred tomatoes) and allowing them to cool into a salad. Options are the name of the game: a quintet of dipping sauces is recommended for fried chicken cutlets, and shredded pork can be transformed with miso; rosemary and balsamic vinegar; or soy sauce and star anise. Globe-trotting cultural references include West African–style chicken with peanut butter, Balinese-style roasted pork shoulder, and Korean-style noodle soup with kimchi and gochujang chili paste. Desserts offer crowd-pleasers such as four differently spiced rice puddings. The quick-and-easy concept is carried out consistently, and this clever title will be a boon for weeknight cooks. Agent: David Black, the David Black Agency.