August 2, 2021
Building meals from scratch means never having to say you’re sorry in this bold collection from Weissman (The Slim Palate). Riding the latest wave of celebrity chefdom with some 5.5 million TikTok followers, the author brings his confident approach and opinionated outlook (“Pork chops are very important to me, and they should be important to you”) to print with more than 100 recipes. Weissman’s agenda to “stop putting the past on a pedestal” needs no apology and is well supported in this work, which encourages readers to develop their own sense of cooking intuition while maintaining a grasp of the basics. The first 80 pages are devoted to foundational recipes, including soup stocks and sandwich spreads, pickles, jams, and a bounty of breads. The remaining pages go about utilizing them in a variety of fairly complex entrées, sandwiches, and soups. Coconut broth and pickled red onions are but two of the components for a grilled branzino, while braised pulled pork soaks in a marinade of a dozen ingredients including orange juice and serrano chilies. Even fried brussels sprouts involve some 10 flavorings, among them fish sauce and ginger. If Weissman’s brusque charm does not quite translate kindly to the page, the impressive recipes he supplies certainly do.