Good Things: A Cookbook

First try at Tahdig! Next one to cook 2-3 minutes less. The flavor and texture were incredible! The clarity and precision of Samin Nosrat’s delicious recipes are invaluable. She first came to me via NYT Cooking, a resource I originally used just to pick out what I wanted my chef husband to cook for me for dinner. I suddenly realized that her instructions were so complete that I too could cook something wonderful and stun my family. She seems to know just where us non-chefs are likely to stumble and fills in the blanks beautifully. The recipes are nestled in text with ingenious examples about how to utilize what you have already prepared in many different recipes to make your life easier. The only criticism I have is that the Table of Contents is incomplete which makes it a bit slower to find the recipe you want. It’s a nit, but does slow me down. Yep! This is a real keeper! Post-Christmas edit: All of my kids requested the preserved Meyer Lemons for Christmas! This recipe alone is worth the price of the book. There are 19 other recipes in the book that use or mention the preserve. I used one tsp salt for lemon half rather than two because two tasted too salty. It is still adequate to preserve with safety. Pic is preserved onions (right), preserved and puréed lemon (middle), and newly preserved lemons (left).

An excellent cookbook, written in an engaging tone, and without explicitly pandering to Gen Z tastes. That is no small feat, which avoids the Molly Baz 'eye candy' assault on the senses and intelligence both. The problem with many modern cookbooks is that they presume a 'built-in home' cooking apparatus to execute these excellent recipes; they also often presumptuously assume familiarity with and access to hard-to-find, frequently expensive food products. And finally, having the time to do the work, for anyone except the well-off. Samin Nosrat cannot altogether avoid this conundrum, but she gets close enough, balancing an inimitable style with advanced 'chefy' technique and 'down home' accessibility blended seamlessly. Having cooked 'into' this book, I found the recipes easy to make, accurate, and above all, interesting– with some classy culinary tweaks along the way. But what I loved most was that there was not too much 'hubby and the kids,' nonsense or 'our Summer home in the Tuscan hills' pretensions. These tasteless pretenses all but ruin other similar books by indulging in a personal conveyance of privilege. When Nosrat enters this territory of culinary blather, she handles it correctly as simply information, and not style. In fact, her 'style' succeeds in becoming a 'non-style,' or Art without 'artiness.' making the whole experience enjoyable.

In the previous cookbook, Samin taught me about acid and that really was a game changer for me. It was an element that was often missing from my dishes. This new cookbook, to me, seems to be about literally giving us directions for cooking food that is good to eat. There are many different sections in the book including seasonal produce, pantry, dressings, chicken, bread, and etc. Each section has clear guidance and suggestions. For example, one section is called “Seasonal Produce.” The section starts with goid explanations of cooking techniques (Roast, boil, etc) and then each veggie or fruit has pages about how to go about making them into something good to eat. I think this could be another cookbook that’s a game changer because the information is so very useful. I’ll add that my GenX eyes are requiring I wear glasses to read nowadays, but I had no trouble with the type at all (See photos). Ymmv.

I love Good Things and am back for another! Back in May I pre-bought (here on Amazon) so this week I was able to attend a zoom cooking demo attended by cooks from around the world. Since then, I have made her braised chicken and apricot tangine-in-a-dish with harissa (my description, not hers), with sides, including her scrumptious blanched kale and couscous. Nosrat's preserved lemon cake is out of this world! In the past four days I have made FOUR of them and they are all gone. I used Mark Bittens excellent NYT quick preserved lemon recipe a couple of weeks ago so had them in my pantry. There are so many favourite things that I have about this cookbook, where to begin? Samin Nosrat's has prepared a book for accomplished chefs and starting home cooks, with all between, giving 'the keys to the kingdom' to preparing meals to nourish our hungry hearts, even when our bodies are not hungry. This book is a tool kit for cooking, yes, but more than that it a soulful tool kit for showing up for your community and taking care of each other. I love this beautifully researched and tested book, which is absolutely not just a cookbook, and am excited about seeing where it takes me. I have ordered another for sharing.

I love this cookbook! I'm not sure if it's because it's filled with things I would eat all the time or the ease of directions, but I will use this cookbook more than her first. This will be put to daily use. These will become memorized from repetition. And that's how I become a better cook! I found Samin the same way most other people have, through SALT FAT ACID HEAT. The series was phenomenal. I thought the book was ok. I found it hard to use. I'm not trying to be a professional chef in my spare time. I appreciate making things because they taste better than off the shelf. But after a day at work, creating, scheduling, making sure clients are happy, I just want to relax and make something good to eat. This is a pleasure to read and easy to follow. The recipes are delicious and I can do it quickly without a mind melt down. JUST WHAT I NEEDED! Thank you so much.