It almost does itself a disservice by reducing its central promise, ‘100 real-life recipes for every day of the week’ to a fraction of its vibrant cover. Should I buy it? Carla Lalli Music has hit upon a winner with this book, which offers an absolute wealth of original ideas and inspired twists on classic dishes. Killer recipes: Pantry Eggs in Purgatory, Seared Sweet Potatoes with Kale and Lime Pickle, Spaghetti with Melted Cauliflower Sauce, Banana Galette with Cashew Frangipane… there are honestly too many to mention. Music’s dishes manage so much more: they are rich and varied, feel fresh and healthy, and would impress any guest passing through your dining room that evening. When Jamie Oliver offers up an idea for a Gnarly Chicken with Sizzlin’ Broccoli, or whatever the hell he’s suggesting this time around, it does the job, but it rarely looks particularly impressive. Perhaps the biggest achievement is that the end results don’t look or feel like quick and easy dishes thrown together in a relatively short amount of time. How often will I cook from the book? Music’s promise of real-life recipes is definitely fulfilled here, and you could plausibly find yourself revisiting this book a few times in any given week. There’s also handy little sections at the bottom of each recipe that cover variations and substitutions that might aid the process. How annoyingly vague are the recipes? Everything is kept neat and simple here, with ingredients kindly presented first in metric and then in the usual US-friendly imperial measurements. From a lengthy introduction that takes in essential kitchenware and revisits ideas around food shopping to chunky histories for various recipes, there’s a lot to browse here. Given that Music’s book is essentially ‘here are some nice recipes to try’, she gets a decent amount of writing in. A few pages on the socio-economic impact of grains on Western European culture. A short essay on the cheesemaking process. Often the titles with the most to read are those that have specific themes that allow for deep-dives on history, culture and so on. Is it good bedtime reading? Better than many cookbooks. Music is also behind 2019’s Where Cooking Begins, which focused on uncomplicated recipes, and was as much about how to shop for food as it was how to cook what you bought. Who wrote it? Carla Lalli Music, who is perhaps best known for her video work at Bon Appetit, until she quit in 2020 in solidarity with her BIPOC colleagues, who had been chronically mistreated by the organisation. A lovely sentiment, if one that sounds like the author’s editor might also be her therapist. That Sounds So Good offers up ‘100 real-life recipes for every day of the week’, and in its introduction author Carla Lalli Music says each of the dishes in the book ‘is designed to help remove any psychic and emotional barriers that get in the way of cooking at home’. Serve with more lime wedges - these really come alive with lots of bright citrus.What’s the USP? What we have here is one of my favourite themes a cookbook can have: food is good, but sometimes it’s exhausting, let’s make it easier. Top with a liberal coating of sesame seeds and season with flaky salt. Don’t be skimpy: The tahini butter is a sauce, not a schmear. When just cool enough to handle, split potatoes in half and spread tahini butter generously onto flesh. Use tongs to transfer cooked potatoes to a large plate or platter. Season tahini butter with salt and a generous amount of pepper. You may think the butter and the liquids will never fully combine, but don’t give up - it will happen. In a small bowl, combine the butter, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice and use a spatula, spoon or fork to smash them together. (I use a cake tester to check doneness, but the tines of a fork or tip of a paring knife would work, too.) Cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam until potatoes are completely tender, about 30 minutes. Halve the sweet potatoes crosswise if large and place them in the steamer. Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a medium stockpot fitted with a steamer basket.
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