Thank you for reading Between the Layers! Please enjoy and share this free post with your friends. Spring into Big, Bold Cooking - No. 284New cookbooks help you seize May for all it’s worth + a dip to tote all summer, a turkey burger with a twist, plus a yummy corn and feta salad because we need more corn salads, right?
Behind Christmas, Mother’s Day is the second busiest cookbook season. What mom wouldn’t prefer a new cookbook over, say, a vacuum cleaner? So whether they are gifts or just selfish acquisitions, cookbooks inspire us. I asked my friend Susan Puckett what new cookbook titles she’s been reading and reviewing lately and why. Her answers bring bold flavors to May cooking. Enjoy! - Anne By Susan PuckettAS SUMMER APPROACHES, I’M SETTING ASIDE some spring cookbooks I can’t bear to part with. These are the books I loaded with so many Post-It notes marking recipes I still want to make. I’m sharing three of my favorite cookbooks with you today, as well as a more extended list of bright new books to cook from all summer. Following the reviews are some recipes I slightly adapted from the books and plan to make all spring and summer long.
Pizza (and salad) nightI live in walking distance to several better than average pizzerias. But I do love the idea of kicking off the weekend with a homemade pizza party that requires only a salad to flesh out the menu. And who, after all, doesn’t like pizza? That’s the premise of Alexandra Stafford’s Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad (Clarkson Potter, $30). Throughout the book, she shares charming memories of pizza nights from childhood to present that usually took place on Fridays. She offers concise tutorials for making several styles of crust from scratch, for peels or for pans. But the bulk of the book focuses on the creative seasonal toppings and the salads they’re paired with — a combo for every week of the year — with plenty of flexibility for mixing and matching.
I followed her instructions for Pan Pizza Dough with success for the Fried Eggplant Pizza with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Basil and Parmesan I baked on a sheet pan for an impromptu condo get-together. For the other sheet pan, I made her sauceless Roasted Wild Mushroom Pizza with Garlic, Thyme, and Fontina, but subbed store-bought dough from Publix and don’t think anyone noticed the difference. Her raw corn salad with edamame was a keeper, and it’s something I plan on making all summer long once local sweet corn and tomatoes come into the farmer’s market. And while I’m not sure when I’ll get around to hosting another pizza party, the salads alone are worth the price of the book.
A cool head and a calm kitchenMy copy of Yasmin Fahr’s Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Recipes for Any Mood (Harper, $45) arrived in the middle of the kitchen-tidying project I wrote about in this space several weeks ago. By then I had succeeded in clearing my cupboard and refrigerator shelves of enough expired jars, boxes, and bags to feel my stress level drop. But I hadn’t yet figured out how to prevent the chaos from creeping back in. Fahr’s opening story about traveling solo to a tranquil beach off the coast of Spain to recover from work burnout instantly hit home. She tells how that trip inspired her to slow down and “remove the clutter and the noise and the excess so that the simple goodness of food can shine.” She mapped out a strategy for sustainable self-care that begins in the kitchen and shares it in this, her third, book. Her approach — building on her already established practical sensibilities and penchant for bright, bold flavors — fits well with my goals. She channels my desire to avoid accumulating ingredients that will never get used up. She creates recipes with short ingredient lists that stick mostly to a small handful of staples — olive oil, lemons, cumin, Dijon mustard, canned tomatoes, feta. And she keeps tools basic and minimal. Recipes fall in three chapters according to energy level: Lap Dinners that come together in 20 minutes or less; Coffee Table Dinners requiring a tad more effort, and At the Dinner Table for when you may be up for having company over, but still want to keep time in the kitchen to a minimum. Pasta with Charred Zucchini and Scallion Pasta with Caramelized Lemon; Roasted Chicken Thighs with Grapes, Feta and Mint; and miraculously juicy Smashed Turkey Burgers with Sumac Onions and Parsley have all earned their way into my repertoire.
Dip into inspirationI belong to an extremely informal book club where no judgment is passed for failing to read the assigned book and any contribution to the buffet table is welcome! So I’m always on the lookout for something fun and different to bring to book club. I’m hanging on to Alyse Whitney’s Big Dip Energy: 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond! (Morrow, $29.99) as a handy reference for just these sorts of occasions. Whitney is a magazine food writer, host of several Netflix TV shows, and she’s known as the Dip Queen on social media. Her first cookbook is as heavy on puns and witticisms as it is on cream cheese and mayo, with playful props and food styling to set the mood. Each dip comes with dipper suggestions, some with their own recipes, such as Caramel Brulee Crackers for sweet dips and Universally Dippable Marinated Meat Skewers for a less carb-y nosh.
For my last book club get-together, I brought Spanikopidip — the cheesy spinach filling of the famous Greek appetizer minus the phyllo wrapper — and served it with pita chips for dipping. If I were a little more ambitious I could have made bite-size Phyllo Lil’ Scoopz to plop it in. Next time! Green Goddess Hummus, Drive-Thru Taco 7-Layer Dip, and seven variations on “Cranch” (ranch dip made with cream cheese), including one with blue cheese and another with chili crisp are definitely earmarked for future occasions. Here are some other books I’m excited to cook from this summer:
What are your favorite cookbooks — new or old — for bold spring and summer cooking?
THE RECIPES: SpanikopidipFrom Big Dip Energy, by Alyse Whitney. Serves 8 to 10
1. In a large saucepan or high-sided skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until just starting to turn brown, 5 to 7 minutes. 2. Add the garlic and cook a minute or so longer, until fragrant. Add 1 more tablespoon of the oil and the spinach and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt. 3. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, feta, crushed red pepper, most of the scallions and herbs (reserve some for garnish), feta brine, and 1 to 2 tablespoons more of the oil, depending on how rich you want it. Stir well. 4. To serve hot, add the creamy mixture to the spinach mixture in the pan and heat on medium-low until warmed through, about 5 minutes. To serve cold, add the spinach mixture to the creamy mixture in the bowl, mix well, and refrigerate until ready to serve. (It’s also good at room temperature!) 5. Garnish with reserved scallions and herbs and serve with dippers of your choice. Raw Corn Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and EdamameLightly adapted from Pizza Nights, by Alexandra Stafford. Serves 4
1. In a small pot of boiling water, blanch the edamame for 15 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water; pat dry. 2. In a large bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, edamame, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Add the olive oil and lime juice and toss. 3. Taste and adjust seasonings, lime juice, and olive oil as desired. 4. Add the basil, mint, avocado, and feta. Toss gently and serve immediately. Smashed Turkey Burgers with Sumac Onions and ParsleyLightly adapted from Cook Simply, Live Fully, by Yasmin Fahr. Serves 4
1. In a small bowl, toss the onion with 2 teaspoons of the sumac, the juice from 2 limes, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix in the parsley. Set aside. 2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining 2 teaspoons of sumac, the cumin, turmeric, red pepper flakes, yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until a paste forms. Mix in the ground turkey and ½ cup of the feta until well combined, breaking up any feta chunks. 3. Divide the turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, then, with lightly wetted or oiled palms to prevent sticking, shape each portion into a loose ball. 4. Heat a dry 12-inch cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and tilt the pan until the surface is coated. Add the 4 balls, spacing them out. 5. With a solid, sturdy spatula, smash them until they are ½ inch thick. Cook without moving, until a crust has formed on the bottoms, and they easily release from the pan, about 4 minutes. Flip with the spatula and cook until browned on the second side and cooked through, about 3 minutes more. 6. Squeeze half a lime over them; cut the remaining half in wedges for serving. 7. Serve the burgers with the onion and parsley salad, the remaining feta, bread, and lime wedges. You’re on the free list for Anne Byrn: Between the Layers. If you’re liking what you’re reading, why don’t you become a paying subscriber for more recipes, stories, and content.
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