Restaurants nourish us. While they’re closed, we need to nourish them.
Beyond the basics of providing food and drink, restaurants fulfill a human need for connection. They’re a gathering place for family and friends, for first dates and breakups and birthdays and weddings. They’ve been there for us in good times and bad. Now it’s time for us to give back.
To help support America’s restaurant industry, Penguin Random House is publishing Family Meal: Recipes from Our Community, a digital-only collection featuring 50 easy recipes from our family of food and drink authors that you can’t find anywhere else. Readers will get an exclusive look at what these culinary masters are cooking at home right now–recipes that feed, sustain, and provide connection to the world outside. From Mushroom Bolognese to Shrimp and Chorizo White Bean Stew to Chocolate Chip Olive Oil Cookies to Quarantine Wine Pairings, learn what Ina Garten, Samin Nosrat, Hugh Acheson, Dan Barber, Bobby Flay, Alison Roman, Christina Tosi, Kwame Onwuachi, Ruth Reichl, Claire Saffitz, Danny Trejo, and many others are cooking for comfort. All proceeds from Family Meal will benefit the Restaurant Workers’ Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund, which supports on-the-ground efforts in the restaurant community during this challenging time.
Penguin Random House is a multinational conglomerate publishing company formed in 2013, from the merger of Random House, owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, and Penguin Group, owned by British publishing company Pearson plc.
My husband has suddenly become a baker the past few months...and I've realized that eating out was probably my main hobby? We *were* supposed to travel to Atlanta this month, and I *was* supposed to attend a professional conference in Miami. Obviously, neither happened, but my restaurant itineraries were set. Anyway, I saw Kwame Onwuachi share this collaborative work on his social media, and the book's proceeds support restaurant workers who've had their livelihoods completely altered by Covid-19. I "shelved" it immediately.
Overall, I think there's a good balance here: a lot of offerings from amazing chefs (Eric Ripert and Dominique Crenn), but with less-fussy instructions and ingredients lists than you often find in other cookbooks. I also appreciate the number of meat-free and substitution-friendly dishes, and the range of recipes - from breakfast to dessert - is pretty solid given the shorter length of the book. My husband is already looking forward to trying the Miso Milk Bar pie. I'm just hoping I can find some yeast and make Samin Nosrat's focaccia one day...if you like cooking shows, or just cooking, this is a cheap little book that helps a great cause!
Minor quibble: this thing is fugly in Adobe Digital Editions, but Bezos probably has enough quarantine money, and so I tried to shun the Kindle ebook.
As I write this, it’s been a couple of months that the United States started to shut down from a global virus that took us by surprise with its destructiveness. Our world changed in a moment, and that moment has had a huge effect on the restaurants we all know and love. And that’s why this cookbook, Family Meal, is so important. All the proceeds from this digital cookbook goes to the Restaurant Worker’s Community Foundation. Purchasing this cookbook is one small thing we can do to help support the restaurants and restaurant workers we care about.
But here’s the thing: it’s not just a cookbook that was thrown together for charity. It was written quickly by those involved, but this is one of those situations where the finished product is far more valuable than the price. The chefs, mixologists, food writers, and food celebrities that contributed original recipes have made this a fantastic cookbook in it’s own right.
Farmer/chef Dan Barber shares his recipes for Fresh Ricotta, for Butter, and for Milk Jam. New York Times food columnist Alison Roman shares My Perfect Breakfast. Musician Moby tells how he makes smoothies. Samin Nosrat of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat takes us to Italy for Ligurian Focaccia, and pastry chef Dominique Crenn shares her French childhood with her Crispy Buckwheat Crepe Crackers.
Former Editor of Gourmet magazine (and one of my all-time favorite food writers) Ruth Reichl offers her recipe for Robert’s Cheese Toast. Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli shares her recipe for Vegetarian Pantry Chili with Chickpeas, Paprika, and Almonds. There is Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola from Ina Garten, Vegetarian Mushroom Bolognese from chef/owner of New York’s Le Bernardin Eric Ripert, and Quick Essential Stovetop Mac-and-Cheese from Smitten Kitten Deb Perelman.
Food Network stars Michael Symon and Bobby Flay share recipes for Grilled Maple Chicken with Smoky Greens and Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta and Cremini Mushrooms, respectively. And Top Chef alum Kwame Onwuachi offers up Shrimp and Chorizo White Bean Stew. And if that’s not enough food royalty for you, Machete himself, Danny Trejo, shares his Salmon Veracruz.
And because that’s just not enough for us, former Masterchef host Christina Tosi helps us make her Miso Milk Bar Pie Christina Tosi, and New York Times food writer Melissa Clark tempts us with her Lemon Curd with Poppy Seeds. And there is even advice on wine pairings and drink recipes, including Ridiculously Simple (but Fancy if You Want) Punch from John deBary, a former bartender who is one of the founders of the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation.
And not to be outdone, in her introduction to Family Meal, the CEO of Penguin Random House US, Madeline McIntosh, shared her recipe for “Conference Call Cake,” a mouth-watering orange cake with chocolate glaze that could be put together in between Zoom meetings, dog walks, home-schooling, and whatever other interruptions you manage during the day, whether you’re in quarantine or not.
With 50 original recipes to make eating at home a celebration, including several vegetarian or vegan recipes, and a low price for a cookbook of this quality, Family Meal is a chance for us to nourish our families as well as to help the restaurants that have temporarily been unable to nourish us the way they want to. You could think of this as a win-win, or even a win-win-wine, situation for us all!
This is a nice collection of recipes by professional chefs. I’m sure they tried to simplify it for the general public, but some of them are still more work and/or more special ingredients than I would try to make. I won’t show my ignorance as to which ones specifically I didn’t know, but I had to look up a couple of things that I was not familiar with. Good value for what I paid for it and what I received and also knowing that it helps the restaurant workers in this challenging year that we have had.
In case you are unfamiliar with the concept, many famous chefs contributed to this cookbook which is available only digitally but all the profits to to a charity supporting restaurant workers. Its only $6 and I was curious. The idea was to ask these chefs what they are currently cooking at home. I'm interested in trying several recipes and I like the wide sampling of chefs.
Great recipes from so many different great chefs, most recipes had ingredients that are easily found in the pantry. Only caveat is I wished there were some photos in the book.
A fun, quickly assembled book of recipes in support of restaurant workers out of a job because of the pandemic. I enjoyed the variety of authors and recipes.
Stories of grief, triumph, and celebration--all connected by meaningful moments involving food. Lots of lovely memories on display here, lots of strong emotions.
This book was a worthwhile fundraiser and is full of unique recipes to try in your own kitchen and broaden your repertoire. I wish it appeared, too, as a spiral-bound book.