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Make Every Dish Delicious: Modern Classics and Essential Tips for Total Kitchen Confidence

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Shortlisted for the 2023 Taste Canada Awards

Recipes, perfected. A repertoire of reliable, classic recipes and fundamental techniques that deliver gorgeous results, every time, for cooks of every ability, in the tradition of Genius Recipes and Barefoot Contessa Foolproof .

Stop searching the web for what to cook for dinner. From the best roast chicken to the most sumptuous brownie, Lesley Chesterman’s perfected recipes have you covered—tonight, and always.

When Montreal’s favorite food critic, Lesley Chesterman, was approached ten years ago to write a cookbook, she laughed and “The last thing the world needs is another recipe for carbonara.” She never forgot the editor’s “True. But I think they might like your recipe for carbonara.” That comment resonated, because carbonara, like so many dishes, is a recipe Lesley has worked tirelessly to get just right. Returning again and again to recipes and making small tweaks or big overhauls is what Lesley loves to do. And the result of a lifetime of tinkering is Make Every Dish Delicious , a cookbook that offers a repertoire of foolproof modern classics and a wealth of cooking knowledge to give everyone a helping hand in the kitchen.

Make Every Dish Delicious begins with deeply informative chapters on how to set up your kitchen and pantry, and how to work with fundamental ingredients and basics such as eggs, butter, stocks, and vinaigrettes. Lesley effortlessly demystifies multiple technical challenges (how to make an omelet, how to deep fry without fear, how to use—and not misuse—the all-important salt, and many more). From there, she takes you on a savoury and sweet journey of recipes encompassing modern classics such as her super simple carbonara, perfect pain de campagne ​, show-stopping salt-baked bass, crowd-pleasing standing rib roast, stunning black forest cake, and gorgeous Gascogne apple tart.

Every recipe here is reliable, repeatable, and irresistible. Homemade no-knead bread and pizza dough? Yes, you can! Chicken Kiev (the easy way)? Of course! Cote de boeuf for two? Why not? Chocolate megamousse for a dessert sensation? Lesley’s got you. These are dishes to cook with total confidence for friends and family, every day. Let Lesley’s collection of perfected recipes become your very own.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2020

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About the author

Lesley Chesterman

7 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Laurie • The Baking Bookworm.
1,838 reviews521 followers
November 8, 2022


Make Every Dish Delicious is a cookbook by Lesley Chesterman, a new Canadian cookbook author and former pastry chef who is well-known in the province of Québec as a prominent restaurant reviewer for the Montreal Gazette for twenty years.

This cookbook offers an array of recipes - from appetizers and side dishes to main dishes and sweet treats - and I enjoyed how Chesterman starts at the beginning of the cooking process with tips, kitchen essentials (tools and pantry staples) detailing how to set up your home kitchen for success.

The instructions for the recipes are easy to follow and I'm sure the novice home cook could make many of the recipes. Chesterman introduces basic recipes like boiling the perfect egg, basic tomato sauce, buttermilk pancakes and Saturday Scones (which made with ingredients I was sent from the publisher along with this cookbook - which included delicious blueberry preserves).

Readers will enjoy the stunning colour photos which are included for some of the recipes, but unfortunately the majority do not have an accompanying, inspirational photo of what the finished dish should look like.

This is a delicious collection for your inner foodie, but there are quite a few recipes that feel like they'd be a better fit for home cooks with a bit more experience in the kitchen. Some of the recipes feel a bit posh (whole sea bass, a casserole with mussels, a soufflé) and even the well-intentioned pantry/gadget essentials (like the blow torch for crème brûlée) may seem a bit formidable to some new home cooks. But Chesterman balances some of the posher recipes with tried-and-true classics like chocolate chip cooks, roasted chicken and the potato lover that I am loved the chapter dedicated to the 'humble but heavenly' spud.

Within the pages of this beautiful cookbook, Chesterman provides a nice balance of inspiration for new home cooks and a bit of a challenge for those who are more seasoned and want to give their cooking muscles a bit of a workout. This 380+ page cookbook is jam-packed with foodie inspiration, and I look forward to trying more of Lesley Chesterman's recipes in the future.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my complimentary copy of this cookbook (and the ingredients for the scones) which were provided in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for YourBookishLife.
151 reviews
January 6, 2023
Make Every Dish Delicious has many yummy and easy-to-follow recipes that are perfect for any family gathering.

I love cooking and baking, so I am always looking for new cookbooks. Now I must confess that even though I love to cook and bake, my creations in the kitchen are often a hit or miss (especially with baking), which means that I usually need cookbooks or recipes with pretty straightforward instructions. I was excited to try out some of the recipes in Lesley’s book to see if they are “Ronny proof.” I am happy to say that I successfully baked both the brownies and the scones! Both dishes were delicious, and my family definitely had more than one serving.

The book itself has gorgeous pictures that will have your mouth watering. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I also love how Lesly adds her own little notes to each recipe. It’s such a nice personal touch. 

If you are looking for a cookbook with delectable meals and treats, then you will want to check out Making Every Dish Delicious by Lesly Chesterman. 

Click on the link to read more of our reviews on our blog: https://yourbookishlife.com/book-revi...
Profile Image for Sylvia Barker.
470 reviews7 followers
October 13, 2022
Make Every Dish Delicious is a well-written cookbook, covering a variety of thoughtful ingredients with both informative instructions and delicious recipe selections, that will appeal to both novices and more experienced cooks alike. I thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook. My one critique was the limited number of photos accompanying the recipes. Many people, myself included, are inspired to make a dish by not only the recipe but the pictures of the finished dishes as well and I think this book would have benefitted greatly from including more photographs. Otherwise a great book of exciting and achievable recipes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the published for this ARC of this enjoyable cookbook.
Profile Image for Ietrio.
6,949 reviews24 followers
October 19, 2022
Another reason to become a hoarder: lists of what you need in case you might think next year to do whatever. And some virtue signaling: do you really need anchovies in stock?

The recipes are crap. Max's Carbonara. Meaning it's not carbonara, rather a pasta omelet. The other recipes are off too. And there is nothing wrong with that. YouTube has in video an endless list of whatever recipes. This is simply a bad idea wasting paper.
Profile Image for Miss✧Pickypants  ᓚᘏᗢ.
516 reviews69 followers
July 3, 2023
If you are like me and just enjoy reading cookbooks, then this is worthy of a read. The author presents some of her favorite recipes along with her perspective of the how and why these dishes are delicious. Recipes are well written and most are accompanied with a color photo. My sense is this would make a nice gift for those who have little to some experience in the kitchen and aspire to be a better cook.
Profile Image for Nim Kaur.
1 review
October 28, 2022
After having a few months of minimal cooking inspiration, this book was much enjoyed.
Although some of her pantry staples would be daunting for a new cook, the ideas she presents and how she thinks of recipes was most inspiring. I've already started to incorporate some of her records and techniques into my every day cooking.
Profile Image for Claire Sylvestre.
201 reviews17 followers
August 26, 2023
I really enjoyed reviewing MAKE EVERY DISH DELICIOUS by Lesley Chesterman.
Lesley is a well known Restaurant Critique and a former Pastry Chef.
The techniques, tips and recipes in this book are well explained but my only disappointment is that I would have liked more pictures.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Profile Image for Bree.
1,751 reviews10 followers
February 28, 2023
Notes:
*great layout and good basic recipes
*could have used more photos but still had quite a few
*would make a nice gift I think, for a beginner or an established cook
Profile Image for Tony Fecteau.
1,557 reviews7 followers
July 6, 2023
Delicious recipes and some good advice to follow for some of the recipes.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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