The Homemade Kitchen, a review

It is very rare that I find a cookbook that I would recommend everyone stopping what they are doing now and buying the book!  The Homemade Kitchen by Alana Chernila is such a book.

Before I read it, I thought it was mainly a book about preserving food.  Then when the UPS guy dropped off the box, I opened it and had planned to give it a quick perusal.  I think it was about an hour later I came up for air (and a cup of tea). 

For this is one of those cookbooks I love, one that can be read like a good biography.  Some reviewers have compared Chernila to the late Laurie Colwin (if you have never read her food memoirs, they are a must).

Of course, this is first and foremost a cookbook.  It is perfect for the brand new cook with sections like Be a Beginner, where she talks about everything from how to make a salad to how to make a pie to how to make pickles to how to roast a chicken (and much more).  I had marked a few recipes to try right away in the first perusal.

Within the book she does teach us how to preserve food and then gives us a lot of recipes on how to use them once they are in our pantry.  She tells us how to use our scraps (aka: leftovers that are delicious).  She even shares how to make sushi.

There is something here for every level of cook/baker.  This book will be one I take from the cookbook shelf to the coffee table this winter, light a candle, brew a little pot of tea,... and read to my heart's content... or look at the beautiful photos.

If you are looking for streamlined recipes with no prose, this is not your book.  If you want to feel like you are sharing recipes with a friend... this truly is your book.  Highly recommended for the new cook and people like me who have been cooking nigh onto forty-five years and still love to learn more "from scratch" recipes.

This cookbook was provided by Blogging for Books but the opinions are my own.

Amazon.com link is... here.*

*Most links to Amazon.com are Associate links.