As promised, the recipes in Smitten Kitchen Every Day, are unfussy and quick, yet "an escape from drudgery."
Deb Perelman (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook) launched her blog in 2006, and readers inspire her. "The stories in the comments and in my inbox are as much about the cooking as they are about the life around it." She notes, "these recipes don't just fit into our lives, they make us happy." She's committed to happy family meals, as photos of her children--Jacob, now seven, and toddler Anna--attest. Chatty recipe intros include personal and food history. Her Sizzling Beef Bulgogi Tacos emanate from memories of summer days at the Jersey Shore, home to her favorite Korean fusion tacos.
Among the more than 100 recipes in eight categories (breakfast to "Apps, Snacks, and Party Food"), many don't look "unfussy," but appearances are deceiving as they really aren't complicated. Perelman entices the home cook with Smashed Cucumber Salad with Salted Peanuts and Wasabi Peas, a quick, refreshing salad. "Bizarre," she notes, "if you've never had it, forever habit-forming once you have." Her affection for desserts is obvious. The Party Cake Builder offers manageable instructions so "you might actually have more fun at those parties"; follow detailed steps to bring this fabulous centerpiece dessert to your table. Magical Two-Ingredient Oat Brittle--stir, bake, cool, save indefinitely or eat now--exemplifies Perelman's promise of "triumphant and unfussy" fare. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco