The Weekend Cook by Angela Hartnett--a professional chef with an Italian background who advocates for informal, uncomplicated cooking--will inspire home cooks to fire up feasts for their family and friends. Hartnett (Angela's Kitchen) has been an internationally beloved chef for more than 30 years, worked with Gordon Ramsay and launched and managed critically acclaimed restaurants. She believes that no matter one's profession, weekends rebalance life-work priorities.
Hartnett--and her chef husband, Neil Borthwick--live in London's East End, where they love to entertain and celebrate their community. The Weekend Cook is testament, as she brings together 100 of her "go-to" recipes in which simplicity doesn't sacrifice flavor. Her Crab Salad gets jazzed up with lime. Rich, delicious Artichoke Soup is elevated by roasted chestnuts and a soft-poached egg. Harissa Marinade is the secret ingredient to Griddled Monkfish Tails. And she ramps up Curried Cauliflower with pine nuts and raisins. Hartnett sheds light into building layers of complexity into soups, quiches, vegetables, risottos, meat and fish dishes. Separate sections are dedicated to recipes inspired by Britain and by her own neighbors, friends and peers. Sweet treats occupy the last quarter of the cookbook, which includes recipes for shortbread, ice cream, puddings, tarts and Floating Islands, a showstopper dessert that features meringues, caramel and custard.
Hartnett's concise, down-to-earth recipes, along with intimate and deliciously inviting full-color photos, are proof of her philosophy that good cooking is all about sharing love and bringing joy--to oneself and to others. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines