
While the novel coronavirus has many of us working from home, weβve had more time than usual for getting busy in the kitchen. Why not use this time to learn how to properly chop vegetables, make that cake recipe that youβve never had the time for, or get just the right al dente pasta (itβs hard!). Cooking can also provide an escape β while you canβt travel at the moment, why not try your hand at making cuisine from different countries? Preparing a baklava or enchiladas through a step-by-step basis can be an incredibly meditative experience. If you have access to fresh ingredients, cooking can be a great source of comfort.
The Cut staff has compiled a list of some of our go-to cookbooks. If you can order them from your local bookstore, even better! Channel your inner Ina Garten.
Learn to Be a Better Vegetarian Cook!
Yotam Ottolenghi has long been one of my favorite cookbook authors, but most of his recipes require so many ingredients, which doesnβt make sense when youβre trying to ration or worrying about groceries. His newest book, however, does: Simple. My favorite recipe is the tofu and green beans with chraimeh sauce, but Iβm also a huge fan of his lentil recipes (both in this book and ones you can find online). βAmanda Arnold, writer
Bond With Chrissy Teigen!
Iβve poured my quarantine solace into cooking and baking so far, and while Iβve been leaning heavily on Bon AppΓ©tit for ideas and recipes, Iβve also been leaning on my girl Chrissy Teigen, who really knows her shit. I adore her two cookbooks, Cravings, because they incorporate her sense of humor and matter-of-fact attitude into cooking. You get simple, easy recipes that donβt need a ton of fancy ingredients β and above all are beyond delicious. May I recommend the seared steak with spicy garlic-miso butter with asparagus? Itβs incredible, and youβll want to eat the miso butter on absolutely everything possible. βKerensa Cadenas, senior editor
Perfect Your Roasted Chicken!
Iβve made two roast chickens in the last week. One was Susie Theodorouβs Mediterranean cookbook. She has an insanely easy slow-roasted lemon-and-garlic chicken that is super-delicious. Itβs basic, clean, and itβll last you two to three days if you are self-isolating. And if you are feeling more experimental, try making Carla Lalli Musicβs rack-roasted chicken with gravy potatoes. The chicken sits on the rack roasting while the potatoes are under the rack roasting in the juices. Youβll cook it almost twice as long as Theodorouβs recipe, but itβs super-comforting and youβll have leftovers for days. Plus, youβll feel like a cooking master afterward. βLiane Radel, senior photo editor
Embrace the Carbs!
When youβre quarantining in a tiny New York apartment, comfort food feels like a beacon of normality, so Iβm taking a break from my usual desk salads and healthy boring stuff and really leaning into carbs, stews, and baking. Iβm really into Alison Romanβs squash recipe and pork soup, because itβs easy to whip up largely with ingredients you already have. Plus, theyβre easily adaptable to your individual tastes and are small-kitchen friendly. My boyfriend is Russian, so I figured I might as well try to master a few recipes to impress him. I like that itβs sort of a challenge, since Eastern European cuisine is uncharted territory for me. Olia Herculesβs Mamushka has been my go-to because it puts a contemporary spin on Eastern European classics, and it feels very approachable for beginners. βIndya Brown, fashion-partnerships editor
Go Ahead: Do the Alison Roman Thing!
Like every good millennial, Iβve been making a lot of Alison Roman recipes. I made the focaccia pizza a few nights ago, which was delicious, and the scallion salmon is the first thing Iβm making when I have access to salmon again. She also just has great ideas that arenβt really recipes but suggestions, like: Steam your broccoli and dress it with so much lemon itβs almost inedible, but edible enough to be irresistible. Or eat baked potatoes for a group dinner. It will also get you to like anchovies, or at least appreciate the depth of flavor they lend to that sauce. βSarah Spellings, fashion writer
Indulge Your Inner Baking Queen!
Iβve been relying a lot on the baked recipes in Susan Spungenβs new cookbook, Open Kitchen. Its tagline reads, βInspired food for casual gatherings,β and whatβs more casual than isolation? Jokes aside, whether itβs a squash-and-squash-blossom frittata, a vegetable galette, or even a risotto of butternut squash and sage thatβs baked in a pan, the mere act of taking these dishes out of the oven, along with their intoxicating aromas, has felt very comforting. βJane Larkworthy, columnist
Pasta Forever
To me, pasta is not only the most comforting food to eat, but also the most comforting food to cook. Itβs easy and unfussy and usually just involves letting a pot of sauce simmer on the stove for a while. My favorite pasta cookbook is Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Her recipe for tomato sauce, which calls for a can of tomatoes, half a stick of butter, and an onion, is, in my opinion, the perfect quarantine meal. If youβre in the mood for something more ambitious, I recommend her Bolognese. It requires three hours of simmering, but itβs worth it. βErica Schwiegershausen, editor
Even the Basics Can Be Better!
One of my most-used cookbooks of all time is Food52βs Genius Recipes, which has truly changed how I cook. Many of the recipes read as classics β biscuits, tomato soup, ratatouille β but feature an unexpected technique that revives a dish that can easily feel tired. (It features a recipe for steel-cut oatmeal β I know, I know β that tastes unlike any bowl of mush Iβve ever made, thanks to more than a generous pinch of salt.) While I consider many recipes in it standbys, right now Iβd recommend the warm squash and chickpea salad with tahini, the olive-oil granola, and the spicy tomato soup, all of which only call for a handful of recognizable, shelf-stable ingredients. βAmanda Arnold, writer
Get Encyclopedic
If youβve never cooked anything before, may I recommend Mark Bittmanβs How to Cook Everything? It combines the ease and βyou can do itβ attitude of an Alison Roman recipe with the comprehensiveness of an encyclopedia. Thereβs also How to Cook Everything Vegetarian if you need more advice on legumes and less on chicken thighs. Start with the fried rice, which is easier than a newbie cook might think. βIzzy Grinspan, deputy style editor
Feed Your Mind, Too
Yes, Laurie Colwinβs Home Cooking is more an essay collection with recipes than an actual cookbook, but it is so intensely nice and soothing that it would be editorial malpractice not to include it here. A college mentor introduced me to Colwin right after graduation, and Iβve relied on her work as literary lorazepam ever since. The essay βAlone in the Kitchen With an Eggplantβ β about being in your 20s in New York and figuring out how to cook β is a classic. βFor eight years I lived in a one-room apartment a little larger than the Columbia Encyclopedia,β it begins. Colwin goes on to describe weird solo snacks, dinner parties cooked on a hot plate, dishes done in the bathtub, and hangovers spent lying in bed wondering what to make next β¦ before emerging to wander the neighborhood in search of ingredients. βMolly Fischer, features writer
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