In Praise of Home Cooking: Reasons and Recipes

Trusted cookbook author Liana Krissoff is back. Previously, she showed you fresh, clever canning recipes; modern slow-cooker recipes; and easy vegetarian crowd-pleasers. Now, Krissoff brings you In Praise of Home Cooking—fit for anyone looking to perfect the staples, parents who want to whip up something tasty, curious kids who want to learn grandma’s secret recipes, and everyone who has gotten tired of those absurdly labor-intensive recipes.

To Krissoff, developing resourceful habits and perfecting uncomplicated dishes––a pot of fluffy rice and one of creamy beans, a seared steak and a colorful salad––are integral to living with great pleasure, and so she shows us the way. Krissoff explores these simple but vital subjects—ranging from how to start a fire in a clearing in the woods to making a simple but celebration-worthy layer cake, and even remembering to make a mug of hot cocoa just because it’s the first cold, gray day of fall—reminding us that appreciating these moments is key to a life well-lived.

In this cookbook infused with memoir, there are charming step-by-step illustrations that demystify key kitchen skills, vibrant food photographs, and short essays that reveal keen insights gleaned from a life as a recipe tester, cookbook author, and mom interspersed among the recipes. The more than 85 recipes in this book are Krissoff’s essentials, perfected for your ease. They represent a chronicle of how she learned to cook but also of ongoing efforts to help her daughter develop a level of competence with improvisatory home cooking. From kneading your own yeasted bread dough to refining your classic tahini dressing, Krissoff brings you all the foolproof recipes you always wished you had, while offering insight into the meaning and beauty behind these simple moments.