Make This Tonight

April 4, 2022
In this eclectic “starter kit,” the team at the lifestyle website Tastemade show home cooks how to enliven their nightly repertoire with simple recipes that are big on flavor. Combining the sensibility of the website’s “Make This Tonight” videos with the brainpower of its broad pool of trained chefs and home cooks, the collection offers dishes inspired by cuisines from around the world. In a fragrant riff on shakshuka, turmeric and sweet potato enhance the classic Middle Eastern dish, and canned chickpeas save the night in a bubbling side dish (or entrée) made ultra-creamy thanks to three cheeses. A customizable sheet-pan gnocchi primavera lets cooks use their favorite farmers’ market produce with “reckless abandon,” while putting the leftover veggies to use alongside day-old challah in an innovative, dairy-free chicken “pot pie.” Meanwhile, offbeat pairings—such as an avocado shake with ribbons of chocolate sauce, and cheesy grits topped with an Asian-inspired garlic-chile oil—come together quickly to add a touch of the unexpected on a weeknight. For those times when dinner is not an immediate concern, a fascinating chapter on fermented and pickled preparations offers ways to create (and use) a sourdough starter, red-cabbage sauerkraut, garlicky kimchi, and more. Savory shortcuts meet equally savory dishes in this excellent work.

June 1, 2022

Tastemade is a buzzy streaming channel with home cooks around the world providing the content to many of the brand's web resources. This title has lovely pictures, a nice range of recipes, and a global approach to cooking. The introduction says these recipes are drawn from a range of providers, yet none are credited for their ideas. And those ideas range widely, including making homemade sauerkraut, cheesy chickpeas, and several options for sourdough. There is an entire chapter on chocolate, too, as well as one for other desserts. However, as with any practical how-to-book, the value is in how well the instructions perform; mileage varies in these recipes. VERDICT The book is attractive and will have a huge built-in fan base, but (even for libraries with unlimited cookbook budgets) it's safe to give this one a pass unless demand warrants.--Danise Hoover

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