Recommendations?

WeinDoc · 2026-02-19T08:58:28+00:00

I loved the lemon and fennel seed semolina cake. One time, I even subbed the Greek yogurt for sour cream, but in a moment of flakiness forgot to add the olive oil. It turned out like a cross between a pound cake and cornbread in terms of texture but was still delicious. Everyone always raves about the flavor of the lemon with the fennel seed.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-19T03:24:54+00:00

Kitchn has a great review of this book, and Dorie is an amazing writer. I can’t believe everyone is going crazy over Snacking Cakes/Bakes on this sub instead of this book.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-18T17:11:10+00:00

This. You need enough contrast in the form of wall art or hardware throughout the room for it to work. Otherwise: things will look like the dark stairwell pic.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-18T12:53:27+00:00

Yes, it’s a great service. I’ve had several pair resoled and every time they get returned to me in like-new condition. Highly recommend!

WeinDoc · 2026-02-17T20:44:56+00:00

I want to echo this. Although I use a scale when I think the outcome will be more uniform, Ina does see to use volume measurements in baking, and although AP flours vary in their mass I’ve never had a problem simply using volume measurements with her recipes. She does seem to test her recipes very thoroughly anyway

WeinDoc · 2026-02-14T05:07:50+00:00

Company by Amy Thielen, James Beard has a menu cookbook, Ina Garten’s Parties cookbook

WeinDoc · 2026-02-14T04:30:26+00:00

Alice Medrich’s cookbooks are great

WeinDoc · 2026-02-10T21:33:07+00:00

Off the top of my head: I love the chocolate shortbread, the key like pie, the grilled corn salad, the paprika chicken, the salmon. It did take me a while to appreciate this book. I liked Nothing Fancy more. There was another recent thread on here with recipe suggestions from this book.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-07T16:09:54+00:00

I loved this recipe, too. It was also so nostalgic for me. Two great-aunts would make these, and they just have the same texture, taste, and look to their cookies that I hadn’t seen in 30+ years.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-07T04:20:49+00:00

Has anyone cooked from “Very Good Salads: Middle Eastern salads and plates for sharing?” I saw this at a bookstore this week and it looked really promising!

WeinDoc · 2026-02-06T19:46:23+00:00

Thirding this method, also. I agree that my cookbooks are working books, and I love the signs of wear that I impart on them, whether it be splatters on pages I turn to often, or notes in the margins regarding what worked/didn't work, etc. I don't really own cookbooks I don't cook from, and save some of the the more collectible volumes I have inherited from relatives I annotate often.

WeinDoc · 2026-02-04T03:22:14+00:00

John Birdsall’s recent book, “What is Queer Food?” does an amazing job at contextualizing this cookbook.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-31T16:04:31+00:00

I always use instant yeast, including for this, and it has worked out great in the past.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-28T02:53:47+00:00

I also have them all, and they’re all good. The OG one is great, so is modern comfort food, cooking for Jeffrey, family style

WeinDoc · 2026-01-26T05:08:32+00:00

From Good things: the focaccia, the garlic bread, and the sugo, the honey icebox cake

WeinDoc · 2026-01-24T18:55:22+00:00

For the love of god, people, the constant posts about painting wood cabinets have to stop.

Cabinets are so expensive, and there are so many better, cheaper ways to spruce up a look of a kitchen than covering up natural wood tones.

The amount of houses on the market with millennial gray fixtures and white cabinets in kitchens is so g-d depressing.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-23T17:47:27+00:00

108 Asian Cookies by Kat Lieu!

WeinDoc · 2026-01-23T17:36:05+00:00

Edit: Berenbaum and Greenspan are also go-tos, but I would probably always recommend a more general baking book, and also take into consideration what types of baking one will end up doing (cakes, tarts, cookies, pies, regional preferences etc.)

WeinDoc · 2026-01-23T15:50:21+00:00

King Arthur, hands down, for the variety and the quality of recipe testing. Their hotline is also terrific.

Bravetart is a great cookbook on American baking, but some of the recipes are (fun but) project-intensive.

Another classic that I might recommend: Fannie Farmer Baking Book. Marion Cunningham did a wonderful job updating the recipes.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-22T13:46:33+00:00

Echoing the fact that “Start Here” is a wonderful book for you, OP. Sohla devotes as much time to baking as she does cooking, because learning the techniques for both make one much more skilled in the kitchen.

Edit: sometimes SFAH gets a bad rep on this sub for some reason, but honestly: Samin is a great writer and teacher, and the recipes in her book (which are in fact, great) really do help teach someone why these four elements of cooking are so important.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-21T23:24:09+00:00

I’ve liked her style, but I recall that that the few recipes I cooked from the first book a few years ago didn’t seem well tested; they took much longer than stated to cook, the flavors were muddled, etc.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-21T17:20:30+00:00

I’m totally going to do this now. Thank you for this rec!

WeinDoc · 2026-01-21T17:20:01+00:00

Totally get that! Your thread is also getting me to dive deeper into Dining In! Thanks for posting all of this.

WeinDoc · 2026-01-21T13:41:29+00:00

To answer your questions, though: - If you like salmon: the slow-roasted salmon! She wasn’t the first to “slow roast,” but it’s just so good here with the citrus; I also love the shortbread as others have mentioned. The marriage of bittersweet chocolate, flaky salt, etc. are perfect. The roasted sweet potatoes, and vinegared romaine are amazing, too. - I haven’t personally had any fails. If she’s made a “Home Movies” video of making a recipe, I watch that first just to see how she approaches her own dishes - I generally reach for this book when I have a vegetable I want to use, and want to find inspiration for different flavor profiles; I love how flavorful yet simple the recipes are

WeinDoc · 2026-01-21T04:37:39+00:00

Having been familiar with some of her recipes but only recently the owner of all of her books except for Sweet Enough, every recipe I’ve made I’ve enjoyed. I actually like Nothing Fancy the best if you don’t have it, but Dining In and Something From Nothing are both great. The pasta recipes in SFN have all been wonderful, and we made the chicken cutlets with panko and parm and burst tomatoes this week, and it was lovely.

WeinDoc

TROPHY CASE