Chef Matty Matheson follows up his New York Times bestseller with an even bigger book that is all about quality home cooking.

Matty returns with 135 of his absolute favorite recipes to cook at home for his family and friends, so you can cook them for the people you love. Home Style Cookery is his definitive guide to mastering your kitchen, covering everything from pantry staples (breads, stocks, and pickles) to party favorites (dips, fried foods, and grilled meats), to weeknight go-tos (stews, pastas, salads), and special occasion show-stoppers (roasts, smoked meats, and desserts). It starts with basics like Molasses Bread in an Apple Juice Can, Beef and Bone Marrow Stock, Kitchen Sink Salad, Thanksgiving Stuffing Butternut Squash, and the tallest Seven-Layer Dip you have ever seen. Next it covers comforting recipes like Littleneck Clam Orecchiette, Pho Ga, Sichuan Newfoundland Cod, Double Beef Patty Melt with Gruyere and Molasses Bread, and Matty’s take on the ultimate Submarine sandwich. And it closes with bangers like Fish Sticks with Kewpie Tartar Sauce, Salt Crust Leg of Lamb and Yukon Golds with Creamed Spinach, Texas-Style Prime Rib, T-bone Steak and Fine Herb Chimichurri, and Lobster Thermidor with Bearnaise and Salt and Vinegar Chips. It even has desserts like his wife Trish’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and Creme Caramel.

In Home Style Cookery, Matty shares his bold style of cooking. Along with beautiful photographs of Matty’s dishes and his farm, this book is filled with signature recipes that are equal parts approachable and tasty. Matty’s first book shared his culinary story, Home Style Cookery will help you build yours.

My Thoughts

This is my third year with Abrams Book’s Dinner Party group and as always, they seem to have a fantastic lineup of cookbooks to expand your horizons and tastebuds. This is my second cookbook from Matty Matheson, and of the two, this one is definitely my favorite. I have made several dishes already from this cookbook, and many other bloggers have made the Chocolate Zucchini cake and raved about it, so much that I need to make it and see if my husband can guess the secret ingredient!

There are 12 different chapters: Bread; Stocks; Vegetables; Dips, Purees & Spreads; Dumpings and Pasta; Curries, Soups, and a Stew; Sandwiches; Fried Foods and Cast-Iron Cookery; Roasts, Bakes, and a PIe; Smoked; Grilled; and finally Desserts.  There are several recipes that mention Texas so of course, I had to check those out.  I considered trying the Texas-Style Prime Rib recipe, but I do not have a smoker.

The first dish I made was the Broiler Pork Chops. This is practically a full meal unto itself with the tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. The jalapenos gave it a nice little kick along with the cayenne pepper. This is super easy to make and can easily feed a family.

The next dish I made was actually because one of the other bloggers said it was a nice twist on Chicken Fried Steak. I’m in Texas and many people here are serious about their Chicken Fried Steak so I was curious how this one would compare. It is also the first time I have made CFS, so it was a learning curve for me. What makes this one different is the lemon zest sprinkled onto the CFS before the gravy.  I do love lemon and might have gone a little overboard with the zest, but it was delicious. I do think I needed to tenderize the meat a little bit more, but for my first attempt it worked out well.

There is one dish I want to try that I haven’t made yet, The Infamous Cheesy Citrus Refried Beans. Tex-Mex is something you don’t mess with, but I think an exception could be made for these beans. I might even try to make it with black beans versus pinto beans. I like to live on the edge! This photo is from the book and while you can’t see the cheesy goodness, it is mixed in there.  Plus, you can use these for The Inedible Seven-Layer Dip. Ok, it really is edible but the photo in the cookbook has it in this narrow container that you couldn’t scoop much of it out, or at least not get all seven layers on one chip.

So if you have some holiday money and are just itching to buy a cookbook, this is one you might want to consider.