From New York Times Cooking contributor Colu Henry, a collection of sophisticated recipes for everyday dinnersColu Henry has been working in food for more than 15 years, and from her time at publications from Bon Appétit to the New York Times, she’s learned that what resonates with her readers is her always unfussy and empowering recipes. In this cookbook—a nod to home cooks who are happy to do everything but pastry—Henry helps readers assemble an amply stocked new-American pantry so that they can perfect (and build upon) classic everyday meals.

With 100 recipes and photographs, Henry offers ideas and solutions to get you out of your weeknight routine, explore new ingredients and techniques, build your confidence, and have sophisticated dishes on the table in around 45 minutes.

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Review

I love cooking and this book spoke to me. The opportunity to make fancy dishes that don’t take a lot of time or call for too many crazy ingredients. Some of the dishes I made were a success and some were just ok. They weren’t failures because they were edible, but could have used something more to liven up the dish.

The book is set up with some helpful hints at the beginning of the book, especially what Colu keeps on hand to whip up one of her many recipes. She shares some thoughts, stories, and more at the beginning of each section of recipes. There are recipes for everything from appetizers to drinks to dessert. I felt like I was sitting next to her on the porch chatting about life and noshing on some appetizers you would eat with your hands. In fact, I loved her story about A Family Picnic where at 5 PM they would have drinks, and everyone chips in a little something that they have in their refrigerator – leftovers, cheese, eggs, etc.

If you like to make sauces or toppings that can go on anything, there is a chapter for that titled For Embellishment.

There are your normal chapters for sides, main dishes, salads, and desserts. The dessert recipes are from her friends since Colu admits to not being into desserts. Admit your strengths and weaknesses I say and bring in those that can fill the gap.

Some of the dishes I tried were the Skillet Pork Chops with Vinegar and Honey Collards (I used spinach). These were pretty tasty and the sauce and spinach were a nice touch to the dish

I also made the Sausage, Peppers, and Onions with Melty Caprese. There was something missing from this dish. It is super easy, but there wasn’t enough flavor. I know I didn’t have the fresh basil and that might have been what it needed. However, the onions and peppers were delicious! I also misread the recipe and cooked it on the stovetop and then put it in the oven at the end to melt the cheese. this photo is from before it was cooked. I loved all of the colors from the peppers, tomatoes, and red onion.

The one dish that I thought was out of this world was the Sunday Frittata. Maybe it was all the butter? I have to admit that I have never made a frittata before and it really wasn’t hard at all. If my husband ate eggs I would make this more often.  Here is the frittata I made…I topped it with some leftover mozzarella but I can see why they say to use shredded.

I have a few more recipes in the cookbook to try out, but overall it has been a successful cookbook.

About Colu

Colu Henry is a writer, recipe developer, and frequent contributor to the New York Times and Food & Wine.

She has worked in food for over 15 years and has learned what resonates with home cooks by creating elegant, yet approachable recipes without overthinking it. She is the author of Back Pocket Pasta, Colu Cooks: Easy Fancy Food, and host of “Colu Cooks” on Patreon.

Colu splits her time between Hudson, NY, and Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband.

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