The Essential New York Times Cookbook
America’s paper of record, the New York Times, has produced several cookbooks over the years. The newest edition is called The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Lovingly Revised and Exceedingly Cookable and it’s a formidable compendium, a cookbook heavy enough, when hurled, to shatter plate glass.
The Essential’s editor, Amanda Hesser, is a former Times food critic who became a successful author before cofounding the Food 52 recipe website. Even if she had more time on her hands, she admittedly couldn’t have prepared and eaten each of the hundreds of recipes Lovingly Revised in the Times’ new tome. However, Hesser and her family did sit down with many of them; her team of helpers are duly acknowledged in the introduction along with the book’s methodology and aims. Hesser wants The Essential to reflect America’s increasingly proud diversity and culls recipes from many heritages. No continent of origin save Antarctica is neglected.
To accommodate the cultural scope, 65 recipes from the Times’ 2010 cookbook were cut, making way for 120 “remarkable new dishes.” This time, the emphasis is less on bravado feats of culinary artistry—sous chefs aren’t necessary—than on dishes that can be prepared with limited numbers of well-chosen ingredients. The methodology included examining the Times’ enormous archive of recipe columns for potential inclusion. Many from the 19th century were crowd sourced in the form of submissions by readers. The Essential’s recipe for caramel corn dates from 1878.
Most are considerably newer—at least to the Times’ tastemakers—and many hail from places far removed from WASP America. A casual glance at “Dips and Spreads” reveals delights such as feta spread, beet tzatziki and hummus tahini and quark dip. “Cold Hors d’Oeuvres” includes Catalan tortillas, ceviche with mint and mango and Parmesan crackers. All food groups are at the table, including recipes that span soup and salad though sandwiches, savory pies, breakfast, entrees, starches and desserts.
Many of the recipes are accompanied by enthusiastic commentaries. Bombay Chile and Cilantro Chicken? “Oh, how I love this dish!” the editor writes. “The chile-and-cilantro coating is lightweight but powerful, and it reminds me of the bright, fragrant cooking of Kerala.” That is to say, even the food culture India’s western coastal region can be sampled in The Essential New York Times Cookbook.
