- Pie for Everyone
- Review: Matty Matheson’s Home Style Cookery
Matty Matheson’s new cookbook is both daunting in its size and appealing in its scope. When the heavy tome arrived, I was rather overwhelmed but quickly got sucked into the gorgeous photographs of food and stories about life, food, and cooking. It is well worth reading, especially, if like me, you love reading about food and the processes of cooking. It is a gorgeous book. Let’s face it, a lot of us buy cookbooks for the photos, and the food photography in this one is just stunning.
One of the things I loved about this cookbook was the sheer comprehensiveness of it. There are sections on bread, broths, vegetables, grilling, and much more. I started out baking the Sesame Seed Rolls (p. 21) and found that recipe to be easy and delicious. My teenage grandchildren arrived as it was baking and the smell coming out of the oven drove them nuts. I had barely taken the rolls out of the oven and put them on the cooling rack when they were grabbing for them. I started to say something but I try not to get in the way of hungry teens. I had to bake another batch because I had intended that bread to go with the Escarole Bean Brodo recipe (p. 88) and they’d eaten it all. Being primarily a baker, I didn’t mind making a second batch at all. What I loved about the soup recipe was that it was simple, didn’t require a huge grocery list of ingredients, it was both economical and hearty. The teenagers cleaned out their bowls and asked for more. The recipe was also very forgiving. I couldn’t find escarole, (whether because of the season or pandemic shortages, I don’t know) so I substituted romaine lettuce. As much as I wanted the dramatic-looking romaine halves floating in a lovely broth, I had to consider the teens and knew they’d not eat it like that, so I chopped it and added as a garnish much as we do with pozole. That made it palatable to the kids and they ate it all up. I can easily see further substitutions for this recipe: kale, dandelion greens, or Swiss chard, for example.
I fell in love with Matheson’s section on broths. My granddaughter is a vegetarian and I am always looking for ways to get more richness and flavor into the meals I prepare for her when she comes over. Matheson’s celeriac broth, while it takes some time is so rich and earthy that it gives loads of flavor to anything, not just vegetarian dishes. I made both the Mushroom Stock (page 44) and the Celeriac Stock (page 41). The mushroom stock was earthy and delicious and makes enough to have some to freeze if you need to. The celeriac stock was surprisingly delicate for all that the roots and onions were roasted. Gianfranco and I made a puree from the leftover roots, which we then served on lamb tacos. The stock, I froze and used one bag just recently, in my chickpea stew. It imparted depth of flavor without competing with the existing recipe.
I steered clear of the sandwiches. While they looked AMAZING, my doctor would have a heart attack if I ate one and if I made one, well…I’d HAVE to eat it right? Still, I was drooling and regretfully skipped that section.
We did, however, make Joanie’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake (p. ??). My granddaughter Jasmine wanted to try it and I was all for it. The result was a lovely and moist cake with a firm crumb. The cake is not very sweet, but rather deeply chocolate and rich, perfect with a cup of coffee or glass of milk. It also pairs beautifully with red wine.
Throughout the book, Matheson’s voice is authentic, it is almost as if he is talking to you in person, telling you about recipes and food, what to do, and what not to do. I am still going through the recipes and I may just visit that sandwich section one day. This is one of those cookbooks that gets stained with food, the pages are worn, and that you reach for again and again. The recipes within are the types that become family favorites. I am very much looking forward to continuing on my journey of exploring this book and making many more of the recipes. Highly recommended!
This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party
