Genius. It's a lofty word, a high expectation for any cookbook. Food52, one of my beloved sites for all things culinary can swing it. They know a thing or two about what constitutes a genius recipe, so much so that they filled a whole delicious book full of them.
Bread that requires no kneading, was my first pick amongst the mouth-watering choices found here. It was a new discovery, to find a slow fermenting dough that didn't require multiple rises, albeit very watery. I would recommend adding less water than this recipe suggests, but yet it still managed to "rise" to the occasion of turning out bakery quality.
Another stroke of pure genius is the hummus, a huge favorite of mine from Yotam Ottolenghi, author of a number of amazing cookbooks such as Jerusalem, Plenty and Plenty More. Having made his hummus recipe for countless parties and for indulging on my own, I can attest that the inclusion of this recipe gives Food52's cookbook total genius level bragging rights.
No matter how many years of experience cooking we have, it's always reassuring to have a solid set of recipes within our repertoire. Eliminating the risk of a flop that could require ordering pizza, this set of hits will keep you looking ahead to what else you can tackle, and may even try or the first time to serve at your next dinner party.
This book was received from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for review.
