Review by Booklist Review
This first cookbook from Santos (with coauthor Rodgers) celebrates casual entertaining with gourmet flair, featuring family-style plating of small bites, mounds of salads and pastas, and shared entrées just the approach the chef applies with success in his popular New York restaurants. As the subtitle suggests, Santos likes to surprise his guests by reimagining Chinese soup dumplings with a caramelized onion-broth filling and a blanket of Gruyère, à la French onion soup. Or reworking Cobb salad as individual bacon cups piled with shredded brussels sprouts, blue cheese, and egg, dressed with an avocado vinaigrette. But these and many of the book's recipes seem only accomplishable with a professional chef's equipment, pantry, and staff. Dishes include many sub-recipes and dozens of ingredients; it's a far cry from 30-minute meals. In fairness, the recipes are not complicated and are superior in teaching technique: Santos includes clear and detailed directions, including sight and smell cues, to help cooks proceed confidently. Cooking enthusiasts will warm to the author's inventive twists on standard dishes and the chance to replicate restaurant-level fare provided they have a weekend in the kitchen to spare.--Neumer Lara, Alison Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Santos, known for his communal approach to dining (evidenced by his N.Y.C. eateries, Stanton Social, Beauty & Essex, and Vandal), extends his philosophy to a broader readership, in this outstanding collection guaranteed to appeal to all palates and skill levels. Whether readers are aiming high (chicken liver focaccia with braised shallot-rioja marmalade) or low (crab corn dogs with Old Bay aioli), Santos has them covered in this inventive collection. The book is thoughtfully curated and hits all the right foodie notes (red velvet waffles with cream cheese sauce; sliders made up of three types of beef and bacon, topped with a riff on Russian dressing and cola-braised onions) without alienating newcomers or novices. Instructions are clear and to the point; the emphasis is on flavor rather than culinary showmanship and arcane ingredients. Santos is a master craftsman and has assembled one of the most solid compilations of approachable, inventive fare in recent memory. His work deserves space on any respecting foodie's bookshelf. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Santos is a judge on Food Network's Chopped and the founder of New York restaurants Beauty & Essex, the Stanton Social, and Vandal. Writing with veteran author Rodgers (Kaffeehaus), Santos debuts bold recipes that can be mixed and matched for family-style dining. Cooks who love to entertain and throw parties can craft memorable communal meals from such dishes as crab corn dogs with Old Bay aioli, tuna sushi satays with jicama-peanut slaw, pasta with spicy veal and lamb bolognese, and red velvet Twinkies with crème fraîche filling. Indulgent, playful starters are the star of this cookbook, which also covers cocktails, brunches, sides, mains, and more. VERDICT A great source for surprising crowd-pleasers. Think French onion soup reimagined as soup dumplings. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
