Dorie Greenspan - Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook

Copyright 2018 by Dorie Greenspan

Photographs 2018 by Ellen Silverman

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhco.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Greenspan, Dorie, author. | Silverman, Ellen, photographer.

Title: Everyday Dorie : the way I cook / Dorie Greenspan ; photographs by Ellen Silverman.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. | A Rux Martin Book.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017061484 (print) | LCCN 2018020409 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544835450 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544826984 (paper over board) | ISBN 9781328633521 (special ed)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX714 (ebook) | LCC TX714 .G75224 2018 (print) | DDC641.5 dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017061484

Book design by Melissa Lotfy

Food styling by Nora Singley

Prop styling by Ayesha Patel

v2.1018

For Linling and Joshua

Love. Always.

Writing cookbooks makes me happy. Acknowledging the people who help me do that makes me even happier. And thanking the people who have been at my side book after book makes me happiest of all.

My cookbook family includes Rux Martin, my editor; David Black, my agent; Judith Sutton, my copy editor; and Mary Dodd, my recipe tester. It still seems unfathomable to me that Ive been lucky enough to have them in my life for so long. My work shows the marks of their intelligence, talent, energy, creativity and commitment, and Im richer for having them in my life as friends. I love you.

Once again, as she did for Dories Cookies, Melissa Lotfy has designed a beautiful cookbook. The extraordinarily lovely pictures are the work of Ellen Silverman, photographer; Nora Singley, food stylist; Ayesha Patel, prop stylist; and their assistants, Gigi de la Torre, Dylan Going and Joan Danahy, who pushed and pushed and never stopped until they had the perfect image. It was inspiring to be in the studio with you.

Making a cookbook is a project with many parts, and I was glad to have Jennifer Herrera of the David Black Agency help sort them out for me. The team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is so good at cookbookery that they make it seem easy. Thank you, Sarah Kwak, for your patience and knowledge; Jamie Selzer, for having a sharp eye for errors; and Crystal Paquette, for watching over the printing. Special thanks to Jacinta Monniere, who has the talent of a mind reader when it comes to deciphering a manuscripts hieroglyphics. Extra thanks to Jessica Gilo, Houghtons marketing genie its a joy to work with you.

It makes me so happy that, once again, I get to thank Carrie Bachman, the best cookbook publicist in the biz, as well as Breanne Sommer, of HMHs culinary publicity team, for helping to bring this book to cooks across the country. And a toast to my Monday night Riesling pal, Ellen Madere, for advice both generous and good.

Joe Yonan, editor, and Bonnie Benwick, deputy editor, at the Washington Post Food section, made a place for me at their table and, for two years, encouraged me to write the Everyday Dorie column. Special thanks to Becky Krystal and Kara Elder, for helping so much during that time.

Thank you, Jake Silverstein, editor, and Jessica Lustig, deputy editor, at the New York Times Magazine, for inviting me to write the On Dessert column. And more thanks to Jessica for knowing that Sasha Weiss would be the perfect editor for me.

It is impossible to underestimate what my family means to me and to my work. They are a part of everything I do, my wisest advisers, my best critics and my strongest cheerleaders. I may have written a bakers dozen of cookbooks, but I dont know where to begin to write how much I love you and how much your love means to me. Thank you, Joshua Greenspan, Linling Tao and Michael the wonderful, wonderful Michael Greenspan.

The recipes in this book are for the food I make all the time. Its the food of weekdays and weekends, of dinners for two and meals for a crowd. Its the food I make in Paris, where Ive lived part of the year every year for more than twenty years. Its food from New York City and rural Connecticut, my two hometowns. Its food from supermarkets and from farmers markets wherever I can find them. But no matter where I am, its food from the pantry and fridge.

These recipes, most of which are simple, none of which needs skills beyond basic, turn out dishes that are comforting, satisfying and inviting. Ive often said that my favorite kind of food is elbows-on-the-table meals that are casual, put people at ease, can sometimes be eaten with your fingers and always encourage guests to linger, sharing stories and passing second helpings. Its the way I like to feed my family and friends.

Whenever Im cooking, I try to sneak in a little surprise. I love it when theres something unexpected in a dish, especially when its one we think we know well. The first time I put walnuts and oats in meatballs on a whim and served them to some friends accustomed to their grandmothers Sunday-sauce version, it didnt go unnoticed. People perked up when I put strong mustard in the normally mild, cheesy gougres I always pass before dinner parties. And when I decided to stuff boxy bell peppers with cherry tomatoes and roast them until they were jammy and lightly charred, everyone adored the look of the dish, and no one could guess that what sharpened the flavors were anchovies, cooked until they just about melted into the bread crumbs Id put in the bottoms of the peppers.

Since Im an exceedingly practical cook and like to use what Ive got on hand, I often change a dish on the spur of the moment because Ive found an odd measure of something in the refrigerator, or a leftover from a different dinner. Thats how cranberries ended up in the Subtly Spicy, Softly Hot, Slightly Sweet Beef Stew it turns out their distinctive tang is great with the Korean bottled sauce gochujang, the stews offbeat seasoner. Mushrooms languishing in the vegetable bin made my regular burger so powerfully flavorful that I call it the Umami Burger.

Ive constructed my recipes so that youll be able to cook this way too. Whenever you see Choices or Playing Around, youll find ways to riff on a dish so that it will fit into the meal youve got in mind or will let you work with what you might already have in the house. I figure that, like me, when youre ready to cook, youre ready to eat, not shop for a missing ingredient.