Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-To-Head Tests
Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-To-Head Tests
Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-To-Head Tests
Description
Description
A charmingly obsessive, thoroughly tested exploration of the best ways to cook and bake your favorite foods.
Some might think the "best" roast chicken means "most efficient without sacrificing juicy meat," while others might think "best" is the one that you won't be able to stop thinking about for years, no matter how long it takes in a sous vide bag. When writer Ella Quittner (creator of Food52's "Absolute Best Tests") is cooking or baking something, she cannot rest until she's tested every method she can to arrive at the best result. Even if that means traveling to Tokyo to learn the trick to extra juicy tsukune for her tender meatballs or spending time in the Alabama Black Belt gathering intel from the pros for her flakiest biscuits.
In Obsessed with the Best, Ella walks you through the results of 24 head-to-head tests of cooking methods to help you find the perfect choice for your palate. From these building blocks, Ella shares more than 100 recipes, grounding you in minimalist techniques that maximize flavor, and sharing creative options as jumping off points for your own favorite flavors. Recipes include:
- Under-Pressure Flaky Biscuits, Fluffy No-Special-Equipment Buttermilk Pancakes, and a failproof Caramelized Shallot Soft Scrambled Eggs with ComtéCrispy Smashed Potatoes with Insurance Cheese, Rigatoni with Vodka "All'Amatriciana," and more than a dozen optimized veggies, like Braised Tomato-Butter Cabbage. Entrées like Triple-Secret Tender Meatballs, One-Hour Roast Chicken, Opulent Slow-Roasted Chicken, and Lemon-Butter Cold-Poached ShrimpSweets like Overachiever Extra Brown Butter Bakery-Worthy Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Soft & Tender Yellow Cake, and Actually Manageable French-ish Buttercream
Punctuated with reported essays on people, places, or things obsessed with "the best"--be it a bacon evangelist from Iowa who flies annually all the way to Kofu, Japan, to throw a "Porktober Fest" in the middle of a seasonal celebration of a feudal lord, or an international spin through different pasta-making methods from Osaka to Tuscany--Obsessed with the Best is precise, informative, personal, and fun in equal measure.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"Ella Quittner gets it. She's done the exhausting work for you so you can skip straight to cooking with confidence. Ella breaks down techniques with the nerdy, obsessive detail I live for. Her writing is witty and honest, because perfectionism is exhausting but it also makes for really good recipes." - Sohla El-Waylly, author of Start Here
"Ella channels her compulsive curiosity into a year of culinary experiments, testing every variable--from butter temperature to bacon thickness--in pursuit of perfection. The result is part recipe collection, part cultural study, and a wholly entertaining reminder that obsession can be delicious." - J. Kenji LĂłpez-Alt, author of The Food Lab
"Ella's book is a master class in obsession--the research, the writing, the photography--plus its entirely unique recipes and structure. This is much more than a cookbook--it's a delicious feast of a beautiful mind." - Dan Pelosi, author of Let's Eat
"Ella really wants to teach her audience. Anyone can hand over a stack of recipes, but it takes someone who cares (or in this case is slightly obsessed) to communicate such a level of detail. This book is a wealth of knowledge made approachable thanks to her wit, humor, honesty, and infectious enthusiasm." - Meredith Hayden, author of The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook
"Obsessed with the Best is a modern culinary odyssey! How lucky we are to have Ella as our guide. I am equal parts charmed, fascinated, and enlightened." - Nicola Lamb, author of Sift
"The recipes in Obsessed with the Best are gleaned from her maniacal dedication to recipe testing; [Quittner's] dishes and desserts are rounded out by funny, incisive essays about the feverish societal chase for the 'best.' This is a book for anyone who's ever doubted the rigor behind recipe writing, or who wants validation of their own tendency to spiral into rabbit holes." - Eater
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
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