Twelve Recipes provided the basic techniques and recipes for essential home cooking. Now, A Recipe for Cooking takes home cooks to the next level.
Cal Peternell gives you everything you need to cook for big get-togethers, holiday feasts, family occasions, and for a special dinner for two. He organizes the recipes by season to help cooks plan their meals from first bite to last—how a meal should start, what should be the main attraction, what should be served alongside, and how to choose the perfect finish.
Illustrated with charming color photos and drawings, A Recipes for Cooking offers a range of delicious, easy-to-master fare: Savory Tart with Onions, Olive, and Anchovies; Shredded Zucchini Fritters with Basil Mayonnaise; Citrus Salad with Ginger, Cilantro, and Saffron-toasted Pistachios; Fish and Shellfish Soup; Rolled Pork Loin Roast Stuffed with Olives and Herbs; Lasagna Bolognese; Belgian Endive Gratin with Gruyere and Prosciutto; and a Blood Orange and Buttermilk Tart. Each of Cal's recipes utilizes the freshest, most delicious ingredients of each season.
Here are meals to share with close family and good friends—to laugh, drink, and cook with—as well as dishes that give you some quiet time in the kitchen, slicing, seasoning, and simmering. With food to make introductions, to commemorate, to celebrate, even, on occasion, to gently instigate, A Recipe for Cooking is Cal Peternell at his wittiest, warmest, and most inspiring.
Cal Peternell is the author of Almonds, Anchovies, and Pancetta, A Recipe for Cooking, and the New York Times bestseller and IACP Award–winning Twelve Recipes. He grew up on a small farm in New Jersey and earned a BFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, then was inspired to pursue a cooking career while living in Italy with his wife, the artist Kathleen Henderson. After working at various acclaimed restaurants in Boston and San Francisco, he began a nearly twenty-two-year stint as the chef at Chez Panisse, first in the café and then the downstairs restaurant. Cal’s culinary-education podcast, Cooking by Ear, launched in 2018. Cal and Kathleen have three sons and live in the Bay Area.