Starred review from February 17, 2020
New York Times food editor Sifton delivers a lush and fun guide to creating memorable Sunday dinners for large groups of friends and family. Advising readers not to take Sunday dinners “too seriously” because they are “simply special occasions that are not at all extraordinary,” Sifton provides enhanced takes on such classic recipes as chicken Provençal, barbecued pork ribs, and calzones. The recipes are straightforward, and their introductions are both entertaining, thanks to Sifton’s lyrical prose (“The onion leaves a sweet whisper”), and helpful (he lists crab and pheasant as alternatives to chicken for his gumbo). Some of the less familiar options include roast goose with potatoes, sweet and sour brisket (the two key ingredients are soy sauce and Coca-Cola), and shrimp pizza with bacon and artichokes. Readers will also relish the advice Sifton offers, including how to keep plates warm (e.g., put the plates in the dishwasher and use the “plate warmer” function) and how to save money when purchasing meats (he suggests buying cheaper cuts that still pack lots of flavor, like pork butts). This is an excellent resource for family meals that readers will turn to time and again.
Starred review from February 1, 2020
Sunday dinners bond families, and they also bring together all sorts of groups of friends and acquaintances, nurturing bodies and spirits with good food and drink. New York Times food editor Sifton (Thanksgiving, 2012) credits his appreciation for Sunday dinners to delightful meals prepared at his Brooklyn parish, and he hopes to encourage others to cook and serve such joyful repasts. Some of his suggestions could not be simpler: a beef stew has just beef, chicken stock, onions, garlic, celery, and big chunks of carrot. Ditto mashed potatoes smoothed with milk and butter. For something completely unexpected, Sifton has a riff on the Szechuan classic mapo dofu, reimagining it as a spicy sauce for rice or pasta. The bold cook can produce seafood for a crowd with fish cakes, chowder, or Yucat�n shrimp. The point of these recipes is not to be fancy, though occasionally Sifton introduces unusual ingredients such as Scotch bonnet peppers, or extravagant rib roasts or lobsters. Chapters on vegetables and pastas offer useful ways to stretch quantities to accommodate larger crowds economically, with color photographs adding to the book's overall appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
June 1, 2020
New York Times food editor Sifton's (Thanksgiving: How To Cook It Well) latest is a guide to cooking simple meals for casual gatherings, the kind of Sunday night suppers where friends and family gather for fellowship. Because the intent is to easily and frequently produce food for many people, many dishes rely on grains and legumes or inexpensive cuts of meat stretched by sauces or gravies. Most of the recipes are familiar crowd-pleasers such as spaghetti Bolognese, hard-shell tacos, and potato salad. The desserts chapter features large-batch, mostly fruit-based desserts such as cobblers and crisps that can be made with whatever is available. VERDICT Though large-scale entertaining is not an option as we practice social distancing, this book is equally well suited to cooks looking to stock their fridge or freezer with food that could serve for several meals over the course of a week or longer.--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.