Kitchen Remix: 75 Recipes for Making the Most of Your Ingredients

Druckman (Women on Food) proves to be a home cook’s savvy companion in this helpful cookbook. The recipes are grouped by food groups (dairy, seafood, vegetables, etc.), and are presented as sets of three main ingredients used to create trios of dishes. Some trios are familiar but with twists, such as the oats-focused group that skews savory with dishes including an oats-apple-gouda combo that yields a fruity “oatotto” in which grated cheese is stirred in just at the end, and a dressed salad of sliced Granny Smith apples topped with a caraway–fennel seed–oat granola. Vegetables are a highlight: Celery root can be braised, caramelized, or pickled, then served with salmon and peas. As for main dishes, chicken legs, apple, and shallot can go into a roasting pan or Dutch-oven, or can be baked as a stunning tarte tatin entree. Other trios are more unexpected, such as the squid, cornmeal, and peppers used in a polenta dish; or shrimp, tomatoes, and almonds, which yield a bright buttermilk-dressed salad, a Spanish-inspired almond soup, and a Sicilian-pesto pasta. Druckman closes with appendices offering ingredient resources and a recipe list by course. The author’s conversational tone enlightens and entertains in this quirky collection of innovative dishes. (Apr.)