At Home In The kitchen David Kinch Cookbook Review

At Home in the Kitchen: Simple Recipes from a Chef's Night Off

Today, for our cookbook review of the week, we'll take a closer look at At Home in the Kitchen, the newest cookbook from the award-winning chef David Kinch.

When David Kinch isn't working at one of his four restaurants, he cooks in the salmon-colored bungalow - affectionately known as the Pink Palace - where he lives on the Northern California coast. A casual evening might include a game of limbo played with an old broom handle and dancing to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" after digging into a rustic pasta made with cans from the pantry, or a simple roasted chicken, or too many oysters to count.

In At Home in the Kitchen, David presents the unfussy dishes he cooks most often, including Brussels Sprouts with Cider and Goat Cheese, Mozzarella Crostini with Lemon and Tomato, Penne with a Walnut Sauce, Peel and Eat Shrimp with Garlic and Rosemary, Pork Tenderloins with Coriander and Fennel, Whole Roast Cauliflower with Capers and Egg, Lentil Soup with Smoked Ham, and much more. While each recipe has no more than a few key ingredients, David's clever techniques, subtle twists, and fresh flavor combinations guarantee delicious results in no time at all.

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Casual Meals From a Three-Michelin-Starred Chef

David, chef and owner of Manresa, with three Michelin stars, in northern California - shares in this laid-back cookbook the recipes he prepares on his days off from work. The key, David writes, is that the dishes are “quick and inexpensive enough to make a handful for a party, or to prepare for yourself as snacks during the week.”

Accordingly to David cooking is difficult... it requires attention. To prove you his point of view, throughout this book, you'll find tips, such as making sure to use a 30 cm (12-inch) or larger pan for Paella and placing the gratin dish for his Belgian Endive Gratin on a baking sheet to prevent a mess if the cream bubbles over, or salt your water after it is boiling to prevent stains in the bottom of the pan.

The recipes in At Home in the Kitchen, often have no more than seven or eight ingredients, and are wide-ranging and take nods from various cuisines, as evidenced in recipes for Catalan-style Kale cooked with Raisins and Pine Nuts, Cherry Clafoutis, and Jambalaya. Many options work well for entertaining, among them California Crab Boil, and an Herbed Goat Cheese and Chorizo Tartine with Honey. Notable mains include a Lamb Tartare and Oven-Roasted Potatoes with Cod. Recipes often have no more than seven or eight ingredients, which is perfect for readers craving quick, adventurous dishes.

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A Lot of Recipes to Cook

At Home in the Kitchen is packed with 120 recipes for casual meals, ranging from simple breakfasts to 2 a.m. snacks. If we could only point out one good thing about this book, it would be the number of recipes. With 8 chapters, that cover everything from small plates, condiments to fill your pantry, pasta, rice, meat, desserts, and a lot more, this book will have something for everyone.

Photographed on location in Santa Cruz, where David surfs, sails, and entertains, this fun and festive cookbook also features his recommendations for the best songs to listen to while cooking and the classic cocktails (rum punch, daiquiris, sangria, margaritas!) that should precede every meal.

At Home in the Kitchen is a book with a delicious laidback vibe that is great for summer's weeknight dinners!

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Final Thoughts

At Home in the Kitchen was a great surprise for us! Although David is known for being the force behind one of America’s fine-iest fine dining restaurants, he was able to write a great cookbook for the home cooks. From our experience in reviewing books, chefs of this caliber struggle to understand how the life of home cooks works, but this was not the case in this book.

All of this say, if you are looking for a cookbook written by three-Michelin-starred Chef, in which you can put all its recipes into practice, this is the book for you.