A new book, this time about chefs and their tools.
Oh, hey! It's been awhile! How've you been?
Me? Pretty great, actually. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I'm about to release my third (!?) book on July 15! A Colander, Cake Stand, and My Grandfather's Iron Skillet is a collection of essays and recipes that were contributed by chefs from all over the country, and celebrate each chef's favorite cooking tool. (I got to edit the project!) Yes, there are skillets, but also wooden spoons, cheese grinders, Microplanes, KitchenAid mixers, copper bowls, and, of course, one really beautiful knife.
As for the recipes, they range from the technically complicated to the blissfully simple. My favorite part is that the chefs went out of their way to get personal with their stories and recipes. Some of the dishes have been passed down through family; others are a perfect representation of what you'll find when you walk into their restaurants. It makes for a really strong collection that has both challenged and inspired me.
If it comes as a surprise that I suddenly have a book coming out, I'll be honest that I'm a little surprised by the news myself! The work on this project flew by, mostly because of all the awesome people I got to collaborate with along the way, so it's crazy to think that it's suddenly about to be released out into the world. Thank you, Spring House Press (my publisher), for making it all go so smoothly, and also to photographer Danielle Atkins who helped us produce a really gorgeous book.
To preorder your copy, hit up Amazon -- or keep an eye on the site and I'll let you know once I have copies to sell!
I also want to thank all of the contributors ... and the publicists, agents, assistants, and handlers who helped me gather materials. Here's a quick glance at all the names you'll see in the book:
Jody Adams; Jonathan Benno; Sean Brasel; Stuart Brioza; Joanne Chang; Natalie Chanin; Zach Espinosa; Ford Fry; Kevin Gillespie; David Guas; Timothy Hollingsworth; Linton Hopkins; Chris Kimball; Nicole Krasinski; Dale Levitski; Margot McCormack; Steve McHugh; Kyle Mendenhall; Rob Newton; Ken Oringer; Seth Raynor; Slade Rushing; Steven Satterfield; Jonathon Sawyer; Michael Scelfo; Sarah Schafer; Jeremy Sewall; Alon Shaya; Chris Shepherd; Bruce Sherman; Rebekah Turshen; Norman Van Aken; Robert Wiedmaier; Anne Willan; Virginia Willis; Tandy Wilson; Andrew Zimmern.
A very sneak peek at some of the dishes. Enjoy and can't wait to share this project with you!
