People like to get married in June. It’s a magical month. Suzen and I were married on June 20 in 1986, which seems like yesterday. If yesterday can be 29 years ago. We were both foodies when we met and that made for a quick marriage and a first year spent in the kitchen as we learned each other’s cooking styles and preferences. Personally, I learned a lot. Apparently I was not the best dish washer in the world.
Yes, that first year in the kitchen and all the subsequent ones. That is the mission of lovely new The Newlywed Cookbook by Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore. Leafing through the pages it’s pretty stunning: the “beginning” cookbook of today is far more advanced than what we used thirty years ago. This book is designed to give you a starter kit of recipes, tips, and techniques for your kitchen life together. There is sophistication here, as you will see, presented in a diverse set of serious recipes for everything from breakfast to entertaining to snacks
The Newlywed Cookbook is organized around the way we plan, cook, and eat now. Here’s a book overview:
Appliance Pro offers recipes centered around one of those shiny devices you get for a wedding gift. Blenders, food processors, multi grills, slow cookers, and other gadgets are demonstrated with recipes emphasizing their special powers. Recipes here include Pulled Pork, Cilantro Cumin Chicken Chile and Ciderhouse Dutch Apple Pie.
Weeknight Dinners gives you ideas for great meals for young couples with dual careers. The recipes here are fast, like Sautéed Chicken Cutlets, but come with punch — Red Wine Sauce, Dijon Sauce, and Bourbon Sauce — to give you restaurant-style meals to cap a busy day.
Weekends is devoted to recipes that take a little more time and provide deep comfort. The ideas here include Garlic Shrimp Risotto and Vegetarian Lasagna. The weekend is brunch time and a section of brunch recipes include Mushrooms & Caramelized Onion Egg Skillet and Brioche French Toast.
The era of three-square meal a day has passed us by. We all nibble. We devour tapas. So the aptly named Grazing & Small Plates chapter offers both elegance and speed: Apricot-Almond Baked Brie, Roasted Asparagus Salad, and Chipotle Beef Sliders.
Time passes by, but some classic dishes need to be in the repertoire of every couple. They are here in A Blast from the Past, provided with respect for the past and with some contemporary flash: a classic Bistro Meatloaf with chopped onion and topped with ketchup, Chicken Noodle Soup, and an Ultimate Mac & Cheese with three cheeses.
Desserts & Indulgences offers a Summer Fruit Galette and Killer Brownies in three layers with caramel in the middle.
There are pantry, shopping, and cooking tips here to support the creation of these dishes. If you really are new to the kitchen, this is a guidebook for those first months.
The recipe ideas I have highlighted here give you strong survey of the very contemporary perspective in The Newlywed Cookbook. A decade or more ago, did you know what a galette is? A Chipotle Slider?
Yes, the book actually has a fondue recipe. Did you get a fondue pot for one of your wedding presents? Suzen and I have no idea where ours is. There is an onion dip, of course, because everyone has to know how to make onion dip. This recipe though does not involve onion soup mix. Instead you employ caramelized onions and bacon. The culinary standards have risen.
It’s been exactly 29 years since Suzen and I were married, but this weekend we are opening up The Newlywed Cookbook and beginning all over again. No fondue but a Goat Cheese aux Fine Herbs Omelet is now our style. As a gift for friends getting married, or for you with an anniversary, The Newlywed Cookbook is the perfect summer starter.