Deb Perelman's third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, is out today, and the book tour begins this evening with a signing at Fish's Eddy in Manhattan from 5 to 7 p.m. Perelman described the release as long-awaited, writing that it had been "impossibly hard" to keep the book from readers.
The collection includes recipes Perelman calls "keepers"—dishes she expects cooks to return to repeatedly. Among them are a one-bowl molasses cookie, a pot roast that can become a one-pot meal with rice added near the end, a vegetarian cheesesteak-style hoagie, a chocolate chip cookie with salted walnut brittle, a broccoli cheddar quiche, an egg salad, a three-layer chocolate party cake with milk chocolate buttercream, roasted cabbage, cream cheese and jam challah buns, and a pound cake.
The cover dish is a Green Angel Hair with Garlic Butter, a recipe Perelman traces to a New Year's Eve party where she roasted whole heads of garlic in a stick of butter instead of olive oil. The roasted garlic butter, blended with a bag of spinach, becomes a bright green sauce for thin spaghetti finished with black pepper and sharp Pecorino Romano.
Perelman frames the pasta as a weeknight alternative to the original party snack, which was served on crostini. The recipe calls for baking garlic halves in butter, covered with foil, for 35 to 45 minutes; blending the softened garlic and melted butter with baby spinach and seasonings; and tossing the sauce with cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. It is designed to serve four and takes about 45 minutes total.
The book tour continues with an Atlanta event on Thursday, an appearance at the Union Square Greenmarket this Saturday, and a Toronto stop next week. Additional events in New Jersey and Vancouver are expected to be announced. Perelman said more dates are added weekly and are listed on her site's Events page.
Perelman has written on her site for 17 years, focusing on making shopping easier and cooking more doable. She said the goal for these recipes is that cooks love making them, not just the results, because a difficult process can discourage repetition even when a dish turns out well.
Editorial Notes