Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Home-cooking Triumphs

The only way to learn to cook, Turshen says, is to cook. That means risking failure. But every successful dish—even a partly successful one—is a small victory to celebrate and enjoy. And one small victory can lead to another! After years co-writing books with nationally-known cooks, Turshen steps out solo here with a confidence-inspiring collection of recipes for everyday food—each of them supported by suggestions for flavor or ingredient variations she calls spin-offs. Succeed with braised chicken and leeks and you can just as easily do so with a Spanish or Vietnamese variation, rapidly expanding your culinary repertoire and letting you build on past victories without feeling you’re in a rut. This is great commonsense advice and Turshen delivers it with disarming charm that never suggests that a cook who is learning is somehow less of a cook.

Color photographs throughout. Hardcover.