Main navigation

Cooks&Books&Recipes

hot-off-the-press cookbooks, straight-from-the-oven recipes

Header Right

Hot-off-the-press Cookbooks. Straight-from-the-oven Recipes.

Cook This Now Cookbook: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes

107 Comments

Cook This Now Cookbook (cover) - www.cooksandbooksandrecipes.com

Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make

by Melissa Clark

Publisher: Hyperion

Publication Date: October 2011

Buy on Amazon

Featured Recipe: Braised Leg of Lamb with Garlicky Root Vegetable Puree

Many people want to eat well, organically, and locally but don’t know where or even when to begin, since the offerings at their local farmers’ market change with the season. In the Cook This Now cookbook, Melissa Clark shares all her market savvy, including what she decides to cook after a chilly visit to the produce section in the dead of winter, what to bring for a guaranteed hit at a potluck dinner, and how she feeds her marathon-running husband and finicky toddler. In addition, she regales us with personal stories about good times with family and friends and about cooking adventures such as her obsessive cherry pie experimentation and the day she threw out her husband’s last preserved Meyer lemon.

In her welcoming, friendly voice, Melissa takes you inside her life while providing the dishes that will become your go-to meals for your own busy days. Recipes include Crisp Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas, Lemons, and Carrots with Parsley Gremolata; Baked Apples with Fig and Cardamom Crumble; Honey-Roasted Carrot Salad with Arugula and Almonds; Quick-Braised Pork Chops with Spring Greens and Anchovies; Coconut Fudge Brownies–and much more.

Melissa delivers easy, delicious meals featuring organic, fresh ingredients that can be uniquely obtained during each particular month. It can be a challenge to feed families these days, but Melissa’s recipes and inviting writing encourage home cooks to venture outside of the familiar while still pleasing everyone at the table.

Cooks&Books&Recipes Editors:

Yes, you read that right: we’re giving away a copy of Melissa Clark’s Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make, listed as one of NPR’s “Best Cookbooks of 2011,” to one lucky Cooks&Books&Recipes reader (details below). That’s because we became a fanatical fan of Melissa Clark’s cooking and writing after reading her acclaimed cookbook In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite (based on her popular New York Times Dining section column, “A Good Appetite”). And she only builds on her reputation with Cook This Now.

The recipes are organized by month, with White Bean Stew in January and Cantaloupe and Yogurt Soup in July. They are all refreshingly new, yet refreshingly simple. Clark offers tips and substitutions for each recipe with her “What Else?” section and, for some recipes, ideas for variations in “A Dish by Another Name.” But as in her previous cookbook, my favorite part is her writing: you’ll need two copies of this cookbook, one to keep in the kitchen for a bit of cooking and one to keep by the bed for some thoroughly engaging reading. Want proof of the latter? Just read the excerpt below.

Author’s website: http://www.melissaclark.net/

Web talk on Cook This Now: NPR (2011’s Best Cookbooks); The Boston Globe; Food Network

Cook This Now Cookbook (cover) - www.cooksandbooksandrecipes.com

Ready to cook from the Cook This Now Cookbook?

We suggest that you start with this braised leg of lamb recipe!

Giveaway

Because we want to share the writing/cooking joy that is Melissa Clark, one Cooks&Books&Recipes contest participant will receive a copy of Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make — free!

To enter the contest:

1. Simply comment here, saying that you want to win a copy of Cook This Now.

Four additional ways to enter the contest:

2. Follow us on Twitter (@Cooks_Books) and then tweet about the contest by copying and pasting the following: Entered to win a copy of Cook This Now cookbook http://tiny.cc/og3fy @Cooks_Books #recipes #cookbook #giveaway

3. ‘Like’ the Cooks&Books&Recipes Facebook page and leave a comment here to let us know. If you already like us on Facebook, just leave a comment here telling us so.

4. Subscribe to Cooks&Books&Recipes by RSS feed or e-mail and leave a comment here to let us know. If you are already a subscriber, leave a comment here telling us so.

5. Give this post a thumbs-up “I like it!” on Stumble Upon, and leave a comment here letting us know.

Please note: If you want to enter more than once, the separate comments for each entry are required (a necessary step for keeping track of entry numbers).

[Contest will close on Friday, December 30, at midnight PST. The winners will be chosen via List Randomizer (www.random.org) and announced the following week. The contest is open only to those with U.S. mailing addresses. Cooks&Books&Recipes will send the cookbook to the winner.]

UPDATE:

And the winner, as identified by Random.org, is Nelly Rodriguez, who won with her Twitter follow/comment. Thanks to everyone for entering.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  21. I borrowed this book from the library and am sad I’m going to have to return it this week. Fingers crossed Santa brings it to me, or, perhaps I’ll win this contest.

    Reply

  26. I read through In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite quite often. Love that after a long lunch, your mother asks about what you should have for dinner. Reminds me of my dad. I would really love to have a copy of your new book.

    Reply

  68. I am alway son the look out for new and delicious  meals to spice up everyday meal planning. After years of cooking , I don’t want ho hum  or the usual.

    Reply

  73. If you need any supplies such as knives,cooking utensils, plates and cups,etc… the options are endless They are so fantastic your husband will want to cook more than you will!!! Go to velmasamazingdeals.com

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Coriander Warren Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

MENU