Even my wife, who normally eschews recipes, found the cookbook very helpful in preparing for our first time hosting Thanksgiving.

As a restaurant professional, Bourdain spent his life on the fringes of normality he worked while normal people played, and played while normal people slept. The Pomodoro worked wonderfully with them but I did need to simmer for longer than the 20-25 mins to make it thick enough to coat the meatballs and not make the bread soggy in the heros. We both agreed though we don't like quite as much mayonnaise in ours so next time I'll decrease the mayo a bit. It's kind of a rock n'roll cookbook; not great for vegans and there's not a ton of quick prep stuff in here. It should be noted that, as this book was published, Bourdain abandoned his family for his television work.I also think that the dry chorizo was too overpowering and next time I will use fresh chorizo which has a milder, less smoky flavor. Also, our brioche buns had gotten rather soggy on bottom after being pressed--I'm not sure how you would prevent this, so next time I'd probably make these sandwiches on crusty baguettes instead, like the Melissa Clark version. Anthony Bourdain is many things: He’s the host of the wildly successful CNN show Parts Unknown; he’s a father; he’s the author of best-sellers like Kitchen Confidential; and way back when, he was just another restaurant chef trying to make it through a shift. I easily cut this in 1/2 (with a 14 oz can of whole plum tomatoes in the pantry) and I did add a pinch of sugar at the end. We both thoroughly enjoyed this, but next time I might add some extra milk or cream to thin the sauce out a bit.

Recipes range in inspiration from classic French to Vietnamese street food to homestyle Italian cooking, which will surprise no one familiar with Bourdain’s culinary explorations and predilections. There's no rhyme or reason to the recipes besides "here's stuff AB likes" (which I guess is part of the charm), and everything is either laughably basic (scrambled eggs! I used a bit of the clam's canning liquid since I had no clam liquor, and about 1/2c of pasta water (which I had salted aggressively prior to cooking the pasta).As far as I can tell it's people who think Anthony Bourdain can do no wrong yet possess zero kitchen skills. What sets this mac n cheese apart is the addition of mustard powder, cayenne pepper and worcestershire to the béchamel. Sections on how to cook steak, hamburger, Eggs Benedict, bacon, and other common and popular choices.

I like an acid counterpart so added sliced peperoncini to an open-faced sandwich on rustic sourdough bread. I don't have hours to make dinner, I don't have easy access to special ingredients, and I value health in my cooking above taste (although I absolutely believe you can have them both). The only other thing I couldn't see not doing was adding cheese - a slice of provolone went over the loaded bottom bun and was broiled until bubbly. It seems like a lot of spices in the marinade but the flavor is pretty subtle in the finished result. Turning the pages at random, there's a two-page spread of a dog lunging for a piece of tossed meat (appetites, remember?

I served this dish and the beet dish with grilled Copper River salmon, but both of these sides are getting bookmarked for vegan dinner parties. I like how in this version, the tuna mixture is mixed with anchovies, herbs and lemon, which makes it really nice and flavorful. Both the sausage and the redeye gravy in this book are a strictly meat and dairy/broth affair, no roux to be seen. Seafood is his kryptonite so it makes sense that's where the heart of the book lies, but he makes room for comfort foods like mac' n cheese and biscuits and gravy.

This is not a run-of-the-mill guide to cooking, but rather a lovely stroll around Bourdain’s mind as he feeds you the things he adores.It’s one of those book you get out of the library just so you can look through it and decide whether or not it’s something you really need on your shelf. nobody's appetite was ever whetted by seeing a picture of Eric Ripert with sausage gravy dribbling down his chin.