I have a confession to make. Even though I write about food for a living and spend the bulk of my days sitting no more than five feet from my kitchen, I still regularly struggle when dinnertime rolls around.
You see, I try to keep our evening meals relatively inexpensive, healthy and not too time consuming to make. What this ends up meaning for me is that I cook the same seven things over and over again. While Scott is perfectly willing to eat chili, turkey burgers, giant salads and chicken soup on repeat, I find that I need new meals on my plate.
I’m constantly searching for genius to strike. I flip through Everyday Food each month when it arrives and I try to sit down in front of my shelves of cookbooks on a regular basis to see if something will resonate.
Recently, I fell hard for a new cookbook that I think will be motivating my meals for many months to come. Part of the reason I love it so is that it fits my mealtime criteria and cooking style (cheap and easy). Called Cornerstone Cooking and written by Nick Evans (he’s the blogger behind Macheesmo), it’s designed to help you build meals around one of eight central ingredients.
Each chapter starts with a recipe for the central (or cornerstone) ingredient and then offers a number of different ways to transform that item into a full meal. While I realize that this isn’t a crazy-new concept, it’s so helpful to have all these different recipes in one place and to be reminded that I can do more with a roast chicken than just make my standard soup (I’ve got Nick’s tortilla soup high on my to-make list).
One section that I think will particularly appeal to the preservers in the crowd is the one in which Nick details all the things you can do with Marinara Sauce. Many of us make up a dozen or more jars of homemade sauce each August and while serving it over pasta is always an acceptable course of action, it’s always nice to have alternatives.
Next brunch potluck I’m invited to, I’m making his Eggs in Purgatory Casserole. I’ve done a quick, skillet version of that dish for years, but I like the idea of lining the casserole dish with crusty bread so that it becomes akin to a savory, tomato-y, French toast. With a salad, I wouldn’t think twice about serving something for dinner, either.
Last week, Nick took the time to answer a few of my questions about his new book and his plans for future canning projects.
I love the title of the book. How long have you been working with that phrase and this idea?
I came up with the idea for the book long before I had a name for it. I knew I wanted to write about repurposing leftovers and try to show people how it can sexy to take something old and turn it into something new. Chefs do it all the time, but most home cooks haven’t quite caught onto the idea.
Anyway, about the name, I was walking down the street one day listening to a podcast (I don’t even remember which one) and they described something as the “cornerstone” idea. It worked perfectly with the method of cooking I was trying to describe — using one large meal as the backbone for other smaller meals. I’ve always liked alliterative titles so Cornerstone Cooking just flowed from there.
What was your very first cornerstone recipe?
The first one that I wrote for the book was the Nick Nugget recipe. I knew I wanted roasted chicken to be the first chapter since it is easy and accessible to a lot of people. Plus there are tons of meals you can make with leftover chicken. I could’ve written a whole book on that!
The first cornerstone recipe that I ever made without knowing it was probably my Fridge Cleaner Chili. I kind of just toss all of the veggies I have in my fridge with some stock, spices, tomatoes, and beans and let it simmer for awhile. It’s always a hit.
I see that you did some canning in 2011. Any plans for more in 2012?
Oh yes! I was lucky that both of my canning attempts last year turned out to be successful even though I was a complete novice. You honestly inspired me to try it out. I was shocked by how easy it was to do.
I plan to do a lot more pickled veggies this year just because they are my favorite. I might try one or two experimental jams to give out as gifts also. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I made a jalapeno peach jam last year that was better than expected.
Here’s the other thing that makes this book so impressive. Nick did the whole darn thing himself. He wrote every word, did the all photography, prepared the design and indexed every recipe (he even indicated which recipes are his wife’s favorites, a touch that I love). Truly, every ounce of it is all his work.
I would say ground turkey. I can make burgers, soups, casseroles or throw it on top of spaghetti.
Pasta and eggs are my go-to ingredients, always on hand, versatile.
Farm fresh eggs. They are healthy and can be prepared so many ways!! The cookbook looks awesome!
condensed milk for casseroles
Only one??? It would be chicken, I make a lot of dishes with it.
My favorite cornerstone ingredient is eggs. Every since I got my backyard flock, I’ve been letting eggs lead my cooking, and there are a lot of easy egg-centric dishes!
I think for myself, the cornerstone is to roast a chicken. Or at least buy a roaster and fabricate it so I can roast the bones and legs and wings; grill or poach the breast or sometimes marinate it in Frank’s Red Hot to make Buffalo chicken strips for salad or snacking. For my wife, it would be rice. She can eat all week on a pot of rice without repeating a meal!
My cornerstone ingredient has to be pasta. I can make a million different pasta dishes depending on what’s in the fridge and how much time I have. This is in fact what I did last night for dinner. 🙂
Tomato sauce – it goes so many ways from curry to chili. Rice too but I guess that it is what I like to have on hand to put cornerstone recipes on!
My favorite cornerstone ingredient is Chicken. But bread and tomato sauce and eggs are in a close race for first!
My cornerstone ingredients have always been any kind of beans. I make baked beans, bean dips, chiles, soups, stew, all kinds of things.
Probably chicken, followed closely by tomatoes.
My favorite cornerstone ingredient is tomatoes. I use them daily, and luckily they are always in season where I live. Thanks for the giveaway!
Lentils are my favorite cornerstone ingredient, which I see he features on the book cover. 🙂 Soups, salads, stews… They are more versatile than most people think.
My favorite cornerstone food is homemade chicken broth. It’s both satisfying on its own and the beginning of so many terrific other meals.
My favorite cornerstone would be marinara sauce. The possibilities are endless….
Tricky one! Does cheese count?! Always on hand, use it on top of everything! That and fresh bread or beans. Or tomatoes. Mmmm… love these ‘cornerstone’ foods! Or maybe just food in general =)
I have 2 cornerstone ingredients always on hand. Rice and lean ground beef.
Definitely bread.
I love finding new uses for leftover chicken. I think he has a wonderful idea for a new cookbook.
Eggs. If I’m ever stressed or tired or just not in the mood to cook I can always heat up some leftovers and pop a fried egg on top. Need to use questionable produce in your fridge? Chop it up, toss into a skillet with some eggs, and pop it all into the oven for a strata!
Eggs. They are the “cornerstone” of many dinners in our kitchen. Huevos Rancheros is our standard “go to” meal every week. So versatile and satisfying.
Our favorite cornerstone is roasted chicken!
I know everyone is saying chicken but it really is versatile and I cook it many times a week. Love the cookbook concept!
That’s why it is chapter 1 for me Amy! In hindsight, I think I could’ve written an entire book just on roast chicken uses. 😉
Free range organic roasted chicken is definitely our “cornerstone”. I could just eat it every day as is, but my husband wants something “new” after day 2. He loves chicken enchiladas but it would be wonderful learning some truly “new” options to work with. My birthday is on the 6th-this would be a great gift….. 🙂
My cornerstone ingredient is rotisserie chicken. It’s even cheaper than buying a raw whole chicken and cooking it myself, so I pick one up at Costco at every visit. I chop up the chicken, bag it and freeze it, and use the bones to make stock! I have cooked chicken whenever I need it!
Fresh tomatoes, for sure! You can do so much with a basic cooked tomato sauce or chop them up and use them fresh in so many ways.
hmmm … rice? It’s actually more of a foundation than a cornerstone.
This is a long overdue concept for a cookbook. It will be fun to see his ideas. My cornerstone is chicken breasts. Its a healthy meat but can get boring.
What a fabulous concept! For home canners this is perfect! I’m out of marinara sauce and black beans for the time being (although I don’t have any excuses re: beans. I’ve just been too lazy to cook up a big batch lately) but I love roasting big chickens and using the leftovers for 2 or 3 meals.
Yes! I love this way of thinking about food. I often describe it to other people as cascade menu planning. I’d love to read his strategies.
I end up finding pork roasts very vesatile. Actually, before my mother went low protein, I wouldn’t even get in on the first step – I’d just acquire her pork roast leftovers and find meals into which I’d incorporate them.
I would have to say Chicken… love it….
Awesome giveaway-this cookbook looks amazing! My favorite cornerstone ingredient is roasted peppers and onions (I like to put them in omelettes, grain salads, soups, etc.)
pretty hard to argue with bread
I just love leftovers, I would have to say bread is probably my number one cornerstone ingredient, I make all of my own breads and the ways to use it are unlimited, breakfast, lunch or dinner.
My favorite cornerstone has to be tomatoes. There are so many possibilities and so many meals I make are based on them.
Canned tomatoes (either my own or Muir Glen fire-roasted).
My favorite would have to be tomatoes! I use them about 5 times per week when cooking! This book looks great 🙂
I would say my favorite “cornerstone” ingredient is ham. I’m horrible about using leftovers, to the point that even some of my favorite foods sit in the fridge until they go bad, but whenever we cook a ham, I end up using it in all three meals, in a lot of different dishes, before it’s gone. It’s weird because it’s not a food I’d consider a favorite…there’s just something about it that seems to make it more appealing to me to use its leftovers than most other foods.
I would say tomatoes as well – you can do anything with a tomato, but cheese would probably be a close second.
Beans/lentils are def. a must in our household
What an awesome concept for a cook book! Marinara sauce would probably be my favorite, such a great base for so many dishes.
This book is going to change my life. I struggle with dinner every evening. If I have a cornerstone ingredient right now it is probably chicken, I always have it on hand and it’s very versatile, but I’m so looking forward to finding some new cornerstones!
I do not have a favorite cornerstone although I am very excited by black beans, lentils, and marinara sauce. Can’t wait to see the book!
I think my favorite cornerstone is roasted chicken. It is a wonderful meal, then becomes sandwich or enchilada filling, broth for soup, sauces, or risotto… So many meals can come from one chicken!
What a great idea for a cookbook! My favorite cornerstone ingredient is chicken, there are so many new meals I can create with leftover chicken.
My favorite would be tomatoes! There’s alot of dishes to make with them and fresh from the garden, nothing could be better!
Black Beans
My favorite “cornerstone” ingredient would have to be bread – a person can do so much with it.
My favorite cornerstone ingredient is homemade bread. It never lasts long at my house!