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 stumbled upon Nick’s blog looking for black bean burger recipes and have been hooked (and cooking from it) ever since. My husband says that my cooking has vastly improved (I did not tell him how) recently since I have been cutting back on my Southern meal staples and branching out into cusine I have never had. My favorite staple is still chicken, but beans, greens, and vegetables are fast becoming a key part of our meals!
Rice is one of our cornerstones for meals in our house. I always make extra and then dress it up with sauted veggies, sometimes chicken or beans/legumes. My son loves “crazy rice” or “mice rice” where I hide all sorts of good-for-you food in each spoonful.
Beans! We cook a pot every week for beans and rice, soup, tacos, and to round out pasta or salad dishes. This looks like a great book.
I think tomatoes….they seem to be present in almost everything I do. This cookbook would also be perfectly matched to my son’s cooking style, looks like a gift in the making!
I would say chicken is a pretty big cornerstone ingredient for me.
I agree with Nick, I love having roasted chicken on hand. I will definitely check out his blog and cookbook. I like to make healthy, seasonal and inexpensive meals, as well.
My favorite is a whole roasted chicken. Now that we are down to two, I get more out of one chicken!
Chickpeas are one of my cornerstones: in Italian and Moroccan soups, Indian dishes, chickpea and chard gratin, scattered in salads, hummous of course …
Wow…that looks like a really cool cookbook ! I guess roasted chicken would be it here !
i would have to say roast chicken, i don’t know how many times we made that on a weekend and had endless iterations of leftovers throughout the week, soup, vodka chicken pasta, casseroles, chili, enchiladas, i can’t even remember what all we’ve made with roast chicken!
Love the re-purposing roast chicken … would love more ideas than casserole and chicken soup!
I just recently started cooking more steak than we need, then reheating over the next two days for steak fajitas and sandwiches!
It would have to be chicken but onions and garlic come in close second.
Onions and peppers! We grow them and use them so faithfully. Especially peppers can twist any recipe (hot or sweet). What a useful book this is!
My cornerstone right now is probably chicken — but even *I’m* starting to tire of it. Heh. The book looks really interesting; I’m particularly curious about the marinara chapter!
What a great idea for a cookbook!
My cornerstone ingredient? Well, roast chicken is the first, but really, bacon has to be second – bacon makes *everything* taste better!! 🙂
Roast chicken, definitely.
For me it’s chuck roast. I can stretch a nice chuck roast like you wouldn’t believe. Stews, pot pie, stroganoff, goulash, shredded for tacos or enchiladas, chunky chuck chili…on and on…all from one beautiful grass-fed chuck.
I’ve been using a lot of Israeli couscous lately as a serving platform for a lot of dishes that are saucy, maybe even soup like. And homemade chicken broth that I’ve frozen in small containers is also handy.
Roasted chicken, definitely.
Tomatoes are probably my cornerstone ingredient. If I had infinite room in the pantry for canned marinara, salsa and a variety of diced tomatoes, we’d probably eat them everyday. My family is probably glad for the limited space!
probably plain tomato puree. I canned a whole lot of it (although, ftr, I am about to run out!). But we use at least a jar a week. 🙂
Chicken is our big “cornerstone”. I always make extra when I am roasting it so I have plenty to put with pasta and veggies for a quick supper, make chicken salad for lunches during the week, BBQ chicken pizza, chicken enchiladas or fajitas or quesadillas, and chicken stew. This book sounds awesome!
My cornerstone ingredient is canned crushed tomatoes. I can’t tell you how many cans of tomatoes I purchase each year.
i would have to say my cornerstone is fresh veggies from the garden,i see what i have and plan my meal around them.during non growing season,i rely on the veggies i have preserved.
This sounds like a wonderful book to add to my collection of favorite cookbooks! The fact that he did it all himself is amazing!
Thanks Jane. 🙂 It was a labor of love for sure!
Macheesmo has long been one of my favorite blogs, and Nick’s one of my favorite blogging voices. I love this idea for a cookbook, and am all about his practical tips about how to get the most out of a few simple ingredients!
A cornerstone of our diet and pantry are definitely beans, lentils, legumes: I cook these little babies up all the time. (And I’m pretty sure Nick’s blog was where I first learned how much easier cooking lentils are after soaking them. Love that guy!)
Feta cheese. I love it, and it will dress up just about anything: pizza, salad, casserole…
My favorite Cornerstone ingredient is definitely a whole chicken. So easy to toss it in a pot with a few veggies, then divide it up for multiple meals through the rest of the week.
Chicken breasts, bread and a good goat cheese have been our staples lately. Partly because cooking hasn’t been my friend, but they’re still great to work with when it is.
Whatever’s in my fridge, pantry, and freezer …. I hate supermarkets!
My cornerstone ingredient lately seems to be ground venison. I use it in place of ground beef and we eat it at least 2-3 times a week. Someone’s trying to clean out the freezer!
Veggies, I’d say. As long as I have some kind of vegetables in the house, I can make a meal happen.
I guess it depends on the time of year, whether it’s grilling season or not, but I do admit that garlic gets tossed into pretty much anything. I would love this book. You can never have too many great cookbooks!
Potatoes! Yummm my favorite!
brown rice and other grains, but I always keep frozen cooked rice on hand to flesh out a meal, so to speak!
Cornerstone ingredient(s): chicken and rice. More recently, quinoa. Could really use the inspiration from this.
Thanks for the opportunity – and for introducing this cookbook!
I love this concept but sadly don’t follow it so have no cornerstone food yet. My day-to-day cooking usually consists of frozen dinners – hoping to change that when we retire next year and I cook every day so this looks like a cookbook I need!
Rice is my cornerstone ingredient. I can top it with curry or stew, savor it up in a risotto, sweeten it in a pudding, or just serve it plain as a side.
My favorite cornerstone is fresh tomatoes from a garden. I think they’re the foundation of Italian, Mexican, American, Southern and Midwest cuisine, and more.
I made a pot of beans the other day. Too easy and too delicious – where have they been all these years? I’ve also been thinking about a pressure cooker as an integral part of my daily cooking.
Roast chicken… you can do so much with it from shredding the meat for chicken salad, mexican, topping for pizza, to using the bones to make stock.
Bacon! Everyone loves bacon and you can save and use the leftover grease instead of other fat to add even more flavor to a dish!
Looks like a great cookbook. It looks like there is a plan .. a little leftover plan. I like those!!!
If I had to choose I would say that chicken is my go to….there are many close seconds!!
At our house we love to “create something out of nothing”. Rice is a wonderful cornerstone. It will be found in burritos, under s stir fry, with stroganoff, in soup or the basis for “clean out the fridge” stir fried rice.
Seems we eat a lot of chicken and rice.
LEMONS! They freshen just about every recipe. I adore them.
Straight up spaghetti. With a myriad of different sauces to make, it’s our cornerstone, for sure.
My favorite cornerstone ingredient is probably chicken stock. I make a huge pot of it every couple weeks, and freeze it in cups and quarts and use it all the time. It makes everything taste better.
Nice cheeses. You can always cobble together an antipasti meal if you have at least one fine cheese and some bread or crackers lying around!
Cheers,
*Heather*