Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen

Starred review from October 6, 2014
Cowin, the editor-in-chief of Food & Wine, debuts with a delightful “cookbook confessional” that documents a lifetime of making errors in the kitchen. She chronicles her journey to learn from her mistakes with a little help from her friends, all of them star chefs such as José Andrés, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, April Bloomfield, and Tom Colicchio. Along the way, Cowin says in a candidly humorous voice, she discovered “a bigger lesson—something more important than the perfect fried chicken or no-fail soufflé. And that is to be honest about what holds you back—in the kitchen and in life—and face it head on.” Cowin tackles 100 of her favorite recipes, “the ones I’ve made for family and friends over the years,” in an accessible fashion that’s sure to motivate home cooks to head fearlessly for their kitchens and try these tempting ideas. The simple and tasteful dishes are accompanied by extremely helpful tips, such as how to get the creamiest soup consistency; how to “brighten” pesto; and the best pan in which to cook whole fish. For starters, there’s Cowin’s take on Ming Tsai’s potstickers and Danny Meyer’s pork meatball sliders, along with other standouts such as a mushroom and beef stew and a baked ziti arrabbiata. Cowin’s culinary education makes for a charming and important book for both would-be and accomplished chefs.

September 15, 2014

When it comes to hands-on cooking, longtime Food & Wine editor in chief Cowin has messed up every food imaginable. After a foreword from chef Thomas Keller, the author admits not only to serving burnt and bland meals but also to creating a magazine column in which she used a pseudonym to solicit help. Cowin ultimately set out to improve her skills by collecting her frequently attempted and favorite recipes (e.g., cheese souffle, slow-roasted tomatoes with crunchy bread crumbs, simplest crepes with dark chocolate and cinnamon), noting her mistakes, and asking famous chefs for advice. Within this cookbook (written with food writer Turshen), Cowin sums up what she's learned in a handy "cheat sheet," which precedes simple recipes accompanied by "chef's tips" sidebars. VERDICT More accessible than Adam Roberts's Secrets of the Best Chefs, this cookbook is foremost a collection of reliable recipes and straightforward advice. Like Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, it relies on simple equipment, techniques, and ingredients.

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