Beginnings: My Way To Start a Meal

I ordered this book after finding "'Surf & Turf' Bone Marrow, Caviar & Herbs" online while researching marrow bones. Somehow my memories of taking the marrow from the bone in round steak as a child wasn't sufficient instruction. I find that Beginnings is every bit as innovative as that first recipe but decidedly more approachable and affordable. The book contains rather traditional introductions to Italian cheese trays and Italian cold-cut trays but the real value is in the seasonal recipes. I will give you a sense of the book by illustrating some of the problematic aspects.It's winter. Do you know where your rose thyme is? There is this wonderful sounding recipe for "Asian Pear, Lardo & Rose Thyme" that I really want to try but I'll have to wait to plant rose thyme (assuming I can find it), let it grow and then either drive into the city or find a mail order source for high quality lardo. (Or a nice flight to San Francisco may be in sight.) ... It makes the simple recipe take significant effort to actually achieve. On the other hand "Acorn Squash, Stracciatella & Sage" is entirely obtainable ingredients although I might choose to make the cheese rather than make a special run to the cheese monger.Need to hone your butchering skills? "Roasted Squab. Ancient Spice & Pickled Grapes" uses easily obtainable ingredients and I fell in love with the ancient spice mix (Aleppo pepper, cloves, juniper, allspice, cinnamon, long pepper). However, if you are not used to disassembling your own meat, the preparing of the squab is an interesting adventure in anatomy. Once you understand what you are going for it is not difficult ... but you must read and reread the instructions until you are certain you know what to do.Want to show off the local grapes, assuming they are available? Consider "Pan-roasted grapes, Turnips & Grape Leaves". First, there is the trip to the greengrocer for Red Flame, Thompson, muscat and Nebiolo (or Concord) grapes. Then you need young grape leaves ... wait if the grapes are ripe how many young leaves are there? Then there is the 2 tablespoons of Brovada. I hope you planned ahead as this component is among the staples at the back of the book and requires a minimum of 10 days.I hope you love to scour farmers' markets. The enticing "Cucumber, Radishes & Bottarga" looks like a wonderful way to introduce Bottarga (hey if it was in a "Chopped basket" we all have it in our fridge, right?) but the cucumbers are Armenian, lemon and Mediterranean ...So is the cookbook usable? Very much yes. Most of the recipes have ingredients most of us can obtain easily. Most of the recipes are not time consuming although you need to read the recipes carefully to estimate how long it will take you personally. None of the recipes require kitchen skills that are outside an experienced home cook's skill set. Nearly all the recipes will inspire you to consider variations on what you already cook, to play with a few new flavor combinations, to think of "Italian" not as Italy but as an Italian cook living in your locale. And this makes it an excellent cookbook for any household.

I had the pleasure of living blocks away from Chris' last restaurant, Incanto, eating there sometimes twice a week for almost a decade. His food is simply incredible. His menu changed almost daily, so I've sampled - more than once - many, if not most, of these recipes. It is great to see all those amazing dishes consolidated into one book. I pull this book from my shelves often. I lend it out to friends until they are convinced to buy a copy for themselves. I remind them that Chris won Top Chef Masters cooking many of these dishes. As far as I am concerned this is an essential arrow in your cookbook quiver. Make it happen people. Buy this book and dig in.

I love Cosentino's books. Gave this particular one to a friend as well.

This book is great and I was really upset no one else has reviewed it yet. Several really nice recipes. Great little blurbs from the author.You expect more offal recipes but there are a few foie gras and one tripe. The rest of the recipes are more focused on seasonal ingredients and really approachable.If you are familiar with the author you may wish for more salumi an offal dishes. But, one believes that those books will come. There is really nice section in the front o the book about different cured and aged meats. Also, I really enjoyed the section on cheeses.Overall a good book and I am looking forward to others from Chris constentino.

I've always been a fan of Chris Cosentino's cooking (and Twitter feed) so I was excited to finally have a cookbook from him. This book reflects his signature style and will make a welcome addition to your cookbook shelf.

A very different cookbook. It is all about Italian appetizers or first courses. A good addition to my cookbook library with over 2, 000 books.

very chill approach to entertaining. Chris manages to bring his style through without discouraging your own creativity.A very cool book for all levels of talent in the kitchen.

Chris Cosentino seems to have really taken his time with composing the book. I really like the way its set up by seasons and also gives you insights to Chris' favorite items. You can tell how much love he has for each individual ingredient and it shines through as a whole dish. Can't wait to try Incanto and try my hand at these dishes.

Really well presented but ultimately I was disappointed with the extremely limited content. Note the title - way to start a meal. Essentially a book with a lot of entree salads.

Awesome book, to bad my friend misplace it.