Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook. #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Hardcover – September 14, 2021

A quick flip through and frankly it's apparent that Joshua's wit and personality shine through. I'm more of a recent follower but regardless, this book is as basic and as complex as you need. Based on other reviews that say it is too basic I disagree but maybe reading the intro was totally skipped - it's actually a great a sensical read. I am one to decide to boil an egg maybe once a year and forget the timing so, reaching for this book may be a bit easier and faster than typing it in Google. I personally love that it contains these simple recipes: *how to make* butter, cheese, stocks, base staples we use everyday and easy ways to make it yourself. Heck, even recipes to make your own dipping sauces, to eat cleaner and without all the chemicals store bought/fast food has to offer. So when you look at it as "building blocks" as Joshua puts it in the intro, to build up the more complex recipes it makes perfect sense and frankly, it's genius for a more sustainable way of life. Or just continue being a baby, and throw around your store bought butter on toast - blocks, but then your just doing it wrong.Within 2 days of owning this book my picky family ended up very sick. His mom's chicken noodle and chicken tortilla soup - cooked literally the same day, at the same time came to the rescue and they were divine, absolutely delicious and already worth the money. Even the chicken noodle, yes a classic, and perhaps plain, packed an amazing flavorful punch that even my mother who enjoys only the most basic, bland, far less-flavorful food enjoyed this recipe! It is now my go-to for the whole family; not to mention the rest of us that like more complex and super flavorful food.I look forward to tackling more recipes and especially the cashu/should ramen, the bread, specifically the dinner rolls for sentimental reasons. I have certainly struggled with multiple dinner rolls so many times in the past. This book is a staple so despite the reviews who don't get it, order it and give it a chance, to me it's more than worth it.

Easily my new favorite cookbook! I love his sense of humor, writing style, recipes, photos, everything. I appreciate that he included basics and sauces in there- very helpful.

The book is sturdy, easy to flip through, with pictures accompanying every dish. This is a beautiful and convenient cookbook, not a cheap product.I think it would have been easy for many people to just slap their name on a book/product. That is not the case here. Weissman’s personal voice speaks throughout this book, in both his humor and cooking philosophies. The heart of this book is about the importance of building layers—how to appreciate each ingredient, how to elevate a dish by its components. The book begins by going through the basics of cooking, making ingredients/components from scratch, and steadily teaches you how to bring together those basic components and how each piece imparts flavors to the dish.If you are an avid watcher of Weissman’s and you’re wondering how the book stands against his videos, rest assured, you will still get a lot out of this book. Aside from having a quick reference to all of his popular recipes, the book also includes cooking tips and new recipes (at least, I think they’re new—I’ll admit that I don’t have all of his videos memorized).One minor critique. I think the meat section could have been organized a little better. I wished poultry had its own section and there was a tuna melt recipe that I thought would fit better in the fish section, but maybe there was a thought process behind that. In any case, there’s an index in the back of the book for quick reference so it’s really not a big deal. You should still be able to quickly find what you want.Who I would recommend this to: I think this book is a great tool for anyone, but that said, if you’re at a moderate-advanced cooking level, relearning the basics might not be appealing for you. If you’re already a master cheese maker, bread maker, pickler, fermenter, etc., then the book’s teachings of using cooking as building blocks might be redundant for you. That said, if you’re a person who cooks solely as a hobby like me, you’ll still find some good cooking tips and unique recipes. And if you’re a fan of Weissman’s, you will absolutely love this.Overall thoughts: perfectly printed cookbook. Excellent for fans, students, hobby cooks, or anyone who wants to review the fundamentals. If this book is about building blocks, then this sets the foundation perfectly, and I can’t wait to see how Weissman’s future cookbooks continue to work their way up (because we are getting a Vol. 2, right?).