#mollybaz

[this-represents]

Laure Joliet photographed Molly Baz and Ben Willett in their home for Domino Magazine.

[richbilotti]

Weekly Blog Post 10/26/2021

Until recently, I was almost disgusted with the idea of recipe books, a bit strong of a word, but had a particular perception of them; you get the idea. I grew up in an age where if I wanted to know how to cook something, I could google that shit. I spent a solid chunk of time flipping through the pages of all recipe books that my mom dug out for me. And even then, I was still cautiously doing so because I didn't want to feel like I was relying on a recipe more than the culinary skills I had learned. But having started to collect modern recipe books and reading them, I began to see the value again and why a resurgence in them was happening. 

Flipping through those old recipe books was a bit nostalgic. It's not like I remembered any of the recipes specifically, but it was just reminiscent of a different time. It was amazing to see the evolution of recipe collecting, especially when I got to my mom's recipe box, stuffed with recipes from a great range of time and unknown sources. Some were neatly written on cards that matched the box, some sloppily scribbled on notecards, some typed via a typewriter, some printed on a word doc in comic sans, some from my sister, and many more types. It was insane the range of the recipes and them being shared. You have to be a fantastic friend to personally write out a well-regarded recipe of your own to share with them. I experienced this last year with a family friend. We gifted them a crockpot, ingredients, and two recipe cards (that I made up in illustrator) as a present. It was interesting trying to synthesize what was necessary onto a slightly oversized notecard-sized piece of paper.

Where I'm going with all this recipe developing, gathering, and sharing is the fact that a recipe has been created means that it has been, hopefully, rigorously tested and improved into its most ideal form, ready to be shared with those wanting to learn. Reading Molly Baz's Cook This Book has opened my eyes to the role the author/chef has when crating this collection of recipes.

[richbilotti]

Sando

Sando is just a shortened and cooler way of saying sandwich, a word coined by Chef Molly Baz

[jess7750]

Niçoise Sando with Smashed Egg & Black Olive Mayo (used green olives instead). #cookthisbook #mollybaz #recipe #homecooking (at Turlock, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPKHF4CHBJc/?utm_medium=tumblr

[jess7750]

It’s about to go down. Thanks @mollybaz #nicoisesalad #sandwich #mollybaz #yummy #foodporn (at Turlock, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJ7nJ3Hy6w/?utm_medium=tumblr

[directlywithlizzie]

Recipe 41: Supremely Creamy Tomato and Cheddar Soup (Molly Baz’s Cook This Book)

Tomato soup = Comfort in a bowl.

There is no shortage of variations on creamy tomato soup and it’s, quite frankly, one of those meals you really don’t need a recipes for. More often than not, I scour my fridge and pantry to see what combination of vegetables I can toss together in a pot with a can or two of tomatoes and some herbs and then blitz with my immersion blender. Ta-dah! Served up with a couple of slices of crusty bread or a perfectly golden grilled cheese sandwich, pretty much any creamy tomato soup is going to immediately take me back to childhood and fill my heart with warm feelings and a wave of comfort. That is the point of any “comfort food” after all. Tomato soup and a grilled cheese is probably my husband’s favorite food, some version of it was actually the first thing I cooked for him early on in our relationship. All that to say that yes, of course, I wanted to see how Molly does it in Cook This Book. The premise of the entire book revolves around teaching techniques as much as it is offering up recipes, so yes, make Molly’s Supremely Creamy Tomato and Cheddar Soup- especially if you want to learn how to make one of the world’s best soups.

SKILL RATING: Easy Peasy

The easy-easiest of recipes! There are very few ingredients and the only real prep work involved is chopping the onion and scallions. Other than that, throw it all in a pot and and let it simmer. I didn’t have crushed canned tomatoes, so I did have to take the extra step of crushing them with my wooden spoon while they simmered. (Clearly, not a big deal.) I also ran my immersion blender through the simmering tomatoes, onions, and water before I added the cream, so that I would have a smoother texture. This is not a requirement, of course, just a preference for this type of soup.

TASTE RATING: 4/5

This was a solidly delicious creamy tomato soup. It was fast, easy, and satisfying. Was is it the “best” version of creamy tomato soup? Probably not, but it was still great and one I would definitely make again. The scallions provided a little sweetness to balance the acidic punch from the tomatoes and it was very creamy without being overly heavy. The best part about it was how the fresh dill elevates the soup’s dimension in the finishing flavor notes. All in all, this was another great recipe from Cook This Book. It’s flavorful, vegetarian, and supremely EASY to whip up in about a half hour.

Read my “Cook With Me This Year” post for background on my little kitchen project.

[doraj19]

Mushroom Carbonara @bonappetitmag recipe by Molly Baz I made this for @jacqueofay myself and that lil stinker today. Orecchiette pasta, white + baby portabello mushrooms, organic shallots, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh eggs provided by @bamamisse, fresh parsley, Parmesan cheese, fresh cracked black pepper & kosher salt. Recipe link: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/mushroom-carbonara . . . . . . . . #bonappetit #bonappetitmag #bonappetitrecipe #mollybaz #mollybazrecipe #mushroomcarbonara #mushroom #pasta #cook #kitchen #recipe #dailydoseofdora (at Crow’s Nest Capitol Heights) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8crxEKn8SN/?igshid=1ovcevairdyk

[dinnerketo]

If you asked @mollybaz if she’d rather have an extra half hour of sleep or have … If you asked @mollybaz if she'd rather have an extra half hour of sleep or have breakfast, she'd say "sleep, please." But just because she skips the a.m.