Katie Chin's Global Family Cookbook

March 15, 2021
Diverse flavors are the highlight of this new offering from Chin (Everyday Chinese Cooking, 2016), who readers may recognize from her many television appearances and her food blog. Chin's number-one role is as a mom and that shines through in her narrative, photos, and recipes. An extensive collection of 170 recipes provides an international palate with an Asian flair. Recipes are grouped thoughtfully and paired with cook's notes that give helpful hints, swaps, reuse ideas, and substitutions. The ""Multi-cultural Celebrations"" chapter highlights previously published recipes by other chefs, including Faye Levy and Jeffrey Saad. Overall, this is a solid contribution to the family cookbook cache and will be useful to anyone looking to liven up weeknight meals and expand their repertoire, and will be popular in public library collections.

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April 12, 2021
TV chef Chin (Katie Chin's Everyday Chinese Cookbook) rounds up recipes from across the globe in this colorful survey of cuisines that aims to break down cultural barriers through cooking. "Food can transcend our differences," writes Chin, "and when we break bread, we form new relationships and at times, heal fractured ones." She begins her ambitious endeavor with dinner, shaking up tried-and-true dishes, such as pizza, with a tikka masala and cauliflower crust option, and offering an Asian-inspired take on taco Tuesday, banh mi-style. Some of her most ingenious creations are the international mash-ups, such as Greek-inspired nachos—essentially a Greek salad atop toasted pita wedges—or Thai-style poutine french fries, with a spicy peanut sauce . A highlight is her chapter on holiday celebrations, in which she teams with others to liven up traditional dishes—for Lunar New Year, she tackles potstickers with TV host Jeannie Mai; for Hanukkah, she makes Israeli-style doughnuts with food writer Faye Levy. Chin claims her recipes remain free from ingredients that are hard to track down, though that doesn't always hold true—Mexican oregano, for instance, may be difficult to find at local supermarket outside of the Southwest—and the narrative style of her instructions can occasionally be confusing for complex dishes. Home cooks looking to invigorate mundane meals and bring more spice to their repertoire will be inspired and delighted.