 |
| Instagram instructions included |
Food with Friends, Leela Cyd’s celebration of “the art of simple gatherings,” brings whimsy and style to the casual brunch or spontaneous potluck.
The cookbook draws inspiration from a variety of locales, gleefully tossing together flavors within its pages and within recipes. Kesari Bhath, a South Indian dish of sweetly spiced wheat, directly follows Hagelslag on Toast, a sugary Dutch treat. Several pages away, the Matcha Egg Cream reinterprets Asian green tea in the style of a traditional New York deli egg cream. A list of pantry staples includes preserved lemons, harissa (a Tunisian chile paste), Amarena Toschi (Italian preserved cherries), and German mustard.
Food with Friends caters to a crowd as enamored with presentation as with taste. An opening section contains tips for creating a unique style (such as the subtly vintage look cultivated throughout the cookbook), hints for serving and table setting, and suggestions for turning the meal into a photo shoot. Full page photographs accompany most recipes, offering a glimpse of the dishes’ aesthetic potential.
Each recipe begins with a chatty, enthusiastic introduction, highlighting its unusual flavors, cultural background, or place in an amusing anecdote. These range from intriguing (a brief history of the dessert called an Eton Mess, supposedly the product of boys' school cricket matches) to saccharine (the tongue-in-cheek narrative of fairies breakfasting on Lavender French Toast) to personal (an account of the author’s wedding day and her opinions on champagne and spa waters).
The recipes range from simple to detailed, Warmed Olives to Sugar Cookies with Edible Flowers. Breakfast foods, snacks to accompany tea or cocktails, potluck dishes, treats to give as gifts, and desserts all make an appearance. Frequently, fresh fruits and vegetables, exotic seasonings, rich cheeses, or dark chocolate are key ingredients.
Eccentric, charming, and attentive to detail, this book depicts the pleasures of sharing delicious food with good friends. However, if you don’t Instagram your cinnamon roll, your tote bag of radishes from the farmer’s market, or your friend’s chai latte, you may want to find a different cookbook.