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Something Old, Something New

Classic Recipes Revised

Illustrated by Mindy Dubin

About The Book

The award-winning, bestselling author of An Everlasting Meal “revitalizes classics and long-forgotten dishes, bringing them into this century with verve and ease” (Bon Appetit) in this “lovely and literary” (Vogue.com) cookbook.

Many dishes that once excited our palates—like oysters Rockefeller, steak Diane, cheese and walnut soufflés—have disappeared from our tables and, in some cases, from our memories. Creating a unique culinary history, Tamar Adler, a Vogue and New York Times writer and Chez Panisse alum, has collected more than a hundred recipes from old cookbooks and menus and enlivened, updated, and simplified them.

Adler’s approach to these dishes involves ample use of acid and herbs, pared down techniques, and contemporary ways of serving. Seasonal menus, wine pairings suggested by sommelier Juliette Pope, gorgeous watercolor drawings by artist Mindy Dubin, and a foreword by influential food critic Mimi Sheraton add to this “personal, nostalgic journey…as much about the writing as it is about the cooking” (The New York Times Book Review). Adler has created a unique culinary history, filled with delicious recipes and smart, witty prose. It is destined to become a modern classic.

About The Author

Photograph by Aaron Stern

Tamar Adler is the James Beard and IACP Award–winning author of An Everlasting Meal; Something Old, Something New; and An Everlasting Meal Cookbook. She is a contributing editor at Vogue, has been a New York Times Magazine columnist, and the host of the Luminary podcast, Food Actually. She has cooked at Chez Panisse, and lives in Hudson, New York.

About The Illustrator

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (April 3, 2018)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781476799643

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Raves and Reviews

"Tamar Adler is a curious magpie, skillfully collecting culinary ephemera from across the ages and weaving them into an unimaginably beautiful nest. Step inside. You'll find yourself comforted and inspired by the writing and the food, both equally sensible and elegant."
Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

"Adler is a peaceable cook, and a pragmatic one... Her economizing ethos shines in her new book."
The Washington Post

Tamar Adler is more than a wonderful food writer—she is a wonderful writer. She delves into these past and forgotten recipes with the spirit of an adventurer and a sleuth, and while writing about food, she is always secretly writing about something else—a love of life, eternal values, industry, thrift, friendship, the unknown. Her books—written with a charmingly loose confidence and care—feel timeless. Even those of us who never cook, or don’t give meals much thought, will find enduring literary pleasure in Something Old, Something New.”
Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?

"Home cooks looking to adventure into the past will find much to enjoy with these refound recipes."
—Library Journal, (starred review)

"Revitalizes fusty classics and long-forgotten dishes, bringing them into this century with verve and ease... it’s bookery meets cookery."
Christine Muhlke, Bon Appetit

"A personal, nostalgic journey inspiring the rediscovery of classics... as much about the writing as it is about the cooking... lyrical."
Jenny Rosenstrach, The New York Times Book Review

"Adler has a curious intelligence and technical command to back up a thoughtful approach to classic French dishes, which reimagines what might be produced out of a home kitchen... Any cook looking to exercise and enhance creativity will find in Adler a worthy muse."
Booklist

"What a delight this book is. It reminded me of half-forgotten treats and made me nostalgic for things I've never actually tasted. But most of all, I treasure Something Old, Something New for the writing, which is as suave and fun to read as M.F.K. Fisher. Adler is the best kind of kitchen companion, someone whose warm and witty voice I want to carry with me as I cook."
Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork

"Her writing is lyrical and lovely—and thorough and authoritative."
Food 52

"A lovely and literary cookbook... handsome and witty and personal, full of glimpses into Adler's life." --Vogue.com

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