20something Cookbook Review: "The Cooking Club Cookbook"

This book, by six New York 20somethings, was inspired by the supper club they started - they'd meet one night a month, try new recipes and reconnect with each other, forging that sense of community and family that's so important. After reading about the club and those tasty theme night dinners - a Far East Feast, Spanish Tapas, Comfort Food Night and 9 others - your 20something will want to start his or her own cooking club too.

The adjustment from college dorm social life to the working world can be a rough one. Suddenly, everyone's running in different directions. It's harder to make and retain friends. And that sense of community and family that most of us had growing up, and that's replicated in the dorms or sororities, evaporates. Suddenly, your 20something finds him or herself standing over the kitchen sink, eating take-out of dubious vintage. That's what happened to six college friends working entry-level jobs in Manhattan a few years ago. That is, until inspiration struck one day and the group - Katherine Fausset, Sharon Cohen Fredman, Rebecca Sample Gerstung, Cynthia Harris, Lucia Quartararo and Lisa Singer - decided to form a supper club.

They'd meet once a month, they decided, try new recipes and reconnect. The first dinner went swimmingly with Simon and Garfunkle Chicken (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, of course). The second dinner was not such a success. And it soon became apparent that a little tweaking was necessary, including designating a theme and balancing the menu. Five years and 14 job changes later, the Cooking Club wasn't just reveling in Far East Feast, Spanish Tapas and Comfort Food nights, they had their own cookbook out too.

"The Cooking Club Cookbook" (Villard 2002, 166 pp) is a fun jaunt through the club's formation and a dozen themed menus. The book offers plenty of inspiration, and recipes for everything from Mini-Me Mac and Cheese, served in individual ramekins, to Spinach and Chorizo Empanadas, Creole Casserole with Shrimp and Crab, and Risotto with Taleggio and Pears. It's also plentifully illustrated with beautiful shots of food and "candid" photographs of Cooking Club members that will make you laugh. You can practically hear the photographer hollering, "No, no, don't look at me, look to your right. Lift the knife. Hold it! Hold it!"

The recipes are fairly good, but the main appeal of the book, from a parent perspective, is its inspirational and aspirational aspects. Your 20something will read it and think, "Hey, I could do that too!"

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.