Food & Cooking

This is West African food for every kitchen, a generous, warm welcome to its delicious, irresistible culinary mainstays and rhythms. If you already cook with ingredients like hearty greens, yams, black-eyed peas, and okra, or have enjoyed Southern staples like jambalaya and gumbo, you have tasted the deep culinary influences of this interconnected region that spans Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria, and more.

Now, in Simply West African, celebrated chef and West African cooking authority Pierre Thiam unlocks the region’s essential tastes for the everyday home cook. With helpful tips and tricks that teach readers the basics of the cuisine, Pierre shows how seamlessly these flavorful, easy-to-execute dishes can become weeknight staples or the star of your table for weekend gatherings. Introduce family and friends to:

· Familiar dishes with a distinctly West African vibe: Chicken Yassa Tacos; Saucy Shrimp and Fonio Grits; Maman’s Crispy Herb-Crusted Chicken; Blackened Salmon with Moyo Sauce
· One-pot crowd pleasers: Root Vegetable Mafe; Chicken Stew with Eggplant; Tomato, and Ginger; Braised Beef and Collard Greens
· Hearty vegetables and starchy soak-em-ups: Roasted Eggplant in Peanut Sauce; Double Coconut Rice and Peas; Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Mash

With this book, you too will fill your kitchen with the comforting, irresistible flavors and beautiful spirit of West Africa.

It’s not your mother’s Piña Colada! Sophisticated, flavorful, with fresh ingredients and the perfect hit of booze, a sloshie is a high-octane slushie—the ideal summer drink that’s a far cry from the cloyingly sweet blender cocktails of yore.

Written by Jerry Nevins, cofounder of Kansas City’s Snow & Co.—named the #1 frozen cocktail bar in the United States—Sloshies features more than 100 innovative refreshers guaranteed to jazz up (and cool down) backyard parties, barbecues, or any gathering with family and friends. And they are so easy to make: Based on a simple granita technique, sloshies require little to no special equipment. Just mix the ingredients, stick them in the freezer, and wait until they’re slushy.

There’s the tart: the Whisky Smashed, a frozen mint julep; the cucumber-kissed Limey Bastard; and the Sunshine Boulevard, a stone-cold shandy starring beer, vodka, and citrus juice. The sweet: the alluringly exotic Blue Roses (featuring a bouquet of curaçao, vodka, and rose hip liqueur). The spiced and herbal: including a Manhattan with rye-infused cherries, and the Proud Mary—yes, that’s a frozen Bloody Mary. Plus drinks with floral notes, like the Midnight Orchard, a beguiling combination of whiskey, elderflower, bitters, and maraschino, and a few nonalcoholic granitas to refresh the palate.

The book includes recipes for the syrups and infused liquors that many of the drinks are built upon, plus information on garnishes, serving suggestions, and other finishing touches.

75 fun, easy, comforting recipes that go way beyond spaghetti and ramen. Inspired by the noodle-crazed cuisines of Asia, Italy, and the American melting pot, these recipes dish up high-impact, slurpable flavor and minimal fuss. Dig into comfort noodles like Really Savory Sunday Sauce with Tagliatelle and French Onion Mac and Cheese. Quick weeknight noodles: Flash-Fried Rib Eye with Black Bean Sauce and Crispy Chow Mein and Let’s Stay in Tonight Spicy Sesame Chili Oil Noodles.

Plus how to upgrade instant ramen, recipes for making delicious pasta from scratch, plus the one and only lasagna bracket competition.