Have you ever looked in your fridge or in the produce aisle and wondered what you could use with a certain item? Well there’s good news, the Flavor Bible is a book all about pairings. You can find just about anything in its pages and subsequently find what pairs best with it. I’ve used this book countless times to develop recipe ideas and menu plans.
I should start this off by noting that this book can be quite overwhelming to the average cook. But, don’t fret. Even though this “choose your own adventure-esque” cookbook dives deep down the culinary rabbit hole, you can use the ideas and concepts to develop dishes that harness the idea of traditional French classics.
To put it into perspective, the author, Auguste Escoffier, is notably known as the father of Modern French Cuisine. This is when French food became French food as we know it. Thus, his work is incredibly detailed and exact, but that doesn’t mean you can’t “tweak” it to make it in your kitchen.
Sean Brock is totally my culinary man crush. I am enamoured by his work and his mission. Sean Brock’s mission is to bring back Southern food, and not the fried food many people think defines the cuisine. He strives to source local and heritage ingredients while bringing back age old recipes found from the lowlands to Appalachia.
His cookbook embodies much of what I see in food and the idea of culinary arts. I have cooked from the recipe (a bit of a rarity for me) numerous recipes from the book and have loved every single outcome. Plus this book is the ultimate food porn, if you are into that kind of thing.