One of the most fun cooking shows on YouTube that Mark & I have found recently is You Suck at Cooking. I think we stumbled onto it after a crossover with Babish. Since then we have eagerly giggled and guffawed at his goofy tricks while watching him prepare simple but crave-worthy dishes. His channel is popular enough that he put out a cookbook which Mark decided to get and right away he started finding recipes he wanted to try! I too have a few picks as well and I just plain enjoy the light-hearted sarcasm and humor that comes across even in his writing style. I mean, just read this with the dry, monotonous tone and acerbic wit of, say, Steven Wright:
Beanshuka Marinara is what happens when you want shakshuka, don’t want to make your own tomato sauce, also want beans, and have no self-respect. If you had self-respect, you’d make your own tomato sauce. But once again, it’s breakfast time and nobody wants to work that hard at the ungodly hour of 10:45 a.m. Which is why we are buying marinara sauce and we are liking it that way.
It really is a fun book that has creative but easy recipes that would be good for anyone just starting out on their own. He even mentions thinking:
“it would be a great idea to write a cookbook for college students, which I could then go back in time to give myself. [. . .] I wrote this book to be very accessible to people who are new to cooking, who might feel a little intimidated, just like I was. In other words, cowards.”
But don’t dismiss this book as too basic. There are plenty of very adult recipes that could be date-night worthy or family friendly. There’s a Pan-Seared Strip Loin with Horseradical Spinach, or a Maple Roasted Salmon, Sesame Roasted Broccoli, or Brussamic Sprouts. Tasty and fun little plays on words. I think you get the gist.
Beanshuka Marinara
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 large eggs, at room temp
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Toast or bread, for serving
directions:
- In a small nonstick skillet combine the marinara sauce, beans, and ground cumin. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally until just starts to simmer. Using a wooden or plastic spoon make 4 divots in the sauce. Crack 1 egg into each divot.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the skillet. Simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, until the tops of the eggs are white, or cook for a couple minutes longer for a cooked yolk if you prefer.
- Crumble the feta on top and serve with toast.
I will also add that after the recipe ends he then goes on and out of a sense of guilt also includes a simple recipe for marinara sauce;)
Can’t forget dessert!
I hope you enjoyed this cookbook review and recipe. I am hoping to do more diaries like this so that I will be motivated to cook more from my overflowing shelves;) How about you? Do any of you have a new cookbook that you would like to talk about?
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