Book ~ "Cooking like a Master Chef" (2015) Graham Elliot and Mary Goodbody

From Goodreads ~ In the first cookbook from Graham Elliot, cohost of the popular Fox series MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, 100 deliciously creative recipes show home cooks the basics of cooking and combining flavors - and then urge them to break the rules and put their own spin on great meals.

Graham Elliot wants everyone to cook. To push up their sleeves and get some good food on the table. It’s Graham’s simple philosophy that, while there is no right or wrong when it comes to creativity in the kitchen, you will benefit from knowing some time-honored methods that enable you to serve tasty meals to your family day after day, week after week. So, to teach you his methods and infuse some fun into the process, he’s written "Cooking Like a Master Chef", an easygoing, accessible guide for the home cook to create delicious, beautiful food for every occasion.

Grouped by season (without being a strictly seasonal cooking book), Graham’s 100 recipes are illustrated with gorgeous, full-color photographs and accompanied by simple, straightforward instructions - with great twists for every palate. That’s because being a top-notch chef or a talented home cook means being a free thinker, spontaneous, like a jazz musician. Cooks need to change the music every so often - once they’re comfortable with the basics - to stay on their toes and infuse their routine with new excitement and energy. Here you’ll find recipes for pork chops with root beer BBQ sauce, halibut BLTs, buffalo chicken with Roquefort cream, corn bisque with red pepper jam and lime crema, smoked salmon with a dill schmear and bagel chips, truffled popcorn, and much more. Kids will love whipped yams with roasted turkey, potato gnocchi with brown butter, PBJ beignets, and classic banana splits.

It’s no wonder so many people love Graham and his energetic creativity in the kitchen. With "Cooking Like a Master Chef", now you can learn to be a skilled, resourceful, and endlessly inventive cook who makes food everyone, adults and kids alike, will absolutely relish.

I watch Master Chef and Graham Elliot is one of the judges.  He seems like a nice guy ... that's why this book caught my eye.

The book starts with an intro about Graham.

There is a good variety of recipes ... the sections are:

1. Bites and snacks - including Curried Corn Nuts, Watermelon-Jalapeno Ice Pops, and Chorizo Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce
2. Hot soups and cool salads - including Baked Potato Bisque with Wisconsin Cheddar and Candied Bacon, Roasted Potato Salad and Chilled Summer Cantaloupe Soup
3. Grains and pasta and other good things - including Quinoa with Apples and Cashews, Coconut Rice, Fettuccine with Clams and Fennel Pesto
4. Catch o' the day - including Roasted Black Cod with Melted Leeks and Champagne Sauce, Maple-Bourbon-Glazed Scallops with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard and Lollapalooza Lobster Corn Dogs
5. Down on the farm - including Kung Pao Drumsticks with Ginger Honey and Toasted Peanuts, Sesame Chicken Thighs with Bok Choy and Plums and The GrahamBurger
6. A walk through the garden - including Ginger-Glazed Carrots, Maple Whipped Yams and Fingerling Potato Confit
7. Sweet treats - including Green Apple Rosemary Sorbet, Bourbon Brownies and Spiced Krispie Treats

Most of the recipes have an introduction or a story.  There are many colourful pictures of what the dishes are supposed to look like.

Plus there are pictures of Graham and his family which makes the book more personal.

I can't wait to make some of the recipes (or have Gord make some ... he already has some marked).  When we do, we'll be sure to post them!