Synopses & Reviews
Bold is nourishing. Bold is inspired. Bold is food that means business. And Bold is big--as in 250 recipes filled with big flavors to be served in big portions. From the culinary team of Susanna Hoffman and Victoria Wise--who between them have authored or coauthored more than fifteen cookbooks including The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook and The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbook--Bold brings together the beloved American tradition of delicious, plate-filling meals with the lively global flavors that infuse our culture and cuisine.
This is comfort food that's been given an exuberant 21st-century makeover--slow-cooked roasts and braises, generous steaks, brimming soups, heaping platters of salads and vegetables, hearty pastas and grains, wild game, and rich desserts.
This is Bold: Stuffed California Pork Rolls. Buffalo Chili with Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Meat and Potatoes Korean Style with Quick Kimchee. Leg of Lamb with Spicy Pecan Pesto. Chicken Pot Pie Under a Filo Crust. Crowded Corn Chowder with Cod, Shrimp, and Corn. Lime Curd Coconut Meringue Pie with a Macadamia Nut Crust. The book boasts a vibrant design that complements the recipes. Sidebars throughout offer cooking tips and advice, highlight people and places, and explore food history and traditions. Bold is America on a plate.
Review
"Genuinely fascinating."
--The New York Times Book Review
"Although every cookbook proclaims it is new, not that many really are. I'm always on the lookout for truly innovative flavor combinations, the unfussy yet deft marriage of old ingredients in new ways. "Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors," by former Chez Panisse chefs Susanna Hoffman and Victoria Wise, is just that: page after page of recipes where citruses, nuts, greens, spices get juggled into new constellations, each one a winner.
If that weren't enough, the book is jammed with history and context -- how the Coke bottle got its shape, the history of Walla Walla onions, why we call it an "eggplant." Within half an hour of picking it up, I'd studded "Bold" with a hundred stickies. I was in love."
--The Boston Globe, T. Susan Chang
"To the online chatter who took umbrage at my hesitancy to endorse a cola-glazed turkey for the holidays: My bad.
This preparation has helped me see the light. It's a little magic: A quick reduction of the cola becomes a not-too-sweet sauce, enhanced with a touch of anise."
--The Washington Post, Bonnie Benwick
"There's a playfulness in the way the ingredients are combined and flavors are layered on that I love. It makes something as common as lasagna or a weeknight steak sound fresh and new again with a few unexpected ingredients.
This is also the kind of cookbook that makes for fun reading while you're waiting for the water to boil or the oven to heat. There are lots of fun side bars and historical anecdotes sprinkled liberally throughout the book."
--TheKitchn.com
"Seriously tasty, yet straightforward dishes."
--Natural Health magazine
"The "Bold" name is clearly indicative of the kinds of recipes you will find inside: Pork Gyros With Radish Tzatziki; Buffalo Steaks With Peppercorn Puree; Sweet and Sour Leeks With Lemon and Honey."
--The Houston Chronicle
"Playful, flavorful and abundant all-American dishes made with fresh and wholesome ingredients... "Bold" "venerates traditional foods that Americans have long prepared... The recipes are instantly engaging, with unusual flavor combinations."
--The Star Ledger
"When I spotted this recipe in the new cookbook "Bold" last winter, I made a note to myself to hang on to it until spring, when the green-garlic window briefly opens."
--The Charlotte Observer
"A joyous celebration of American fusion."
--Book Page
About the Author
Susanna Hoffman was a co-owner, sous chef, and maître d’ of Chez Panisse, where she met Victoria Wise. She is the author, most recently, of The Olive and the Caper, and lives in Telluride, Colorado.
Victoria Wise was the first chef at Chez Panisse and went on to become chef/owner of Berkeley’s Pig-by-the-Tail and co-owner with Susanna Hoffman of Oakland’s Good & Plenty Café. Her most recent Workman book was The Smith & Hawken Gardeners’ Community Cookbook. She lives in Oakland, California.