Pasta Puttanesca and cookbook review

Lately I have been enjoying borrowing cookbooks from the library. Currently, I have a book on knife skills, and "Get Cooking" by the precociously brilliant young British chef Sam Stern.

I like his cookbook for several reasons.

1. His recipes are foods teens like; some elegant, some plain, but all appealing.
2. He writes like a kid, not a food critic. The language is engaging and it makes the instructions feel easier, even though the techniques are the same used in more erudite cookbooks. For example, "Drain. Slap back into the warm pan. Jiggle for 1 minute to dry."
3. Pictures of every recipe.
4. Large print and only one recipe per page. (Yes, I am getting older. Ironic that a book targeted toward teens is perfect for the middle aged...)
5. Sidebars with variations, ideas, and simple side dishes.

I've tried a couple of the recipes so far and liked them.

Tonight I used one of his recipes to make a puttanesca sauce from scratch. There is no comparison to the stuff that is sold in the supermarket by the same name. It was so delicious, I was three quarters of the way through my plate before I was able to slow down and eat mindfully (rather than like a starving wolf).

I will definitely be making this again!