An Unapologetic Cookbook: October

Joshua Weissman of youtube fame released his first cookbook in September, An Unapologetic Cookbook, and this cookbook is of course our October Cookbook of the month for 2021. I expect this book to be more technically challenging than many that we’ve reviewed as part of this process after watching Weissman on youtube since the pandemic began. I’ve adopted his dinner roll recipe permanently after trying it for our at home Thanksgiving last year. I’ve watched him push himself as a chef through cooking challenges in his old fine dining stomping ground.

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And now I ask the question, how much of his cookbook is achievable for the typical home chef? He often employs kitchen equipment that is out of reach for most home cooks in his videos, so I expect to find this issue present in the cookbook as well. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to give it a shot, however. His voice as a chef on youtube is present in the early writing of the cookbook so far, and that’s one of the things that makes his work attractive in the first place

The cookbook opens with a section on making a good amount of things from scratch. Sauces, breads, pasta, and even cheeses-- some of which will be a little bit beyond the realm of possibility or desire for me. I don’t think I’ll be making cheese any time soon. But! If I can find the type of milk called for, maybe we’ll give it a shot so you don’t have to.

Many of his famous recipes from the show are now enshrined forever in this cookbook, including those dinner rolls I’m so fond of. It’ll save me the trouble of pulling the recipe up on my phone, which has more than once caused me to miss a step in his recipes when I’ve got my screen closed. Alas, there are also recipes in here that I’ve never seen him make on the show. This lends more value to the book for fans that have cooked from his online recipes extensively, and it’s a smart move as a recipe writer.

Man’s got his own cream of mushroom soup recipe in this book. How many of us have cans of that shit in our pantry waiting for the time that the need for an old fashioned midwestern casserole? Have we ever wanted to eat it on its own? God knows I don’t, but the picture of his mushroom soup recipe makes me want to eat his now that soup season has arrived in Northeast Wisconsin.

Joshua Weissman’s first cookbook adventure will likely prove to be the most challenging cookbook we’ve tried this year-- even if we’ve only worked through maybe two or three since 2021 began. Buckle up for equal parts complaints and praises.

What are some of your favorite Joshua Weissman trademarks? With some guidance from my readers, perhaps I can hunt down recipes you might be interested in to discuss later this month. We may continue our trend of cooking through the month and condensing our efforts into the last article like with did with Cook This Book. If you want to join us, you can pick up An Unapologetic Cookbook wherever books are sold. Amazon has a discount going still if you’re not boycotting our shipping overlords.
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