I’ve been waiting to write this entry for far too long. I actually received my copy of Chef Cat Cora’s Cooking From the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals from her public relations gurus at The Brooks Group (who are extremely lovely people, I might add.) at the end of February, but with moving and everything else on our plates I haven’t had the resources to give the book the time it deserves… Until Now.

Let me start by saying that I’m just a little bit biased in my opinion of this particular cookbook.  The premise she gives for these recipes is the same one that I use every day. Her philosophy is to use what you have on hand to make something wonderful.  Or as she puts it in the introduction:

“Every time you open the refrigerator and your cupboards and put together a meal – even something as simple as bread and cheese and a salad – you are cooking from the hip.  With this book I’m hoping to expand your options, share a few of my tricks, and take you to a place where you feel comfortable winging it, even when guests are coming for dinner.”

Strangely enough, that’s what I try to do here as well, though I may not mention it as often as I should.

Let me tell you, I wanted to love this book even before I got my copy.  I wanted this book to be an epiphany, a direct visit from my muse. I wanted it to change my life forever…  But it didn’t quite do all of those things.

What it did do was inspire the hell out of me.

Let me say right off that if you are looking for a book of recipes, this is not the book for you.  Chef Cora sometimes forgoes giving weights, measures or amounts.  In the recipe that we attempted, she neglected to mention what size pork loin she had used, which left even my wife and I in a bit of a lurch when attempting the recipe.You’ll definitely need to feel comfortable winging it at points. (Hey, that’s where the fun’s at!)

What this book does give is a great insight to a fine culinary talent.  It provides plenty of ideas and inspiration on both method and flavor combinations.  The food styling is phenomenal, though it doesn’t always seem to be connected to the recipe at hand. (Anyone think she should call my buddy Matt next time?) The combination of Southern and Greek cuisine sometimes falls flat on my Southern/Irish/Asian tuned palate, but there are other dishes that do not have to be attempted for me to know instinctively that they would be simply sublime in both flavor and texture.

As far as organization, the book is broken into sections in a pretty intuitive manner.  Instead of going with the standard cookbook layout, chef Cora opted to break her book into pieces that describe what you’ll be getting yourself into.  These sections are titled “Fast”, “Easy”, “Fun” and “Phenomenal”.  I will warn though, a fair amount of skill can be required in the last section!

In the end I would have to say that I do definitely suggest giving this book a read.  if nothing else it may inspire you to just wander into the kitchen, throw open your freezer, cupboards and pantry and invent your own masterpiece. Go ahead, go grab a copy of Cooking From the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals and get inspired!