About the Book
Boost the flavor of any meal with this definitive guide on cooking with pickles, jams, preserves, sauces, and more-whether you make them from scratch or use store-bought ingredients-featuring 150+ recipes for everything from quick weeknight meals to Sunday suppers.
Boost the flavor of any meal with Cured, "a master class" (Saveur) on cooking with pickles, jams, preserves, sauces, and more-whether made from scratch or store-bought-featuring 150+ recipes for everything from quick weeknight meals to Sunday suppers.
"Insightful, brilliant, clever, and beautiful."-John Currence, James Beard Award winner and author of Tailgreat
To cure something is to transform it, allowing it to emerge as something new. Six-time James Beard Award nominee Steve himself was transformed after battling lymphoma when he was just thirty-three; he came through that experience wanting to prolong moments of joy in everyday life. That philosophy extends to how he approaches food and cooking, sourcing the best ingredients when they are at their peak and then curing them to enjoy later. He intensifies these cured flavors, changing them into charcuterie, pickles, mustards, and more, making his seasonal favorites available year-round. And with Cured, you can have access to this arsenal of flavor as well, whether it's making your own preserves from scratch or using store-bought ingredients in your daily cooking.
Cured include dishes like:
. Israeli Couscous with Preserved Lemon, Bacon, and Greens
. Kimchi Meatloaf
. Chipotle Marmalade Chicken Wings
. Creamy Smoked Seafood, Parsnip, and Celery Root Soup
. Smoked Nuts Chocolate Tart
Whether you dabble in making your own preserves from scratch or want to learn how to use what you already have at home, Cured's 150+ recipes will become hundreds and thousands as you start to mix and match the ingredients with your own favorites.
About the Author :
Steve McHugh is a six-time James Beard Foundation Award-nominated chef based in San Antonio. His first restaurant, Cured, opened its doors to guests in December 2013, and since then has been joined by Landrace in San Antonio and Luminaire and Las Bis in Austin. He grew up on a farm in southern Wisconsin and spent the early part of his career in New Orleans, before he and his wife, Sylvia, settled in San Antonio.
Paula Forbes is a journalist, cookbook author and critic; her work has appeared in Texas Monthly, GQ, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and more. She was integral to a cult favorite food Aughts website, Eat Me Daily, and has also served as an editor for Eater and Epicurious. She shares cookbook criticism, news, and ephemera in her IACP award-winning newsletter, Stained Page News, and is the author of The Austin Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from Deep in the Heart of Texas.
Review :
“If you’ve never tried preserving foods at home, chef Steve McHugh of San Antonio restaurant Cured is an ideal guide for your first foray. . . . McHugh offers both a boost to your at-home pantry and a master class in how to upgrade your everyday cooking.”—Saveur
“McHugh, I’m going to beat your ass with this book! It is quite simply too good. At once insightful, brilliant, clever, and beautiful, but it is also deeply personal and lovely. At the end of the day it is a fierce weapon that should be a staple in every serious chef’s kitchen . . . not their cookbook collection.”—John Currence, James Beard Award winner and author of Tailgreat
“Cured doesn’t simply serve as a guide to building an enviable and expansive larder, it goes a step further, teaching you how to put it all to use to great effect.”—David Zilber, coauthor of The Noma Guide to Fermentation
“Steve McHugh is a philosopher-chef, attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, focused on the transformative possibilities of the kitchen. His courage and keen palate, on display in Cured, remind me that recipes are acts of faith and meals are everyday sacraments.”—John T. Edge, author of The Potlikker Papers
“This is the book we have all been waiting for. Chef McHugh has long inspired me with his knack for making beautiful, thoughtful, and tasty food. Curing and preserving is an art form that many of the world’s cuisines rely on. Steve’s deep understanding of these techniques and his willingness to share them are a gift that will keep on giving. From quick-pickled vegetables to smoked nuts, cured fish, and potted meats, this is a cookbook that shows American cooking at its absolute best. This is going to become a book that will be passed down for generations.”—Vishwesh Bhatt, two-time James Beard Award–winning chef and author of I Am From Here
