Hello, Home Cooking - by Ham El-Waylly (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Use everyday ingredients to create memorable meals with 90 flavorful, unique, and approachable recipes from around the world--by one half of the beloved team behind NYT Cooking's "Mystery Menu."

In Hello, Home Cooking, quirky, beloved, fun-loving NYT Cooking video star Ham El-Waylly combines his unique personal heritage--representing the cuisines of Qatar, Bolivia, Brazil, and Egypt--with his fifteen years as a professional chef to bring delicious, global recipes to home cooks. Ham teaches readers how flavors work so that you can swap in local or seasonal ingredients to any recipe.

Deeply rooted in everyone's nostalgia, Ham's recipes center culture and community with beloved dishes from across different nations that carry a can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it hominess, regardless of the origin. He teaches cooks of all experience levels about the base flavors of cuisines around the world, freeing them to mix, match, and alter classic dishes into something delicious and new. From the Macarona Bechamel that parallels American Mac n Cheese and Basbousa (a sweet, semolina cake) that would rival any Blondie, to Egyptian ta'amaya (like falafel but made with fava beans instead of chickpeas) and beyond, Hello, Home Cooking shows you how to highlight your own heritage in familiar recipes by swapping in certain ingredients for others--focusing on affordability and availability. Most people are familiar with the mezze staple muhammara, a dip made of ground walnuts and charred red peppers. Ham's go-to version isn't red; It's green from roasted hatch chilies and pistachios. The Brazilian icebox cake, pave, is usually made with pricey, impossible-to-find fresh passionfruit--try it with seasonal strawberries instead for a summery treat.

With Ham's invaluable guidance, you can make any comfort meal an adventure, and any adventurous dish feel like you've eaten and loved it a hundred times.

About the Author

Ham El-Waylly is a chef, restaurant consultant, recipe developer, and video creator based in New York City. You may know him from his acclaimed Brooklyn restaurant, Strange Delight, or as a longtime contributor to NYT Cooking, where he is also one half of the YouTube sensation, Mystery Menu. He lives in the East Village with his wife (Sohla), toddler, shiba inu, English bulldog, and wild alley cat.