Cookbook Review: Scratch That | Listen

What first drew me into Scratch That: Embrace the Mess, Cook to Impress, by Alix Traeger (Union Square & Co.) was actually my daughter. The cover of the book reminded me of how my 10-year-old girl likes to cook—with abandon and little concern for the hurricane of spills, drips, and flour smudges left in her wake. This is not a knock on Traeger, who definitely does not cook like a 10-year-old (neither does my daughter, who has been in the kitchen with me since she could stand and cooks dinner for our family at least once a week), but rather allowed me to see that despite my girl’s zero-interest in the clean-as-you-go method, all that really matters is what you put on the plate. It’s about impressing your diners with exceptionally flavorful food, regardless of how many spills it took to get there.