The Newlywed Cookbook ~ a preview

{photos by Sara Remington}

I'm so excited, honored and grateful for all the calls, emails, tweets and posts from friends and family whose copies of my first book, The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other, landed on their doorsteps in the last few days, just in time for Christmas. We didn't expect the pre-orders to arrive until the last day of December, and books to hit the book stores  until the first of January.

Surprise, they are here! In bookstores {like Barnes and Noble}, online {Amazon} and wherever books are sold, as they say. I'm overwhelmed and beyond delighted by all the people who've told me they've found the pages to be beautiful, delicious and inspiring.

My New Year's wish and hope is that everyone who loves to cook ~ whether they be a newlywed, oldywed, almost wed or never wed, a twosome or a family ~ could have their own copy to dig into {this book is about so much more than cooking; it's about really living!}. In the meantime, here, a preview of a few of my favorite spreads and recipes, to wet your appetite. Please, enjoy, share and treat yourself to something truly satisfying with someone you love.

{get dirty, get growing and get green!}

{farm fresh. in every color, shape and size you dream of}

{a fat stack you won't soon forget}

{a luscious egg sandwich, pretty please}

{swirls of spaghetti, darling? Just one of the ways to treat the ones you love}

{well hello there. you're not quite like any other chocolate chip cookie I've ever seen}

 {let's run away together, just for the day}

 More previews, recipes and a schedule of when and where I'll be signing books to come.

xx

Five Vows for Newlywed Cooks

brooklyn, ny

Dinner in our home can be an effortless affair. I’m kind of crazy into cooking, and hubby is such a good eater, he’s fine with whatever I whip up. Occasionally, Julius commands the reigns, and it’s fun to see what he creates. But it takes time to iron out the inner workings of newly wedded mealtimes, so I thought I’d share a few tips that help make our kitchen a place where love, peace and deliciousness reign supreme.

If my sweetie loves it, I will make it again: When I first began cooking for Julius, he’d complain that he never would get a chance to have a favorite because I rarely made the same thing twice. I still like to experiment, but now, on those nights when I stare into the fridge willing dinner to simply emerge, I am grateful to have a few dishes in my repertoire that are as reliable and winning as toast + butter. What better foundation of said collection than the meals you and your honey love best?

We will adopt a No Vegetable Left Behind policy: Oh the first year of marriage: comforting pasta dishes, Modern Family cocktail hour, jaunts to the Chocolate Room to share a perfect brownie sundae—it’s bliss, but it can make your skinny jeans angry. Our advice: develop a few ways to prepare veggies that are so good, the two of you will be happy to eat them a few times a week. Don’t worry; we have you covered with a recipe to get you started.

Together, we will develop a system: In our home, whoever is doing the cooking is not washing dishes; other couples alternate days or weeks on KP, and some make a few meals on Sunday to last the week. Your approach will depend on how you feel about cooking, work schedules and all of that un-fun stuff, but even a loose arrangement may prevent silly tiffs about meal logistics.

I will learn something new: If even you are bored with your meal before you make it, consider trying a new technique, a new dish, a new spice—something to jazz up your food life; eating with variety not only satiates and develops a curious palate, but it also boosts nutrition. Take a class, buy a cookbook or steal a few moves from a foodie friend who cooks.

If I’m not cooking, I’m not looking: No one likes a backseat driver or a Monday morning quarterback, so do not micromanage your beloved when he is preparing a meal for you, even if you are just trying to help. It is annoying and condescending (or so I’ve been told).

Bonus Vow! I will say thank you: There is a pretty much global proverb that goes something like this: Be Grateful. So in the spirit of heeding ancient wisdom, if your spouse puts forth A-level effort and produces a C-quality meal, the loving thing to do is just eat it.

We told you ours, now you tell us yours. What vows or strategies rule your newlywed kitchen?

~

 Kale Salad

Kale salad is all the rage these days, and this version is one of my favorites and a crowd pleaser, to boot. Ideally, this dish would be made a few hours before serving so the kale has some time to break down, but you can make it as little as 30 minutes in advance. Leftovers make a delicious lunch.

To make salad, combine juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons grainy mustard (optional) and 1 small clove of pressed garlic in a large bowl. Add 1 bunch of washed and dried thinly sliced kale and toss to coat completely. I prefer lacinato, as pictured above, but other varieties work just as well. To the kale mixture, add 1/4 cup each of chopped kalamata olives and grated hard Italian cheese (such as parmigiano reggiano, grana padano, piave or pecorino romano), a handful of toasted pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste. Toss again to combine, and enjoy!

Eat Well,

Kamilah

Newlyweds Cook {food for forever newlyweds}

As some of you already know, my first cookbook, The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking with and For Each Other, is coming out in just a few short months. I can’t wait to finally share the recipes and foods that sustain the sweet (and sometimes salty) life I share with my hubby, András.

There’s the temptation to hear the word Newlywed and write off the topic as something only for real newbies. Honeymooners. But here’s the thing: Somewhere between getting married and writing a book proposal and signing a contract and writing said book, András and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. And then our two-year anniversary. And next month, just before the book hits the shelves, we’ll celebrate anniversary number three.

What is a newlywed, exactly? By definition, it’s someone recently married. The way I see it, in the big picture of a marriage that I very much hope tops five or six decades, we’ll be recently married for many years to come. But more importantly, we still feel like newlyweds, and in many ways (despite the recent addition of our baby bird, Greta), we still live like newlyweds too.

One of my life goals is to always live with András like newlyweds, to cook and eat together with the same reckless joy and passion of that first year together. In that spirit, I want to hear from other newlyweds and forever newlyweds about their lives together, to learn about what makes their relationship tick, how they share meals and messes in the kitchen, what they cook, and where they eat out when they’re not cooking, all of which has inspired the launch of my new column, Newlyweds Cook: Food for Forever Newlyweds. This is a column for newlyweds, oldyweds, almost weds and never weds who love cooking, eating and celebrating life together.

To honor our title, I’ve invited a newer newlywed to join me as our Newlywed Editor as we begin our pursuit to tell the stories and share the recipes (mine, hers and sometimes theirs) that keep us all well fed. I’m going to introduce you to her and her hunky hubby tomorrow, so please come back and meet them. In the meantime, get into your kitchen and flirt with your sous chef.  We’ll be looking for twosomes all over the globe to join our column month-by-month and share the things that make your kitchen the spirited center of your nest.

xx, 

Sarah

P.S. Follow us on twitter @NewlywedsCook