Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

I love to read cookbooks.  The list of ingredients, the measurements, the step-by-step directions.  If you follow all of the steps, you can achieve a wonderful meal to delight family and friends, thereby immediately rendering yourself a Domestic Goddess a la Nigella Lawson.  Or, depending upon how your anxiety is that day, it will help you regain a sense of control.  "See, I made chocolate chips cookies.  I can handle that.  I can handle whatever it is.  And also, let's eat these cookies."

There is no doubt about it - if a genre called "Comfort Reading" exists, then, for me,  this cookbook is absolutely its poster child.  The author's voice is warm and open.  None of her directions are overly technical, and in fact, she encourages you to use your own sense of taste and to practice, practice, practice.  It's less "Follow these exact steps to make XYZ," and more "Here are the general steps.  Follow them while also using your own sense of taste." 

The illustrations are quirky and funny, too, which lines up exactly with Ms. Nosrat's voice. 

If you are in further need of Comfort Reading (trademark me), then I'd recommend checking out the Netflix show also called "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat."  Ms. Nosrat is even more charming on camera than she is in her writing. 

Here's the link to Goodreads.