“A major goal of all my cookbooks is to allow people to enjoy their lives and not be bogged down by cooking.”
– Daniella Silver
For most home cooks, a simple but still delicious meal with a minimum of fuss and ingredients is an everyday necessity. However, there are also times when a recipe calls for something different, maybe a bit out of the ordinary. Yet few home cooks have the time to source and try new variations to favorite recipes.
In her latest cookbook, Variations; (Artscroll/Shaar Press/Hardcover), Daniella Silver, author of the best-selling Silver Platter series of cookbooks, has created recipes that use basic, simple ingredients and provides variations that present a different way to showcase the main recipe. For example, a chicken dish is shown how to become a main or as an appetizer, a salad can be prepared as family-styled or plated individually by serving it in a pretty presentation or dish, and a batch of cookies can also become ice cream sandwiches. To Daniella, the possibilities are endless.
“I wrote Variations because I felt it’s time to change things up,” Daniella says.”I want readers to get creative with the foods they prepare by understanding that a recipe can be versatile in preparation or presentation.”
Each recipe in the book includes a Variation of that recipe. These variations present a different way to showcase the main recipe; they often include additional ingredients, shown in bold type, to make a completely new dish. The photo on each page displays both the main recipe and the variation, so home cooks can see how each of them will look after they have been prepared.
Two of our favorite recipes in the book that we want to share with you are thesweet potato pear soupand the strawberry almond tart. Both are gluten-free, vegetarian and are perfectly enjoyable to whip up on a busy weekday or a slow and relaxing weekend.
Daniella Silver, author of the bestselling Silver Platter cookbook series, makes healthy, beautiful food simple. Daniella combines her artistic sense of style and presentation with wholesome, nutritious ingredients, delivering effortless dishes for every occasion. As a busy mom of 4, Daniella believes in not being bogged down in the kitchen. That is why in all her recipes she advocates fresh, healthy ingredients cooked fast and easy in order to share quality time with friends and family. Follow Daniella Silver on Instagram @daniellasilvercooks
Recipes/Photos reprinted with permission from Variations by Daniella Silver Artscroll/Shaar Press/September 2019