Milk Bar Life.

Book: Milk Bar Life.

Written By:  Christina Tosi.

Pages: 256.

Publisher: Clarkson Potter.

Category: Baking & Desserts.

Release Date: April 7th, 2015.

I first heard of Christina Tosi on Master Chef, I had known that she was famous for being a pastry chef, but other than that, I was unfamiliar with her work. Recently, I decided that I wanted to start incorporating cookbooks into my collection and after hearing many great reviews of her first cook book, Momofuku Milk Bar, I thought that she would be the perfect place for me to start.

Upon further research I found out that she had also written a second cookbook, Milk Bar Life. Now, I love me a nice fancy pastry and all, but I am more of a home cook, so I thought Milk Bar Life would suit me better.

At first glance, I fell in the love with the photos, they had a very classic look to them and I thought that this would be a fun and simple take on a classic cook book. My absolute favorite thing, though, were the stories, explaining how she discovered these recipes and why they meant so much to her. One of my favorites was for the Sauce, with Penne (pg. 26). She tells they story of her favorite neighbors, a southern Italian family known for their incredible Penne Sauce passed down from generations to generations. Luckily Tosi and her family were able to convince them to teach them the recipe. They also included stories and favorite recipes of other members of the Milk Bar family which I thought was a nice touch. It really helped give off the family vibe, I feel they were going for.

Unfortunately, those were the best things about this cook book. While,  there were some great recipes that I plan on trying such as Chicken Puffs (pg.23), The Greta  (pg. 61), Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake (pg.82) and Black-Pepper-Butter Mashed Potatoes (pg.145), there were many that just left me confused.

First off, the Seven Layer Salad (pg.20)…In my opinion, there absolutely no good reason for a seven layer salad to be in any cook book EVER. It is the most basic, plain salad  known to man, there is nothing special about it what-so-ever. Next up, Cheesy Onions (pg.35)….Why? And a cookbook just wouldn’t be whole without Blue Cheese Pretzels (pg.121) which consists of a bag of store bought mini pretzels with blue cheese melted on top. Now why was that necessary? Next up to the plate: Egg Soup (pg.122) and no, it isn’t a real soup unless you consider a boiled egg with a runny yolk a soup. Then there is the fan favorite, Tang Toast (pg. 131) in which you will need two slices of white bread, margarine (not butter) and , you guessed it, TANG! It could be delicious, but I feel like it should have been left out of this cookbook. Now I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Overall, I give this book 3 Stars.

Find out more about Christina Tosi and her cookbook Milk Bar Life, by clicking: CT Bio and Milk Bar Life.