How to Break the Rules in the Kitchen While Making Incredible Meals

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Julia Turshen wants you to break the rules.

She used to be ruled by weighing or measuring everything by the gram or teaspoon – due to her own eating disorder challenges and the requirement to be precise in the recipes she developed for the cookbooks she wrote or co-wrote.

Over time, Turshen learned to relax in the kitchen. And now she wants us to do the same. How? Through a series of graphs.

“Keep Calm & Cook On” is the mantra (and podcast/newsletter name) of the Hudson Valley, New York-based author and food equity advocate who introduced the concept of recipe boards to Instagram and in its Substack in 2023.

“One-pot rice + stuff” was the title of the first ranking she shared on Instagram. Have cooked rice, she advised, then choose a meat, vegetable, spice, liquid and toppings. This model of culinary education garnered such a positive response that she followed up with charts of soups, salads and cornbread – and quickly realized she had the makings of a book.

“The paintings gave me a way to show what I think about cooking rather than telling you what I think about it,” Turshen said. “It is not only a collection of recipes, but also a recipe operation plan. Understanding this is empowering and opens up so much space to explore.

Turshen’s October 2024 cookbook, “What Goes With What,” includes 20 tables, 100 recipes and “endless possibilities,” with sections focused on stews (Mushroom Cacciatore), quick pastas (Cesar Spaghetti) , fruity cobblers and chips (Pear, Cherry). and Almond Crisp) and more. The book ends appropriately with menu suggestions ranging from brunch to holiday meals, formatted in – you guessed it – a table. Just in time.

You might think that charts mean rules and regulations. But with her graphics, Turshen said she hopes to create a formula that takes readers from thinking there’s only one way to cook something “right” to a more relaxed, riffable theme. . By including measurements such as “a handful,” sprinkling in copious substitutions, and suggesting yields such as “6 to 8 servings,” Turshen aims to instill a less rigid mindset when it comes to cooking and to eat. “You’re making dinner, you’re not perfecting a code,” she said.

Each recipe is accompanied by a photo, which Turshen took herself after preparing the dish in her kitchen. No food stylists, no fuss.

Some people who learn visually told Turshen that they never had a culinary “click” for them until now. People with autism and other types of neurodivergence also reached out and mentioned that they finally understood cooking that way, she added.

If you’re stressed about hosting a full meal during the holiday season or intimidated about contributing to a potluck, Turshen said you can do one or both. “If you don’t already have confidence in your cooking, I think you soon will,” Turshen wrote in the introduction to her new book. “Please know that I already do.”

With Friendsgiving on the horizon, I was drawn to a mash dish as warm and welcoming as Turshen’s approach: twice-baked Cacio e Pepe potatoes, a concept introduced in the chapter on stuffed vegetables.

Take a vegetable with a cavity (baked potatoes), fill it with something starchy (this fluffy potato), add a fatty element (butter, sour cream and pecorino cheese) and an aromatic punch (“des tons of black pepper”), and you have a stellar stuffed vegetable. It tastes like the classic Italian pasta dish, just infused in potatoes instead of noodles.

When I asked Turshen for advice on recreating this recipe, she suggested cooking the potatoes a few days in advance. Or she said I could prepare the recipe all the way the day before; then let cool and refrigerate the potatoes overnight before reheating them in an oven set to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. To cut nearly an hour of prep time, air fry the potatoes or microwave instead of baking them if desired, she advised.

After that, just three steps using three ingredients (not including salt and pepper) and a little patience, stand between us and a good batch of cacio e pepe potatoes.

With his support, I put on my apron, preheated my oven, and set about making a big batch of stuffed potatoes to share at my next feast. I stuck to the recipe, except for the sour cream. I forgot this on my shopping list, so I substituted plain Greek yogurt instead. As the potatoes cooked a second time to reach a completely golden and twice-baked state, I saw that this improvisation was exactly the point.

“I will of course be delighted if you cook directly from the recipes,” Turshen wrote. “But I’ll be even more excited if you assimilate them and create your own favorite dishes.”

The finished product was still crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside and pleasantly peppery. The dish had my fellow Friendsgiving attendees playfully fighting over the last portion.

Even though my cacio e pepe creation didn’t turn out “perfectly,” Turshen tells me that what really matters is taking the time to gather around the table.

“My parents had both worked full-time since I was born, so it was very rare that my parents, my brother and I could sit down and eat meals together. It was very special when it happened,” Turshen said.

“As I get older, it’s the best way I know to spend time with people. My marriage, family, and relationships are the most important things to me, and food is the social glue that holds us all together.

Makes 8 potato halves

Preparation time: About 15 minutes

Total cooking time: Approximately 1 hour 20 minutes

● 4 large baked potatoes

● 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

● ½ cup sour cream

● ¾ cup finely grated pecorino cheese, divided

● 1 teaspoon kosher salt

● 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Pierce each potato in a few places with a fork or paring knife (to help steam escape while cooking). Place the potatoes directly on the center oven rack and bake until easily pierced with a paring knife or thin skewer, about 1 hour.

3. Transfer the potatoes to a cutting board (leave the oven on). Carefully cut each potato in half lengthwise. Once cool enough to handle, remove almost all of the flesh from each potato half, leaving enough in each to create a sturdy shell (like a canoe), and transfer the flesh to a large bowl.

4. Add the butter, sour cream, ½ cup cheese, salt and pepper to the hot potato flesh and use a fork or potato masher to mash everything well. Then stir the mixture several times with a large spoon to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Divide the mixture evenly between the potato shells. It’s okay if they seem too padded; it makes them fun.

5. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, place the potatoes on it, and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Return the potatoes to the oven and bake until the tops are golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Karla Walsh is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa, with more than 15 years of editorial experience.