Early Book Review: The Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day by Holly Erickson; Natalie Mortimer

The Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer is currently scheduled for release on April 5 2022. For pretty much everyone, life gets busy—but you still want to cook up a good meal. Ideally a meal  that is accessible, efficient, and doesn’t sacrifice any of the delicious flavors you love. This book can expand your “go-to” list and help you become a more intuitive, creative cook. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, a busy parent or a workaholic, this book will arm you with tools, tricks, and shortcuts to get dinner on the table. Every ingredient is easy to find, plus you’ll find plenty of swaps and options throughout. Each of the 100 recipes (some all-time fan favorites and many brand-new) includes prep time, cook time, and quick-reference tags. Recipes include: Stuffed Chicken Breast with Mozzarella and Creamy Kale, Stir-Fried Pork Cutlets with Buttermilk Ranch, Sweet Cider Scallops with Wilted Spinach, Tofu Enchiladas with Red Sauce, and more. 

The Modern Proper is a well organized and comprehensive cookbook. I found that the descriptions, instructions, and suggestions were all well thought out and written. I like that the recipes leave plenty of room for home cooks to use the vegetables and ingredients that work best for their family. The recipes are pretty varied and do use mostly common, or at least readily available, ingredients for those that have good supermarkets accessible to them.  There were several recipes that I would love to try for an adult only meal. However, I have to admit that I found most of the meals a little to involved and fussy for my house, aside from special occasions. For those that love cooking and entertaining, or have the family interest in trying new foods, this would be a great cookbook. I enjoyed looking at the photographs, and gleaned a few tips and inspirations, but this is not a book that would be added to my personal library. I think there are people that love to cook like this, and I think they will love this book and have the time and resources to put the recipes inside to good use.