I used to watch the Food Network 24-7. Then we got rid of cable about ten years. I really don’t know anything about the stars of that network now. So, while I obviously knew Valerie from my youth and watching her prime time on One Day at a Time, I did not know she hosted so many cooking shows. I was unaware of her cookbook Indulge until I spotted it at Parnassus in Nashville. (Parnassus btw is the absolutely best bookstore in the world.) After thumbing through it there, I decided it needed to be added to my library list. I also had no idea this was her third cookbook!

About the Book:

Beloved actress and New York Times bestselling author Valerie Bertinelli returns with her most indulgent cookbook yet; a collection of 100 recipes to nourish the body and the soul.

in·dulge: to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of.

When Valerie Bertinelli turned 60, she said “Enough already!” and ended her battle with the scale for good. She stopped counting calories. She stopped thinking of certain foods as good or bad. She quit saying no and began saying yes, finally learning how to enjoy the pure pleasure of being alive – starting in the kitchen. In short, she learned how to indulge. With this gorgeous cookbook, Valerie shares her secrets for indulging so you can start living your best, most fulfilling life too. Whether it’s splurging on fresh produce at the farmer’s market, cooking an extravagant steak dinner for one, or serving an ice cream sundae bar at a dinner party, this book is a reminder that indulging can take many shapes and forms. You’ll discover the delicious recipes she cooks for her friends and family, including favorites like Garlic Confit BLT, Oven “Fried” Okra, Sausage and Olive Cheese Bites, Spaghetti al Limone, Salmon Burgers With Quick-Pickled Vegetables, Filet Mignon with Béarnaise Sauce and Chocolate Peanut Butter Dates, and more. Written in Valerie’s warmhearted and intimate style—including heartfelt essays about how to savor moments big and small—this cookbook is a permission slip to enjoy food, and more importantly, enjoy life.

What I thought…

The above blurb really covers her intent for writing this cookbook, one of enjoying every day and allowing yourself to just take time to love.

Just as butter and salt can save most recipes gone awry, love works the same magic on people. Got a problem? Add more love. Is someone upset? Pour some love on the situation. (167)

I truly enjoyed reading this book with the beautiful food photographs and Valerie’s sincere voice. I thought I knew her—star in her teens, rocky marriage with a rock star and Jenny Craig huckster. Those roles don’t even touch who she really is. (Of course, she is Wolfie’s mom!) Speaking of Jenny Craig, early on in the book, Valerie establishes:

There’s simply no way to enjoy a meal or spend any time working in the kitchen if every single step is infused with regret and judgement. I’ll take it a step further. With that mindset, there is no way to enjoy your life. (5)

There is a lot of great food in the book but interspersed are stories, stories about her and her son, stories about little foodie shops she’s found, stories about conversations with fellow foodies like Andy Kadin (Bub & Grandma’s in LA) and Taylor Grant (one of Food & Wine 2019 best Sommeliers).   There are sections titled “Planning a Menu” and “Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions” but the morph into something else. The heart of the essays are stories worth listening to.  “Dinner for One” turns into an essay on love and forgiveness.  “The Best Bottle of Wine You’ll Ever Have” references doing what you love with whom you love.  I enjoyed her segues. She includes a lot of family traditions in Indulge, whether it’s special sandwiches she discovered with Wolfie, her mom’s own sub sandwiches that she craved when she was pregnant, or the Bertinelli women’s bread recipe. We all know that charcuterie is a recent “girl dinner” trend, but Valerie says she was enjoying them forever ago. Now that they’re hip, she gives great ideas. I’ve seen this before but I think her section is a bit more extensive. She emphasizes there are no rules but she does suggests some great guidelines. Great tips abound, things like cooking canned chickpeas in a baking soda water brine to make them softer for a smoother hummus. She also includes how to “bake” hard boiled eggs for egg salad. My favorite section is probably her Sandwich one.  Great ideas to riff on. She establishes herself as not being too serious and embracing the playfulness. It’s OK to indulge in a really good sandwich. The Vegetable section is simple and straight forward: Baby Kale with Crispy Garlic, Blistered Green Beans, Charred Asparagus, Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Cabbage, etc. Nothing really extravagant. Just good food. All of her chicken recipes are just homey and delicious sounding, too. Again, nothing extravagant or too frou frou but I will say that the Jalapeno Popper Chicken Breasts (187) might be a game changer for me!  The Meat section is a bit more elevated but she still includes classics like Beef and Broccoli (203) and Classic Double Cheeseburger with Special Sauce (204). How can you not love a cookbook author who has an entire section on potatoes?

• Mashed (with lots of garlic)
• Crispy Parmesan Potatoes
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Baked Potato Chips
• Potato Chips with Chicken Salt

I did make the baked sweet potato fries and the seasoning on them was spot on (see end of post for my variation on it.) She mixes the seasonings with some corn starch and douses the fries in olive oil and the mixture. My fries were soggy but I am blaming that on the super old sweet potatoes I was trying to get rid of. Again, the seasoning was fantastic—paprika and garlic and cayenne. I will be trying them again with fresher fare. The Seafood section is extensive but I honestly breezed through it to get to the Pasta section. Bertinneli did not disappoint. I bookmarked a lot of these including Creamy No-Cream Artichoke Pasta and Lazy No-Bake Lasagna. The Condiment, Dressings & Sauces section includes the most recipes of the entire book. She could have published these recipes by themselves in a separate volume. It is an eclectic list from homemade mayo to BBQ sauce to Dijon to Sambal Oelek and Chili Crisp to a huge assortment of salad dressings. She ends the volume with a “shopping list” to indulge in. It’s a treatise on how to live and how to learn to love to indulge in yourself, in your surroundings and in your family and friends. Oh, yeah and in food! Obviously, I was impressed. I have lots of recipes marked try but so far I’ve only managed to make those sweet potato fries before my Kindle library loan disappeared. I may have to request the hard copy to indulge in this book further.

I’m linking up with Foodies Read.