I keep thinking that I am all caught up on my 2026 best cookbook reviews that I have curated from Bon Appétit and Forbes. Then, the library will email me to say I have a book (that I requested months earlier) ready to be picked up. I had totally forgotten that I had even requested Helly, Home Cooking: Do-Able Dishes for Every Day by Ham El-Waylly.
About the book:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Comfort food for everyone.
In Hello, Home Cooking, Chef Ham El-Waylly taps into everyone’s nostalgia—his versions of beloved dishes carry a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it heart-warming quality. These recipes work for cooks of all levels, using core flavors from different cuisines, and frees readers to mix, match, and shake up classic dishes from all around the world. From Macarona Bechamel that parallels mac ’n’ cheese, and an onion-laden pot roast that rivals any version you grew up eating, to cinnamon toast crunch made out of pita. Hello, Home Cooking shows you a whole new world of comforting classics—all while making sure you don’t need to go to a bunch of specialty stores or take out a second mortgage.
Expect recipes like:
- Everything Pita
- Overnight Oats with Rose, Cherries, and Pistachios
- Better Than Boursin
- Focaccia Baladi
- Lazy Hummus
- Zucchini Poached in Yogurt
- Eggplant and Tofu Ragu
- Giardiniera Rice
- Bolivian Cheesy Rice
- Brazilian Hot Dog Party
- Carrot Sheet Cake
With Ham’s guidance, you can make comfort meals adventurous, and brand new dishes will leave you reminiscing like you’ve had—and loved—them a hundred times. (from Penquin Random House)
About the author:
Ham El-Waylly is a chef, restaurant consultant, recipe developer, and video creator based in New York City. You may know him from his acclaimed Brooklyn restaurant, Strange Delight, or as a longtime contributor to NYT Cooking, where he is also one half of the YouTube sensation, Mystery Menu. He lives in the East Village. (from Penquin Random House)
What I thought…
The cover makes one think of retro and trendy comfort foods from the 70s and 80s with the outdated fonts and the colorful dinnerware. That is totally not the case. The blurb states that El-Waylly is striving for nostalgic ease with his recipes and while that is true, one needs to hang on to their apron strings. Hello, Home Cooking is an inventive wild ride of flavors and cuisines.
This book is another of a long string of cookbooks that has its origins in the pandemic. Prior to the shut-down, El-Waylly was a fine dining chef that looked own on home cooking. Dishes had to be beautiful and artistic and plated with tweezers.
It took me a long time to turn to the foods I grew up eating. i had turned off that part of my brain; I wanted to be a newer, better ham with a blank slate ready to absorb all the culinary techniques coming my way. It was almost as if I felt like I had to replace what I knew about food with a new, modern style to be successful. (8)
And, those foods he knew about growing up? El-Waylly had a “diverse international community; experiencing comforting home cooking from all over the world” (8). His father is Egyptian and mother is Bolivian. Both studied at Howard University. After they married, they moved to Doha, Qatar.
After his mother passed quite unexpectedly, he found her tattered notebook of recipes (ironically in a Madonna notebook). Covid made him transition from cooking food for many to cooking and portioning for just his small family. His mother’s collection of recipes helped him discover the joys of home cooking.
El-Waylly possesses a great sense of humor, evident in “The Obligatory ‘Basics’ Section” (10-17). While it’s basic, it is comprehensive—everything from choosing the best knife to kneading dough. (I did find out that I do need a Kunz spoon in my kitchen.)
This is a wild ride of unique combinations and re-inventing traditional recipes. I wanted to point out some of the most crazy-good sounding ones:
- From “Breakfast—More than Eggs”: Bodega Chilaquiles with Charred Tomato Salsa (served walking taco-style in a Doritos bag ) (44)
- From “Dips & Snacks–Dip me baby one more time”: Shishito-Pistachio Dip (79)
- From “Vegetables—-Beet, don’t kale my vibe”: Bread-and-Butter Pickled Cauliflower (123)
- From “Rice, Grains & Pasta—Helping you grain confidence”: Toasted Thin Spaghetti, Black Beans, and Parm (185)
- From “Meat, Poultry & Seafood—Become a cut above the rest”: Tahini-Roasted Swordfish (241)
- From “Desserts—The icing on the cake”: Frito Ganache Tart (264)
A lot of the cookbooks I’ve reviewed lately have been organized by seasons or ingredients. It was nice to get back to one that has more traditional sections. I like how he organized the book. The opening two-page spread that introduces each chapter has individual pictures of each of the dishes. And do not miss the essays that preface each section. They are hilarious and also offer lots of tips. (He does a comprehensive riff on all things eggs before the Breakfast recipes). You will also learn about how he is indebted to Johnny Rockets (his diner fix when he lived in Qatar), how Final Fantasy 7 led him to be a snack thief, and how his fixation on WWF in his youth led him to accost his mom’s basmati rice.
What I made…
We had an unusual weekend that we did not have to travel out of state to see family or have any other obligations. We stayed home all weekend (excluding our run to Costco ). We nabbed a Hatch Green Chile rubbed huge pork butt there and The Hubs spent all day smoking it. I spent most of the day reading Home Cooking and finding a couple of sides to make to go with your smoked meat.
I decided to make Charred Broccoli with Nutritional Yeast Dressing (152). El-Waylly says the lack-luster title of this recipe is just to prove that this dressing is better than a Caesar “because it’s easier to make, feels a lot lighter and somehow feels more savory” (152). The dressing is a bit reminiscent of my all-time favorite dip-dressing by Melissa Ben-Ishay (her green goddess one) because it does include raw cashews and nutritional yeast. Obvioulsy, there’s now basil and spinach though. El-Waylly’s dressing uses white miso! The charred broccoli is drizzled with the dressing and then dusted with a panko-garlic crumb.
That dressing is magic. In fact, I took the rice recipe below for a leftover lunch and drizzled the nutritional yeast dressing on top of it. I loved it.
I also made his Giardiniera Rice (169) because it made a ton (and I love taking cold rice for lunch). It’s based on a favorite dill rice from a Persian restaurant in Doha. El-Waylly added the pickled veg for another kick. Fresh dill is also tossed in. I had to sub in fresh basil (which also worked well).
This rice dish is a great side!
I’m linking up with October Foodies Read.
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