The Heart of the Table | A World of Inspiration
It’s All Easy: A Journey Through Gwyneth’s Kitchen
I'll admit it. Pouring over photos from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbooks is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Usually, I need Wikipedia to learn where her exotic ingredients come from, and a small loan to buy them at my local supermarket. But you know what? Not this time. Ms. Paltrow's newest cookbook, IT'S ALL EASY, is telling the truth.
Co-authored by her food blog editor, Thea Baumann, the book reminded me of a Vogue photo shoot, some 270 pages long, give or take an elegant arrangement of spices and dipping sauce. The images of the authors enjoying truly good food with Parisian and countryside backdrops lived in my dreams all night last night. That's what I get for reading it with a little nightcap just before bedtime.
Effortless Elegance
The Art of Gluten-Free
IT'S ALL EASY made me rethink gluten-free recipes. The polenta dishes, prettily plated throughout the book, look super easy to make. Prepared just right, polenta can be quite yummy. Ms. Paltrow offers it both crispy and soft, with toppings like roasted cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and gorgeously caramelized shiitake mushrooms.
My "hunt and peckish" through the cookbook yielded the surprising realization that many obscure ingredients are just gluten-free versions of what we already love. For instance, her "socca pizzas" are made from chickpea flour—which you can find from almost all major baking brands—and her frequent call for "Tamari" is simply gluten-free soy sauce.
Global Flavors, Simple Execution
I was delighted to find that this book is upfront about the grocery list you need. Ms. Paltrow favors oils, vinegars, and coconut, and apparently has the same pantry you'd find at a P.F. Chang's. I’ve already bookmarked the Congee: a traditional Chinese breakfast that I sampled in Beijing last year. I remember the jasmine rice swimming in garlic and chicken-y ginger broth. It was so delicious!
The Super Busy Home Cook
While the recipes circle the globe, they return to America quite often with simple tomato soup and turkey meatloaf. These come off as love letters to the "Super Busy Home Cook." When Ms. Paltrow shared that her friends wanted recipes they could prepare quickly at the end of an overextended day, I nodded in solidarity. Can I get an Amen!
From the Memoir to the Kitchen
To pair with an evening of effortless elegance—perhaps as that sophisticated nightcap mentioned in the lore—explore our Master Blueprint for Red Wine Sangria.
View Red Wine Sangria in The Vault