inspired entertaining at home: mozza at home cookbook review

In case you missed it, I read cookbooks like they are novels, cover to cover. When Mozza at Home by Nancy Silverton entered my view, I knew I would be spending my summer weekends at the pool immersed in stories of romantic Italian dinners al fresco. To my pleasant surprise, I also spent my summer learning a few things from a woman known as an accomplished chef and restaurateur, but loved as an entertaining master. Mozza at Home was more than just a cookbook full of delicious recipes.

It is a source of inspiration to return to gathering friends and family in a way that is at risk of being lost forever in our modern hustle. It moves the cook to bring people together to eat, because food is family, however you make it come together. I will start, however, with the food.

Nancy Silverton is a James Beard award-winning chef and owner of six restaurants across two continents, so she knows a thing or two about creating good meals.  While you may not know her by name, you should silently thank her every time you eat good bread [or good pizza dough at Arturo’s].  Her work at California’s Campanile and the accompanying bakery, La Brea, started the movement in this country towards handmade, artisanal bread-making on a scale large enough to reach average consumers. Today she focuses on her restaurant operations in California and Singapore, including the Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza located near Hollywood.

photo by jenn kosar

Mozza at Home: For The Entertainer

Mozza at Home first inspired me after hearing Nancy speak on a Bon Appetit Podcast. She shares my secret pleasure — quiet early mornings the day of a party, filled with the solitude of preparing food for my guests all by myself. We two understand the contradiction of enjoying both a bustling, bursting house and the silence and peacefulness of sleepy-eyed preparations. Now she had released a book full of recipes that would be just as lovely at room temperature as fresh from the oven or stove. Food that worked indoors or out, practically seasonless; the kind of menus where I could enjoy a glass of wine as I prepared it with my guests without a lot of last-minute frenzy. She even spoke of a forever ban on potlucks because the menus don’t work together and the hostess relinquishes control. This was a woman after my own heart.

photo by jenn kosar

So you don’t share this bizarre love of waking at 5 o’clock in the morning and preparing for parties all day long?  Mozza at Home may still be for you, if only for the gorgeous visual imagery that will inspire you to create inviting meals for smaller gatherings or family dinners. Simple, elegant food, effortlessly prepared and brought together without fanfare or fuss. Approachable, familiar ingredients done really well. Simple techniques that are less likely to go wrong. A group effort if you want, but simple enough to limit the helpers to last-minute assembly. A properly set table, so we can all sit down and enjoy the meal family style. She even gives suggestions on what kind of dish to serve the recipe in for best presentation and easiest access for the guests.

photo by jenn kosar

My personal favorite entertaining tips from Mozza at Home:

• Plan the menu and food presentation for abundance and balanced shapes, colors, sizes, and textures. It makes your guests feel welcomed and cared for. It all doesn’t have to match, but it should “go together”. Mozza at Home does the thinking for you, with 19 sections of recipes designed to work together, allowing you to select two, three, or more, and feel confident that harmony is achieved. This is the way to do a potluck, if you must.
• Acquire baking dishes beautiful enough for the table. It saves you a step [and cleanup], and it fits the mood of authentic simplicity, elegance, and ease for your guests.

photo by jenn kosar

• Use cloth napkins and real dishes. Ok, I break this rule sometimes, especially in this stage of life with lots of little ones running around. It is still a good goal. They are not expensive, modern fabric technology makes them wash and fold with no ironing. A friend can help roll utensils in napkins or do some folding.
• Finally learn how to adjust quantities when serving multiple dishes. All the dishes in Mozza at Home scale up easily and in fact were originally designed for larger quantities. Most serve eight to start. Nancy reminds us to not make the rookie hostess mistake and multiply by the exact number of guests on each dish, and be smart about how you will scale in the cooking. I don’t know what it was about this book, but after reading it, I finally “got it”.

photo by jenn kosar

Mozza at Home: For the Cook

Back to the food. The recipes in Mozza at Home are so delicious, yet so simple, you will find yourself going back to this cookbook again and again. Not just for parties, these recipes work for Sunday dinners, side dishes, special occasions, and pantry staples.

The recipes are presented as menus, each centered around a protein-forward main dish, presented with harmonious appetizers and side dishes. Most are vegetarian or easily made fully meat-free. The appetizers have the added benefit of being highly make-ahead and next-over oriented. Many are the kind of foods I fantasize about having at the ready for casual guests, like Marinated Lentils, Charred Tomato Salsa, or Atomic Horseradish Cream (served with everyone’s favorite, good potato chips).

photo by jenn kosar

Vegetables are not relegated to side dish in this cookbook, and always arrive with delicious vinaigrettes or sauces. These accompaniments are easily mixed and matched or run as themes through a dinner menu. The Herb Vinaigrette makes appearances throughout and was particularly wonderful with the creamy Roasted Eggplant. Spring vegetables came to life in the Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. The Charred Broccolini with Salami and Burrata and Scallion Vinaigrette was a surprise hit, perfectly paired with Garlic-Rubbed Skirt Steak with Scallion Vinaigrette and Grilled Spring Onions. Getting the idea?

Braising, roasting, and other slow cooking techniques are heavily featured. Makes sense; these techniques are low-fuss, and tend to yield foods easily served at room temperature. The Staff Meal Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs delivered on their crispy skin promise and flavors of garlic, lemon, rosemary and thyme. So delicious, they inspired this Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken recipe.

photo by jenn kosar

The oven floor roasting of vegetables in a 500° oven was a game-changing technique, featured in the Curry-Roasted Cauliflower and again in the Roasted Asparagus. It speeds up the time and yields rich flavor without annihilating the underlying substance of the vegetable. Nancy recommends you buy large sheet pans (12×16) so that the vegetables can spread out when you roast them. Industrial quality, thicker sheets conduct heat best; you can read my post on my favorite kitchen things for recommended brands.

There’s little in the way of breakfast, but there is clear brunch menu option in Chapter 6: Eggs for Anytime. The Croissant Bread Pudding with Creamed Spinach and Ham will become part of my brunch party and Breakfast for Dinner repertoire. Desserts with relatively simple baking or alternative, low-risk techniques are presented in a separate chapter. I love this, because I find baking terribly dangerous when hosting a party.

photo by jenn kosar

I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry and ready to get in the kitchen. More importantly, I’m ready to plan a party, inspired by Nancy’s images of long tables in twinkly piazzas. Friends and families gathered under the stars with bountiful plates of food. Who wants an invite? You can rest assured the food will be delicious with a menu from Mozza at Home.

You can buy your own copy of Mozza at Home by Nancy Silverton on Amazon or your favorite local cookbook bookseller. Locals should check out words bookstore in Maplewood, NJ, who features an excellent cooking and food section.

Interested in what I’m reading next? Follow my manuals board on Pinterest for a glimpse of my cookbook shelf and the books on my wishlist.