Milk Bar Life: Recipes & Stories: A Cookbook

I had never heard of Milk Bar or Christina Tosi until she appeared on the Master Chef television shows. I enjoy her honesty and candor on the shows, so I suspected I would enjoy her writing, too. I have not been disappointed. I can hear her talking in my ear as I read the recipes and, most importantly, the stories behind the recipes. I can feel her warmth as I mix up something that has impacted her life at some point. In this hurried world of Jiffy Mix Cornbread, I can relate when she figures out how to make baked goods even more 'from scratch' than the ones from her youth. Of course, I'll probably still use Jiffy Mix, but it's nice to know Christina has it figured out for a day when I run out of Jiffy Mix!! One of the most interesting things about this book is the way the chapter are used. It's not your normal cookbook where each course gets its own chapter. Oh no. Each chapter is, instead, an experience in life. For example, there is a chapter called Hand Me Downs. These are the recipes she got from her family members. These represent home to her and are great recipes to add to your recipe arsenal. Then there is We Are Family, which shares favorite recipes from family meal at her restaurant/bakery. The Going Out chapter are favorite recipes from favorite (and likely hard to get a table) restaurants. The mix is fun, and it is like taking a vicarious foodie tour of NYC, which is really neat for those of us who have never been there. No matter what, the stories are fun, the ingredients aren't totally impossible to find, and the book is a joy to read.

Loved this cookbook even though I'm only really halfway through and was just checking reviews. I've recently added back chef boyardee to my life since I gave up canned soup, jarred sauce, and cup o'noodles six years ago in order to cook ambitiously. They're GOOD and don't take up space in the freezer like all the Marie Callendar s*** is when I really need a WEAK NIGHT meal. As someone who has loved baking cookies and layer cakes out of Momofuku Milk Bar (I need more layer cake recipes, Damnit!), I was definitely not excited to pick this one up. Some Tosi family recipes that I had seen in articles here or there just seemed totally lackluster. But I LOVE Tosi's personality. I've read a lot of f-ing celebrity chef cookbooks and I'm definitely a big fan of Richard Blais, Edward Lee Jr, Stephanie Izard and the like, but Tina Tosi literally and figuratively takes the cake for me. This cookbook probably came at the right time in my dietary evolution where processed foods other than tv dinners, 7-11 nachos, and the somehow very rare fast food joint in Boston isn't beyond my personal taste. I'm totally looking forward to trying my first Spaghettio Sammie even though I can't figure out how Egg Soup is really a soup when it's just an egg. And seriously? the fashionable and well-heeled women in NYC subsist on a single soft-boiled egg and slice of toast for dinner? WTF Obviously if you're reading this expecting Momofuku Milk Bar Vol. 2, you better just delete this out of your cart now. But really it only makes sense that Tosi would write a cookbook using ingredients for the plebians of the world. Who else would've dreamed up Crack Pie or Compost cookies anyway? There are also a couple MMB-style cookies in here.

Incomplete review: I’m still exploring the recipes hence my review isn’t as comprehensive as someone who has read the whole book and made recipes from it. Nevertheless, I thought I would still post a mini-review. I bought the previous book, Momofuku Milk Bar, when it was on sale for Kindle. I believed from reading the reviews, and looking at the online sample, that I would not like the book, and I was right!!! The recipes were too weird (or adventurous depending on your POV) and methods too long-winded for my liking. I only kept the Kindle book because it was on sale, otherwise if I had paid full price I would have returned it. Others have criticized this newer book because they find that the recipes are too simple, but this is why I really like it! The flavors of the recipes I have perused so far, are more normal and the methods more achievable for my level of baking/cooking (ie intermediate level home cook). There are some recipes which use store bought ingredients, which I will not make, but they are there for those who do. So far from what I’ve noticed, since I haven’t done any counting, most recipes are made from scratch. I’m appreciating this cookbook far more than Momofuku, because it caters more to my taste and level of ability. The only thing that I do find irritating are the irrelevant and sometimes kitschy photos of the people, though others might find them amusing. This is a cookbook after all, and I prefer to look at pictures of the food that’s being baked/cooked and the finished product.

This is such a fun cookbook. I love Tosi’s recipes and approach to food and cooking. But the Kindle version is terrible. No pull-down of the recipes in the chapters listed in the table of contents. You can only go to the first page of each chapter, which also lacks a list of recipes. Stick with the hardcover for this book.

I bought the book because I enjoy the cookies so much and wanted to learn the secrets. Wrong book but enjoyed to read none-the-less.

What I love about this cookbook is that it is Tosi through and through. You get her voice in the writing and the recipe styles reflect her addiction to the marriage of the low and the high. No, this isn't Momofuku Milk part two (which I also love, for the insanely good recipes), but if you've been paying attention to what Tosi and Chang both are, great chefs with cravings without snobbery, then you'll see her true form here. I may not be making the Spaghettio Sammy, but it is certainly great comedy and testament to the fun she has as a chef. I have some cookbooks I love for voice, and some I love for recipes. This has a little of both and I like that it's different than her first. Tosi is my spirit animal! And if you like Tang Toast as much as Arepas De Pabellon, you will like this book you can cook from, too.

I bought this book because the recipes look fun and was interested to try them. Great recipes! I’ve veganized two of the cookie recipes and they were delicious!!

I have purchased all three of the Milk books and if there were more I’d buy them too! I sit in my bed at night and read this as if it were a novel. I made the corn bake on Thanksgiving and it was gone before all of the guests arrived (I will be bringing this to all of the gatherings I get invited to moving forward). I also baked the pumpkin butter bars which were ridiculously good! I thought I didn’t bake it right as I didn’t realize that it was a softer, pie-like consistency, but once I tried it I knew that it was correct and a keeper. My fiancé thought it was great heated up with a scoop of ice cream top.

In love! Tosi is a queen and this book is proof! Arrived intact!

Compré este libro para recordar mi visita a Milk Bar en Nueva York, y me ha sorprendido muy gratamente: hay recetas buenísimas y sencillas, todas ellas en sintonía con el espíritu de esta marca.

love this book

Great cookbook. Looking forward to trying a lot of the recipes. Ordered her other book, and will most likely be ordering her newest once it goes on sale. Love her recipes!

Le compré el libro a mi novia, como regalo, y le encantó. Es una buena combinación de libro y recetas.