Zal Yanovsky (1944–2002)

This cookbook is from one of my favourite restaurants, Chez Piggy in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The restaurant was started by the late Zal Yanovsky, founder of the 1960’s band The Lovin’ Spoonful.

Though the cookbook is from 1998, the recipes don’t seem dated and many are still on the restaurant’s menu. There is a mix of international recipes, including a number influenced by Mediterranean and Southeast Asian cuisines. My main complaint is that this cookbook, like many other restaurant cookbooks, uses an abundance of ingredients that are not in the typical household pantry. For that reason, I use the recipes mainly for inspiration and often make substitutions.… (mehr)