Everyone Hot Pot: Creating the Ultimate Meal for Gathering and Feasting

For a limited time we have copies signed by Natasha Pickowicz.

Hot pot, the East Asian tradition of poaching vegetables, meats, seafood, and tofu in a communal tableside broth, is one of the most naturally social ways to eat, and one of the most adaptable. Natasha Pickowicz, a four-time James Beard Award nominee, brings her characteristic creativity and generosity to a format that is at once ancient, endlessly flexible, and ideally suited to the current enthusiasm for cooking and entertaining at home.

The book is genuinely accessible to first-timers. Pickowicz covers equipment (a sturdy stockpot works fine, though specialized hot pot vessels are discussed), tabletop heat sources, and the essentials of prepping ingredients, from chopping vegetables to slicing proteins to preparing greens. All this helps guests improvise freely once the pot is going. Eight broth recipes provide range: a charred tomato and lemongrass version is bright, complex, and fully vegan.

The accompaniments, sides, and additions are substantial enough to hold interest entirely on their own terms:

• Scallop and fish roe dumplings
• Asian pear, jicama, and fennel slaw
• Shaobing (a traditional flatbread) and a kombu and brown butter Texas toast
• Double mango jelly and boba rice treats

The dessert section reflects Pickowicz's background as a celebrated pastry chef. She is also the author of More Than Cake, and it shows. People may well find themselves cooking from this book on nights when no hot pot is actually in the offing.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.