You Do You: 100+ Endlessly Adaptable Recipes to Boost Your Culinary Confidence (My New Cookbook!)

Friends! I WROTE ANOTHER COOKBOOK! Not gonna lie, I’ve been waiting so many years to type that last sentence…

I’m thrilled to inform you that You Do You: 100+ Endlessly Adaptable Recipes to Boost Your Culinary Confidence will be coming your way this summer.

Depending on whether you hang out with me on Instagram, this may or may not be a surprise, but I truly could not be more excited (/emotional/anxious/slightly sweaty) to finally share the cover and a little bit more about this labor of love with you.

Cover Reveal Day means that pre-launch has officially begun. This book now feels slightly more real, and that’s a dream come true for this crazy cookbook lady. I’m deeply proud of You Do You (I may be biased, but I think it’s by far my best yet!) and am itching for this collection of recipes to be in your kitchen *relatively* soon. The official release date is August 11—cookbook timelines remain comically long—but you can now pre-order You Do You on:

Amazon / Bookshop / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / More Retailers

You Do You has been a longtime coming and was primarily inspired by what I’ve learned teaching Serena’s Cooking Club (my virtual cooking classes) over the past six years. I’ve always supported tailoring recipes to personal tastes—Dude Dieters may remember the “You Do You” sidebars in those cookbooks—but teaching really opened my eyes to the fact that making substitutions and modifying techniques in a recipe can often feel paralyzing. Especially when one is newer to cooking. What if you end up ruining a meal by changing something in a recipe??? Very valid panic!

This book was created to help ease substitution anxiety and build confidence in the kitchen by encouraging more flexibility and FUN while cooking. Each recipe is fantastic as written (if I do say so myself) but designed to be tweaked endlessly to your personal preferences and what you have on hand. Below each recipe, you’ll find a “You Do You” section with plenty of substitution options to get your creative juices flowing. (Example below of what these sections look like. Some are overlayed on photos, which brings me great stylistic joy.) One of the working titles for the book was actually “Something for Everyone,” as the recipes are easily adapted to every palate and pantry.

This collection of recipes also intentionally incorporates all manner of foundational culinary techniques. From making jammy eggs and quick pickling onions to reverse searing steak, spatchcocking poultry, and whipping up a perfect pan sauce, my goal is to arm readers with the skills necessary to put together meals they love with ingredients on hand. Ironically, my goal with this book is for people to go OFF book more often!

To give you a little sneak peek at what you’ll find in You Do You:

• A Warm Welcome & How to Use This Book. This is a little introduction where I chat about the early days of Cooking Club and how the in-class substitution meltdowns sparked the idea for this cookbook concept. I chat a little bit more about the You Do You philosophy and my aim to support you in creating incredible meals for yourself and the people you love. I also run through how to use the You Do You sections and index.
• Little Lessons to Live By. These are the culinary tips and tricks that have had the greatest impact on my own cooking and been game changers for my students. (I loved writing this so much.)
• You Do You Kitchen Essentials. A brief guide to stocking your kitchen/pantry to help streamline cooking.
• Breakfast Forever. Weekday staples and special occasion breakfasts with endless small joy potential.
• Crowd-Pleasing Comfort Food. A mix of healthier comfort food (Dude Dieters, rejoice!) and straight up indulgent feasts. New quinoa bake included. 😉
• One-Pan Wonders. Creative ideas for the days when you can’t be bothered to wash multiple dishes.
• Signature Salads. My best collection of creative and satisfying salads, each of which incorporates a staple protein-cooking technique (i.e. perfectly pan-seared salmon, crispy tofu crumbles, grilled shrimp, etc.).
• Feeling Fancy. Slightly more elevated meals for the days you want to channel your inner restaurant chef and treat yourself and/or the people you love to a special meal.
• Showstopping Sides. Seasonal side dishes for every occasion! The cauliflower-potato mash is a personal favorite.
• Happy Hour. My favorite chapter! Filled with festive drinks (every recipe includes a single cocktail and a batch version!) and appetizers/snacks to make entertaining a breeze.
• Something Sweet. As someone who doesn’t *love* to bake, this short chapter is devoted to my go-to, easily tailored treats. (Shoutout to sunshine-y citrus sundaes and an outrageously decadent chocolate olive oil torte.)
• Index. I know that indexes aren’t typically something to be psyched about, but this one is particularly user-friendly! The traditional index is preceded by an easily searchable “How-To” section of techniques as well as a comprehensive list of “back pocket” sauces, dressings, and toppings that can be easily mixed and matched.

You Do You was brought to life by the most talented styling/photography duo: Marian Cooper Cairns (who styled both Dude Diet books so beautifully!) and Colin Price. The photos are unbelievable, and I can’t wait for you to see them all.

Because I have been talking for far too long now, we’ll call it here. But there is much to come in the months ahead, so please stay tuned for tour details, book-themed classes, giveaways, and more fun surprises! And if you have any questions at all about You Do You, please don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments, via email, or on Instagram.

p.s. A quick and heartfelt thank you to my recipe testers, many of whom are OG Domesticate Me readers. Over 100 home cooks of all levels volunteered their precious time and energy to thoroughly test You Do You’s recipes (including their many variations—more on that momentarily), and I am forever in their debt. So, to my testers, please know that this book is infinitely more delicious and foolproof thanks to your thoughtful feedback. I love you so much.

p.p.s. Pre-orders are SO IMPORTANT. They help my publisher gauge interest in the book and decide whether the initial print run will satisfy demand or if they should print more copies. For many booksellers (from Amazon and Barnes & Noble to independent bookstores), pre-order numbers determine whether to stock the book and how many copies to carry, so pre-ordering makes a huge difference in terms of helping me get this book out there and make it available to people who may want it (/prevent the dreaded “Out Of Stock” sticker). Also, pre-orders count towards my first week of book sales, so if everyone pre-orders, then there’s a remote chance that You Do You snags a spot on a national bestseller list. (Third time’s a charm?!) If that happens, more people will find out about the book in general. If more people find out about the book, then I might get to do more TV shows and interviews, and YETI might finally sponsor me!!! Thank you in advance for helping me follow my dreams. I love you. Okay, that really is it. Talk soon.

xox,

Weird Blog Lady turned Crazy Class Lady turned Crazy Cookbook Lady once again