Michael's Genuine Food ─ Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat

JAMES BEARD AWARD–WINNING CHEF Michael Schwartz put Miami’s Design District on the culinary map when he opened his restaurant, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, in 2007. In a town where food and cocktails are as much a part of the pulse as tans and nightclubs, Michael’s Genuine strikes a very different note. Reviving the city’s dining scene from an overabundance of “Floribbean” cuisine, the restaurant quickly won national praise for its superlative yet unpretentious fare, with Frank Bruni of the New York Times naming it one of the country’s top ten best new restaurants. In his first cookbook, Michael Schwartz shares his approachable, sought-after recipes with home cooks everywhere.

Michael focuses on sourcing exceptional ingredients and treating them properly—which usually means simply. A salad truly becomes a meal, such as BLT Salad with Maple-Cured Bacon, as do pizzas, pastas, soups, and sandwiches. Snacks aren’t precious bits on toothpicks but hearty, eat-with-your-hands fare that can be mixed and matched, such as Caramelized Onion Dip with Thick-Cut Potato Chips and Crispy Polenta Fries with Spicy Ketchup. Side dishes are adventurous accompaniments that hold up mightily on their own, while the boldly flavored main dishes—from Grilled Wild Salmon Steak with Fennel Hash and Sweet Onion Sauce to Grilled Leg of Lamb with Salsa Verde—come in two sizes: large and extra large, for serving family-style at the table. From simple desserts that riff on classic childhood favorites and flavors, including Banana Toffee Panini, to Michael’s favorite drinks, you’ll have everything you need for the perfect dinner at home.

With seventy full-color photographs and abundant ingredient tips to help make the most of what’s freshest at the market, Michael’s Genuine Food is a guide you’ll return to time and time again for meals that will slip everyone into a state of genuine contentment.

MICHAEL SCHWARTZ, a James Beard Award winner and former Top Chef guest judge, is the chef-owner of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and the Cayman Islands. Since opening in March 2007, the restaurant has been lauded by the press, including the New York Times, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Esquire, and Conde Nast Traveler.

JOANN CIANCIULLI has written nearly a dozen cookbooks, most recently the acclaimed L.A.’s Original Farmers Market Cookbook, and has collaborated with noted chefs, including Michael Mina and Tyler Florence.