Confessions of a Fearless Cook finds flavor in creativity, courage and humor.

Rookie cookbook author and one-time Weekly food columnist Terry Fisher calls herself “fearless.” It’s a pretty big claim to make, let alone to place in the title of her new-but-long-time-in-the-making cookbook. But the Gonzales nurse backs it up: As early as the first page in the book – make that her second sentence – her honesty becomes apparent. 


“I was in a going-nowhere-but-down relationship, in a cooking career that I was no longer satisfied with, and in a place where I could not stand the weather,” she writes. So she moved across the country on a whim to pursue her dream of being a screenwriter. Only her plan bottoms out and she scrambles to score a freelance food writing gig pairing personal anecdotes with clever and original recipes for the then-Coast Weekly. That plays into one of the most powerful points in the book: Take a chance. Experiment in life and in the kitchen.


“Rules are made to be broken,” she says. “Recipes are made to be changed.” 


Even if you don’t peel past page four’s porcini sausage sauce recipe, which can be used on pasta, as pizza sauce and much more, or page six’s rant – “Yes, there are days when I quite happily crawl into bed (crumbs and all, Mom) with a bowl of popcorn for dinner. Followed by a dish (usually two) of ice cream” – that lesson is potent enough. But peel past you should, for a few reasons.


For one, Fisher’s recipes are enlightening. Her unorthodox methods make you think about food differently. Not many cookbook writers would suggest that “faking it” is an essential technique which any self-respecting cook should learn. And who really makes salads out of cactus, cookies with Ritz crackers or uses tamale ingredients to make a pie?


The brief Cheap Eats chapter is particularly handy for those on, say, a freelance writer’s budget. The egg cutlets make an inexpensive yet filling snack, requiring only an egg or two, breadcrumbs and a few leftovers. The tantalizing tomato-herb soup involves crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, chicken stock, and a variety of herbs. The fasolia makes for a hearty meal in 15 minutes. 


The recipes are diverse – ranging from Americana like stuffed meatloaf and broccoli casserole to traditional Lebanese such as stuffed grape leaves and m’judra – with a special emphasis on preserving leftovers and making them into completely new dishes. 


Fisher’s tone helps the reader – even the underwhelming chefs among us – feel like we could prepare something ambitious and delicious. 


“People always ask me if I’ve gone to cooking school,” she writes. “The answer is no. But, don’t worry, I am eminently qualified to write about food. I eat every single day. After all, there’s really only one rule: If you like it, you did good.”


But what really sets the book apart is its anecdotes: Each recipe is preceded by a story from Fisher’s personal life. And each piece, while navel gazing, is entertaining, as she traverses everything from dating misadventures to Rollerblade crashes to awkward phone conversations with her mother (“Remember, dear, it’s just as easy to love a rich man as a poor man”), and somehow succeeds at making them relevant to a recipe. It’s an inventive approach that clicks thematically with her atypical recipes. 


“A lot of people tell me that they are reluctant to be creative when they cook because they’re afraid of making mistakes,” she writes. “But, as in many aspects of life, mistakes are often the best way to learn to be creative… Sometimes the mistakes turn out to be better than what you were originally aiming for.” This book is proof. 


Confessions of a Fearless Cook ($15.99) is available at River House Books in Carmel, Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. For more recipes, visit www.mcweekly.com/edible