The Kinfolk Table: Recipes for Small Gatherings. Books

Kinfolk – launched to great acclaim and instant buzz in 2010 – is an independently owned quarterly magazine about understated, unfussy entertaining. Both the content and the aesthetic reflect a desire to go back to simpler times; to take a hiatus from the madness of modern life; to build a community around a shared sensibility; and to foster the endless and energising magic that results from sharing a meal with good friends.

Now there’s a cookbook from the creators of the magazine, with profiles of 40 tastemakers who love to entertain, and who have each provided one to three of the recipes they most love to share with others, whether they be simple breakfasts for two, one-pot dinners for six, or a perfectly composed sandwich for a solo picnic.

The Kinfolk Table puts the emphasis back into the relationships that surround eating. Let the people sharing your dinner table be the foreground and superficial details such as fancy recipes and table decorations can fade into the background. One-third cookbook, one-third narrative tale and one-third international adventure, The Kinfolk Table is a collection of 85 delectable recipes spread over nearly 400 pages from creative types around the world. Filled with gorgeous photography and design you’re used to seeing in the magazine, the book will inspire your next small gathering.

Kinfolk’s founding editor Nathan Williams travelled around the world, sharing food and collecting ideas from our growing community of chefs, home cooks, designers, bloggers, photographers and others, many of whom contributed recipes to The Kinfolk Table. The book reflects our ideas about the way we believe entertaining should be: comfortable, simple, slow and meaningful.

We collected recipes from all different cultures that are suitable for nearly every occasion. Some of the suggestions are refreshingly simple, like throwing freshly plucked mussels on the barbecue or filling half a cantaloupe with yogurt and honey. Others may take a little more time and patience, such as Ginger Ice Cream with Kumquat Compote or perfecting a shoulder of veal. Danish, Japanese, Mexican and Korean influences make appearances too, as do fresh takes on classics such as Sweet Potato-Quinoa Burgers, Kimchi Couscous or Spiced Raw Chocolate Mousse.

The main cities we chose to focus on were Brooklyn, Copenhagen, our hometown of Portland, Oregon, and the English countryside. Of course, great food and even greater people extend beyond these borders, so we’ve added a “Wandering Table” section, featuring tales from Salt Lake City to family secrets from founder Nathan Williams’ mother and grandmother back home in Alberta, Canada. In the future we hope to explore other neighbourhood nooks and bring you more stories and recipes from the edges of the culinary world.