In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes from Our Year of Cooking in the Real World

“A comprehensive and inspiring must-have guide for quarter-life cooks everywhere.”
—Merrill Stubbs, author of The Food52 Cookbook

“Cara and Phoebe have figured what takes some of us a tad longer to realize. We can cook anywhere, anytime, with anything on any budget.”
—Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of Public Radio’s The Splendid Table® from American Public Media

Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine, creators of the popular food blog biggirlssmallkitchen.com, share their kitchen prowess and tasty tips with In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes from Our Year of Cooking in the Real World. Filled with delicious and resourceful recipes for daily cooking and entertaining on a budget, In the Small Kitchen is required reading for anyone who wants to put an appetizing meal on the table. More than just a guide to quarter-life cooking, this cookbook is also a wonderful ode to the people we cook and eat with, who stick with us through breakups, birthdays, and myriad kitchen disasters.

It's hard to forget your first apartment—its cramped closets, one too many roommates, and oh-so-tiny kitchen—or the first entry-level job, vibrant but hectic social life, and newfound independence that come with it. For Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine, that first small kitchen was a blessing in disguise, a haven from adulthood's worries and thrills. In the Small Kitchen, inspired by their popular website Big Girls, Small Kitchen, is their debut cookbook, filled with more than 100 delicious recipes for cooking and entertaining within the constraints of a twentysomething life. Whether you're packing Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches for a cubicle picnic, staying in with a cup of Workweek Tomato Soup and Cara's Classic Gooey Grilled Cheese, whipping up Three Onion Dip and Pimm's Cup for a cocktail party, or making Shrimp Risotto with Sweet Peas and Leeks to impress a special dinner date, Cara and Phoebe will show you how to stretch your imagination and your pocketbook to get the most out of your small kitchen without sacrificing the flavor or fun of savoring a good meal. In the Small Kitchen will get a new generation into the habit of cooking and make your kitchen a place everyone wants to be.

“Part memoir, part instruction manual, this cookbook stands out because of its usability. [In the Small Kitchen] is sure to please the reader as well as the eater.” - Free Lance-Star

“A very edible collection of both recipes and life stories that are sure to make you hungry for more.” - About.com

“An essential first-apartment culinary guide.” - MSN Glo

“Taking a tried-and-true recipe and improvising is part of the fun of cooking. It’s among the joys offered in In the Small Kitchen.” - The Modesto Bee

“With limited time, space, budgets and sometimes the obstacle of masses to feed, these girls are able to not only impress but keep their guests coming back for more.” - FreeSpiritEater.com

“[Cara and Phoebe] have succeeded very well in creating a wonderful book that’s as fun and funny as it is a practical guide. In the Small Kitchen is a combination starter cookbook and journal chronicling a coming of age year in the friends’ shared lives.” - The Martha's Vineyard Times

“Friends and food: What could be more fun? That’s the underlying premise of this practical and creative cookbook. Easy-to-read recipes for all occasions, whether eating alone, with a date or partying with friends.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a girl who’s burned boiling water, this book will feed you, please you, and maybe even inspire you to take a little leap of your own.” - Bust Magazine

“[Cara and Phoebe’s] fantastic cookbook, In the Small Kitchen, [is] a collection of innovative recipes.” - Glamour

“In the Small Kitchen is a comprehensive and inspiring must-have guide for quarter-life cooks everywhere. Cara and Phoebe infuse their writing, and their appealing recipes, with the humor and wisdom of those with twice their life experience.” - Merrill Stubbs, coauthor of The Food52 Cookbook

“Cara and Phoebe have figured out what takes some of us a tad longer to realize. We can cook anywhere, any time, with anything on any budget. Take this book into your kitchen, even if it’s a hot plate and a toaster oven on a bookshelf, and feast.” - Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of Public Radio’s The Splendid Table from American Public Media

“I was as charmed by this brilliant collection of recipes as I was transported by the stories behind them. This is a truly wonderful cookbook.” - Keith McNally, restaurateur and owner of Balthazar

“Just as those who haven’t experienced hunger while living on a tight budget rarely develop well-honed palates, the capacity to choose wisely or a profound appreciation of the sublime, those who’ve never been confined to a tiny kitchen rarely learn to cook smart and joyfully with full awareness of the miracle of dinner. Cara and Phoebe deliver the lessons they’ve learned with heart, humor, and recipes that work. They make me wistful for the good old days of cooking for twenty in a four-foot-square kitchen. Bravo!” - Molly O'Neill, author of One Big Table

“Those who’ve never been confined to a tiny kitchen rarely learn to cook smart and joyfully with full awareness of the miracle of dinner. Cara and Phoebe make me wistful for the good old days of cooking for twenty in a four-foot-square kitchen. Bravo!” - Molly O'Neill, author One Big Table

“Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine share delicious recipes and hilarious narratives about cooking and entertaining within the constraints of a twenty-something life.” - New Canaan Patch

“Childhood friends learn to how survive as home cooks in cramped NYC quarters.” - Daily News

“So much more than just a collection of recipes. I feel like I know these ladies, and if I ever found myself in New York, they’d happily pull up an extra chair. Cara and Pheobe’s recipes are fresh, tasty, and relatively easy to prepare...I ate it all up.” - Reading for Sanity

“If the only things you know how to make are ramen and reservations, Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine want you to know that you, too, can become a great chef.” - Metro

“A thoughtful guide for novice cooks, those who have the ambition and tastes for great meals but not necessarily the honed skills or applianced-out kitchens to execute them. Regardless of your kitchen’s square footage, the recipes in In the Small Kitchen translate beautifully.” - Serious Eats

“[Cara and Phoebe] teach us that no coffee table is too small or studio space too humble to throw a little party for friends in. This book is chock-full of easy-to-follow recipes, bursting with fresh flavors and produce.” - The Kitchn

“I love In the Small Kitchen so much. It’s packed with brilliant advice and delicious recipes for anyone who wants to cook and entertain—no matter what size your kitchen.” - Ina Garten