Cooking Without Alcohol

A Look at The Sober Kitchen by Liz Scott

I wanted to share a brilliant cookbook by a professional chef and recovering alcoholic, Liz Scott. People in recovery often ask how to make some of the recipes on my website without wine or other spirits, and I direct them to my page on alcohol substitutions. Still, now I’m happy to refer them to this incredible cookbook, The Sober Kitchen.

Not only is this a great book filled with recipes and advice for “a Lifetime of Sobriety”, Chef Scott’s cookbook is filled with tips and chef secrets that all of us would be delighted reading whether we are in recovery or not. Glancing through the book, I couldn’t help but stop and read some of her explanations like “Demystifying Deglazing” or “A Collection of Crispy Coatings” for frying fish.

It is exactly the type of cookbook I enjoy reading, with plenty of excellent recipes and cooking tips to help me understand the techniques involved.

For Those In Recovery

This is the first significant cookbook that looks at the link between food and recovery. Chef Scott, a graduate of The French Culinary Institute, offers plenty of helpful advice from her own experiences and provides essential information on nutrition, hydration, and vitamins needed during recovery. It may sound like it’s not be much fun, but Chef Scott has written this cookbook in a format that is easy to read, with over 300 simple recipes to try.

The recipes and suggestions offered in The Sober Kitchen will help with “repairing your body from the damage of addiction by developing healthy eating and drinking habits” and “help you to cope with common cravings that require attention.”

Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More, writes, “The recipes in this book are easy to prepare, tasty, filling, inexpensive, and especially good for my liver. The Sober Kitchen is a welcome addition to anyone’s library and kitchen – especially those recovering from chemical dependency and hepatitis C.”

Recipes and Interview with Chef Scott

I hope to interview Chef Scott shortly for Chef Interviews and will post a few of her recipes and tips on this Blog. This is a great book for anyone in recovery but I would be happy to recommend to everyone who enjoys cooking.

Here’s an example of one of Chef Scott’s “Chef’s Notes” you will find for making clarified butter.

Making Clarified Butter

“Make clarified butter by slowly melting unsalted butter, allowing the milk solids to sink to the bottom. Skim off the top foam and carefully pour or laddle out the golden liquid. Without its milk solids, butter can safely reach a higher smoke point without burning, which makes it ideal for frying. You can keep clarified butter (also called ghee), tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to one month.”

This is the kind of information I love reading in cookbooks.

So, if you are in recovery or know someone who is and are interested in cooking, I highly recommend Chef Liz Scott’s, The Sober Kitchen.