A Man and A Pan: Esquire’s New Cookbook, Eat Like A Man

Those who thrill to the idea of having a star chef whisper simple cooking instructions for dishes like crisp-skinned roast chicken (from Manhattan’s Jimmy Bradley) — or even fried chicken (brined first in Coca-Cola, from chef Hohn Currence of Oxford, Mississippi) will delight in Esquire Magazine’s new cookbook, Eat Like A Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need (Chronicle, $30, though $17.64 at Amazon), edited by Ryan D’Agostino.

Tom Colicchio, Ted Allen, Michael Symon, Mario Batali all make appearances. Dishes are rated as  “Easy,” “Reasonable,” or “Worth the Effort.”

The recipes are mostly simple, straighforward and written in an approachable voice that could convince nearly  any 30-year-old man (or woman) think, “Hey, I could make that.” But you gotta like red meat. And pork. And have little interest in salads and most veggies, because, sadly you won’t find many here.

Still, the book is a good read, engagingly written and a worthy aspirational manual for those for whom putting together the three-ingredient macaroni pie is overwhelming.