5 Things We Learned From Kirsten Deneka's "Best Of The Bowl"

Welcome back to Cookbook Club! Every month or so we feature a new-to-us book we love. We've journeyed to Africa and India and explored the joys of plant-based eating. This time, we're putting the spotlight on a content creator known for healthyish (and delicious) comfort food. 

If your culinary education came courtesy of a single, splattered, dog-eared cookbook passed down from Mom, it’s okay to feel a twinge of envy toward someone like home chef, content creator and author Kirsten Deneka. The 25-year-old author of Best of the Bowl started cooking at 12 and taught herself new recipes she found on Pinterest.

“The internet is a huge help,” she says. 

From there, Kirsten started creating her own recipes, which—as a digital native is wont to do—she decided to share online.

“I didn’t expect this to be my job,” she says, “but I’m glad it is and I’ve found this really beautiful community.” 

Said community turns to her on TikTok and Instagram (where she has more than a million followers combined) for a signature blend of comfort food with a healthy twist. We caught up with Kirsten to talk through five things that stood out most in her debut cookbook.

1. "Feta-Forward" Cookery

You don’t need a Greek passport to understand feta’s superpowers. Kirsten proudly calls her cooking “feta-forward,” and with nine feta-filled recipes in Best of the Bowl, she makes a compelling case for ditching your usual cheddar or Parm. Sure, Hot Honey Whipped Feta and Loaded Tzatziki are expected hits, but it’s the curveballs—like feta-spiked bruschetta or a zippy corn-and-zucchini salad—that really showcase its range.

As Kirsten puts it, “If people don’t like feta, they need to try different recipes.” Noted.

2. Corn fritters > croutons

In her Kewpie Crispy Corn Fritter Salad, Kirsten pulls a smart swap: crisp-edged, jalapeño-studded corn fritters take the crouton’s usual spot. They deliver more flavor, more texture and, frankly, more excitement than dry cubes of toast ever could.

The salad itself is a fresh mix of lettuce, Persian cucumbers, carrots and radishes, tied together with a soy-laced mayo dressing. But the fritters don’t need to stay in this one bowl: Try them in a Caesar riff or serve them solo with the dressing as a dip. Croutons could never.

3. Burritos are better at home

It’s a bold statement, but Kirsten doesn’t flinch in claiming that her burritos beat the ones you buy. For her, it’s partly about customizing the flavors, but mostly it’s a math problem.

“I find if you go get a burrito and it’s $20, you’re like, 'That’s it, I’m done,'" she says. “When you cook at home, you put in a little extra money and effort, you can have five to 10 servings of food.” 

Her Better-At-Home Burritos come packed with barbacoa beef, pico, guac, rice, beans, cheddar and chipotle crema. Frugal, filling and—according to Kirsten—superior.

4. Heavy cream makes for the silkiest pesto

“Basil pesto is the best sauce for pasta, hands down,” Kirsten writes.

For her Creamy Pesto Gnocchi, though, she goes well beyond the standard Genovese version, adding a generous ¾ cup of heavy cream to the pan for a two-person dinner. The idea came from a dish she ate at a hometown restaurant.

“I tried it and realized that I knew how to make it at home,” she says. “It was an elevated creaminess with a little pasta water and heavy cream.” The result, she says, is “the silkiest sauce that coats the pillowy gnocchi perfectly.”

5. Cooking can make you fall in love with…cooking

Kirsten hopes that making her recipes will help even cooking-averse folks appreciate slowing down. 

“People who follow me are looking for quick recipes,” she says.

But she has an ulterior motive: to help home cooks enjoy the process and “the pace that cooking brings,” so that they might stop rushing through the meal. If you’re feeling intimidated, she even includes QR codes to help visual learners navigate each step.

Feeling hungry? Try your hand at Kirsten’s Meatball Calzones, which were inspired by her job as a pizza girl at a local Italian restaurant. "With a calzone, it’s the pocket of the melty cheese and meat. It stays moist and extra saucy. Sometimes on a pizza, things dry out,” she says. We’re game.

Order a copy of Best of the Bowl and get going on those calzones!

*Quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.