I made all 115 recipes in Anthony Bourdain's cookbook. Here are the 3 dishes that totally won me over. (2024)

• I tried following all 115 recipes in Anthony Bourdain's 2016 book, "Appetites: A Cookbook."
• I'd make many of the recipes again, but my favorite was his Asian-inspired pulled pork.
• I was surprised that his simple potato salad was also one of my top picks.

I'm a superfan of the late culinary legend Anthony Bourdain, so throughout the pandemic, I tried to make all 115 recipes from his 2016 cookbook, "Appetites."

Read on for my three favorite dishes that I'll be serving for years to come.

Bourdain's Macao-style pork-chop sandwich was a riff on the classic

I didn't know what to expect because I've had an authentic pork-chop bun in Macao, but this sandwich was almost perfect.

I started by pounding the pork chop and marinating it in the fridge before dredging it in flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Then I heated peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fried the pork until it turned golden brown.

Bourdain's recipe replaced the traditional, thicker bun with white sandwich bread, which I think brought more focus to the delicious pork.

While the pork was cooking, I toasted the bread and topped it with a spicy aioli made from sriracha and mayonnaise.

Next I took the pork chop directly from the frying pan and plopped it onto the toasted bread.

The meat was tender and crispy, and the aioli added a bit of heat and tang to the bite.

The thick-cut bacon and cornichons made Bourdain's potato salad stand out

Bourdain's potato-salad recipe called for thick-cut bacon, and it made all the difference.

I started by boiling diced potatoes for 10 minutes and frying the bacon until it was crispy.

Even though store-bought mayonnaise would work, I decided to make Bourdain's homemade recipe, which was the most time-consuming and difficult part of this dish.

First I combined egg yolks, white-wine vinegar, salt, dry mustard, grapeseed oil, and lemon juice.

The trick is to slowly add the oil while whisking constantly. I was paranoid about breaking the emulsion, so I took my time with this step, spending about 30 minutes beating in the oil. Then I seasoned it to taste with salt and vinegar.

I added red-wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, red onion, celery, and cornichons to the mayo along with the cooked potatoes, and it was ready to serve.

Bourdain's pulled pork was a showstopper that can feed a crowd

My favorite recipe in the book was his braised pork shoulder with fried shallots and pickled vegetables.

It's a great dish to bring to a potluck or fancy dinner, and it's also relatively easy to make as long as you have time to braise the meat.

First I browned the meat and fried the onion, garlic, and ginger. Then I added white vinegar, soy sauce, cola, and miso.

I popped it in the oven for just over four hours, and when I took it out, the meat was falling off the bone.

As the pork was braising, I made Bourdain's pickled vegetables by mixing cucumbers, red onions, white vinegar, sugar, and salt. I placed it in the fridge to marinate for an hour.

I skipped refrigerating the pork overnight and reheating it in a saucepan as the recipe directed because it was delicious enough to serve immediately, and I was too hungry to wait.

These recipes are going into my regular meal rotation

Although there were a few recipes with confusing instructions and lackluster results, by and large, the dishes from "Appetites" turned out great.

I had so much fun with this project, and there are now dozens of new recipes in my repertoire. But of all 115, the Macau pork, potato salad, and pulled pork have earned a permanent spot in my meal rotation.