“Cooking at home is the most difficult thing. It is like the hardest restaurant job you can have,” says accomplished chef Ham El-Waylly. “You are the dishwasher. You are the prep cook. No one’s helping you.” El-Waylly, an industry friend of mine, recently published his debut cookbook, Hello, Home Cooking , which features approachable recipes made with easy-to-find ingredients. We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? But the way in which these regular-degular ingredients are combined—and the stories that tag along—could only come from him. Each recipe zigs where you expect it to zag. Cinnamon toast cereal is reimagined with pita, butter, and brown sugar . Chewy Bolivian cuñapes are shaken up with the aromatic flavors of garlic bread. Bessara, an Egyptian fava bean spread, is revamped with frozen edamame. And the narrative is a riot. We learn quickly that El-Waylly loves entertainment wrestling, video games, and can do Will Smith’s handshake from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.…