u/Unusual-Sympathy-205

My challenge/project is to try to make at least 3 recipes from my unused or underused cookbooks. Part of the reason I’m doing this is because our collection was starting to feel a little unwieldy. I kept asking why I had all of these books if I wasn’t using them. But also, I wanted to thin out and get rid of things we weren’t ever going to use. I felt like I was cheating a bit on that part of the project because I kept cooking from books I knew I was probably going to keep.

Until I got to this one. This book is my first failure. The first problem was that I had a terrible time even finding 3 recipes that I wanted to try. They just weren’t appealing to me, plus calling most of them a dinner was kind of stretching it. Most of them seemed more like sides. And, while none of us are vegetarians, none of us are the type of people that require meat and potatoes. Everyone eats plenty of vegetarian meals without complaints. Anyway, I finally found three that I thought might work.

The first was the Courgette, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Tart. This wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t really do much for any of us. It needed something, but I’m not sure what; just something. By the time the puff pastry had cooked, the asparagus was way overcooked and stringy, and the goat cheese kind of overwhelmed everything. I sprung for the bougie French all butter puff pastry and still ended up throwing the leftovers away. #sad. I was so disappointed I forgot to take a picture.

Second was Sticky Rice with Broccoli, Squash, Chilli, and Ginger. This one had potential, but the opposite problem from the first recipe. This one needed less. Every bite ended up having something in it that clashed with something else. Usually the broccoli, I think. Everyone sort of picked around it. And usually they’re all broccoli eaters. I threw those leftovers away too.

After that I looked at recipe #3, decided I wasn’t wasting any more time and ingredients on this, and noped out of the whole thing. I happily put the book on the donation pile and never looked back.

My challenge/project is to try at least three recipes out of my unused or underused books. Next up is What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, by Caroline Chambers. Unwieldy title, but a great book.

First up is Peanutty Pork and Brussels. Doesn’t look like much, but it was the absolute standout winner of what I’ve made so far this year. Quick, extremely easy, and the family absolutely demolished it. Posting this reminded me to pick up the stuff to make it again. Technically this book belongs to my son. If he ever moves out and takes it away, I’ll be buying a new copy on the strength of this recipe alone. (I also have her new book in my cart as well speak.)

Second is Chicken Burrito Bowls. It’s what I think of as a “gets the job done” recipe. There’s nothing innovative or exciting, but it came together quickly and everybody ate it happily. That’s always a win.

Last is Grilled Pork Coconut Bowls. I was being lazy on this one. I had pork tenderloin, so I just sautéed that instead of grilling sliced pork. It was a little boring without the grilled meat, but obviously that’s on me. I’d definitely make it again because all of the other components were very good, but my note in the book reminds me to color inside the lines next time.

It’s actually been a while since I did all of these. I forgot to post it. Looking through reminded me how much I enjoyed this book and I pulled it back out to check out more seasonal things to try. Definite keeper.

It’s been a bit…

My ongoing project is to try and cook at least 3 recipes from my previously unused cookbooks. I’ve been intrigued with this one for a long time, but never got around to using it, so it’s perfect.

First, I made the Teurgoule. It is definitely not pretty. It was tasty though. And very simple. I’d definitely make it again. Actually the only reason I haven’t is because the only other rice pudding eater in the house has been out of town and I, personally, do not need to eat that much rice pudding.

Recipe #2 was the Double Crumb Halvah Cake. Loved this. I love halvah anyway, so any excuse to eat it is cool with me. It’s a really nice tea cake/bread. Not too sweet, and the halvah is different, but not so unusual that picky people would turn their nose up at it. The only change I’d make would be to marble the cake a bit before putting the crumb on and baking. The solid line of halvah and crumbs in the middle would have been better distributed a bit more evenly.

Recipe #3 was the Cocoa Brownies. A decent brownie recipe. Nothing earth shattering, but the texture was good and everyone liked them. They disappeared right quick.

Recipe #4 was the Sugared Sesame Banana Bread. This was a really nice banana bread. I’m not the biggest fan of bananas, so I thought the sesame was a really nice addition. Broke up the banananess a bit :) (My spouse has never quite got past their COVID era dive into banana bread and, at this point, I’m just thrilled over anything that’s a bit different from their standard recipe.)

Recipe #5 was a miss. We didn’t even remember pictures. We made the Rhubarb and Pink Peppercorn Tart. (Banana Bread Dude is also a huge fan of rhubarb.) This wasn’t bad, but also wasn’t great either. I can’t see making it again. I did appreciate the addition of polenta for some texture, but it just didn’t quite work.

The only other quibble so far with the book is that the index is a bit funky. Some recipes get a bit lost. The rice pudding is only in the index as Tergoule. If you forget the name and look for rice pudding, you’re out of luck. The banana bread shows up in the bread list, and alphabetically under “Sugared,” but not under banana. Not a big deal, but can get a bit annoying.

But, aside from that tiny gripe, I really like the book. It’s got a great selection of recipes based on unusual and different flavor profiles and spices. Definitely a keeper.