u/superlion1985

I was hoping to grab a beginner book for a coworker who is learning, but alas, they didn't have much except for baking. I did pick up some pretty interesting ones including the famous Fannie Farmer which I somehow didn't already have! I recently gave a different Korean book the boot, this one seems promising. I didn't have any SkinnyTaste books before but have seen them recommended here - meal prep seems super practical for me! Nigella is great, got a few format-centered books and the blender book looks like the sort of blender book I've been looking for: not just smoothies and sauces, there's a huge variety from spreads to muffins to pao de queso, even some skincare recipes! Pretty excited about this haul! Please let me know if you have recommendations from any of these!

Great progress on the challenge lately!

Fresh corn pancakes from The New York Times Cookbook 1992 (Craig Claiborne). A little bit more work than regular pancakes. Really nice results. Really good fresh corn shines in this. Will have to remember this recipe next corn season. Had it with butter, maple syrup, and bacon. Scored the book at a library bag sale!

String beans and pork shreds from Mrs Chaing's Szechuan Cookbook. I don't remember where I got this book, maybe antiquing? It was published in 1976, so happy 50th birthday to this book! Recipe was easy and well-explained. I think I would use french cut green beans from frozen next time to be even easier. A bit salty but OK with plain rice. Since I often have pork chops in the freezer, this could pretty much be a pantry meal with green beans handy. Just wish the book had photos.

Sichuanewe spiced cucumber salad from Every Grain of Rice. This one suffered a little from the induction stove learning curve. The spiced got a bit burned and the smoke was pretty noxious. The salad tasted great and was very easy though. The smokiness wasn't a detriment, I don't think. Paid regular price for this book, glad to finally use it.

Japchae from Korean Home Cooking by Soon Young Chung. This turned out delicious but it was waay too complicated. I had to make three different sauces/marinades and dirtied half the things in my kitchen. Also, several techniques were not explained well - at one point it sends you to a different page which doesn't explain much better and transliterates the thing you do with the egg differently (gidan vs. gee-dan - neither of which will help you find a youtube video). I had looked at a different recipe and there were ingredients in the procedure that weren't on the ingredient list. This book will not get to stay on my shelf. At least I didn't pay much at the library book sale.

Banana loaf from Indiana State Fair Cookbook, First Edition (1989). Had some bananas and thought I'd work on the challenge. I did sub lemon zest for orange zest because it's what I had. A nice loaf, good texture, got a nice crust cooling on a rack. A little bit cinnamony, I think I might reduce that or use a different recipe to let the banana come through. I suppose that kind of innovation is what wows fair judges though. Got the book at a library book sale.

Thyme and Lime Chicken from The Caribbean Central and South American Cookbook by Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli. Hard to go wrong with chicken baked with a bunch of garlic and other seasonings. This recipe did fall short in not mentioning salt except "a little" in the scallions stuffed into the chicken thighs. It also really didn't brown as expected either. And now I have a bunch of extra butter/schmaltz in the pan because this was basically a confit. Tasted not bad at least. Not sure if I'll keep this book either. Also library sale.

Hi fellow cookbook fans!

Humble Bundle is offering a huge bundle of Vegan ebook cookbooks right now and for the next couple weeks! Books are all from Page Street Publishing. Purchases benefit World Central Kitchen.

Here's a link:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/ultimate-vegan-cookbook-bundle-page-street-publishing-books?

Olive Oil Fried Lentils with Harissa and Herbs from Something From Nothing - got the book from Amazon's sale. I only had some nibbles of this when it was fresh, then had it cold for lunches. Better fresh.

Gratin of Zuccini, Rice and Onions with Cheese from Food 52 Genius Recipes (Julia Child's recipe). Used a ton of zucchini and a little bit of rice. But when baked the rice seems as much as the zucchini. Very tasty, not too difficult, and felt relatively healthy. I had some brie and cranberry stuffed chicken breasts in the freezer from last fall and they were excellent with it. Definitely have plans to make again.

Halfway through the year and more than halfway through the challenge!

Creme brulee from Dominique Ansel's Life's Sweetest Moments - I have made creme brulee before from Ruhlman's Egg, which calls for futzing with little foil lids for each creme. Ansel's recipe was much easier. Turned out lovely. I appreciated the painstaking weight measurements (I ended up adding more egg yolk because mine didn't add up to the weight called for) and good instructions. Some nice stories in this book as well. A lot of the recipes are more involved. No, he didn't put a cronut recipe in the book. Found this book at Ollie's and glad I did.

Swedish meatballs from Scandinavian Cooking (pictured). A coworker accidentally purchased ground pork and beef blend instead of beef but their family doesn't eat pork so I made some meatballs! Recipe did not include gravy, which I like with swedish meatballs. I had them over mashed potatoes. They were good but not spectacular. I think I prefer the Scandinavian Feasts book I have reviewed a few months ago. I think I got this one from a library book sale or maybe a thrift store some time ago, first time cooking from it.

Great pickings at the book sale today! A few of my favorites were available and I left those for others to pick up: Meathead, Shaya, The Chef and the Slow Cooker. My straining bookshelves thank another shopper for picking up Indian-ish and The Moosewood Dessert Book before I went back for a second look. Still, I came away with these treasures!

Garlicky Chicken from Melissa Clark's Dinner in One with [Snow] Peas, Pecorino, and Lemon. Really nicely balanced with the lemon and garlic - definitely adjusted the finished dish as suggested. Got snow peas instead of snap peas because reading comprehension isn't what it used to be. Had with some warm rolls, which were great to sop up the sauce. Would also be good with some sort of pilaf. Definitely plan to make again with some of the variations. Cherry tomatoes sounds excellent!

(Not pictured and doesn't count per my own rules) I also made the pork stew with sweet peppers and potatoes. Rich and satisfying but also chock full of vegetables.

This is a great book. I got it a few weeks ago for my birthday. Requested based on seeing it a lot here.

Lately I've broken out some Indian cookbooks to try.

I made the Bengali Creamy Shrimp Curry with some slightly freezer burned ez-peel shrimp from my freezer. They turned out fantastic. You couldn't tell the shrimp had been freezer burned, and the heat of the cinnamon and cloves really played well with the bite of the mustard seeds/oil. I Got the book at a library book sale. Paid a little extra because they had it in their special picks area. I don't remember the name of the book or the author but I'll update when I figure it out!

(Not pictured) Basmati Rice from Instantly Indian by Madhur Jaffrey - new book for my birthday last week, so I wanted to try her instant pot technique for the rice. Turned out pretty good, I lost my rice paddle so I had to used a fork. I can't say whether that affected how intact the rice grains ended up. I usually make a smaller batch and I don't know whether this would scale well in the IP.

Fried Leavened Bread (Bhatura) from Entice With Spice by Shubhra Rameineni. Texture was delicious, but I don't know why she doesn't call for salt. Needs salt. Would make again, with salt. Got this book at a library book sale.

Cardamom Chicken (Masala Murgh) also from Entice With Spice. Not difficult, good result. The technique for making the masala paste worked well, though I am thankful my box grater is VERY sharp. It took a while for the grated onion to hit me 🥲

Between my birthday, thrifting, and Ollie's, it's been a good month for cookbooks! The top 3 were birthday gifts, Wagamama books thrifted, and the other two found at Ollie's. So far there appear to be a lot of things I want to cook from Dinner in One (I'm digging the added veg options!) And the sweet potato praline pie from Justice of the Pies is calling me...

Since my last post, I made:

Linguine with Artichokes, Asparagus and Lemon-Mint Ricotta from Milk Street The World in a Skillet - this was a lovely springtime meal. I appreciated how the recipe used one package of diced pancetta and one of fresh linguine... that will probably suffer from shrinkflation at some point. I would definitely use a deeper skillet or maybe dutch oven to make in the future though. It was so full it made a bit of a mess. The asparagus was done perfectly and even kept that tender-crisp when reheated.

Glass noodle salad with Shrimp, Chicken, and Mint from Williams-Sonoma Dish of the Day - I think the 4 servings must be as a side dish. Turned out ok, and came together quickly. I guess I am not that hot on fish sauce. Probably wouldn't make again. This was an e-book I got on a Humble Bundle some time ago. Williams-Sonoma has done some super generous ones, though it has been a while.