Entry tags:
Cookbook Project, Books #38, 39 and 40
Lots of cooking this week, because I finally have the energy again and because it's a way to sublimate stress and anxiety....
"A Man And His Pan," John Boswell
This one belongs to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran, technically, and he says it was a gift from his mom when he was in grad school. I've never actually looked through it, for many reasons. I have plenty of my own cookbooks, for one thing. The title is kind of cheesy, too. And it has no pictures - kiss of death, at least when I'm making snap judgments and my shelves are filled with sexy, glossy Williams-Sonoma food porn.
I have learned better, though. Just while looking through it, trying to come up with a dinner idea, I found at least half a dozen recipes that made it onto the 'must-try' list. Both of us went back and forth over the options, eventually narrowing it down to one that required the least grocery shopping, but I'm going to have to do my best to remember to look at the others when I wind up with no idea of what to cook.
Anyway, the recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca was not bad. Admittedly, it bore at best a passing resemblance to actual chicken saltimbocca, and the chicken itself was a little tough, but the recipe was straightforward and the pan sauce was tasty. Good enough that the book has earned its spot on the shelf, and will definitely be reused, even if not for that same recipe.
"The Slow Cooker Cookbook," from Pillsbury
This is yet another glossy checkout-line mini cookbook, bought because I have incredibly low sales resistance to such things. I've used it at least once before; for all that it looks like it's all shine and no substance, the one or two recipes I've tried haven't been bad. And, given that I had a 1-7 work day that left me getting home sometime after 8pm, and that we're rapidly reaching the end of slow-cooker weather, I figured now was a good time to knock this one off the list.
So we had Chicken-Cannellini Bean Tacos for dinner on Wednesday. Because they were different from anything we've had before, because they looked interesting, and because, well, tacos are almost always a good thing. And holy cow, these were amazing. The recipe is simple to the point of absurdity, the flavor is rich and different and just *good*, and it's comfort food that I just never knew existed until now. And the leftovers are going to make some awesome burritos.
"Quick Coooking 2001 Annual Recipes," Taste of Home Magazine
I've said before that, while I'm not a fan of what their magazine has become at this point, for many years I was a loyal Taste of Home subscriber. And while I never was quite as devoted to their sister magazine, Quick Cooking, this cookbook is one of my standbys. I got it at the start of '02 - it was sent to me as a promotion (one of those 'try it for a month, return it if you don't like it), and by the end of the month I had already used it enough to justify the expense. By now the binding is broken, several pages are falling out, the ones that aren't are stained and marked, and it automatically falls open to the most-used pages. It's a testament to how aggressively I've been pursuing this project that I haven't managed to use it yet this year.
This week, though, when dealing with the stress of work woes and other worries, I felt the need for therapeutic baking. And, given that my better half and I were both home in the morning, and we had some leftover buttermilk in the fridge after making crumb cake for an Easter party, I felt the overwhelming need to pull out an old favorite recipe.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake Loaf is not fancy food. It is, however, major comfort food. It's a quick bread swirled with a metric ton of cinnamon sugar, baked up crispy on top and moist in the middle, and when hot from the oven it can cure anything that is wrong in your life. Leftovers, either reheated or cold, are not quite as magically therapeutic, but do make excellent breakfasts.
Tonight was supposed to be another cooking endeavor, but the bright sun and warm weather instead necessitated a walk outdoors, which led to Whole Foods, which led to salad-bar-for-dinner. Maybe I'll cook tomorrow instead....
"A Man And His Pan," John Boswell
This one belongs to
umbran, technically, and he says it was a gift from his mom when he was in grad school. I've never actually looked through it, for many reasons. I have plenty of my own cookbooks, for one thing. The title is kind of cheesy, too. And it has no pictures - kiss of death, at least when I'm making snap judgments and my shelves are filled with sexy, glossy Williams-Sonoma food porn.I have learned better, though. Just while looking through it, trying to come up with a dinner idea, I found at least half a dozen recipes that made it onto the 'must-try' list. Both of us went back and forth over the options, eventually narrowing it down to one that required the least grocery shopping, but I'm going to have to do my best to remember to look at the others when I wind up with no idea of what to cook.
Anyway, the recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca was not bad. Admittedly, it bore at best a passing resemblance to actual chicken saltimbocca, and the chicken itself was a little tough, but the recipe was straightforward and the pan sauce was tasty. Good enough that the book has earned its spot on the shelf, and will definitely be reused, even if not for that same recipe.
"The Slow Cooker Cookbook," from Pillsbury
This is yet another glossy checkout-line mini cookbook, bought because I have incredibly low sales resistance to such things. I've used it at least once before; for all that it looks like it's all shine and no substance, the one or two recipes I've tried haven't been bad. And, given that I had a 1-7 work day that left me getting home sometime after 8pm, and that we're rapidly reaching the end of slow-cooker weather, I figured now was a good time to knock this one off the list.
So we had Chicken-Cannellini Bean Tacos for dinner on Wednesday. Because they were different from anything we've had before, because they looked interesting, and because, well, tacos are almost always a good thing. And holy cow, these were amazing. The recipe is simple to the point of absurdity, the flavor is rich and different and just *good*, and it's comfort food that I just never knew existed until now. And the leftovers are going to make some awesome burritos.
"Quick Coooking 2001 Annual Recipes," Taste of Home Magazine
I've said before that, while I'm not a fan of what their magazine has become at this point, for many years I was a loyal Taste of Home subscriber. And while I never was quite as devoted to their sister magazine, Quick Cooking, this cookbook is one of my standbys. I got it at the start of '02 - it was sent to me as a promotion (one of those 'try it for a month, return it if you don't like it), and by the end of the month I had already used it enough to justify the expense. By now the binding is broken, several pages are falling out, the ones that aren't are stained and marked, and it automatically falls open to the most-used pages. It's a testament to how aggressively I've been pursuing this project that I haven't managed to use it yet this year.
This week, though, when dealing with the stress of work woes and other worries, I felt the need for therapeutic baking. And, given that my better half and I were both home in the morning, and we had some leftover buttermilk in the fridge after making crumb cake for an Easter party, I felt the overwhelming need to pull out an old favorite recipe.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake Loaf is not fancy food. It is, however, major comfort food. It's a quick bread swirled with a metric ton of cinnamon sugar, baked up crispy on top and moist in the middle, and when hot from the oven it can cure anything that is wrong in your life. Leftovers, either reheated or cold, are not quite as magically therapeutic, but do make excellent breakfasts.
Tonight was supposed to be another cooking endeavor, but the bright sun and warm weather instead necessitated a walk outdoors, which led to Whole Foods, which led to salad-bar-for-dinner. Maybe I'll cook tomorrow instead....