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Cookbook Project, Books #126, 127, and 128
Dec. 9th, 2009 06:20 pm(No, I'm not cooking quite that much, just catching up on a serious backlog of writing these things up.)
"Williams-Sonoma Fruit Desserts," Lora Brody
Almost at the end of the Williams-Sonoma books! This is both an accomplishment and a tragedy, since I have come to adore them for their recipes as much as for their gorgeous and nigh-pornographic illustrations. This one was another secondhand store find, and I'm honestly surprised that I haven't used it before now, given that it combines two of my favorite things to cook.
This was the only Cookbook Project book that I used for Thanksgiving dinner. I had planned on using more, but the menu fell out to involve a whole bunch of dishes that I had made before and a whole bunch of Cooks Illustrated recipes, since that's my go-to source when I'm looking for a guaranteed success on a specific type of dish. But I wanted to make some kind of fruit dessert to go with the gingerbread, and after the past few SCA events I was sick and tired of apple pie, so I searched in here until I found the recipe for Cranberry Apple Slump (a slightly eccentric name for what was, essentially, a cobbler baked in a cast-iron skillet), which was exactly what I was looking for.
It came out perfectly - tart and bright and an excellent complement to the cinnamon ice cream. Alas, given the amount of food at that meal, it was not demolished as thoroughly as I had anticipated, but that just meant that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran and I got to nibble on leftovers after the fact.
"The Inn Cookbook - New England," Igor and Marjorie Kropotkin
I think this is a hand-me-down from my grandfather. I'm not sure. It's an old, unassuming-looking pink hardcover with no pictures on the cover; just the title on the spine and an embossed gold silhouette of an inn. I've never used it, never even looked through it. Just tucked it onto a shelf and forgot it existed.
It's kind of interesting, actually. It's a collection of favorite recipes from various inns, with a map of where they are (or, more likely, were), as well as details about the inns themselves. When I have more time on my hands, I really ought to sit down and read through it properly. Right now, though, what I needed was a dinner recipe, and to use up books pronto since the end of the year is approaching fast.
There were recipes of all sorts, but the one that caught my eye most intriguingly was Crab Dijon. Crab is expensive enough that I don't tend to cook with it much, but I figured for one recipe, and as a duty to the Project, I could justify it. And the recipe looked both simple and delicious.
Blessedly, it was. Individual ramekins of crab meat baked with Swiss cheese and a mustard sauce, which came out rich and sweet and amazing. I wound up increasing the amount of mustard after tasting the sauce, but I'm glad I only tweaked it a little - any more and it would have overpowered the flavor of the crab itself. Meanwhile, add another book to the list of 'thank goodness I started this project and discovered I owned it.'
"Winter Food for Friends," Pillsbury Classic Cooking
And, of course, the obligatory glossy checkout lane booklet. This is another hand-me-down fromumbran's mom. it's battered and old and I don't think I ever opened it before this. But at least it's seasonally appropriate.
I didn't have very high hopes for it, given its age and oddness - the collection of recipes inside is just unusual, and doesn't seem to have much of a theme to it. But then I found the recipe for Seasoned Rice and Chicken Casserole. And I had all of this leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. And it seemed like too good a match to pass up, and it even mentions in the recipe that you could use chicken or turkey, so it wasn't cheating to substitute.
And it was good. Not deathless culinary art, but yummy. The turkey and rice go well together, and while it does involve cream of mushroom soup, it balances that standard white trash-itude with water chestnuts and pimento, so the flavors are at least interesting.
Somehow, though, while the recipe may be seen again, I think this cookbook is one that's going back to obscurity.....
"Williams-Sonoma Fruit Desserts," Lora Brody
Almost at the end of the Williams-Sonoma books! This is both an accomplishment and a tragedy, since I have come to adore them for their recipes as much as for their gorgeous and nigh-pornographic illustrations. This one was another secondhand store find, and I'm honestly surprised that I haven't used it before now, given that it combines two of my favorite things to cook.
This was the only Cookbook Project book that I used for Thanksgiving dinner. I had planned on using more, but the menu fell out to involve a whole bunch of dishes that I had made before and a whole bunch of Cooks Illustrated recipes, since that's my go-to source when I'm looking for a guaranteed success on a specific type of dish. But I wanted to make some kind of fruit dessert to go with the gingerbread, and after the past few SCA events I was sick and tired of apple pie, so I searched in here until I found the recipe for Cranberry Apple Slump (a slightly eccentric name for what was, essentially, a cobbler baked in a cast-iron skillet), which was exactly what I was looking for.
It came out perfectly - tart and bright and an excellent complement to the cinnamon ice cream. Alas, given the amount of food at that meal, it was not demolished as thoroughly as I had anticipated, but that just meant that
umbran and I got to nibble on leftovers after the fact."The Inn Cookbook - New England," Igor and Marjorie Kropotkin
I think this is a hand-me-down from my grandfather. I'm not sure. It's an old, unassuming-looking pink hardcover with no pictures on the cover; just the title on the spine and an embossed gold silhouette of an inn. I've never used it, never even looked through it. Just tucked it onto a shelf and forgot it existed.
It's kind of interesting, actually. It's a collection of favorite recipes from various inns, with a map of where they are (or, more likely, were), as well as details about the inns themselves. When I have more time on my hands, I really ought to sit down and read through it properly. Right now, though, what I needed was a dinner recipe, and to use up books pronto since the end of the year is approaching fast.
There were recipes of all sorts, but the one that caught my eye most intriguingly was Crab Dijon. Crab is expensive enough that I don't tend to cook with it much, but I figured for one recipe, and as a duty to the Project, I could justify it. And the recipe looked both simple and delicious.
Blessedly, it was. Individual ramekins of crab meat baked with Swiss cheese and a mustard sauce, which came out rich and sweet and amazing. I wound up increasing the amount of mustard after tasting the sauce, but I'm glad I only tweaked it a little - any more and it would have overpowered the flavor of the crab itself. Meanwhile, add another book to the list of 'thank goodness I started this project and discovered I owned it.'
"Winter Food for Friends," Pillsbury Classic Cooking
And, of course, the obligatory glossy checkout lane booklet. This is another hand-me-down from
umbran's mom. it's battered and old and I don't think I ever opened it before this. But at least it's seasonally appropriate.I didn't have very high hopes for it, given its age and oddness - the collection of recipes inside is just unusual, and doesn't seem to have much of a theme to it. But then I found the recipe for Seasoned Rice and Chicken Casserole. And I had all of this leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. And it seemed like too good a match to pass up, and it even mentions in the recipe that you could use chicken or turkey, so it wasn't cheating to substitute.
And it was good. Not deathless culinary art, but yummy. The turkey and rice go well together, and while it does involve cream of mushroom soup, it balances that standard white trash-itude with water chestnuts and pimento, so the flavors are at least interesting.
Somehow, though, while the recipe may be seen again, I think this cookbook is one that's going back to obscurity.....
