Cookbook Project, Book #48
May. 12th, 2009 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladysprite"Vineyard Seasons," Susan Branch
I've actually got a backlog of a few books to write up; lately I've been having little enough time in front of the computer that I'm a bit behind in a bunch of areas. So apologies; y'all are probably going to be getting a few cookbook posts over the next couple of days. I'll do my best to combine them.
I wanted to write this one by itself, though, because, well, it's a pretty keen book. It was a Christmas gift from a couple of friends who aren't on LJ, alas, but who know me well enough to understand my cooking addiction. It's a very pretty book, full of cute details and little hints and notes and ideas for seasonal parties and treats - the best word I can think of to describe it is charming. And I've wanted to use it since I first got it, but somehow I hadn't gotten around to it yet.
When I started looking through it, in the process of meal-planning, I couldn't narrow myself down to one recipe, though. So I wound up poking through my schedule instead, until I found a night that my husband and I were both home and free, and put together a menu for a fancy date-night dinner at home. Chicken in Phyllo, Succotash, and homemade Tapioca Pudding. They all sounded pretty and yummy and interesting enough that I couldn't pick just one....
It was wonderful. Completely aside from the food, the idea of spending the early part of the evening working in the kitchen together, and then enjoying a slightly fancy grown-up meal was amazing. In addition to being an excellent husband,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran is, in fact, the best sous-chef anyone could ever ask for, and I'm in my element when I'm juggling multiple dishes and spinning around the kitchen and pantry like a dervish.
The food was good. Admittedly, no one element was perfect, but as a whole it worked. The chicken recipe was a good base, and I can imagine adapting it with different spices and supporting flavors to make a whole spectrum of main dishes, and the succotash was delicious - the flavors of the veggies and the sweetness of the cream just worked, and I can't wait to try it again with fresh instead of frozen vegetables. The only real let-down was the pudding, and I think that was a side effect of using rehydrated lemon peel instead of fresh. As much as Penzeys says there's no difference, I'm starting to realize that there really is.
Even so, an utter win on the dinner front, and one more book off the list. Now, to figure out a decent dinner for company tonight....
I've actually got a backlog of a few books to write up; lately I've been having little enough time in front of the computer that I'm a bit behind in a bunch of areas. So apologies; y'all are probably going to be getting a few cookbook posts over the next couple of days. I'll do my best to combine them.
I wanted to write this one by itself, though, because, well, it's a pretty keen book. It was a Christmas gift from a couple of friends who aren't on LJ, alas, but who know me well enough to understand my cooking addiction. It's a very pretty book, full of cute details and little hints and notes and ideas for seasonal parties and treats - the best word I can think of to describe it is charming. And I've wanted to use it since I first got it, but somehow I hadn't gotten around to it yet.
When I started looking through it, in the process of meal-planning, I couldn't narrow myself down to one recipe, though. So I wound up poking through my schedule instead, until I found a night that my husband and I were both home and free, and put together a menu for a fancy date-night dinner at home. Chicken in Phyllo, Succotash, and homemade Tapioca Pudding. They all sounded pretty and yummy and interesting enough that I couldn't pick just one....
It was wonderful. Completely aside from the food, the idea of spending the early part of the evening working in the kitchen together, and then enjoying a slightly fancy grown-up meal was amazing. In addition to being an excellent husband,
umbran is, in fact, the best sous-chef anyone could ever ask for, and I'm in my element when I'm juggling multiple dishes and spinning around the kitchen and pantry like a dervish.The food was good. Admittedly, no one element was perfect, but as a whole it worked. The chicken recipe was a good base, and I can imagine adapting it with different spices and supporting flavors to make a whole spectrum of main dishes, and the succotash was delicious - the flavors of the veggies and the sweetness of the cream just worked, and I can't wait to try it again with fresh instead of frozen vegetables. The only real let-down was the pudding, and I think that was a side effect of using rehydrated lemon peel instead of fresh. As much as Penzeys says there's no difference, I'm starting to realize that there really is.
Even so, an utter win on the dinner front, and one more book off the list. Now, to figure out a decent dinner for company tonight....
