ladysprite: (cooking)
ladysprite ([personal profile] ladysprite) wrote2014-11-13 11:45 am
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Cookbook Project, #201

"The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook," Christopher Hersheimer and Peggy Knickerbocker

Last year when [livejournal.com profile] umbran was sent to San Francisco for work, he came home with several lovely trinkets and souvenirs for me, including this cookbook. It's a big, beautiful, dense book full of details about what sounds like a truly epic farmer's market, hints about different seasonal foods, and recipes from local grocers, restaurants, bakeries, and farms. It was a delight to read through; the only challenge was finding something cookable that was appropriate for a small number of people and that didn't require me actually being at a farmer's market. (Sadly, this year, my work schedule was heavy enough that I didn't get out to any of the local markets. Tragic, but such is life.)

But there was a recipe at the end of the book that caught my eye, if only because it looked... interesting. Different. Unique. And part of why I like this project is that it encourages me to try different things.

It was for a dish just called "Joe's Special," apparently a specialty of a bunch of local restaurants. It was kind of a one-dish meal with browned ground beef, spinach, and a couple of seasonings, scrambled together with eggs, and I figured... I like all of those ingredients. It sounds good. What could go wrong? Clearly this cookbook is wise.

.....it was hideous.

Seriously, I managed the mandatory one-bite to make it an official Cookbook Project recipe, and then aborted to pizza. [livejournal.com profile] umbran managed to actually eat the stuff, but I couldn't get past the texture of the spinach and the utter lack of seasoning given the bulk of the dish. I have to call this one a fail, and only the third out of over 200 books.

I'm hoping it's just the recipe, and not the book itself; at some point I'll go back and try something new when I have time to haunt our farmer's market for fiddleheads and pea tendrils and all that good stuff....

[identity profile] vettecat.livejournal.com 2014-11-13 06:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow - that doesn't happen very often. Sorry it wasn't a success, but hope you'll be able to find others in the book that are worthwhile.

[identity profile] leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com 2014-11-13 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh, that's weird. The ever-popular Joe is kind of a deli / diner / pancake house staple out here, and usually it's pretty good. Wonder why that one wasn't.

[identity profile] dagibbs.livejournal.com 2014-11-13 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
:(

[identity profile] edthetallguy.livejournal.com 2014-11-14 11:03 am (UTC)(link)
Hmmm. That recipe has half as many eggs and twice as much meat as the one I grew up with, although I think my mom varied the mix of eggs and beef according to whim and what was in the fridge. The important thing is that the recipe I'm used used a LOT more garllc