The Mister purchased five pounds of turnips from the Oklahoma Food Co-op in January. The first night I roasted them, I proudly proclaimed that I had actually followed a recipe (from Diane Morgan's beautiful
Roots).
The Mister eyed the book in front of him, open to Turnips and Leeks in Miso Butter, Roasted Turnips with Thyme, and White Balsamic-Glazed Turnips, glanced at the turnips I cooked, which were noticeably lacking in leeks, glaze, or thyme, and asked quizzically, "You did?"
"Yes, I did. Well, I looked at the list of ingredients. That counts."
Doesn't it?
I follow recipes when I bake (much of the time). I read cookbooks. I read food magazines. I like recipes. I like them a great deal. I just rarely cook with them.
So it's a good thing that this cookbook using, recipe following resolution is the Mister's and not mine, because, well, what can I tell you? The roasted turnips (turnips and olive oil, finished with sel gris but otherwise unadorned) were really good, as far as roasted turnips go. That's hardly a revealing review of the book.
Since the Mister (and everyone else in the household) has been under the weather with various cruds. I'll kick off the much-delayed cookbook reviews. Two weeks ago, I followed the "Master Recipe" (pg. 480) for rack of lamb in Bruce Aidells and Dennis Kelly's
The Meat Cookbook. Here I present photographic evidence that I both cooked meat and used the cookbook. I followed the directions closely (searing in a cast iron skillet before roasting) and the lamb was delicious, as evidenced by the Mister picking up my bones to scavenge any remaining bits. The pan sauce from page 481, was great, too, and I followed the recipe for that as well. Except that I tripled the garlic, added some port, didn't have any stock or thyme, used twice as much of a different kind of mustard and supplemented with cherry preserves . . .
I purchased rose water and rose syrup at the Asian supermarket in The City, intending to make a big batch of a signature rose cocktail for the party. And then I tasted the water and syrup. Truthfully, they taste like almost nothing. Except that you can't taste them without smelling them. And they smell like roses. Too many of the same roses stuffed into a bottle. Overly perfumy cloying fake roses* used to disguise some off scent and only making it worse. It is not actually a bad smell. But the overall effect is definitely not good.
So I made a batch of my signature spring party punch (pink lemonade and lemon zinger tea with a little bonus ginger and lemon), added a few drops of rose water, added a chunk of dry ice and let attendees dose with rum and rose to taste. Collectively they added far more of the former than the latter, and I don't blame them.
So it's a good thing that this cookbook using, recipe following resolution is the Mister's and not mine, because, well, what can I tell you? The roasted turnips (turnips and olive oil, finished with sel gris but otherwise unadorned) were really good, as far as roasted turnips go. That's hardly a revealing review of the book.
Since the Mister (and everyone else in the household) has been under the weather with various cruds. I'll kick off the much-delayed cookbook reviews. Two weeks ago, I followed the "Master Recipe" (pg. 480) for rack of lamb in Bruce Aidells and Dennis Kelly's The Meat Cookbook. Here I present photographic evidence that I both cooked meat and used the cookbook. I followed the directions closely (searing in a cast iron skillet before roasting) and the lamb was delicious, as evidenced by the Mister picking up my bones to scavenge any remaining bits. The pan sauce from page 481, was great, too, and I followed the recipe for that as well. Except that I tripled the garlic, added some port, didn't have any stock or thyme, used twice as much of a different kind of mustard and supplemented with cherry preserves . . .
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