Artichoke and Spinach Relish with Walnuts
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
1y ago
Friends, if you’ve ever lost a recipe you truly loved you will understand my excitement today. For I have recovered two of my favorite appetizer recipes thanks to other bloggers (and some dodgy sites that may now be harvesting my data or something idk). These were both from Real Simple magazine, which still seems to exist but for some reason is pretending it’s never heard of Artichoke and Spinach Relish with Walnuts or Caramelized Onion Dip. This is such short-sited and random corporate decision-making that I sense that Elon Musk is involved but can’t prove it. Yet. Anyway, I’ve written about ..read more
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Pasta al Pomodoro
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
1y ago
  Hope you are all enjoying a safe and happy Tomato Season. For many of us, it’s a celebratory time; a time to consume tomatoes every way we can imagine: BLTs, bruschetta, panzanella, galettes, caprese salads, tomato tarts, gazpacho… And fresh tomato sauce. This recipe from the New York Times is a winner. It’s rich and luscious while preserving the essential flavor of glorious in-season tomatoes. I made the pasta too which I’m not ready to talk about. Let’s just say, don’t be a hero, just buy it ..read more
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Blueberry Cream Pie
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
1y ago
Get a load of this stunner. If summer were a pie… The blueberry flavor is optimized and heightened by combining whole berries with a blueberry puree and finished with a touch of lemon. All poured into a graham cracker crust and topped with a heavenly alloy of sweetened cream cheese and whipped cream. And all of it is chilled so yeah, imagine that.  I don’t typically go bananas for dessert but this one is so perfect in every way I made an exception. I agree with the good people at Cook’s that this is all about fresh berries; frozen will not be the same. The good news is that even med ..read more
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Smoky Carrot Dip
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
2y ago
  I could, and often do, live on appetizers — the original small plates. Because of that I’m always looking for something new and exciting in the world of culinary pre-gaming. This one is a keeper. The kind of thing you make for guests coming later but keep dipping into, you know, just to even up the top. Smoky, as promised, a little sweet, luscious from almonds and chickpeas it will bring to mind hummus, deeply roasted root vegetables and romesco while being none of those. I will quibble that’s it not a dip as much as a spread. I added more water as I processed but still couldn’t get it ..read more
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Cherry Pie
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
2y ago
Cherry pie is my favorite pie I don’t even have to think about it. Last week I managed to hit the farmer’s market at the exact right moment to get the tart cherries I needed for this recipe and therefore achieved pie nirvana and am now deceased. I did not grow up eating homemade pie because I did not grow up eating homemade anything. I was a child of convenience foods so imagine my surprise — nay my disillusion and disorientation –when I learned that this was not, technically, a cherry pie: (Imagine what I thought a pie chart was). I haven’t tasted one in decades but I’m confident the one I ..read more
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Blueberry Biscuits
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
2y ago
I was intrigued by this recipe when it took a certainly nonconsensual ride on the social media rollercoaster on a facebook cooking group I belong to. It went like this: popular>wildly popular>backlash (“would people PLEASE stop posting about these biscuits!” and “I am LEAVING THIS GROUP FOREVER if one more person posts a picture of these biscuits I mean it you will NEVER see me again” and #cancelthebiscuits)>moved on to arguing about other things. How could I not make them? The fact that I have young adults, aka eaters, staying with me means that I have grateful food receptacles on s ..read more
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Pork, Fennel, and Lemon Ragu with Pappardelle
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
3y ago
Sometimes you make a dish so sublime and so chef-y that you ask yourself “do I ever need to eat out again?” This is certainly that dish. Close your eyes and you could be in any high-end, trendy-neighborhood hotspot. You know the place. It doesn’t have a drink menu it has a beverage program. It makes you feel old and and causes you to re-think you entire wardrobe. God I miss those places. This takes a bit of time (mostly in the oven) but is not difficult. I accidentally bought only one lemon but thought the lemon flavor was perfect that way – in fact it’s the lemon that elevates this dish. If y ..read more
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Cornmeal Lime Shortbread Fans
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
3y ago
Recipe first, blah, blah, blah later. God I’m already so tired of sweets and it’s only December 11th. But we must persevere. There are so many cookies, candies and pies to eat before we’re done. This recipe was part of a brilliant article by the brilliant Melissa Clark about how to assemble the perfect cookie gift box. And while many of us will likely not be making and delivering homemade treats, there is still much value in her advice. She tells us to consider many factors in curating a collections of sweets, including a diversity of texture, flavor and shapes (I mean, nobody wants a box ful ..read more
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Classic Martini
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
3y ago
I know everyone is joking about how much drinking is going on right now. Oh, were you waiting for a “but…” and then something witty? Something Nick-and-Nora-Charles-ish? No time for that because I need to talk about my new hobby: the Classic Martini. It’s taken me a stupidly long time to get here. Years of drinking things that I’m ashamed to admit to now, gem-toned, fanciful things, some of them blasphemously served in martini glasses. Some may even have had colorful sugar on the rim or were garnished with candy. Hey, I’m allowed a youth, right? But I’m here now and I’m not going back. I’m not ..read more
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French Summer Sandwiches with Zucchini and Olive Tapenade
Kate Cooks the Books | Practical reviews of cookbooks by a real home cook.
by Kate
4y ago
I’m going to assume we’ve all had it up to our masks hearing about Covid cooking. Sourdough starter, banana bread, air-frying, everyone’s done it, blogged about it, made a Tik-Tok, and written a New York Times think piece. Whatever you’re going to get out of this catastrophe, cooking-wise, you’re probably already there and beyond. I’m not going to add to that noise. I’m just going to tell you about a sandwich I made. Of course they had me at “French,” but “Summer,” “Zucchini” and certainly “Tapenade” helped seal the deal. Friends It’s gooood. Like a salad sandwich, and if that doesn’t appeal t ..read more
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