Eat Your Books Cookbook Club December Roundup – Part I

We are doing the roundup of the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club, our online cooking group, and our second group that is working through Sweet, a bit earlier as the newsletter will go out next week before the holidays. Before the end of the year, I will prepare a Part II roundup so that we can share more greatest from this month’s selections which were: Six Seasons or Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat, (both of these titles were on my best books of 2017 list) plus we shared our favorite holiday cookies and treats. Please be sure to tag all your social media posts with the hashtag #EYBCC.  The photos below are just a few of the beautiful shots our members have been sharing so be sure to visit the groups for more inspiration.

A reminder: You voted and our cookbook selections for January through March are laid out here. If you missed any previous roundups or are looking for other club news, I have tagged them with #EYBCookbookClub.

We’ll begin December’s roundup with dishes from Six Seasons

Lisa S made the Onion and pancetta tart: The author mentions that the walnut dough may be tricky to roll out, but I didn’t have any problems. It was tender and delicious, and I would like to use it in sweet applications. I served this with a salad for lunch and am looking forward to a slice for tomorrow’s breakfast. A very flavorful tart that I will definitely make again.

Leigh C was inspired by Lisa’s tart that she made it herself. I immediately copied although mine is not as pretty and I had to roll the dough twice because it crumbled to pieces! Still tasted delicious.

Jessica J made the Celery root, cracked wheat, and every fall vegetable you can find chowder: I used farro and added some cauliflower. The celery root puree definitely added a nice creamy texture. It is a very filling soup and needed some water to thin it after the first day. I would make this again. It’s a great way to use up veggies.

Ruslana D states: Six Seasons is one of my favorites. I tried steamed broccoli, to tomato & corn salad, Swiss chard with garlic and jalapeños, torn croutons so far. Plus the two dishes above: Farro/salami salad and Cauliflower Ragu. All recipes are designed to bring the best flavor out of vegetables, and none are too fussy. After trying these recipes once, I could repeat and modify them as I see fit- they just make sense! Farro salami salad: I couldn’t find Farro so I used quinoa and I agree with author – I wish I had this dish in my fridge at all times!! Cauliflower ragu was good, but a lot of flavor came from butter and lemon.

Jane T: Roasted radishes with brown butter, honey, and chili flakes. Nice little side, easy to put together. I went light on the honey, and I’d probably go even lighter next time.

I made the Crushed and fried potatoes with crispy herbs and garlic and I don’t believe I’ll ever make roasted potatoes again. These have ruined me. So good.

Nanda G. Pan-steamed broccoli rabe with tuna, lemon, olives, and parmigiano This is one of the modifications he lists at the end of the recipe except with canned tuna in place of anchovies. Utterly delicious and satisfying.

From Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Kathleen L made the Ribollita soup: I took my time layering the flavors and carefully simmering this Tuscan bean and kale soup, in the “Chunky” soup category. I was rewarded with one of the best soups I’ve ever had! (6 cups sliced kale and half a head of savoy sounded like too much, but it wasn’t) I love the way this book is formatted, so much fun to read and the art by Wendy MacNaughton is just charming and instructive. I think this book is going to make me a better cook. Samin is a great teacher!



Danna C: I made Pasta with broccoli and bread crumbs. It’s quite good, and tastes better than it looks. In keeping with the vibe of the book, about half the ingredients don’t have exact measurements which made sure I watched/smelled/tasted as I went to get the proper outcome. Definitely worth a repeat!

Ann M: Chicken thighs worked great with the Crispiest spatchcocked chicken recipe topped with basic salsa verde from this book. The salsa was also great on the green beans. And on a grilled ham and cheese sandwich today at lunch.

Jessica J. Chicken with lentil rice served with Persian herb and cucumber yogurt. This was outstanding. I will admit that I cheated and browned the chicken skin under the broiler for a few minutes. I only had Greek yogurt and it probably would have been better with regular. Definitely will make this again.

This month our members shared some of the Holiday treats they have been baking up. I will be doing mine next week, and I’m sure we’ll have many more entries before the end of the month. Look for our Roundup – Part II.

Paula C made Stollen in a proper stollen mould, recipe by Paul Hollywood.

Danielle T: My third contribution to my holiday platter is the orange and Campari Turkish delights from Bake From Scratch. It says I can store them for a month in the recipe? We will see. I’m kind of nervous. They taste like grapefruit.

Louise A: Made the Biscotti from Jamie Oliver’s Christmas Cookbook. They are the best biscotti I have ever made!! Especially good with some chocolate ganache on the side.

I shared a White Chocolate, Almond and Cranberry bar perfect for the holidays. The recipe can be found here.

In our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club – Sweet covering Ottolenghi and Goh’s blockbuster book Sweet we have some serious bakers.

Judy K made Rum raisin cake with rum caramel icing

Stanca D made Gevulde Speculaas. I love the filled speculaas, she states.

Ching Y made: Pistachio, almond and cherry wafers. I couldn’t find dried sour cherries, so this was the next closest option – dried bing cherries. The dough was really easy to make, heating butter, brown sugar and water in a pan until fully dissolved, then adding the dry ingredients, fruit and nuts before mixing by hand. Minimal equipment required! After chilling in a loaf pan in the fridge, I wasn’t sure if the whole nuts would present a challenge to slice, but the firmness of the dough provided some stability, and I was able to produce fairly neat slices with a chef’s knife. The raw dough keeps for some time in the freezer, so these are great for when you want to have some easily available to bake on short notice!

Annelies L. made the Coffee cardamom cake. I’m happy with the result and the taste. I didn’t use the bottom for the glaze but put it on top.