It’s well documented that I’m a book club lover. I’ll save you the itemized list of past clubs and instead just say: finding the right group of people, the right cadence, and the right theme is somewhat of an art form… one that struggles without a face-to-face component, in my experience. Enter cookbook club. The idea is simple, we’ll each make a dish or two and gather together to create a cross-sectional spread much larger than what any of us could achieve alone. Cookbooks are so long; despite my perhaps too large cookbook collection, I don’t think I’ve ever actually cooked through one in its entirety (I’m working on it), a potluck-style round up presents a pretty unique jumpstart opportunity.
This isn’t the first food adjacent club I’ve been in — for a while in Brooklyn we had a “food non-fiction book club”, where meetings would involve a supplementary meal related to the book; home cooked, ordered in, whatever made the most sense in context. My personal favorite was about Depression era cooking, a famously (…and rightfully) controversial pick.
The hope is to cultivate a laid back vibe — a little known fact about me is that I am 100% easygoing and not at all high strung, despite three decades of evidence to the contrary. I will state for the record that I although I am rather hard on myself when it comes to food, I’m exceptionally generous when it comes to things made by other people. Every time I eat something a friend has made, especially if for me, it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. This is not a joke, love is a legitimate flavor enhancer (the MSG of emotions?)
Why this book?
This book spoke to me for a number of reasons. Vegetable-centric cuisine seemed like the right choice to showcase the summer produce that Oregon has to offer. The recipes appear to be approachable to novice and expert home cooks alike (I think? I mean, I guess I am technically neither of those things). There is an entire section dedicated to feta. I’ve eaten at Kismet a few years ago and it was delicious. Most importantly, I was gifted a copy for my birthday minutes before I was about to order one for myself — it almost seems like this selection was... kismet, lower case k.
We test drove a few dishes before it became the Official Inaugural Selection of cookbook club, just to make sure it held up to its promise. I’ll keep this short, as I’m sure an extensive post-meeting recap is coming for your inbox in the medium term future (in a way that doesn’t expose club members, of course).
Will make again
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Can't-Take-It-Off-the-Menu Cucumber Salad
Ugh, so good. The sour labneh underbelly, the floral and savory rose za’atar, the sweetness of the cherries. Perfect dish for the City of Roses, no notes! I will maybe drain the cucumbers a bit better next time. Not sure if I’ll make this for the potluck, as I don’t think it will lend itself well to advanced preparation.
Tangy Toasty Sweet Potatoes
Molly Baz has a similar recipe in her first book that we make every now and again. This was quite similar, but the sour tang of the pomegranate molasses added another dimension of flavor. We used custardy Murasaki sweet potatoes, a tuber I have considered dedicating an entire newsletter to on multiple occasions. This will be easy to make ahead of time, so I imagine it will grace the potluck spread with its presence.
Caraway Cabbage Gratin
Not the world’s prettiest dish, but perfectly delectable. Pushing slightly too savory1 for me — we ate it as a main, whereas I think it would be better served in a smaller portion as a side. Cabbage is so great, across so many different cuisines and preparations, really cannot get enough of it these days.
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![Blondie freshly cut from tray, blondie being served with ice cream and olive oil](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82753d82-6009-41fd-94ac-71abca6093f0_1041x1388.jpeg)
Sesame Buckwheat Blondies
I coincidentally had some leftover buckwheat flour, and recently bought an industrial sized bag of sesame seeds (they go quickly when constantly dunking hoagie rolls and bagels in them), so this was an obvious no-shop recipe I felt compelled to make right away. The buckwheat and sesame work so well together, a very “adult” dessert in the best way possible. They needed an additional 4-5 minutes in the oven, if I remember correctly, and tasted even better with some vanilla ice cream, olive oil, and flaky sea salt — the classic 1-2-3 punch dessert hack du jour.
Can, and will, live without
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Not a bad cookie! I simply have an arsenal of other chocolate chip cookies that are better (a miso chocolate chip and this adobo one immediately come to mind; I usually have a bag of pre-rolled dough balls in the freezer). I found they were better a few days after baking, a strange but welcome quality.
Blistered Shishitos + Shrimp
I deeply burnt myself out on shishito peppers in 2014 or whenever they were all over literally every menu and I still haven’t fully recovered. The rose water didn’t work for me here, especially after such an excellent showing in the cucumber salad.
I’ll probably tuck the book away until the actual meeting in August, with the exception of practicing dessert (labneh panna cotta???) and marinating some feta. Unconventional in that discussing the written word isn’t the primary focus of meeting, I hope it will still provide all the hallmarks of the canonical book club experience — good conversation, company, and of course, ✨personal growth✨
R
Gorgonzola hits different