Tag Cookbook Club

Cookbook Club: “Quick & Easy” Indian & Thai

Next week, we’ll be holding the December Parties That Cook Cookbook Club Luncheon, where we’ll dive into the recipes of Jean Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman’s Simple to Spectacular book.

We’ve been so busy with holiday cooking parties that we almost forgot to blog about last month’s “Quick & Easy” Indian & Thai Cookbook Club lunch! Since not everyone in the office is a fan of Indian food, we selected two books to cook with:

Quick & Easy Indian Cooking

by Madhur Jaffrey

Quick & Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes

by Nancie McDermott

On the lunch menu were a whopping 11 dishes, plus Thai Iced Tea with Boba! Not only did we have our usual office crew participating, but also our Lead Chef Jill Klein joined us.

From the Indian book –

Cauliflower with Ginger, Garlic and Green Chiles – Rosie whipped up this vegetable side. It was an easy recipe to follow, but bland in flavor.
A Light, Cold Yogurt Soup – LeRoid concocted this creamy yogurt-based soup with cucumbers in it. We liked the lighness of the American-style yogurt he used that kept the soup a first course.
Lamb Vindaloo – Crissy found her recipe called for too much coconut milk and not enough reducing time. She halfed the milk and removed her lamb as the sauce reduced, so the meat would not be overcooked. It was a delicious hearty main course.
Tumeric Rice – Erin steamed up a tumeric spiced rice with whole cinnamon sticks. The rice came out bright yellow, but had a very light flavor perfect for eating with our curries.
Apples, Caramelized Cardamom with Pistachio Cream – Jill sauteed apples for this very spiced cardamom dessert topped with chopped pistachios instead of the cream. It was a “love it” or “hate it” dish, depending on how much you enjoy the flavor of cardamom.

From the Thai book –
Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro and Lime – Lauren roasted asian egglplants for this super simple garlicy, gingery, fish saucy, limey room temperature eggplant salad. We agreed it had all of the classic flavors of Thailand.
Paht Thai Noodles – Tanya stir-fried two versions of this classic noodle dish: one with chicken, one with just shrimp. We loved her version with shrimp only, which she says she made exactly to the recipe. She was overall very happy with the flavor that came out of this simple recipe.
Easy Salmon Cakes – Christina made these salmon fried patties. She found that the recipe needed a bit more egg to bind the cakes and came out a little bit salty. Overall a very easy recipe for a simple appetizer.
Yellow Curry Chicken with Potatoes – Bibby tackled a coconut milk-based thai curry with chicken and potatoes. She was happy with the flavors of the simple recipe, but was skeptical of the very watery texture, which drank more like a soup than a curry.
Panaeng Beef in Red Curry Peanut Sauce – Shanti served a show-stopping delicious platter of this peanut butter-based curry with steak and basil fresh from her garden. It was everyone’s favorite of the day. Then again, Shanti has vast experience cooking Thai food, so no one was surprised at this.
Sticky Rice with Mangoes – Michelene also lived in Southeast Asia for awhile and made this very traditional dessert. We noted that finding the right kind of sticky rice is key, since all Michelene could find at the Whole Foods was sushi rice, which didn’t have the same chewy texture and mouth-feel. The coconut milk sauce did come out splendidly and meshed perfectly with the ripe mango.

Homage to “The Joy of Cooking”

Joy of CookingThe Joy of Cooking has been the quintessential kitchen reference for tens of millions home cooks, since it was first published in 1931. From tuna noodle casserole to pate maison, Joy covers a comprehensive slew of culinary endeavors rooted vaguely in 20th century American homemaker tradition.

The book’s first edition was self-published by Irma S. Rombauer, a struggling homemaker from St. Louis, who wrote the book to support her family after her husband’s death. Joy became immensely popular as an encyclopedia of tried-and-true recipes, textbook of cooking techniques (canning, pickling, butchering), and culinary primer for proper American dining.

We selected the 75th Anniversary Edition of Joy for our October PTC Cookbook Luncheon. Released in 2006, this latest revision was received with a bit of skepticism because of its restoration of original recipes including use of ready-made products like Cream of Mushroom soup, as well as use of “modern” appliances like the microwave.

On the exploratory menu for our monthly luncheon (see below for our descriptions and thoughts):

Vegetable Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust – Made with a variety of meticulously peeled and chopped and individually sauteed winter root vegetables, Rosie’s main complaint was the many hours she spent preparing this dish. Overall, a very satisfying, heart-warming dish that could be pared down to just a couple varieties of vegetable for ease of cooking.

Pate Maison – A dramatic veal and chicken liver pate wrapped in bacon. While the bacon wrap is meant to be cut off after the smoky flavor is imparted, Crissy couldn’t bare slicing off all of the fatty goodness, and served it sliced alongside crusty baguette, dijon and cornichons. We loved the rustic, crumbly texture of the pate and agreed it was all-around was quite impressive a dish.

Tart Greens with Apples, Pecans and Buttermilk Honey Dressing – A simple salad, perfectly balanced and full of flavor. Christina tossed a tasty bowl of seasonal tart greens including endive, radicchio and arugula. The buttermilk honey dressing was surprisingly light, yet satisfying.

Cheese SoufflĂ© – A classic French recipe, prone to “falling.” Bibby adeptly timed her masterpiece, so it was presented in fully poofed gloriousness. The creamy and rich center included a mix of Gruyere and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bibby pumped up the flavor of the recipe with some Dijon mustard and lemon juice.

Tuna Noodle Casserole – A nostalgic favorite from almost everyone’s childhood, Lauren elected to make the Cream of Mushroom-based pasta bake. Eaters agreed the topping of buttered cracker crumbs and parmesean cheese “made the dish.” Alternative topping suggestions included canned potato sticks, cornflakes and breadcrumbs.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breasts – Shanti had originally planned on a chicken piccata, but only had a cast-iron pan on-hand, deeming her cream sauce impossible. Instead, she seared up this juicy chicken dish – perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Herb Crusted Sirloin Kebabs with Tomato Basil Relish – New to cooking, Office Manager LeRoid tried his hand at kebabs. Most notably, the recipe lacked portions for the herbs, so LeRoid was left to his own tastebuds to decipher the perfect blend of herbs for the marinade. The directions were also missing basil entirely, so LeRoid instinctively mixed chopped leaves into the relish. We all agreed he did a great job winging it!

Stuffed Cabbage – Tanya had long been searching for a great stuffed cabbage recipe, and may have found it! Traditionally a very labor intensive dish, Tanya cleverly invited friends and family to partake in the rolling of the hearty meat-filled leaves. After being simmered in a well-spiced tomato sauce, the leaf parcels were fork-tender and infused with flavor.