Pros: Delightful!
Cons: None
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review book (published 2009) courtesy of Chronicle Books.
This is the second Stonewall Kitchen cookbook I’ve tried, and I’m definitely hooked. They’re small cookbooks, that focus on providing a smaller number of very good, adaptable recipes to work with rather than a huge, definitive listing. The photos are gorgeous, the paper is high-quality, the layout is clean & easy to read, and the recipes…. well, they’re fantastic!
The recipes in here are elegant, but they’re also surprisingly simple. Whether you’re looking for soups, salads, appetizers, main courses, side dishes, or desserts, all you have to do is glance through the listing of recipes in the table of contents. Personally, I recommend the Butterflied Lamb with Swiss Chard-Pine Nut-Parmesan Stuffing. It’s seriously wonderful! If you’re looking for something to serve with it, how about Mashed Potatoes and Turnips? (Or even better, the suggested variation using parsnips instead of turnips—we tried it both ways, and though both were delightful, I thought the parsnip version had a richer flavor.)
There’s a Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Pecans, Apple, and Goat Cheese, or perhaps you’d prefer to try the Mini Lobster Cups. Curried Maple Pecans make a wonderful garnish, accompaniment, or snack. Of course there’s a tenderloin recipe (with horseradish crust), a rib roast, rack of lamb, turkey, pork, ham, salmon, and pasta. Side dishes make use of winter squash, potatoes, brussels sprouts, green beans, noodles, a roasted garlic custard, and more. There’s even an ultra-simple homemade apple cider jelly!
That’s nothing compared to the mouth-watering desserts chapter, however. Whether you prefer a simple chocolate-dipped buttercrunch, or something more elaborate and fancy like Poached Pears with Champagne-Ginger Cinnamon Syrup, they’ve definitely got you covered!
Every recipe we’ve made from this book has been absolutely delicious, and we can’t wait to try more!
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