Smitten Kitchen: A Book Revew (and not about Knitting!)

I'm off for a week of filming at Craftsy and schmoozing (and yarn squeezing) at TNNA so I decided to go out on a limb and share a book review with you that's not about knitting!  It's on my second favorite subject... FOOD!  Over the holidays my in-laws gifted me the Smitten Kitchen cookbook by Deb Perlman.  I've followed her blog for years and some of her recipes are family favorites.  We make her granola bars every time we go on a road trip, her Shakshuka is a brunch stand-by, and her pumpkin muffins have become my daughter's signature baked good.  I'm going to tell you that her cook book has not disappointed us yet!  Over the holidays I worked my way through it making many of the recipes in a week's time.

My Favorites?

Spicy Brittled Peanuts, pages 286-287 
Mod: I used Ground Chipotle Powder instead of Cayenne... yum!

Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans, pages 67-68
Mods: I used cranberries and tamari almonds, as they were in the cupboard!

I did notice a theme in the book... it seems that Deb likes her caramelized onions as much as I do. At least one to two meals a week seem to start with them in our house, so her recipes taste just like home!  She also is a wiz at combining sweet, salty and spicy, and really, how can you go wrong with that?

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette, pages 99-100
Paired with a Gruner Verliner

I love her writing style, it's laugh out loud, no-nonsense, and informative all at once. A favorite quote from the peanut recipe "...the sugar will seize up a bit, making the peanuts look grainy and crusty, and it will be harder to stir them- you'll be convinced that it's gone irreversibly south, cursing me under your breath, but fear not, keep stirring..." 

Next for us to try are the potato crisps, rosemary gruyere and sea salt crisps (think grown-up cheez-its), pistachio masala lamb chops with cucumber mint raita (I've not cooked lamb before, but I think I'm ready!) and marbled pumpkin gingersnap tart.  Mmmmm, are you hungry yet?

Have you tried any new recipes/cookbooks this winter? I'm always on the lookout!