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Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman

    Notes about this Book

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    Notes about Recipes in this Book

    • Strawberry summer cake

      • plick on August 10, 2011

        This is a perfect way to enjoy strawberries when they are in season. I've tried it using both oat and barley flours and both versions were great.

      • Cheri on August 15, 2011

        I have made this twice this summer. Both times were great. Quick, good for breakfast or dessert.

    • Avocado salad with carrot-ginger dressing

      • plick on August 10, 2011

        I only had red miso so that's what I used. There is a stronger miso flavor but it still worked.

    • Double chocolate layer cake

      • plick on August 10, 2011

        The cake is absolutely amazing, moist and delicious and 5 stars. I had real problems with the consistency of the frosting however.

    • Best cocoa brownies

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        I don't know about 'the best'. as this is the only cocoa brownie I've tried so far, but it certainly is good: moist and chocolatey. A tad too sweet, maybe, but that was easily remedied by taking less sugar (240 grams instead of 280). And it's good it can be made completely from store-cupboard ingredients - I can't be the only one who has some trouble keeping chocolate in the pantry for long. 25 minutes baking was plenty for me.

    • Spinach and chickpeas

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        This is one of those dishes that is sure to become a staple. To start with, it tastes totally lovely. The slightly bitter silkenness of the spinach with the nutty firmness of the chickpeas, deepened by the richness of fried bread and the acidity of a touch of vinegar, finished with cumin and smoked paprika. Hearty, comforting, spicy, all of them. Hopelessly moreish. Some notes on details: The fried bread should probably be either in or under this, not both. Unless you want it gluten-free, then I'm sure it will be fine without as well. When I set out to cook this, I found I was all out of tomato sauce. I used an equivalent amount of mild Turkish red pepper paste instead. Great. Now I've tried both I can say I actually prefer to substitute the pepper paste. It will probably work with frozen spinach as well, as long as it is whole-leaf or only roughly chopped. The feel of leaf should still be there, not the totally fine mush that cheap frozen spinach can be.

    • Big crumb coffee cake

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        I quite liked this but it was a lot of work. I think next time I'll make my rhubarb into a normal crumble again. Both cake batter and crumble turned out a bit to dry to handle well. I could not spread the batter well and the crumble did not form boulders. If I make this again I will add the last quarter cup of flour of both very gradually, if at all. If you do not have paddle attachments, you might not want to use a mixer for that part of the recipe. Maybe dough hooks would work, but I don't have those either.

    • Smashed chickpea salad

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        Delicious, easy to make, and vegan.

    • Brownie roll-out cookies

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        Very lovely, very chocolatey, cookies. Quite soft in the middle. A very good recipe to let the children help with. I mixed with two forks, and the last cup or so of flour I mixed in with my hands. It does make me wish I had a dough whisk. It does make a lot. Next time I will halve the recipe, at the moment I've got a roll of dough in the freezer and I will see if they work as well as slice-and-bake. I might try decorating them with walnuts next time.

    • Ribboned asparagus salad with lemon

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        I quite liked this, but I thought the asparagus flavor wasn't that distinctive. Maybe I put too much lemon in? It didn't look as lovely as on the website either, it was quite flat. I also found it difficult to keep on slicing once the asparagus had become quite thin. I did like the flavor combination with almonds, but I don't think this one will make me stop cooking my asparagus.

    • Mixed citrus salad with feta and mint

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        Quite simple, very good. Complex flavor, visually stunning. I made it with blood oranges and tangerines. I think it would be even better with some grapefruit as well. Lemon juice worked well, but I think red wine vinegar would enhance the savoriness even more. I'm not sure it really needs the mustard. I forgot the feta, so I used black olives instead. This also works very well, both flavor-wise and visually.

    • The best baked spinach

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        This was delicious and hopelessly moreish (although, luckily, quite filling as well). It is a bit more work than just throwing it in the pan. I needed three batches for the wilting, and I didn't even make the whole recipe. The boiling off of the liquid took longer than the recipe said, as well. Still, all quite doable, if you start early enough. I substituted Gouda for the Swiss cheese, as I don't like Swiss cheese. I thought I was going to miss nutmeg - I always use nutmeg in my spinach - but I didn't.

    • Quick zucchini sauté

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        Really quick and really tasty. I did not bother with the cheese as I have a cheese-hater in the house, but it was lovely all the same. Make sure you make enough of this! As I could not resist tinkering with this either, I tried it with some lemon zest, which was not really an improvement, although it was still very good. I also tried sautéing in butter instead of olive oil, and I found that different but equally good.

    • Roasted peppers with capers and mozzarella

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        A simple salad of roasted peppers, and a few slices of mozzarella on top. A lovely summer lunch or light supper. I like it that the mozzarella is not melted here, I prefer it that way.

    • Endive and celery salad with fennel vinaigrette

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        Crunchy, slightly bitter and aromatic. This definitely takes green salad a step further. Very flexible as well. The minimum you need is both bitter greens and less bitter ones (say, lettuce and endives), or alternatively, celery. When you've got that, combine away!

    • Pasta with cauliflower, walnuts and feta

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        An Alice Waters recipe. This is a very unusual combination of ingredients, but it works perfectly. The cauliflower is sauteed over a high heat which makes it very crunchy and lovely. Do make it exactly as prescribed, at least the first time, because the details really matter here.

    • Roast chicken with Dijon sauce

      • wester on August 11, 2011

        This was really good, just not as brilliant as the website itself suggests. The sauce was surprisingly mild - maybe I should have put in even more mustard.

    • Martha's macaroni-and-cheese

      • nightswimmer on August 29, 2011

        One word: cheesy. Too cheesy, maybe. But still delicious. I added some bacon as well (and felt a little bit like Paula Deen). A bit more pasta and slightly reducing the amount of cheese in the sauce would make it a bit less heart-stopping, but still delicious. A half-recipe made plenty for my two-person household.

    • Breakfast apple granola crisp

      • jumali on September 12, 2011

        I halve the recipe and bake it in an 8X8 pan--delicious!

    • Broccoli slaw

      • Tommelise on September 13, 2011

        I love this recipe, and so does the rest of the family - including the children :) Since we only rarely have buttermilk in the house, I usually make the dressing with yoghurt and lemon. We always make a large portion, any leftovers are popular to take to lunch at school or work the next day

    • Salted brown butter crispy treats

      • seherhussain on September 18, 2011

        this never fails! an excellent recipe

    • Gingerbread apple upside-down cake

      • krobbins426 on September 29, 2011

        Super easy recipe. I used a springform, since that is the only 10 inch pan I have. Required a baking sheet underneath it and a lot of additional cooking time (30 min). A little lighter than a lot of traditional gingerbread since it's half honey, half molasses.

    • Stewed lentils and tomatoes

      • ecasey830 on October 07, 2011

        Delicious! I've also added cooked Italian sausage to this with great results

    • Green bean salad with fried almonds

      • ahsafford on October 12, 2011

        This is my all-time favorite green bean salad recipe. I have never included the fennel or celery, and I add dried cranberries for a little sweetness. The pickled onions are fantastic!

    • Strawberry rhubarb pecan loaf

    • Acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette

      • ahsafford on October 23, 2011

        Really good vinaigrette - added a little honey to it. Can also roast squash in halves and glaze with vinaigrette.

    • Cumin seed roasted cauliflower with yogurt

      • wester on October 25, 2011

        Deb does it again! She has found an already brilliant recipe (by Melissa Clark) and added the perfect finishing touch to it. Those pomegranate seeds are exactly what this salad needed, not just visually, but also taste- and texturewise. I had this for breakfast today, and I will serve it for dinner too. And then I will try some moderation, but I don't know if I'm going to succeed.

      • Cheri on November 15, 2011

        Yum! We loved this. Easy, very tasty. Nice fall side. Omitted feta (didn't have it) - but didn't need it. Creamy, crunchy, savory, tart, sweet all in one. Also, had to use ground cumin, as I didn't have the seeds, sprinkled over cauliflower and it worked just fine. Flavors are really a great mix.

    • Flatbreads with honey, thyme and sea salt

      • sarahalley on October 28, 2011

        Quick and easy to make, comes out beautifully every time.

    • Mustard-roasted potatoes

    • Fennel, prosciutto and pomegranate salad

      • seherhussain on October 30, 2011

        impressive salad to have on the side.

    • Alex's mother's cranberry sauce

      • mfto on November 16, 2011

        I just had to try this recipe because it was so "unusual". Since I have always made the back-of-the bag cranberry sauce, I had to buy all the ingredients except the walnuts. The strawberries in the bag of mixed frozen berries were huge so I cut them in forths. I served it not long after the fruit had defrosted and my husband said the sauce was OK but I thought the canned stuff was very bland, almost tasteless. A day later I tried it and what a difference a day made. It was now very flavorful. Since it makes a lot, I would save it for a large group. But really, it is surprisingly good.

    • Buttermilk ice cream

      • Jane on November 25, 2011

        Deliciously rich and creamy ice cream though with the tang of buttermilk. I made it with just 6 egg yolks rather than the suggested 12 and thought it was easily rich enough. I served it at Thanksgiving with Melissa Clark's Spiced maple pecan pie wth star anise and it was the perfect accompaniment.

    • Zucchini fritters

      • Cati on December 07, 2011

        Seems a lot of zuccini per egg. Should it be 2 eggs. I used 100gms grated zuccini to 1 egg and heaped tablespoon of plain flour. This was a good consistency and worked well. Plain flour kept Na level down and it made 3 fritters, enough for 1 person.

    • Everyday chocolate cake

      • vinochic on December 19, 2011

        Made into cupcakes, added some chocolate chips to batter. Baked about 30 minutes. Very moist, really liked them!

    • Escarole and orzo soup with meatballs

      • bernalgirl on January 08, 2012

        A relatively easy to assemble soup on the order of an Itslian Wedding soup but more streamlined. Comforting, good for a cold Sunday night along with some good crusty bread.

    • Lemon yogurt anything cake

      • bernalgirl on January 12, 2012

        Easy, adaptable, very tender crumb. Subbed 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour.

    • Quick potato pierogi

      • bernalgirl on January 12, 2012

        Follow these instructions for making turkey or other stuffed vareniki. Very good!

    • Wild mushroom pierogies

      • bernalgirl on January 12, 2012

        Wrap in wonton wrappers, or use this recipe to sauce pre-made vareniki.

    • Sour cream cornbread with aleppo

      • veggie va on January 25, 2012

        Needs to bake way longer then stated in recipe. But delicious once done. Very moist. This time I baked in a 9x9 pan. Cooked in about 35 minutes.

    • Buttermilk roast chicken

      • nicolemorgan86 on February 08, 2012

        Used the buttermilk brine for 48 hours, then grilled these over charcoal. Probably the best chicken I've ever eaten in my life.

    • Carrot soup with miso and sesame

      • krobbins426 on February 08, 2012

        Loved the addition of the toasted sesame oil at the end.

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    Reviews about Recipes in this Book

    • Language English
    • Countries United States

    Publishers Text

    Briefly: Fearless cooking from a tiny kitchen in New York City.

    More: The Smitten Kitchen, in its latest physical incarnation is a 42 square foot (whimper) circa-1935 sort of half-galley kitchen with a 24 foot footprint, a single counter, tiny stove, checkered floor and a noisy window at the end to the avenue below.

    What you’ll see there is: A lot of comfort foods stepped up a bit, things like bread and birthday cakes made entirely from scratch and tutorials on everything from how to poach an egg to how to make tart doughs that don’t shrink up on you, but also a favorite side dish (zucchini and almonds) that takes less than five minutes to make.

    What Deb is wary of is: Excessively fussy foods and/or pretentious ingredients. She doesn’t do truffle oil, Himalayan pink salt at $10 per quarter-ounce or single-origin chocolate that can only be found through Posh Nosh-approved purveyors. She thinks food should be accessible, and is certain that you don’t need any of these things to cook fantastically.

    Go to Website: Smitten Kitchen
    Smitten Kitchen

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