Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bostocks

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    These are fairly time consuming and you have to start them the day before, but holy cow are they outstanding!

• Chia pudding with fruit and golden honey elixir

  • Rutabaga on November 09, 2015

    The golden honey elixir really makes this dish - don't leave it out! I was a little concerned about the amount of ginger and turmeric listed for the elixir, so only used about a third of what O'Brady lists, but found the flavor to be beautifully tart and sweet, with a lively bite of ginger. I could see adding more ginger, but it's probably best to start with a smaller amount and add it to taste. I used three heaping tablespoons of chia seeds in the puddings, and found the texture to be just right, well thickened yet still soft. We ate ours with extra yogurt, the honey elixir, sliced strawberries, raspberries, and toasted almond slices. The elixir is also a terrific way to dress up an otherwise plain fruit salad.

  • DKennedy on January 19, 2018

    Made as instructed except I cut the amount of honey in the elixir to 1/3 cup. Served with mixed berries. Really delicious.

• Default smoothie

  • Rutabaga on March 19, 2016

    I made the online version of this smoothie that is linked here, as posted by Heidi Swanson. Unfortunately, my pineapple was not especially juicy or sweet. After tasting the smoothie when made as written, I felt the kale flavor was a little too prominent, so I added a lot more pineapple, a second banana, and some additional peanut butter and coconut milk (the drinking kind, which I used in place of almond milk). That turned out pretty well, although I wouldn't add more than two tablespoons of peanut butter again, as the peanut flavor was a little strong. But my four-year-old asked for thirds - impressive! And if your pineapple and bananas are nice and sweet, you probably wouldn't have to add any extra.

• Fattoush with fava beans and labneh

  • DKennedy on September 18, 2019

    I have made two salads from this book and both had something off about the dressings. Proceed with caution. This is very similar to a salad I make (often) that was inspired by a Bon Appetit blog post. This was tasty, but not make again, as the Bon Apetit one is vastly superior. The flavor of the labneh and the dressing needed fixing. If I were to make this again, I think I would add the spices. and s and p directly to the labneh, spread that on the bottom of the serving plate and then top with the various salad fixings. I would also sauté the beans in garlic, and use that oil to drizzle over the top, along with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, in place of the dressing set out in this recipe.

• Glazed eggplant with roasted shallots and greens

  • chefdiane on November 07, 2017

    used baby bok choy really good

• Baked eggs, North Indian-style

  • Barb_N on June 19, 2015

    A perfect pantry dinner- with an "assist from the crisper drawer" as she says in the book. Perhaps my spices are too old, but I more than doubled the amounts before I tasted more than tomatoes- I used canned tomatoes, half diced, half pureed. Way too much sauce for two of us, so I scooped out half before adding the eggs and tucked it away in the freezer. I will definitely make this time and again.

• Chaat tostadas

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    These are a bit involved - many steps to put them together - but they are so worth it. Such a lovely balance of flavors and textures. If you can't find it/don't want to trouble yourself with making tamarind chutney, any smooth, sweet chutney will do in its place. You just want the sweet element to contrast with the spicy green chutney (which is pretty easy to make yourself). Highly, highly recommend!

• Hummus with white miso

  • Jviney on April 15, 2018

    The miso made it very rich, maybe a bit too much for me.

• Blitzed ricotta with peas

  • e_ballad on October 18, 2016

    I think I was expecting this to be more 'pea-y', but it was overwhelmingly 'ricotta-y'. The flavours didn't especially jump out, though the initial 'pea pesto' element was tasty as a stand-alone, without the ricotta & labneh.

• Masala peanuts

  • Barb_N on November 22, 2015

    I love this recipe, and order it as a starter at our local Indian restaurant. I made some changes. I doubled the masala and could have used more, along with more salt. Next time I will also use purchased roasted peanuts. Pan roasting them resulted in raw soft peanuts with charred spots- I popped them in a low oven, which helped but they still weren't crunchy. This has to be made at the last minute so the peanuts don't get soggy.

• Fresh green chutney

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    Loved this, and it's pretty easy to whip up. I didn't use apples, but instead used cilantro stems in place of the apples and cilantro leaves where directed.

  • peaceoutdesign on January 15, 2021

    I made this exactly as written. I made it for Tara's Five Spice steak but it seemed like too much so I used it to top lemon ricotta ravioli and it was awesome. Next time I might do the variation that added yogurt if I use it for pasta.

• Spiced candied nuts

  • Barb_N on December 24, 2016

    This recipe did not work for me at all- one of only two in my "XXX Disaster" bookmark. The recipe says to keep stirring every 5 minutes until the caramel is absorbed. This showed no signs of happening, and when I gave it another 5 minutes in hope of a sudden change: behold the La Brea tar pits, only with mixed nuts instead of dinosaur bones embedded for all eternity. Right into the trash.

• Za'atar chicken and roasted vegetable salad

  • peaceoutdesign on January 13, 2021

    I thought that this was very tasty, the honey and vinegar added that extra touch. I used turnips and they did get a little mushy so next time I would add them a little later to the pan. I used delicata as my winter squash and it was a great way to cook it. The way the recipe was written was a little confusing regarding the presentation, I ended up tossing massaged kale with EVOO and lemon and the thinned hummus and then also swirled hummus on the plate.

  • Cheri on November 15, 2015

    This is truly a delicious meal. The flavor palate was a little different for us, but we found it to be quite satisfying and a very nice winter Sunday supper. I made no changes, except I used purchased hummus, instead of making it fresh for the meal. Recommended.

• Five-spice steak

  • peaceoutdesign on January 15, 2021

    I seared both sides and then finished in the oven to MR. The only thing that I would change is I would double the vinegar, tamari, and brown sugar just to get more sauce. I also made the fresh green chutney to accompany it but it seemed the dish was perfect without it.

• A refreshing salad with charred green onion dressing

  • peaceoutdesign on September 10, 2020

    A great salad. A good addition would be crumbled Chevre.

  • DKennedy on September 22, 2019

    The agave syrup suggested as an ingredient in this salad dressing made it inedibly sweet. Yuk! Proceed with caution.

• Roasted red pepper, almond, and feta salad

  • peaceoutdesign on January 13, 2021

    This is a bright and easy composed salad. I used fresh charred peppers instead of the Piquillos.

• Soused tomatoes

  • BeckyLeJ on October 08, 2017

    This recipe is amazing and is one I frequently get asked for. Goes well with Greek yogurt. Watch cook time! They’ll go from perfect to burnt quickly.

• Green beans with mustard seeds

  • peaceoutdesign on January 15, 2021

    This was very simple in ease of preparing and taste. I really like that the spinach was not wilted but still crisp, it went really well with the simple ingredients.

• Roasted carrots with harissa aïoli and dukkah

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    This is so delicious, will totally upstage any main course you serve with it. If you can't find those really skinny carrots she calls for (I never could) you can use thin rainbow or regular carrots, slice them in half lengthwise and cook as directed. This is SO pretty with rainbow carrots especially.

• Harissa aïoli

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    I followed her directions for the short-cut method using store-bought mayonnaise, and I found it delicious and a lot less time consuming and error prone. Makes a lot!

• Confetti rice

  • Frogcake on January 26, 2019

    Easy and delicious. Served with marinated lamb chops. Also a very healthy dose of fibre. Leftovers divided between us - great for lunch tossed with feta crumbs and spinach.

• Basic, great chocolate chip cookies

  • aberne on May 13, 2019

    My new go to cookies. Perfect every time with crisp outer edges and chewy middles. Love that you don't have to wait to soften the butter and instead just melt it.

  • hirsheys on November 18, 2018

    Very yummy and easy cookies. Made them smaller than recommended. Recommended by TorontoJo on Chowhound. Chewy texture, no need to make ahead or soften butter.

• Blueberry poppy seed snacking cake

  • texannewyorker on September 24, 2016

    This is terrific! The lack of a leavening agent does not seem to be a typo, because I made this twice without it and it turned out wonderful. I sent the recipe to my mom for a dinner party she was throwing; she doubled the recipe and baked it in a bundt pan - I wasn't there to taste but she said it came out perfectly and everyone raved.

• Vietnamese coffee ice cream

  • yassoma on September 20, 2016

    Extremely delicious. The ice cream was too soft even though I used an ice cream machine... but that was the only thing I did not like about it. Otherwise it's great.

• Clotted cream

  • DKennedy on October 14, 2017

    Made for Tea '17. 4 cups of cream are needed for this recipe. It cooks in the oven at 150 degrees overnight (10-12 hrs) in a shallow pan. Cool completely at room temp. Cover and allow to set - another 8 hours in fridge. It is now ready to skim off the clotted cream. Can be served straight off or held in fridge for up to 4 days. My oven is a 200 low setting - came out too brown. Try baking for 6 hours next time w/ door open and then remove to counter top.

• Huffington Post by Jamie Schler

  Best Cookbooks of 2015: ...a beautiful cookbook filled with everyday dishes for every level cooking experience and every palate. Clearly written and organized, simply divided into meals and courses...

  Full review

• Leite's Culinaria

  Seven won’t be nearly enough spoons to sample all the recipes...O’Brady has a knack for making her recipes seem completely familiar while imparting a unique twist to each.

  Full review