Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cucumber salad with rose labneh and za’atar [Sara Kramer / Sarah Hymanson]

  • EmilyR on August 13, 2019

    This is an interesting Middle East-esqe side dish. I made it with labneh and for the rose petal za'atar, I used tahini and then ground the toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top so it would be prettier like in the book. Next time I need to get some Rainier cherries, too, so it's a bit more colorful. I served it with with a tri-tip roast and Bäco flatbreads.

• Chanterelle lasagna with English peas and Parmesan pudding [Suzanne Goin]

  • bwhip on June 18, 2019

    This turned out very well, but not quite the way I'd hoped. I wanted it to be more like it appeared in the photos - light and very vegetable-forward. However, using the proportions of ingredients called for, I found the dish to be super creamy, with loads of parmesan pudding, and even a parmesan cream sauce on top. The flavors of those components were wonderful, but to my taste (and the photo) could have been about half as much quantity as called for. I loved the great springtime flavor of the asparagus, peas, pea puree, mushrooms (I used morel), snap peas, tomatoes, etc. There were some other quirks in the recipe, like calling for crushing the chile de arbol, but then saying to remove it when straining. The pasta quantity called for was about double what was needed based on the number of layers the recipe calls for, and definitely requires more cooking time than the recipe called for, since there isn't any additional baking to be done. I might make it again, but I'd make some tweaks.

• Pan-seared halibut with fresh corn grits and Calabrian chile sauce [Mike Williams]

  • bwhip on May 29, 2019

    Absolutely wonderful. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as it sounded interesting and unusual, and it really turned out to be a fantastic combination of flavors. Quite easy to put together on a weeknight. I'm glad I tasted the Calabrian chile sauce first, because it was FIRE! The recipe calls for just a drizzle, which was perfect so as not to overwhelm the delicate flavor of the fish. I look forward to having this one again, when I can find halibut on sale like I did today.

• Roast chicken, crispy potatoes, shishitos, aji verde and love sauce [Timothy Hollingsworth]

  • bwhip on February 14, 2021

    Been wanting to make this roast chicken dish for quite a while, and so glad I did! The flavors were absolutely wonderful. The Love Sauce didn’t come together per the directions - half hour of reducing the white wine in the oven was nowhere near enough. After 45 minutes or so I gave up and finished reducing on the stovetop. Also wound up using an immersion blender on the garlic/wine reduction to smooth it. It did make for a fantastic coating for the chicken. The tomatoes and peppers were lovely, but could have easily been doubled, as it didn’t create many servings. The potatoes were excellent, and a nice textural contrast to the chicken and tomatoes. The Aji Verde was a perfect, zippy complement to the dish. Spicy, but not overpowering. We enjoyed the overall dish very much.

• Balsamic barbecued baby backs [Jon Shook / Vinny Dotolo]

  • bwhip on May 11, 2026

    Oh man, these were outstanding. Great flavor from the sauce, and they just fell off the bone. Prep was fairly easy too, just need to allow a couple of hours for the sauce to reduce. We’ll have these again.

• Brown butter jam blondies [Jessica Koslow]

  • MarciK on September 09, 2019

    These are fantastic! I used a raspberry rose jam from Quince & Apple.

• Fleur de sel brownies [Max Lesser]

  • bwhip on September 21, 2019

    Excellent brownies. Thin, nicely chewy, with perfect flavor.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Experience the cuisine of Los Angeles hot spots in one beautiful book.

  Full review