I chose this book by Jessica Koslow of Sqirl in Los Angeles because I love the title and I’ve eaten at the restaurant. My intention with this and the 51 books to follow is to create a meal for 8 people inspired by the books and using actual recipes and techniques found in the books. This meal happened on February 1, 2020. I will write about the experience of foraging, cooking, and eating and reflect on the process of following recipes and serving the meal. I hope to include comments from some of the folks who shared in this experience. These blog posts are meant to be a review of the featured cookbook and a story about food.
Book #1 in the culinary adventure
This meal gave me a chance to use several ingredients that I harvested in the edible landscape of my community. Here is the full menu with locally harvested produce in bold:
Socca (chickpea flour pancakes) w/ winter squash, zucchini, carrots p.92
added leeks
mint, oregano, baby greens, lemon
Stinging nettle cavatelli p.103
nettles, lemon, eggs
Chicken lofte on rosemary sprigs w/ garlic schmear & cabbage kumquat salad p.119
rosemary, lemon, mint,
Sticky toffee whole-wheat date cake p.229
I haven’t made a cake in 20 years and this blew my mind
Since this is a cookbook review I need to say that this is a fantastic book. The food I cooked behaved in the way the recipes described. I even behaved (more or less) in the execution of these recipes. I see recipes and cookbooks as a road map leading to a delicious destination. Thus, there is almost always more than one way to reach this destination. A cook needs freedom along with guidance for more complicated journeys and, in this book, Jessica Koslow finds the balance. Her approach to food encourages us to elevate and celebrate the deliciousness in each ingredient. For example:
stinging nettle brought a unique flavor to the pasta along with its brilliant green color
kumquat puree drenched the cabbage with eye popping flavor
agave syrup & butter combined on the stove in gooey toffee alchemy
rosemary branches gave structure and a subtle base of flavor to the chicken kofta
30+ cloves of garlic emulsified with lemon juice and oil multiplied garlicness x 1000
Finally, I served this meal in courses in part because I couldn’t figure out how to get everything hot and ready at once, and more importantly, because it slowed the meal down and gave us more time to taste and talk. Kudos to the cooks at Sqirl for being able to get food out to the tables - always delicious and on time. Go there next time you are in Los Angeles. “Everything I Want to Eat” is delicious…
“I’m a big fan of dates. I’ve been buying them weekly and eating them daily until I run out. Still, up until now I thought a chocolate desert would win out over everything else.
This date cake celebrated dates in a way I haven’t experienced before and challenged my chocolate bias. I loved the combination of the sweet, moist, gooey dates with the deep, bready texture.
”