“Asparagus with Chicken and Basil” from “Feast App”

Ah. Nigel Slater. What’s not to love?

This is, needless to say, a Nigel Slater recipe. He’s a mainstay of the Observer/Guardian food pages, and I felt reasonably certain that we would enjoy this and I was right.

This is a great recipe for when asparagus is in season (which is right now) and you want to make the most of it, but have had a busy day at work (which is nearly every day, it seems like). The key is that you use an already roasted chicken–either the whole bird or parts–which really streamlines the preparation. The dressing is pesto and salsa verde adjacent, since it uses basil, parsley and mint, but also and the pine kernels. I know it looks a gloopy mess above but it actually is quite tasty.

This was a great star vehicle for in-season asparagus and an easy healthy weeknight dinner, so it was a win-win all around.

Cookbook of the Month, May 2024: Feast App from the Guardian

Maureen: We’re doing something a bit different this month– an app rather than an actual cookbook.

This is from our friends at the Guardian, which has been our favourite British food section since forever (I clarify with the British since we both have a very big soft spot for the New York Times food section too). But here, on British shores, the Guardian, and its sister Sunday publication the Observer, is our go-to spot.

The Guardian just dropped this app, and at the moment it only works on iOS (Apple) devices, so it’s very much early days. But given how much we rely on the Internet to find recipes these days, it seems a logical choice to give this a whirl. The last time we reviewed an app, it was The New York Times cooking app (natch) in June 2017. We loved its comprehension– you’d think of a dish and inevitably there’d be a recipe for it– its ease of use and and all-star lineup of food writers we adored (step forward Sam Sifton, Melissa Clark and Allison Roman). Even though there’s now an annual subscription fee, I happily pay it because I use it so much it more than pays for itself. I also strongly believe that we should pay for content, but that’s a story for another day. I still use it at least once a week, and I’ve saved more than 374 recipes over the years, so it’s money well spent.

I’m looking forward to comparing the Guardian’s app. I doubt it’ll be as good– only because the New York Times has been doing it for longer– but it will be a delicious experiment to try.

Kirstin: Using the kindle app for cooking has in turn meant I’ve been increasingly turning to recipe apps on my iPad for more food inspiration. While I love the NYT app, I’ve also recently been playing a lot with the Epicurious app which has content from Bon Appétit, Epicurious, and Gourmet. So when Maureen suggested we review this new app Feast from our friends at the Guardian, I was totally in. And why would I not be as it has content from many of my favourite cookbook writers including Yotam Ottolenghi, Rachel Roddy, Nigel Slater, Benjamina Ebuehi and Rukmini Iyer. It also has seasonal content which is going to make this month’s cooking especially fun.

“Sticky Shallot Pappardelle” from “Easy Wins”

I’m devastated to report that we’ve now had our first “It was fine, it fed us” dish out of “Easy Wins.”

Listen, I love Anna Jones. I love vegetarian food. But I understand that this love comes with some costs, mainly that most of her vegetarian dishes take a fair amount of time to prepare. I know this going in.

But. But. But. If it’s going to take me a good amount of time to peel and slice 600 grams (or two bags) of banana shallots, the resulting dish better be worth it.

Alas, this time it was not.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t awful. Like I said, “It was fine. It fed us.” But in the end, I thought the effort I put into the dish wasn’t reflected in the result, which was disappointing.

That’s okay, though, I still like this cookbook. It’s a rare and beautiful thing when all the recipes we try in a cookbook are hits.

“Wedge Salad with Tahini Ranch Dressing” from “Easy Wins”

One of the perks about being Nearly Empty Nesters (one moved out, one in final term of university) is that we can put dishes into our regular rotation of meals, knowing that no one will be complaining about it. Enter the wedge salad. Or frankly, any salad for dinner. When the kids were home, this would not have been welcomed with happiness and joy– in fact, it would be quite the opposite.

But since it’s only the two of us, and we’re the only ones we have to keep happy, we’ve found ourselves having wedge salads regularly. No one complains. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try.

The results, I’m afraid to say, were mixed. I loved it. Tim on the other hand, hankered for some other protein (read: chicken or even bacon) to enhance this dish. I thought it was light, zesty and fun. I understand what Tim is saying– you really can’t beat a blue cheese wedge with some bacon scattered across the top– but I thought this was a good alternative.

It’s safe to say that wedge salads will continue to appear in the regular rotation, but this version, alas, will not. Unless I’m cooking for one.

“Traybake Lemon Dal with Pickled Green Chillies” from “Easy Wins”

I should have known better. I should have known better, and yet I didn’t. I should have known to read through the entire recipe and figure out how long it was going to take to make it. But I didn’t, and we ended up eating dinner hours later than we wanted to.

This is not Anna’s fault. It’s mine.

Like I said, I should have read through the recipe. Had I done that fairly elementary step, I would have know that while this is a fairly straightforward thing to prepare, it still needed more than 90 minutes in the oven.

It was good, but I think our feelings toward this dish were unfairly influenced by the amount of time we were waiting around to eat dinner. As far as paneer goes, I’m always game. I would make this again, but next time I would start hours earlier.

“Sesame Ramen Noodles” from “Easy Wins”

This recipe might best embody the philosophy of “Easy Wins” because it is– to borrow from the blurb on the back– a super-simple recipe that is bursting with flavour and kind to the planet. And also, I might add, contains ingredients that would either be found in your cupboard or would be easy to obtain.

We’ve had a lot of rainy days in Britain this spring, and this dish provided the perfect antidote to the constant drizzle and the grey skies that go along with it. The bright greens of the vegetables along with the golden yolks of the soft boiled eggs made it feel as though I had placed a bowl of sunshine down on the table.

Best of all, the tahini-based broth reminded us of one of our favourite ramens in London, Bone Daddies Tantanmen 2. Talk about a bowl full of goodness.

Once again, Anna delivered an Easy Win and we loved it.

“Peanut Butter Chocolate-Chip Cookies” from “Easy Wins”

“Easy Wins” is starting off with strong with these cookies, which I’ve renamed The Best Of Cookies.

The reason for the rename is that the current name– Peanut butter chocolate-chip cookies– ignores the contribution of the humble oatmeal and also calling it a Best Of cookie is a better description. It truly is the Best Of American Cookies, as it’s a combination of chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal cookies, truly the Holy Trinity of the American cookie experience.

Anna advises you to free the batter and bake what you need, to save the rest for another day. I employed exactly this strategy, making half of the batch when our first child was home visiting (business meeting in London) and the second half when the second child was back (home from university for Easter break). It meant that both children were able to delight in the delicious cookies, and neither felt slighted because each got a warm batch when they were home.

Highly recommended. Like a said, it’s a very strong start for Easy Wins.

“Chilli Butter Gnocchi” from “MOB 6”

In theory, this should have been a winner. Gnocchi? Love it. Butter? Our love is pure and true. Crispy Chilli Oil? Yes, please.

But somehow, it didn’t work. In fairness, Tim liked it more than I did, but I just didn’t enjoy it. It’s a funny thing– like a good on paper boyfriend, it should have worked out, but it didn’t.

Alas, it was yet another “It was fine, it fed us,” dish from this cookbook. I’m beginning to suspect that being hamstrung by six ingredients might not work for the fine people at MOB. Up until this cookbook, I really liked all of their recipes. But having a few duds in a row is not a great look.

You can’t win them all.

“Curried Cauliflower Soup” from “MOB 6”

Patterns can be beautiful. Patterns can also become self-fulfilling. In cookbooks, if you make several recipes in a row that you love/hate/feel indifferent about, it’s likely that your opinion will be fully formed and difficult to shift.

I have written before how our conclusion, “It was fine, it fed us,” is damning with faint praise. It’s not a triumph, nor is it a disaster. It was exactly as we said– fine. We’re not going to rush out and make it again, but we didn’t throw it in the trash, either.

This soup firmly goes into the “Fine, It Fed Us” category. It tasted okay, but we weren’t rushing to have seconds. It reminded us both of a good cauliflower curry, and then we talked about how we’d probably like that more.

This was the second “Fine, It Fed Us” dish from the cookbook. As the saying goes, “One is a point, two is a line, three is a pattern.” So we’ll wait with bated breath for the next recipe. If it’s great, terrific. Another win for MOB. But if it’s another “Fine, It Fed Us” dish? I think we’ll know how we feel about this cookbook.

“Chorizo Mac & Manchego” from “MOB 6”

This dinner divided opinion over at our house.

Tim argued, “Can there ever be a bad Mac and Cheese?”

I replied, “Good point, but don’t you find this lacking somehow?”

This went back and forth through dinner. As far as I see it– and since I’m writing the review, my opinion is the only one that matters– this one seemed to lack something. I don’t know what that “something” was. I love macaroni and cheese. I love chorizo. I love Manchego. On paper at least, this should have been a winner.

It wasn’t a disaster. But it goes firmly into the “It was fine, it fed us, ” category. (I did find it telling, though, that the leftovers sat unloved in our refrigerator.) Any regular followers of this blog will know that particular conclusion means it’s unlikely to appear on our dinner table again.

It’s like my towering TBR (To Be Read) pile: there’s too many books and not enough time, so if a book doesn’t blow my socks off, I’m not going to waste time on it. It’s tough, but fair.