Kirstin: How did you like it?
Maureen: I really liked it because it reflected how I usually cook. You could tell that we both liked it because we did end up posting a lot of recipes this month.
Kirstin: I liked it too, but I had a friend who cooks who asked me if she would need it, and after thinking about it, I decided she wouldn’t need it. She probably had a lot of the recipes elsewhere.
Maureen: That’s true. She certainly didn’t reinvent the wheel. But the recipes she did have were good and they all worked, which is something we don’t get to say every month.
Kirstin: But the recipes were so good. Maybe I’m being too hard on her because the recipes were so good. When I was reading any new recipes, I was starting to quibble about the extra steps, wondering why I had to do them.
Maureen: I know what you mean. When I made the Tortilla Soup, she wanted me to poach a chicken so I’d get a stock and cooked chicken. I’m sure it would be delicious, but I’m sorry, I’m not poaching a chicken on a weeknight. At least she provided substitute instructions.
Kirstin: This is hard. It’s a really good book. We cooked all those recipes. It was so good. But why we don’t feel the love for this one?
Maureen: I don’t know.
Kirstin: I’ve got to say that the recipe for “Negronis and Crisps” was great.
Maureen: (Laughing) Come on! That was hardly a recipe.
Kirstin: But that was great. I think this would be a good desert island book. On the back of the book it says trust worthy and versatile and it is. Everything in it would work. I suspect I’ll still be using this in 10 years time.
Maureen: I’m not sure I’ll be using it in 10 years time, or even six months time. We’ll have to see.
“Repertoire”
Overall Grade (A- F): A solid B (Kirstin) B (Maureen)
Grade for Photography (A-F): I’d give it a B too. She did it all herself. It was very unstuffy. Favourite Recipes: Negroni and Crisps (Kirstin) Chocolate Chip Cookies (Maureen)
Bookshelf or Charity Shop Donation? Kirstin: Medium rotation bookshelf, for the time being. Maureen: Low rotation bookshelf for six months and then I’ll see how much I’ve used it since.