Happy Friday! I'm here with a new series called Cook the Book - a recipe roundup from a favorite cookbook (check out my #CookTheBook posts on Instagram)! I've decided to start with Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard, because y'all know I've basically started a fandom for her over here. I received Super Simple (along with her original cookbook aptly named Half Baked Harvest Cookbook) for Christmas, so I was excited to dive in. I decided what better way than to pick a few recipes out and test them over the course of a week. I chose three dinners and a dessert to make, and all were simple, colorful, and healthy(ish).
I definitely recommend Super Simple. It has over 125 comfort food recipes that are weeknight approved and straightforward, but never lacking in flavor. Tieghan starts with a chapter on basics, like no-knead bread dough and pancake mix, which you can use in a variety of recipes in later chapters. But here's the best thing about this cookbook: every single recipe has a corresponding photo for you to drool over. There's nothing worse than trying to make a recipe with no reference photo.
I'm excited to make more of her super simple recipes, specifically, the brioche French toast, baked coconut-curry meatballs, and snicker-doodles with eggnog frosting.
Korean Beef with Yum Yum Sauce
We make a lot of Asian inspired meals, so naturally, the first recipe we tried was this gorgeous Korean beef dish. Tieghan specifies that gochujang, Korean chili paste, is the most important ingredient for this dish, and luckily, Mike's mom gave him a bottle for Christmas in his stocking. The carrot ribbons were much easier than I thought and were the perfect garnish. The yum yum sauce was nutty and creamy, but the dish would have been great without it!
Chicken Tinga Tacos and Pickled Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa
Tacos are always a good idea, and this one is simple and a step up! The adobo sauce isn't spicy itself, just smoky - but if you are a fan of the heat like us, you can chop up two, three, or four of the peppers and add to the chicken. We served with the sweet and spicy pineapple salsa, and some mashed avocado. Next time, we may try serving these on smaller corn tortillas and char them over the gas stove.
Spiced Lamb Hummus
Mike and I started a trend of Friday Night Pizza night this year, and I know this is a bit untraditional, but with 52 Fridays in the year, we could afford to switch up the styles of "pizza" every once in a while. Tieghan has this spiced lamb hummus recipe under her main course, saying sometimes she just serves a bowl of it for dinner and uses flatbread or pita chips for dipping. We decided to take her recipe, spread it on some personal sized flatbreads, toss it in the oven for a few minutes, and call it our Friday night pizza dinner! This recipe was so delicious - the lamb was spiced just right and the pomegranate seeds, mint, and lemon made this dish the perfect amount of fresh. Tieghan also includes a separate recipe for homemade hummus, but we just used store-bought hummus we already had.
Butter Pecan Bars
If you're going to make one recipe from the book - make it this one. There was so much goodness packed into nine little bars. Imagine: a shortbread cookie dough crust and an ooey-gooey caramelized coconut, pecan, and brown butter (we fancy) sauce, sprinkled with melty chunks of chocolate. The bars will make your whole house smell heavenly after you take them out of the oven. Let them cool overnight (patience is a virtue) so they become firm enough to cut and store individually wrapped. If you just can't wait to let them cool fully, dig in and serve gooey with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Please quadruple this recipe because These. Are. Addicting.
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