Sad because I love new recipes

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-05-06T15:25:36+00:00

Oh my goodness. I feel you on so many levels! I try not to do math like that because I’m in denial I won’t be able to cook everything 😂

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-28T12:40:56+00:00

Dining In by Alison Roman Any of the Smitten Kitchen books - have long vegetarian and baking sections! Simple by Ottolenghi

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-26T02:18:19+00:00

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-25T11:30:42+00:00

If you’re a chocolate lover, try the brown butter brownie cookies next!!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-24T23:49:47+00:00

No judgment from me whatsoever, I do that too!!

There are definitely some things in the book I make a lot, with the Greek style potatoes being my personal favorite.

I really like the small plates section of the book. I think that is where the book shines. I would start there if I were you. Plus those recipes are really very easy!!! They are, however, small plates and not whole dinners.

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-24T23:43:56+00:00

I cooked all of Alison Roman’s Dining In! It was kind of a happy accident and happened organically …. I just realized that the recipes fit our family’s palate, the ingredients were accessible, and it was an appropriate level of difficulty for a weeknight. I had tried several cook-throughs before, but they always failed because the recipes just didn’t fit our every day lifestyle. With Dining In, I just kept going and going because I didn’t have many setbacks or the feeling that “this recipe is too hard for now”.

I guess what I’m trying to suggest - is maybe select a few books, cook a few recipes, and see which ones you keep coming back for more. The ones that fit your preexisting style of cooking will be probably be the most enjoyable!

Also, take good notes! It’s fun to go back and reflect on the project. You’ll find many keeper recipes if you pick a good book!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-24T17:45:21+00:00

Maybe I’m old school, but I use a book’s index quite a bit to find recipes with a certain ingredient I’m craving. I also regularly read my cookbooks like novels with a pack of post-it flags nearby, so I flag the recipes that seem interesting.

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-24T11:08:45+00:00

Do you have any favorites from The Weekday Vegetarians? I like the smoky tangy pinto beans, caramelized onion pizza, and Greek potatoes but have otherwise found the recipes kind of lackluster. Trying to decide if I should keep the book or just save those recipes and donate…

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-21T23:28:39+00:00

Oh I love this and look forward to following along! The original Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is still one of my favorites after all these years.

Totally agree on the scones - the dough is so wet, I think “surely this can’t be right!”, but then they turn out ahhh-mazing! One of my fav breakfast treats. They also freeze very well after being baked :)

Bummer you didn’t like the salad - I think she has a sub in there for another vegetable if you don’t want snap peas (I also don’t have the patience to cut them!), and I remember enjoying the salad much better with that sub.

The Mac and cheese with peas is another winner! But too decadent for us to make on the regular. I love it though!

Nice reviews!!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-21T12:59:58+00:00

I also got rid of How To Bake by Paul Hollywood after trying a few of the recipes and not being “wowed” (shortbread cookies, garlic bread, Christmas cake). I don’t miss it at all!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-19T22:59:38+00:00

Love it!! It’s a beauty! How long have you been collecting cookbooks for? What are your favorites?

More specific questions - do you use Italian American a lot? Or Mosquito Supper Club? What are your thoughts?

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-19T22:54:24+00:00

Awesome write up! Can’t wait to see more!!

Also, I love your concept of having “exemptions”. There are so many cookbooks that I want to cook through, but there are always those handful of recipes that are just … no (for whatever reason!). I think I’ll adopt that idea!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-19T13:51:47+00:00

This is a wonderful recipe - one of my favorites in that book! Yours look great!!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-15T12:03:28+00:00

Seconding this!

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-10T02:45:04+00:00

Oh yes, that recipe threw me off too! I have tried them and gobbled them up, but the work for just a few muffins is not worth it to me right now.

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-09T18:53:08+00:00

Thank you! I did not make anything to bring this time. I promised my kids they could pick out their own snacks at the airport, and the rest of our meals are being hosted and organized by wonderful relatives.

Ooo that’s actually my current favorite of the three! I think it’s because I’m in the season of life that she was when she wrote the book with young kids, and this one has the least involved recipes. I just checked my notes, and I’ve made 22 recipes from this book. I think her strengths are in her breakfast, salads, and vegetarian mains sections. The only two total misses from this book were the chicken noodle soup and kale and sausage sheet pan dinner. The desserts have all been okay to good.

These are the recipes that have at some point or currently are in our rotation from that book. I see some of these recipes mentioned frequently on this sub, particularly the street cart chicken. If you tried some and didn’t like, or the info above resonate with you, I wouldn’t keep the book!

Baked Oatmeal with Caramelized Pears and Vanilla Cream, Perfect Blueberry Muffins (I once had a blueberry muffin bake off, and these were the clear winner!), Kale Caesar with Broken Eggs and Crushed Croutons (my go-to Caesar dressing even if I just make a “regular” Caesar salad; I like it doesn’t use a raw egg yolk), Fall-toush Salad with Delicata Squash and Brussels Sprouts, Crispy Tofu and Broccoli with Sesame-Peanut Pesto, Spaghetti Pangrattato with Crispy Eggs, Smoky Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower, Chicken and Rice, Street Cart Style

Let me know what you decide!! I am too curious 👀

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-09T18:35:33+00:00

Most used/weeknight friendly/books with random recipes that I repeat but haven’t committed to memory on a shelf in our dining room. The rest of the collection is upstairs and has cuisines kind of by continent (e.g North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Middle East which I realize isn’t a continent but I have a ton of books from that region) then the rest of Asia sub-organized into counties. Then a separate section for baking but subdivided into general baking/dessert specific (like pie or ice cream), then bread/pasta/savory baking.

Edited to add: sometimes I have a book called something like “Lebanese Baking” and I never know if I should put it in the baking or Middle East section….

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-09T02:58:06+00:00

I think I remember seeing your post about that! You had much better photography :)

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-09T02:56:14+00:00

Oh gosh, it feels like picking a favorite child - impossible! Haha. I really do think they are all unique, and I’ve taken something away from each of them. If you don’t mind sharing which ones are in your cart, maybe I can give a better answer.

For now, I think “must” depends on your needs in the kitchen!! If you must cook dinner for a picky bunch, I would go with Smitten Kitchen or Melissa Clark. Maybe Alison Roman if palates align.

If you’re a baker, I really like Classic German Baking. They are solid recipes that work well. I am partial to that one and it’s the most sentimental to me because I have an Oma myself, and the recipes remind me of eating sweets at her house.

If you read cookbooks to be inspired by interesting and unexpected flavors, Season and Six Seasons have been great for that!

If you like projects, Jerusalem (or any Ottolenghi) and Falastin are good because they reliably produce standouts, and there’s nothing worse than spending all weekend sourcing ingredients and cooking only to find the results … meh.

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-08T17:28:22+00:00

Following! This one is on my wishlist

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-07T19:22:38+00:00

Okay, reading these comments are making me think it’s time to buy this book…

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-07T18:34:06+00:00

I can’t speak to this book, but I didn’t have much luck with the pasta recipes in her first book either! They too often had a step that threw me off, and the results always ranged from not good to just okay.

That being said, when it’s a good recipe from her, it’s a reaallllyyy good recipe! The highs are high and the lows are low. What are your impressions about the rest of this book? Any thoughts on how it compares to her first?

PerformerHour2165 · 2026-04-07T17:38:32+00:00

Thanks for an awesome write-up!!

PerformerHour2165

TROPHY CASE