Each month I’m highlighting a different non-Ina cookbook – these can be old favorites, classics I need to try, or new books I’m excited about. I’ll make at least one recipe from each chapter of the book to get an overall flavor of each. For the month of June, the book is Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I hope you’ll cook along with me! The book is available for purchase here.
Note: some recipes may be available online, but I only share links if they explicitly state it’s reprinted with permission from the author or publisher!
Sesame Spiced Turkey Meatballs and Smashed Chickpea Salad
This was a dish many people recommended and with my recent chickpea obsession, I didn’t have to be told twice! Deb doesn’t skimp on the spices for the meatballs – flavoring them with garlic, cumin, coriander, Aleppo pepper, and cayenne. The meatballs are browned, baked, and served on a smashed chickpea salad with sliced olives, sumac, parsley, garlic, and cayenne. I have been adding sumac to everything lately and it provides a nice citrusy hit along with the lemon juice here. I love meatballs in every flavor and they were absolutely divine over the chickpea salad.
Book: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, page 169
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: Aleppo pepper
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe is not online.
Mustard Milanese with an Arugula Fennel Salad
I agree with Deb: chicken breast is my least favorite cut, but pound them into a thin cutlet, bread and fry them and now we’re talking! For her Milanese, the thin chicken is dredged in flour, then an egg white/dijon/garlic/oregano/lemon zest mixture, and finally panko bread crumbs. Chilled for an hour in the fridge, the cutlets are pan-fried until golden brown. The mustard packs a nice zing and the arugula fennel salad dressed with a lemon-dijon vinaigrette helps lighten the meal and cut through the fattiness of the fried chicken!
Book: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, page 169
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: panko
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe is not online.
Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary
Ina turned me on to the joy that is a roasted grape with her roasted sausages and grapes – it’s a combo I didn’t think I’d love but now can’t stop screaming about from the rooftops! *in my best Beyonce voice* LIIIIIISSSSTEEEN … warm grapes are absolutely phenomenal in savory dishes! So you KNOW I had to try this recipe of Deb’s. Crispy chicken pieces (three pounds of your favorite cuts) are surrounded with grapes, olives, and shallots and baked in a very hot oven until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken, grapes, and olives are then removed and white wine and chicken broth are added to the skillet and reduced for a delicious pan sauce you pour over the chicken before garnishing with rosemary. The sweet grapes complement the salty olives and pair perfectly with the tender chicken with crispy skin. Get the shot glasses out, because if there is any remaining pan sauce, shooters are a must!
Book: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, page 109
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: white wine
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe on SeriousEats.com.
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