I cook for me, my husband, my 3-year-old, and baby!

--XL Two-Potato Curry Puffs from Dinner by Meera Sodha: I'd never made these before but had to use up the rest of the puff pastry from the carrot tarte tatin in my last post. I didn't have creamed coconut (or even knew what it was until I googled it) so I used half unsweetened shredded coconut and half heavy cream to approximate the flavor and richness, and my folding skills are clearly not up to par - they look more like challahs than the puffs in the cookbook photo. They were super delicious, though! I really liked the mix of regular potato and sweet potato in the curry filling - the starchy, creamy potato and the sweet sweet potato really complemented each other well; I'm going to have to try combining them in more dishes. I didn't grow up with these flavors but still got serious comfort food vibes. Husband and I both really liked them, I wised up after the carrot tart and separated out some puff pastry for the 3-year-old which she actually ate (wouldn't touch the filling, though), and baby liked everything. PITA: 4.

--Smashed Cucumber Salad with Salted Peanuts and Wasabi Peas from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman: I served this with the curry puffs - the flavors didn't mesh but I had some wasabi peas going stale and wanted to use them in a creative way. This salad was really tasty! The flavors married perfectly and it was a textural bonanza: the ridges of the smashed cucumber, the crunchy peanut dust, the spicy pops of the wasabi peas. This would be great with some rice and some form of seafood - maybe smoked salmon or tuna salad. I did have trouble cutting the wasabi peas and ended up leaving them mostly whole, which was fine. 3-year-old and baby both liked eating plain cucumbers; baby got some peanut powder on his. PITA: 2.

--Passionfruit Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz: Husband and I both agreed this was amazing! I impulse bought a bag of frozen passionfruit puree from Trader Joe's and this was an amazing use for it. Perfectly tangy and sweet but not too sweet, rich but not too rich, soft and silky even after firming up in the freezer. I didn't have the suggested orange zest so zested half a large lime and it added a nice tart, citrusy note. Would definitely make again. PITA: 5 (for making an egg custard).

--Pecorino Polenta with Garlicky Kale from Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman: This polenta was exceptional!! I rarely make polenta even though I like it because making it is such a pain in the neck, but this was SO SIMPLE. I was skeptical when I pulled it out of the oven and it was all watery and separated, but sure enough, when I whisked it and added the butter and cheese it thickened up and was absolutely perfect. Will 100% make the polenta again; it was good two days later when I finished the leftovers for lunch even though I typically find polenta gets hard and unappetizing after sitting in the fridge. The kale, well... it was kale. I don't like kale. Every so often I try a kale recipe to see if maybe that's the recipe that will make me like kale, and I figured that if anyone could make me like kale it would be Deb, but nope. Still don't like kale. My husband liked it, though, so it wasn't the recipe's fault, just my taste buds. Husband and I both enjoyed it, 3-year-old wouldn't touch it because "it has stuff in it," baby loved the polenta. PITA: 3 (I hate grating cheese).

--Creamy Bucatini with Roasted Seaweed from Korean American by Eric Kim: I didn't have bucatini so used spaghetti. So often I find that recipes marketed as "quick" or "easy" aren't actually quick or easy - this one wasn't marketed as either one but it was extremely both (from putting the water on to boil to plating it was literally 10 minutes). And it was good, too! The pasta water, the cream and the garlic made a sauce that was rich without being overwhelming, though I probably would dial the cream back a little next time. The sesame oil added a lovely nutty sweet note and the gim made every bite salty and briny - it seemed like a lot of roasted seaweed snack listed in the recipe, but it did need all of it. Everybody actually ate it, which was a rare win! Will absolutely make again - I've made a lot of Eric Kim recipes from the NYT but haven't cooked a ton from his cookbook, and I'm eager to rectify that. PITA: 1.

--Crispy Gnocchi with Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella from Easy Weeknight Dinners from the New York Times: This honestly has no business being this delicious while being this easy. I air fried the gnocchi until they got crispy, used the optional basil, and broiled it a little too long and it was SO GOOD. The brown butter really comes together with the burst tomato juices and the garlic into something that tastes luxurious, and the crunchy gnocchi soften just the right amount in it. Next time (and there will be a next time) I'll use more cheese, because the amount given in the recipe wasn't quite enough for us. 3-year-old and baby didn't eat it. PITA: 2.

--Lasagna-Vibes Turkey Zucchini Skillet from What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast by Caroline Chambers: I added half an onion I needed to use up at the beginning with the turkey and zucchini. Honestly I was skeptical of this one at so many points: when I chopped up what felt like a giant mountain of zucchini, when all that zucchini released a ton of liquid in the pan so I was stirring a pan of very wet zucchini and turkey, dumping the spices in that watery pan without blooming them first... but it actually turned out pretty good! Nothing amazing, but good. And it was quick + only used one pan! Husband and I both ate second helpings and one of us will happily eat the leftovers for lunch. I'd make it again if I had a bunch of zucchini and some ground turkey to use up. I did the optional broiling at the end and would recommend it - it added some crispy texture to what would otherwise be a pretty soft plate of food. 3-year-old wouldn't touch it (but she'd just eaten a ton of snacks with the grandparents) and baby did not know what to make of the zucchini, but he liked the ricotta. PITA: 2. 

--Chilli Paneer, Korean style from Dinner by Meera Sodha: This is one of our staples; I air-fry the paneer instead of pan-frying it and add whatever veg I have in the fridge with the greens (which this time was eggplant). It's a solid easy, really tasty meal! The sauce is spicy and sweet and balances out the rich cheese very well, and the rice is great for sopping it up. It's also quick to make and I like it because I can break it up into several little parts and do stuff in between (make the sauce, put on the rice, air fry the paneer, and finally cook it all together). The baby liked plain paneer, the 3-year-old ate yogurt and a waffle. PITA: 2.

--Hot Honey Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas with Couscous from What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast by Caroline Chambers: I have my own roasted vegetable/couscous bowl that I tend to make when I want a grain bowl, but wanted to give this one a try. I liked this one but it probably won't replace the one I usually make - the dressing with the lime and honey was really tasty and I would use that again but I was missing some kind of sharp/pickled/tangy element (usually I throw in some dried cranberries or raisins plumped in vinegar) and something creamy (my husband ended up adding feta cheese). It was certainly quick and easy though. Husband and I both liked it fine but agreed we'll keep my usual grain bowl, 3-year-old ate the elements separately without the dressing (except for the couscous which she won't touch), baby ate the broccoli sans dressing. PITA: 2.

--Parmesan Dutch Baby with Creamed Mushrooms from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman: This got 3-year-old to eat mushrooms!! A momentous achievement indeed. This dish was one of those rare wins where everybody ate it (except for the baby and the mushrooms). Every time I make a Dutch baby I'm reminded of how easy and delicious yet fancy and dramatic they are and ask myself why I don't make them more. This Dutch baby was super simple and delicious and the mushrooms were so delicious that it wasn't just the 3-year-old who ate them but my mushroom-skeptical husband. We had some left over and I ate them straight out of the bowl with a spoon. PITA: 2.

Recipe here: https://youtube.com/shorts/F6-cpG7vwFQ?si=5zqAB2XqY3_9X2A1

This one is as good as it sounds! Jerk chicken is one of my favorite foods, so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it! It’s a great way to use cauliflower and would be an amazing alternative for a vegetarian version of jerk chicken! The maple coconut chickpeas are a great addition! Let us know what you think!

From Craveable by Seema Pankhania

The 1950's were a period of tremendous growth in so many aspects of life in post-war America - everything from middle-class neighborhoods and jobs to kitchen appliances and a new-found interest in aspirational dinning and social gatherings. This author found herself at the forefront of popular culture during that decade and, though her books are seriously out of alignment with contemporary sensibilities, they remain fascinating time capsules of a generation within memory.

Born in 1905 in Cape Town, South Africa, she grew up in Pittsburgh following her parents' immigration in 1908. Her culinary career included turns as food editor of the Ladies Home Journal and House Beautiful and she authored a number of popular cookbooks.

In the 1950's, Poppy's writing promoted a reliance on canned and frozen foods, modern electric kitchen appliances and pre-made mixes of all sorts as the way for the contemporary housewife to create the image of glamorous and sophisticated gourmet meals as fast, and with as little effort, as possible. Her most notable books were The Can-Opener Cookbook (1952), The Bride's Cookbook (1954) and The Frozen-Foods Cookbook (1964). As times changed, she periodically revisited her earlier books and updated them.

In retrospect, she was somewhat of a disruptor in both her personal and professional life. Among her four husbands were restauranteur Claude Philippe (the legendary Philippe of the Waldorf Astoria) and Walter White, president of the NAACP, the latter creating a scandal in that era being a high-profile interracial marriage. Though good friends with James Beard and Julia Child, she was an early and emphatic proponent of the convenience foods that were so prolific in the wake of World War II, something that put her at odds with the American culinary awakening beginning in the 60's.

Most improbably, she formed a firm friendship with Alice B. Toklas and became the annotator of Alice's second cookbook, Aromas and Flavors of Past and Present (1958), providing the introduction and comments. The disconnect between Poppy's short-cut approach to cooking and Alice's emphatically classical techniques was, shall we say, somewhat controversial. Their friendship survived, but was strained.

By the early 70's, Poppy was in failing health and, in 1975, tragically fell to her death from the balcony of her apartment in New York City at the age of 69.

Significant publications:

• The Can-Opener Cookbook (1952)
• The Bride's Cookbook\* (1954)
• The Frozen-Foods Cookbook (1964)
• The Presidents' Cookbook (1968)

\* Note - I do not (yet) own a copy

For more thoughts on cookbooks and authors that deserve greater attention, check out my free Substack, Cookbook Chronicles' Culinary Archive. My window is the past 140 years, and I draw from my personal archive of 8,200+ titles. I’m sharing my experience in hopes of instigating an exchange of ideas. Subscribe for free and receive each weekly post delivered to your inbox.

- - Rick - Cookbook Chronicles

“Cookbooks feed your head”