Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project – Page 30 – A recipe-by-recipe adventure working our way through a treasured set of 1980s subscription-based cookbooks.

12-29: New Orleans Beans and Pasta

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses September 29, 2016July 29, 2020basil, black beans, boiled, Cajun, canola oil, carrots, cayenne pepper, Cheddar, cheese, chili peppers, chili powder, creamy, Creole, crushed tomatoes, dried herbs, Dutch oven, easy, farfalle, herbs and spices, inexpensive, julienned, Mexican, Monterey Jack, New Orleans, olive oil, paprika, pasta/noodles, pinto beans, salt, sautéed, Shishito peppers, side dish, tomato bouillon, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, white beans, yellow onions

I wasn’t quite sure how “authentic” 12-29: New Orleans Beans and Pasta would be when first looking this recipe over–Simply Delicious doesn’t exactly nail it on cultural faithfulness a lot of the time. A lot of that has to do with the time at which the books were written–many ingredients, methods, & tools that are easily accessible now were not 30 years ago.

However, this is essentially an American recipe, so I would assume it shouldn’t be that far off–if this is in fact a real New Orleans dish. 🎷

I wonder how many different linens/vases/glasses/odd statues they had to accumulate to photograph all of these different recipes. Just a thought I had while looking at this picture. Another thought: who decided on some of these things? What makes this picture decidedly New Orleans? ⚜🎉

17-21: Small Golden Pretzels

Adam Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods September 26, 2016November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, brushed, butter, dough, egg wash, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, German, gift ideas, herbs and spices, kneaded, melted, milk, party food, pretzels, proofed, revisited, saffron, salt, snacks, vegetarian, yeast

Pretzels are my favorite snack food, which means that 17-21: Small Golden Pretzels were right up my alley. One of my favorite episodes of the Simpsons is based around pretzels. Making pretzels usually involves boiling the dough in baking soda water.

These golden pretzels are good as an afternoon snack. Saffron gives these pretzels the golden hue.

13-12: Eggplant-Rice Casserole

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 24, 2016October 28, 2020almonds, bay leaves, blanched, boiled, butter, canola oil, casserole, chopped, cinnamon, creamy, curry powder, diced, dinner, easy, egg-free, eggplant, garlic, ginger, gluten-free, herbs and spices, inexpensive, long-grain, lunch, melted, peeled, raisins, red bell peppers, rice, salt, sautéed, side dish, sour cream, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

🍆 13-12: Eggplant-Rice Casserole is a heavier preparation of eggplant than my other eggplant recipe, 13-16: Arabian Moussaka, this rice and eggplant dish is two, two, two dishes in one. I’ll show myself out for that dumb, old reference… 👋

There were lots of colors in this dish: purple 🍆, orange, green, yellow, white, and a few shades of beige.

16-15: Tarte Tatin

Jamie Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods September 23, 2016July 31, 2020all-purpose flour, apples, autumn, baked goods, broiled, butter, caramelized, chilled, cut in, dessert, dough, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fall, farmers market, French, granulated sugar, Hutton house, Labor Day, party food, pastry, pie crust, pies, powdered sugar, revisited, salt, summer, tart, vegetarian

I’m not going to write a long dissertation on the origins of the well-known French dessert, Tarte Tatin–I’ll let Wikipedia handle the background of it. Instead, I’m going to focus on my history with 16-15: Tarte Tatin, evidenced by my mom’s handwriting all over the front & back of the recipe card.

Since she and I already had plans to go to a local farmers’ market for this year’s Labor Day BBQ supplies and apples were plentiful, I decided to bring back an old classic for us to cook together. 🍏

Most versions of Tarte Tatin are somewhat similar–it’s a pretty basic recipe. My mom’s notes claim it’s “easy”, and she stands by it to this day. Her other notes turned out to be helpful as well–the importance of good note-taking.

3-11: Chicken Rice Soup

Adam Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 22, 2016October 4, 2020appetizers, boiled, bone-in, chicken, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, dairy-free, deboned, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, long-grain, lunch, mint, rice, salt, sliced, soups, strained, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

I can’t count how many different chicken soups I’ve had in my life, but 3-11: Chicken Rice Soup is the latest version I’ve made from Simply Delicious. For this dish, I picked my own lemons and fresh mint from the garden so this dish had extra meaning to me. 🍋🌿

I’ve enjoyed a lot of chicken noodle soups, but chicken rice soup is a different experience.

5-19: Eggs en Cocotte

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 21, 2016October 14, 2020black pepper, breakfast, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chives, chopped, cream cheese, creamy, easy, eggs, French, gluten-free, grated, Gruyère, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, minced, ramekins, salt, shredded, untested, vegetarian

Here’s another Simply Delicious recipe that exists outside of this book: 5-19: Eggs en Cocotte is a version of a pretty well-known French way to cook eggs. Variably known as shirred eggs (although that’s slightly different), this is a really easy (and delicious) breakfast or lunch option.

Cocotte has a rather interesting meaning outside of the culinary world–I’ll leave it to you to find out. 👄

1-14: Avocado Halves with Spicy Shrimp

Adam Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 20, 2016October 2, 2020appetizers, avocados, breakfast, chili sauce, chopped, cooked shrimp, crème fraîche, cucumbers, diced, dill, easy, egg-free, fairly expensive, gluten-free, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, paprika, parsley, party food, red onions, salad shrimp, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, slit, snacks, sour cream, sriracha, untested

I don’t make appetizers very often, so I made 1-14: Avocado Halves with Spicy Shrimp for us to eat as a snack while cooking other dishes. 🍤

I was lacking lettuce at the time, so my dish was served on a platter instead of a bed of crispy lettuce.

17-19: Parmesan Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods September 19, 2016August 31, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, breads, brushed, butter, cheese, dough, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, grated, herbs and spices, kneaded, loaf pan, melted, milk, oregano, Parmesan, proofed, revisited, rolls, salt, slit, snacks, vegetarian, yeast

After staring at the screen for much too long (not the whole two weeks since the last time I posted, but at least some portion of it), I’ve determined that I just can’t think of anything all that notable to say about 17-19: Parmesan Bread. I’ve even made it once before, despite the lack of notations or photographic evidence. It’s just not what I hoped it could be.

The first time I made this bread, it turned out (somewhat) like the one shown in the Simply Delicious picture. This time, it turned out more like savory, vaguely cheesy monkey bread.

3-15: Quick Mexican Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 5, 2016March 14, 2020appetizers, avocados, boiled, carrots, celery, Cheddar, cheese, chili powder, creamy, crema, crushed tomatoes, cumin, dinner, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, guacamole, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lunch, meatballs, Mexican, mirepoix, Monterey Jack, peeled, salsa, salt, simmered, sliced, soups, sour cream, Tex-Mex, tomatoes, tortilla chips, untested, vegetables, white onions, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has a lot of different kinds of recipes–intricate & laborious French-inspired cuisine as well as simple, weeknight-friendly fare. 3-15: Quick Mexican Soup is obviously (given the name) one of the latter types. Of course, I’ve yet to find a recipe that I don’t make some sort of tweak/edit to, and this recipe will be no different. 🌶

Most Simply Delicious recipes that claim to be Mexican tend to be more “Tex-Mex” than authentically Mexican. I grew up in Los Angeles–real Mexican food is a BIG part of life there. I’m not saying I’m anywhere close to an expert on the subject, but I feel like I’ve got some sense of the cuisine. Simply Delicious has an idea of where they were going with this soup–I’m just going to help it along a bit. 🇲🇽

13-16: Arabian Moussaka

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 3, 2016October 28, 2020appetizers, black pepper, blanched, boiled, casserole, chickpeas, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, egg-free, eggplant, fairly hard, garbanzo beans, gluten-free, inexpensive, Italian parsley, Lebanese, lemons, lunch, Middle Eastern, moussaka, olive oil, peeled, pita bread, salt, sautéed, side dish, snacks, soaked, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

The first of a few eggplant dishes, 13-16: Arabian Moussaka is the lightest preparation of eggplant that Simply Delicious presents. 🍆

As the card suggests, this recipe is perfect for lunch or supper.