'Seriously Delish': 150 recipes, no apologies for calories consumed
If you're not one of the 3.7 million people a month who visit Jessica Merchant's website How Sweet It Is, you might not know she is the author of a new book, Seriously Delish. She'll be at Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop Saturday to cook and promote this first cookbook, which unabashedly celebrates food with flavor. No apologies for calories. Her favorite ingredients: chocolate, brown butter, and bacon.
By Jessica Merchant
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 304 pp. $29.99
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Reviewed by Robin Currie
If you're not one of the 3.7 million people a month who visit Jessica Merchant's website How Sweet It Is, you might not know she is the author of a new book,
Seriously Delish
.
She'll be at Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop Saturday to cook and promote this first cookbook, which unabashedly celebrates food with flavor. No apologies for calories. Her favorite ingredients: chocolate, brown butter, and bacon.
Not that there aren't healthy recipes; there are many. A former certified personal trainer, Merchant believes in moderation. Her food philosophy: "the more the better," with more meaning variety, not quantity. You'll find butter, flour, and sugar happily mingling alongside organic coconut oil and ground flaxseed. The yin and yang she strives for can be seen in her greens and beans burgers with a bit of bacon. Her goal? Eat good, homemade food in a balanced way.
As breakfast is her favorite meal, there's a rich trove of recipes to start your day, from healthy to decadent: a sweet green shake full of spinach, mango, avocado, and banana, or brown sugar bacon biscuits, full of the obvious. Pick one depending on how your pants fit that day. For lunch, dinner, snacks, and celebrations, delicious choices abound. Try the hard-boiled egg and hummus chive toasts, the flank steak with feta and sriracha crema, or the lemon almond tilapia with coconut macaroon rice. The dessert chapter does offer lighter options. How can the lemon skillet cake with caramelized Meyer lemons not appeal?
With the current nip in the air, I tried rosemary and parmesan quinoa patties over greens, amaretto butternut squash soup, and oatmeal apple butter squares for dessert. The recipes were easy to follow; made with easy-to-find ingredients. The soup was the biggest hit: Its garnish of scallions, sunflower seeds, cinnamon croutons, and a drizzle of coconut milk added complexity to every bite. The touch of amaretto raised it to autumn perfection in a bowl.
Amaretto-Butter-nut Squash Soup With Cinnamon Toast Croutons
Makes 2 to 4 servings
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1 cup whole wheat bread cubes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons amaretto
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
2 cups water
1/2 cup canned coconut milk, plus extra for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
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1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toss them with the 1 tablespoon olive oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Bake the cubes until golden and crunchy, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the croutons cool on the sheet.
2. Meanwhile, while the croutons are baking, heat a large pot over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter. Add the onions with the pinch of salt and stir. Cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook one more minute, then pour in the amaretto; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the squash cubes, stock, and water to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the squash is soft, 20 minutes. Once the squash is soft, remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the entire soup mixture into a high-powered blender (you may need to do this in batches). Puree until creamy, about 5 full minutes. Transfer the soup back to the pot and heat it over low heat. Stir in the coconut milk, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Taste and season the soup additionally if needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and set the croutons on top. Garnish with the scallions and sunflower seeds. Drizzle extra coconut milk on top, if desired.
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Per serving (based on 4): 454 calories; 7 grams protein; 44 grams carbohydrates; 18 grams sugar; 26 grams fat; 15 milligrams cholesterol; 1,517 milligrams sodium; 7 grams dietary fiber.EndText