Book Review: The Homemade Kitchen

Book Review: The Homemade Kitchen by Alana Chernila (4.5 stars, which means I'll round to 5.)

This cookbook attracted me because several years ago, by necessity of my son’s health, I had to become a from-scratch cook. I couldn’t pop a frozen meal in the oven any more. So began my food journey. And along the way, I fell in love not so much with cooking, but with food. I learned that cooking from scratch changes your palate, you can taste the fillers and the thickeners and the sweeteners in processed foods—and they don’t taste good. And I learned to taste the nuances of foods. In short, I became a foodie.

So Chernila’s cookbook with its emphasis on courageous cooking and making things from scratch intrigued me. And I’m delighted to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

One of the best things I made from this cookbook was feta cheese. Wow! It was easier than I thought, affordable, and delicious. Creamy and salty without a hint of bitterness.

This is what it takes to make feta. Milk, salt, rennet, starter,
cheesecloth, and water.

Separating the curds from the whey.

The shakshuka recipe was great. I love shakshuka and this recipe had a perfect blend of fresh spices with the tomatoes and eggs. It’s my favorite go-to recipe when making lunch or dinner just for myself with a side of feta or goat cheese. (Sorry, there isn't a photo. Can't believe I didn't take one.)

And the whole family loved the Butter Lettuce with Dates and Ricotta. (Though I used goat cheese instead of ricotta—I’m not fond of ricotta’s texture.)

I also made the preserved lemons, which have uses in many Middle Eastern and North African dishes.

The preserved lemons were made with water, lots of kosher salt, bay leaves, and cardamon pods. And I'll admit, I've eaten the preserved lemons on their own. Yummy marriage of salt and sour.

On the downside, no one would eat Ricotta Mousse. But if you’re a ricotta-lover, it might be perfect for you. And the Coq Au Vin with Buttermilk Spaetzel was a lot of work, and not worth the effort. If I were going to remake this dish, I’d make it with dumplings. And I’d allow a much longer, slower cooking time to give the flavors more time to blend and penetrate the meat. (The meal was better when we had the leftovers for lunch the second day.)

Here I am making the spaetzel.

There are several
recipes I can’t wait to try. Radish butter. And Muhammara (a Turkish red pepper spread)—but my sumac supplier ran out. So I’ll have to order from Penzey’s.

And while I was doing a lot of cooking during our vacation, my husband was doing a watercolor. (And he helped with the cooking, especially the spaetzel--that dough was stiff.)

(I received this cookbook from Blogging for Books for a review.)