Cooking from "Dining In," "Nothing Fancy," and "Sweet Enough" by Alison Roman

[FrogPrincesse]

I was in the mood of something very chocolate-y the other day. I made the chocolate-sour cream pound cake from Sweet Enough and it delivered. I had tried other chocolate pound cake recipes in the past, and that one was a notch above with its intense chocolate flavor. I included the optional chocolate chunks and it was quite a large cake, pretty much filling my loaf pan to the top! I would absolutely make this again.

 

Before the oven

 

[FrogPrincesse]

The Perfect asparagus with garlic and salted olive oil from Dining In. Is it overhyped? Probably. Unexpectedly fussy? For sure. Peeling and blanching asparagus before dirtying a pan to make an olive oil / garlic / Aleppo pepper drizzle... it's a fairly big production for a side dish.

 

I used way less than the 1/4 cup of olive oil it calls for (a few tablespoons was enough) and the drizzle in a pan to which I added the asparagus so I could coat it well, rather than making it in a small saucepan as described in the book.

 

This was a nice accompaniment for steak, but not something I will likely make again any time soon. I liked her roasted broccolini much better!

 

 

 

[&roid]

On 4/12/2024 at 9:29 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

The Perfect asparagus with garlic and salted olive oil from Dining In. Is it overhyped? Probably. Unexpectedly fussy? For sure. Peeling and blanching asparagus before dirtying a pan to make an olive oil / garlic / Aleppo pepper drizzle... it's a fairly big production for a side dish.

 

I used way less than the 1/4 cup of olive oil it calls for (a few tablespoons was enough) and the drizzle in a pan to which I added the asparagus so I could coat it well, rather than making it in a small saucepan as described in the book.

 

This was a nice accompaniment for steak, but not something I will likely make again any time soon. I liked her roasted broccolini much better!

 

 

 

They do look good though! I reckon you could trim the prep down and have  an even better dish by skipping the peeling stage and simply microwaving them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
 

This is probably my favourite way of dealing with asparagus as it gives beautiful bright green spears, with none of the flavour leached out into the boiling water. It’s easy to get doneness just right too. 

[FrogPrincesse]

59 minutes ago, &roid said:

They do look good though! I reckon you could trim the prep down and have  an even better dish by skipping the peeling stage and simply microwaving them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
 

This is probably my favourite way of dealing with asparagus as it gives beautiful bright green spears, with none of the flavour leached out into the boiling water. It’s easy to get doneness just right too. 

Thank you! They tasted good. Just not sure they were worth the extra dishes to clean.

Interesting suggestion about the microwave... for those who have one (I don't! 😄). Maybe steaming would achieve the same result?

[FrogPrincesse]

It looks like I have been in the mood for pineapple lately, because after Nik Sharma's pineapple serrano gin, I made the pineapple upside down cake from Sweet Enough! It's something I have had of course, but I don't believe I had ever made it.

It's quite easy. I used 1/2 pineapple and a 10" springform pan. It starts with a heavy sprinkle of brown sugar on the buttered pan, that is covered by a mosaic of pineapple (I had just enough). I skipped the cherries because I am not a fan of maraschino cherries, even the good ones. Then you drizzle with rum (I used pineapple rum, because I could), and pour the batter on top. (Note: I had a little bit of rum leakage during cooking because of the springform. If you use a regular cake pan, this shouldn't be an issue.) The batter also has rum, plus vanilla extract. She says to bake for 40-45 minutes. At 40 it wasn't ready, at 45 min the toothpick test said it was ready but when I cut the cake, the center wasn't entirely cooked. Next time I would bake it for 50-55 minutes. 

Warm, this cake is absolutely delicious! And the larger cake pan is the way to go in order to maximize the pineapple to cake ratio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

I made the quick kimchi from Dining In with napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, rice vinegar, a crisp (red) apple, and salt. I didn't have gochugaru, the Korean chili powder, so I used piment d'espelette instead (vive la France!). It was very easy (I used gloves to give it a thorough massage before jarring it).

 

I tried it right away, it was already good but missing something. A couple of days later, it is better, but I think I would tweak it a bit to make it exactly to my liking (more ginger maybe). I also miss the fermented more funky flavor of the real thing, to be perfectly honest.

 

 

 

I made another kimchi omelette with it. It's growing on me!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[haresfur]

On 4/17/2024 at 8:20 AM, FrogPrincesse said:

It looks like I have been in the mood for pineapple lately, because after Nik Sharma's pineapple serrano gin, I made the pineapple upside down cake from Sweet Enough! It's something I have had of course, but I don't believe I had ever made it.

It's quite easy. I used 1/2 pineapple and a 10" springform pan. It starts with a heavy sprinkle of brown sugar on the buttered pan, that is covered by a mosaic of pineapple (I had just enough). I skipped the cherries because I am not a fan of maraschino cherries, even the good ones. Then you drizzle with rum (I used pineapple rum, because I could), and pour the batter on top. (Note: I had a little bit of rum leakage during cooking because of the springform. If you use a regular cake pan, this shouldn't be an issue.) The batter also has rum, plus vanilla extract. She says to bake for 40-45 minutes. At 40 it wasn't ready, at 45 min the toothpick test said it was ready but when I cut the cake, the center wasn't entirely cooked. Next time I would bake it for 50-55 minutes. 

Warm, this cake is absolutely delicious! And the larger cake pan is the way to go in order to maximize the pineapple to cake ratio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would never have thought of using a spring form for upside down cake. Always used a cast iron fry pan. We have a family debate about using crushed pineapple (me) or rings (her). Both work. Cherries are only if you are making it with kids. Is there anything unusual about the cake recipe? It looks quite dark inside.

[FrogPrincesse]

11 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

I would never have thought of using a spring form for upside down cake. Always used a cast iron fry pan. We have a family debate about using crushed pineapple (me) or rings (her). Both work. Cherries are only if you are making it with kids. Is there anything unusual about the cake recipe? It looks quite dark inside.

I liked using the springform; the cake was very easy to remove from it (and the leak was minimal). The book just says to use a 10-inch cake pan. The pineapple caramelized just fine in the springform. Fresh pineapple is much better than any canned product, in my humble opinion.

She says the recipe was inspired by a "yellow cake from a box" recipe, which sounds very typical. The dark color is from the light brown sugar. Also I used coconut palm sugar instead of the regular granulated sugar that's called for in the recipe, for another flavor boost.

If anything it looks even darker in the book - see below.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

The lemony turmeric tea cake from Nothing Fancy is another winner. I enjoyed the texture which has a very fine crumb thanks to the sour cream / yoghurt in the recipe (I used a mix of both). The lemon flavor really comes through (I liked the technique of rubbing together the lemon zest with the sugar before adding the wet ingredients), and the caramelized lemon slices on top are delicious. Favorite part - the browned exterior. For the inside to be fully cooked, I needed to cook it 15-20 minutes more than the 50-60 minutes the recipe called for.

 

 

 

PS: Only annoyance, the recipe is by volume rather than weight. But there are online versions of the recipe that are by weight.

Edited May 1 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Katie Meadow]

On 4/16/2024 at 3:20 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

It looks like I have been in the mood for pineapple lately, because after Nik Sharma's pineapple serrano gin, I made the pineapple upside down cake from Sweet Enough! It's something I have had of course, but I don't believe I had ever made it.

It's quite easy. I used 1/2 pineapple and a 10" springform pan. It starts with a heavy sprinkle of brown sugar on the buttered pan, that is covered by a mosaic of pineapple (I had just enough). I skipped the cherries because I am not a fan of maraschino cherries, even the good ones. Then you drizzle with rum (I used pineapple rum, because I could), and pour the batter on top. (Note: I had a little bit of rum leakage during cooking because of the springform. If you use a regular cake pan, this shouldn't be an issue.) The batter also has rum, plus vanilla extract. She says to bake for 40-45 minutes. At 40 it wasn't ready, at 45 min the toothpick test said it was ready but when I cut the cake, the center wasn't entirely cooked. Next time I would bake it for 50-55 minutes. 

Warm, this cake is absolutely delicious! And the larger cake pan is the way to go in order to maximize the pineapple to cake ratio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love a good pineapple upside down cake but don't make it in a springform. A regular cake pan works and so does a cast iron skillet. Also those maraschino cherries should stay on the supermarket shelf. Fresh pineapple is essential. My only observation of your mosaic is that it isn't enough fruit! I don't think you should be able to see any cake top when the cake is turned out, but I'm sure it was delicious. I think a good one is harder than many recipes make it seem; the amount of caramelization has to be generous, but not enough to make the cake too soggy.

[blue_dolphin]

I got halibut in this week's fish share and picked up ingredients to make a recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques but got lazy and decided on this very quick and easy Soy-Brined Halibut with Mustard Greens, Sesame and Lime from Dining In. The fish gets brined for an hour or two in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar and water, then poached in a similar mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil and water.  The greens get tossed into the pan to cook along with the fish. Lime juice is added to the liquid in the pan and it's spooned over the fish and greens. 

I subbed beet greens instead of mustard greens as it's what was on hand. To avoid turning the fish pink and to allow for a longer cooking time for the beet greens, I cooked them separately.  With the low-sodium soy sauce I used, the brine was pretty dilute so I'll probably add more soy sauce or reduce the amount of water next time to make it more concentrated.  Nice, quick meal. 

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Katie Meadow]

I don't have any of Alison Roman's books, but as @weinoo curmudgeonly notes, lots of her recipes are available in various places. I don't know for sure if her Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake is in one of her books but we baked it the other day and it is fantastic. Since my turmeric was old and probably less flavorful than it might have been, I couldn't really identify the taste of it, but it did make for a great color.(That's the color I want for my iPhone case.) It's more of a quick bread than a cake, baked in a loaf pan. Really really good. Not totally sold on the lemon slices over the top. I think you could use Meyer lemons for the top and caramelize them before adding and baking. They were not terribly edible as instructed.

 

And thanks so much for the beauty secrets link. I'm going to get the Boy Brow right away!  I come from a long line of women with insufficient eye brows. The day before my mother died, she requested from her hospital bed that I go back to her apartment to get her eyebrow pencil. She looked good when she expired at 94 years old. 

Edited May 8 by Katie Meadow (log)

[Katie Meadow]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:20 AM, FrogPrincesse said:

The lemony turmeric tea cake from Nothing Fancy is another winner. I enjoyed the texture which has a very fine crumb thanks to the sour cream / yoghurt in the recipe (I used a mix of both). The lemon flavor really comes through (I liked the technique of rubbing together the lemon zest with the sugar before adding the wet ingredients), and the caramelized lemon slices on top are delicious. Favorite part - the browned exterior. For the inside to be fully cooked, I needed to cook it 15-20 minutes more than the 50-60 minutes the recipe called for.

 

 

 

PS: Only annoyance, the recipe is by volume rather than weight. But there are online versions of the recipe that are by weight.

I missed this post! And I just wrote a term paper on that tea cake, see above. How funny. I used yogurt mixed with creme fraiche instead of sour cream. And I didn't find the cake needed extra time in the oven. Maybe my oven runs hot, and also I used a dark metal loaf pan.

Edited May 8 by Katie Meadow (log)

[weinoo]

21 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

, but as @weinoo curmudgeonly notes,

I'm offended! But not as offended as I would be by those burnt lemon slices!

[Katie Meadow]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I'm offended! But not as offended as I would be by those burnt lemon slices!

My lemon slices didn't get burned. They didn't get caramelized, either. They just got a teeny bit dried out at the edges but pretty much remained inedible/raw but hot.  No idea really how you would get them to caramelize or sweeten up. I assume that's not what Alison intended. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Mine got caramelized and they were delicious, as intended.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I made the very tall quiche with zucchini & greens from Alison Roman's Sweet Enough for my daughter's high school graduation party this weekend. It uses 2 pounds of zucchini and is build in a springform pan. I used chard for the greens. As zucchini are rather bland, most of the flavor is from feta cheese and a grated onion. It turned out great and I would make it again.

 

Side note, I made the pie crust in my new food processor and it was 1) really fast to make and 2) super flaky. I also used the food processor to grate the zucchini and onion which saved a lot of time (and knuckles). Lastly, I used a nut bag to drain the salted zucchini.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Anchovy-butter chicken with chicken fat croutons

This was very delicious, however the cooking instructions didn't work as written and I had to adapt them. I recommend following the online recipe as it seems to have been updated. 

 

My chicken was 4 pounds (recipe is for 3.5 - 4 lb). After massaging the chicken with a butter / anchovy / garlic mixture it is stuffed with a halved head of garlic and some herbs. Large quartered shallots are added to the pan.

 

 

The chicken is first cooked at 425F for 25 - 35 min (I went with 35 min; the website recipe says 40 - 45 min), then at 350F for 25 - 30 min (I went with 30 min; website says 30 - 35 min at 325 F).

 

 

Then the chicken is cut up into pieces, torn pieces of rustic bread are added to the pan to soak up the chicken juices, and the oven temp is raised up again to 425F.

 

 

At that point I realized my chicken was too pale so I added them back to the pan and cooked until brown. At the end the breasts were sadly overcooked (and the garlic was very under cooked). Anyway, the chicken with all the butter and anchovies still tasted delicious so I would make it again, ensuring that the chicken is well browned before lowering the oven temperature. Probably another 10 minutes would have done it in the first step! I would recommend following the online rather than the book recipe.

 

 

 

Edited June 11 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[MaryIsobel]

3 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Anchovy-butter chicken with chicken fat croutons

This was very delicious, however the cooking instructions didn't work as written and I had to adapt them. I recommend following the online recipe as it seems to have been updated. 

 

My chicken was 4 pounds (recipe is for 3.5 - 4 lb). After massaging the chicken with a butter / anchovy / garlic mixture it is stuffed with a halved head of garlic and some herbs. Large quartered shallots are added to the pan.

 

 

The chicken is first cooked at 425F for 25 - 35 min (I went with 35 min; the website recipe says 40 - 45 min), then at 350F for 25 - 30 min (I went with 30 min; website says 30 - 35 min at 325 F).

 

 

Then the chicken is cut up into pieces, torn pieces of rustic bread are added to the pan to soak up the chicken juices, and the oven temp is raised up again to 425F.

 

 

At that point I realized my chicken was too pale so I added them back to the pan and cooked until brown. At the end the breasts were sadly overcooked (and the garlic was very under cooked). Anyway, the chicken with all the butter and anchovies still tasted delicious so I would make it again, ensuring that the chicken is well browned before lowering the oven temperature. Probably another 10 minutes would have done it in the first step! I would recommend following the online rather than the book recipe.

 

 

 

I watched AR make that recipe a few days ago and put it on my "to try" list. I will add your recommendations.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I made the baked shells from the newsletter. I had homemade tomato sauce on hand so it was quite easy to make the recipe (I also do not have the energy to stuff an individual shell  ). I made a half batch. It turned out pretty good, slightly on the dry side so I would use a bit more tomato sauce next time.

 

I used these as well as the surprisingly excellent fresh ricotta from Trader Joe's, TJ's mozzarella, and TJ's parmesan.

 

 

Assembly

 

 

The finished product. I served it with a sprinkle of parmesan on top and a rioja on the side (also TJ's).

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Tiny, salty, chocolatey cookies from nothing fancy (also online). In short, it's a cookie where the sugar is 100% confectioners' sugar, and the flour is replaced with sugar. This results in a brownie-like texture which is very pleasant. She uses browned butter for extra flavor, and a combo of cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate. Nuts optional - I used walnuts.

 

I loved the intense chocolate flavor and the fact that it's very easy to make. However we struggled a bit to finished the entire batch as they were quite sweet (my yield was 48 cookies vs. 24, which means mine were on the smaller size). Good in small doses only!

 

Note: the recipe in the book is by volume which is rather annoying (her most recent books have weight measurements).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Soy-braised brisket with caramelized honey and garlic from nothing fancy. The brisket is seasoned with salt & pepper and left to rest in the fridge for 48 hours, seared, and then braised for 3 - 3.5 hours in soy, vinegar, fish sauce and beef broth. The caramelized honey is interesting - after the brisket is seared, it is removed from the pot and the honey is caramelized before the aromatics (garlic, onions, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, chilies, and bay leaves) are added. Finally the pot is finally deglazed with all the liquids. A bit reminiscent of Vietnamese caramel sauce but with a lighter hand.  It's served with fresh herbs on top and rice noodles or rice on the side, but I went with smashed potatoes because that's what we felt like.

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Looking for an alternative to shrimp scampi, a favorite in our household, I found the recipe called "shrimp in the shells with lots of garlic and probably too much butter" in dining in. It's similar with the addition of tomato paste which is caramelized in butter and olive oil. I used high quality shell-on shrimp from my local fish market, Catalina Offshore, and served it on organic pappardelle pasta from Trader Joe's.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Spiced, braised short ribs with creamy potatoes from nothing fancy (similar recipe here)

 

With the weather turning (ever so slightly) colder in San Diego, I was in the mood for short ribs and decided to try this recipe. It's a pretty standard process - brown the ribs, remove from the pot, cook the aromatics and spices, deglaze the pot & create a flavorful liquid to braise the meat in, braise in the oven, raise the temperature at the end (with the lid off) to brown the meat further.

 

In addition to onions, garlic, and tomato paste, the liquid (which is broth - I used water + demi-glace - and white wine vinegar) contains a lot of spices which are an interesting departure from the mostly French or Italian short ribs recipes I have tried in the past (it's worth pointing out that it doesn't contain wine or beer, unlike the vast majority of short ribs recipes I have seen). Spices are cumin, fennel, coriander, a touch of cinnamon, and chiles, which leans towards middle eastern. The flavors were actually quite intense due to the large amount of spices used, and the inclusion of chopped lemon (preserved lemons can also be used) both in the braise and as a garnish. The online recipe also includes fresh cilantro as a garnish which I thought was a good addition compared to the book version of the recipe. I also like the potatoes in the dish, which makes it a true on-pot meal. The potatoes stay intact for the most part, and the little bit that sort of melts into the dish thickens the sauce. It's a good recipe and quite easy. 

 

The short ribs were bought at Whole Foods and were good quality (very tender which isn't always the case - I found that the quality of the meat is very important with short ribs recipes in general).

 

 

Before going into the oven...

 

...and after

 

Plated

 

The leftovers will go into tacos!

 

 

Edited October 17 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

There is also a video version of the recipe that is available online and has a few good tips.