easy – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

16-19: Midsummer Cake

Jamie Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods March 30, 2023March 30, 2023almond extract, almonds, boxed cake mix, butter, cakes, creamed, decorative, dessert, easy, egg yolks, eggs, fairly inexpensive, French, frosting, fruit, garnish, granulated sugar, grated, liqueur, mint, nuts, orange juice, orange peel, oranges, party food, sliced, spring, strawberries, summer, toasted, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, zested

We’re barely into spring, so what better way to celebrate that than to jump ahead to summer with 16-19: Midsummer Cake? We’ll call it being super proactive–you’re already thinking ahead for summer. Like when you go shopping for spring clothes and the summer stuff is already on the shelves. Look at you being so productive. Such a trendsetter!

There’s no rule saying you HAVE to make this in summer–it could be a great spring dessert as well. In fact, strawberries are generally considered more of a “spring fruit” more so than a summer one (depending on where you live), so maybe we should update this to be a “Spring Cake”? I can’t go with “Mid-Spring Cake” because that sounds like something you make in the middle of a jump.

8-62: Oven-Baked Baby Beef Ribs

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses March 14, 2023March 14, 2023all-purpose flour, basted, beef, black pepper, brushed, chili sauce, dairy-free, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, red onions, ribs, roasted, salt, shallots, untested

Simply Delicious has a lot of rib recipes, however I think 8-62: Oven-Baked Baby Beef Ribs might be the first one I’ve covered that features beef ribs instead of pork. Here’s an article that breaks down some differences between the two types–I haven’t eaten real meat in like 5 years at this point, so I don’t feel like it’s my place to have that discussion with you.

They show their ribs with some baby carrots (you can buy them already cut/prepped to look this way, but perhaps should consider roasting them) and green beans, but if you’d like an unhealthier option (who wouldn’t), you can serve them with some “Kenji” onion rings instead like we did.

14-28: “Hot Love”

Jamie Martin Group 14: Hot Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods February 15, 2023February 15, 2023chocolate, chocolate curls, cookies, dessert, easy, fairly expensive, fruit, garnish, grated, hot desserts, ice cream, liqueur, macaroons, orange juice, party food, raspberries, raspberry liqueur, raspberry sauce, shortbread, simmered, soft peaks, untested, Valentine's Day, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream

I’m a day late, but had intended to post 14-28: “Hot Love” for Valentine’s Day, because how could you not? Apologies for procrastinating on it, but at least it’s there for Valentine’s Day 2024 (and beyond).

This one used to make me giggle every time I looked at the card as a kid–it felt cheesy to me even back then (but also sort of intriguing in that “is this what grown-ups do?” kind of way). I pretty much still feel the same way about it (grown-up question and all).

What is the plate in the picture above resting on (besides a book)? A cabinet on its side? A locked trunk? What’s in the box!?

Can you tell I’m not much of a romantic?

2-1: West Coast Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 20, 2022December 20, 2022asparagus, black pepper, California, canola oil, cooked shrimp, crab, creamy, Dijon mustard, dill, dinner, dressing, easy, fairly expensive, fish, garlic, garnish, gluten-free, grated, half-and-half, horseradish, iceberg lettuce, lemons, lettuce, lobster, lunch, mayonnaise, minced, mushrooms, mussels, new book, rockfish, salads, salt, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sour cream, tomatoes, vegetable oil, vinaigrette, vinegar, yellow mustard

A wise man once said, ” You don’t win friends with salad.” I’m not sure how many friends you’ll be winning with 2-1: West Coast Salad, but if you’re looking for something keto-friendly (we used to call that low-carb or “Atkins-friendly” back in the day, kids) and you need a break from the cookies and candies that are EVERYWHERE around this time of year, this might be the ticket.

By Western shore/West Coast, we’re referring to the western coast of the United States which includes the states of California (where I live and am from), Oregon, and Washington. The seafood is in fact different in the Pacific versus the Atlantic–you won’t find a lot of lobster here, but you will find an abundance of crab and mussels.

1-23: Pita Pockets

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 25, 2022September 25, 2022blue cheese, boiled, Boston lettuce, canola oil, cheese, cooked potatoes, cucumbers, diced, Dijon mustard, dressing, dried herbs, easy, eggs, filling, fish, garlic, Greek yogurt, green beans, green onions, hard-boiled, herb salt, herbs and spices, hot dogs, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, julienned, lettuce, lunch, minced, olive oil, oregano, party food, picnic, pita bread, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, salt, sandwiches, sausage, scallions, seafood, sliced, smoked ham, sunflower oil, tomatoes, tuna, untested, vegetable oil, vegetarian, vinegar, yellow mustard, yogurt

Today, I have the last unmade Group 01 recipe in my possession to share with you today, 1-23: Pita Pockets. They’re essentially sandwiches with two sorts of filling, both very 1980s/”light”.

One of my favorite restaurants is called Pita Pockets–I’ve been going there since I was in high school (over 20 years…eeek) and it’s one of the places I try to stop at when I find myself back in Southern California. Their pita sandwiches are very different from what we’ve got here today (and theirs are WAY better).

I remember pitas being a big deal in the 1980s-1990s, so it’s not surprising that they were included in this recipe collection. They’re still super popular today, but they’re not as “new” of a concept. Speaking of new, this one came from the NEW book, hence why I wasn’t aware until relatively recently that Simply Delicious even had a pita sandwich recipe.

14-13: Berry Omelette

Jamie Martin Group 14: Hot Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods September 16, 2022September 15, 2022blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, breakfast, brunch, butter, dessert, easy, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, folded, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grated, hot desserts, inexpensive, jam/jelly/preserves, lemon peel, lunch, Madeira, meringue, omelette, powdered sugar, raspberries, sherry, soft peaks, strawberries, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream

Summer is slipping away quickly, but if you can still get your hands on some fresh berries, you can give 14-13: Berry Omelette a try. Based on the ingredients and the suggestion to serve it with wine, I think this is more of a “dessert omelette” than a “breakfast omelette”, but you do you.

I suppose there’s lots of dishes on famous breakfast places’ menus that are similar to this in terms of sugar and sweetness–I’m just not much of a “sweets” person for breakfast, especially when eggs are involved. My dad goes even further–he will not eat eggs if there is jam on or near the plate, and vice versa. He would NOT have enjoyed this dish.

8-10: Beef Bourguignon

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses September 15, 2022September 15, 2022all-purpose flour, bacon, bay leaves, beef, beef stew, black pepper, boneless, butter, carrots, chopped, chuck roast, cubed, dried herbs, Dutch oven, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, French, garlic, herbs and spices, julienned, mushrooms, new book, pearl onions, peeled, red wine, roux, salt, sautéed, simmered, thyme, tomato paste, untested, yellow onions

I guess the best way to start this is…have you seen that Julie & Julia movie from a few years ago? If not, and you enjoy reading this blog (or even if you don’t), you DEFINITELY should go watch it. It’s essentially the idea that formed this website/project. In that movie, one of the featured Julia Child recipes is her Boeuf Bourguignon which is found in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of her most famous books and one of the most famous cookbooks in general.

With that being said, we come back to the fact that this is not a Julia Child cookbook project, it is a Simply Delicious one. So, I present to you Simply Delicious’ version of the dish: 8-10: Beef Bourguignon.

Simply Delicious isn’t wrong–this dish is essentially French beef stew (with a good amount of red wine in it). I’ve made Julia’s version a few times (let’s be honest, we ALL made it at least once after that movie came out), but I’ve yet to attempt the Simply Delicious version, mostly because it was a “new book” recipe and I didn’t know it even existed until a few years ago. Let’s see how they compare…

5-2: Old-Fashioned Oven Pancake

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters June 3, 2022June 3, 2022all-purpose flour, bacon, breakfast, brunch, Canadian bacon, casserole, cranberries, cubed, easy, eggs, German, griddle, inexpensive, julienned, lingonberries, lunch, milk, new book, old-fashioned, pancakes, sautéed, untested

Hello there, and happy June! I was on vacation (a real one!) for most of May, but I’m back now with 5-2: Old-Fashioned Oven Pancake. There’s not a lot that goes into this dish (just 4 ingredients), and it’s probably better/more commonly known as a German pancake and/or a “Dutch baby”.

So far, this is the only mention of lingonberries that I’ve seen in this whole book–I always think of them as something you only see in jam form at IKEA, but according to Wikipedia they are grown in multiple regions including North America (not just Europe/Scandinavia). They’re tough to find fresh here, but frozen seems to be widely available.

8-45: Korean Sautéed Beef

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses April 22, 2022April 22, 2022Asian, beef, black pepper, brown sugar, canola oil, dinner, easy, garlic, green bell peppers, inexpensive, julienned, Korean, lamb, lunch, marinated, minced, peeled, pork, red bell peppers, sautéed, sesame seeds, sirloin, sliced, soy sauce, stir-fry, untested, veal, vegetable oil, white onions, wok

Hi there, back again with another “Asian” dish for you today. It’s interesting that Simply Delicious didn’t choose to name 8-45: Korean Sauteed Beef “Korean Beef Stir-Fry” instead (maybe because 8-25: Stir-Fried Beef is already in the book) —stir-fries seemed like they were all the rage in the late 20th century as a “healthy” dinner option. I suppose they still are popular today, but they don’t seem as “unusual” to make for dinner at home as they did back then.

I remember when my mom would bust out her wok every so often for a stir-fry back in the 1990s–it always seemed so much more interesting than when we would just cook in a regular pan on the stove. The blurb above suggests to serve it with noodles, but you can also do rice (or veggies, if you’re one of those actually healthy people–I clearly am not).

15-5: Strawberries Romanoff

Jamie Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods April 15, 2022April 14, 2022Cointreau, cold desserts, dessert, easy, egg-free, fairly expensive, fruit, gluten-free, Grand Marnier, grated, liqueur, marinated, orange juice, orange peel, oranges, powdered sugar, Russian, strawberries, untested, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream, zested

I’m (more than) a little reluctant to post 15-5: Strawberries Romanoff given the current state of the world, but I made it over a year ago and I need to get it out of my queue, so here you go. And yes, that’s really how long it takes me to get to these sometimes.

Strawberries are in season right now, so this is somewhat seasonally appropriate (but perhaps not politically so). I’m not sure being from the “courts of the Russian czars” is much of a selling point anymore these days (although arguably, it probably wasn’t much of one in the late 1980s-early 1990s either), but it is what it is.

You can find ways to support the people of Ukraine here. ??

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