For two years I’ve been a part of an online cookbook club on Instagram. Each month the cookbook club creator and curator choose a book for us to locate and try recipes from. She’s taken it a bit farther lately with actual recipe challenges twice a month. Sometimes I can play along depending how busy we are in our daily lives, other times not so much.
It’s been so fun getting to know everyone participating in this club from around the world and sharing the same passion; cooking. I’ve discovered so many great cookbooks on this journey that honestly I would have never had the time to discover on my own. This discovery along with connecting with other food lovers and learning more about where they live and their lives has been simply awesome.
The cookbook for April was The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and is one of those books that needs to be in your collection, if you have a cookbook collection. It’s a book that helps you navigate the world of food science. Lopez-Alt’s extensive research sheds light on different cooking methods and actually helps you to understand how to cook food and the method behind it, to get the best results. I even caught my husband reading this book as he is one of those book nerds that loves to learn the science behind things.
I’ve tried quite a few recipes from the book and I’ve been successful with each recipe I’ve made – like Fresh Ricotta (omg). Another recipe I had my eye on was this Chile Verde with Pork. This recipe has a spotty history when researched, however is a very popular dish in the USA, and not so well known here in Canada. I made it the day before, like the recipe suggests and served it the following day. After almost licking the pot, my husband declared this is his new favourite meal. Ever. Whoa.
Do not be scared by the length of the instructions, it all makes sense and is pretty seamless to make. Serve it as a stew and mop it up with bread, or in tortillas with fresh toppers. If you try it, let us know what you think!
