This afternoon was our Cookbook Club gathering. We covered Alice Waters this time, and we were free to work from either her Chez Panisse Fruit or Vegetables books.
I worked from Fruit, making Peach Melba. Yes, it was remarkably easy (technique-wise) just peeling and slicing up those peaches, if time consuming. Others found prep time similarly lengthy, but I have to say in the end that this was one of the better group meals I’ve encountered. So: glad we all sacrificed to make this so worth it.
After this month’s meeting, we were immortalized in this entry with Maggi on Tea’s site: How to Start A Cookbook Club. Recommended reading!
Maggi had us assign a smug factor to our dish as we each spoke about how we acquired ingredients or completed our assignments, which I rather enjoyed. My smugness came from using “white peaches” from a CSA box, but someone else actually grew her own zucchini blossoms before deep frying them with cheese. I think she wins. Oh, wait, someone else churned her own butter! Let’s overlook that I did not make my own vanilla ice cream, but rather went for Haagen-Dazs’ Five – Vanilla Bean.