Holiday Year in Review 2021
Holiday Year in Review 2021

Sunday, December 12 – 5:00pm

Our holiday year-in-review event was a little different this year. We chose recipes from any of the cookbooks from our 2021 Cookbook Club events, but since we were only able to have gatherings for about half the year (thanks COVID) we also opened it up for people to bring off-book dishes as well. As you can see, a ton of people came out to celebrate another year of good food and friends. With so many people and dishes from a variety of sources at this event, I just snapped pics of what everyone brought without doing any write-ups. That allowed me to spend more time socializing and enjoying the peppermint chocolate martinis – definitely a fantastic time! (more…)

Holiday Cookie Swap cookbooks
Holiday Cookie Swap 2021

Saturday, December 4 – 4:00pm

Our Cookbook Clubbers had the fabulous idea to do a holiday cookie swap, where each person made a batch of cookies and then everyone swapped so that you went home with a whole load of various cookies. The cookie recipe could be selected from several cookbook options – BraveTart by Stella Parks, Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan, or The Cookie Collection by Brian Hart Hoffman.

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Friendsgiving 2021 spread
Friendsgiving 2021

Saturday, November 13 – 5:30pm

Continuing our Thanksgiving tradition, we celebrated Friendsgiving at our November cookbook club event. Instead of using a particular cookbook, each person brought a dish that is either a Thanksgiving tradition/specialty for them or something new they want to try out this year. After the craziness of 2020, I’m so thankful that we were able to gather this year to enjoy a ton of good food in the company of wonderful people. Judging by the amazing turnout, so were a lot of others! (more…)

In Bibi's Kitchen cookbook
In Bibi’s Kitchen – Hawa Hassan

Saturday, October 23 – 6:00pm

October’s featured cookbook was In Bibi’s Kitchen by Hawa Hassan. The book’s subtitle is “The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers From the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean”, which is a mouthful but pretty much describes the cookbook. The bibis (grandmothers) are from these eight African nations – South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, and Eritrea.

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Season cookbook
Season – Nik Sharma

Sunday, September 19 – 5:30pm

For our September cookbook, we used Nik Sharma’s Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food. The recipes are a fresh take on Indian cooking, and the book is filled with beautiful food photos taken by Sharma himself. The photography often includes his own hands at work, noted for their brownness in a food media landscape dominated by whiteness.

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Guerrilla Tacos cookbook
Guerrilla Tacos – Wesley Avila

Saturday, August 14 – 6:30pm

Our August cookbook was Guerrilla Tacos. In the book, Wesley Avila tells his story of growing up in our very own city of Los Angeles, working in some of the city’s top-tier restaurants, and then going on to create one of its most sought-after food trucks. Avila shares the recipes he created along the way to opening “the best taco place in L.A.”

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Gourmet Today cookbook
Gourmet Today – Ruth Reichl

Sunday, July 11 – 6:00pm

In July, we used Gourmet Today – a massive cookbook of more than 1,000 recipes selected by Ruth Reichl, the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine. Every recipe was tested by the Gourmet test kitchen, and that’s a lot of recipes!

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Milk Street: The New Rules cookbook
Milk Street: The New Rules – Christopher Kimball

Saturday, June 19 – 6:00pm

After a long hiatus (thanks COVID) and a couple meh attempts at virtual gatherings (Cookbook Club just isn’t the same when you don’t get to eat all the yummy food), we are back! Our last cookbook before the pandemic shut us down was Milk Street: Tuesday Nights, so to try to pick back up where we left off 15 months ago, we did Milk Street: The New Rules for our reopening book.

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VirtualCookbookClub 5-3-20 eating
Virtual Cookbook Club I

Sunday, May 3 – 8:00pm

Well, with the COVID-19 shelter-at-home order looking like it’s going to be in place for awhile, we’ve had to come up with new ways to enjoy the company of others who love cooking and eating. How do you share a meal while social distancing?… with a virtual Cookbook Club! People chose from 3 recipe options selected from Bon Appetit recommendations for “when there’s nothing in the fridge”:

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Milk Street: Tuesday Nights – Christopher Kimball

Sunday, March 1 – 6:00pm

Our February cookbook was Milk Street: Tuesday Nights by Christopher Kimball. Winner of the James Beard Award for best general cookbook, every recipe is meant to be quick and easy enough for cooking in the middle of the week. Some dishes are categorized into Fast (under an hour), Faster (45 minutes or less), or Fastest (25 minutes or less), and others fall into themes like Supper Salads or Easy Additions. (more…)