My Kitchen My Table

Cookbook Club – Mediterranean Fresh

The revival of the SF Cookbook Club is coming. On August 3rd, we will meet in my kitchen and gather around my table to discuss and cook from Joyce Goldstein’s Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix and Match Dressings. In fact, Joyce has graciously accepted our invitation and will join us at the table!

MF was selected because I personally need to enhance my repertoire of salads and one dish meals. And what a better time to do so than the heart of summer where so many of the ingredients can be found fresh at the farmer’s market. In addition to the ubiquitous ingredients, Joyce is not afraid to add some that are hard to find and available only at the farmer’s market or very specialty grocers. I encourage you to seek out the recipes that include these ingredients and be not afraid…. Go forth and try something new, talk with the grower, taste and learn, then take it home to your kitchen and make something fabulous.

Following are the questions that we discuss at my table when we talk about the books and recipes that are made for the cookbook club. I encourage you to keep them in mind and post your feedback.

COOKBOOK CLUB CHECKLIST—read list of questions before you read through the cookbook or begin cooking! Be honest with your feedback— it will make for spirited discussion when we meet on August 3rd.

Name and page # of recipe:

Were you able to find all of the ingredients you needed (without hassle)?

Did everything in the ingredient list make sense (anything you would have changed)?

Were the instructions easy to read and make sense?

How long did it take to prepare (active work time/prep time)?

How would you rate the taste on a scale of 1-10?

How would you rate the difficulty on a scale of 1-10?

Would you make this again or recommend to a friend? Why or why not?

Were there any parts of the recipe that were frustrating? Any pleasant surprises?

How were the portion sizes/quantities of food?

When reading through the book, did you find any misspelled words or peculiar grammar?

What did you think about the recipe’s “headnotes”?

How did you present the dish/garnish it?

What reviews did the dish get from others (OK to fill out during meeting)?

Were there many recipes that looked good to you?

What was most appealing to you about the book? Least appealing?

Any additional comments on how the book is structured, the quality of the writing, whether or not it held your interest, etc.

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