Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes: A Cookbook Hardcover – October 24, 2017

The media could not be loaded. Was so happy when this book finally came off back order! So far I have made-chocolate chunk shortbread (4xs... each time amazing.)-baked eggs with crushed chickpeas, chorizo and bread crumbs (YUM)-crunchy chili oil (I now put this on everything)-spring onions slowly roasted in olive oil (do not make a small batch, you will be sooo sorry like I was haha)-roasted salmon and citrus (i used the oil from the slow roasted onions!)-“shrimp in shells with lots of garlic and probably too much butter” (HOLY CRAP AMAZING)-perfect steak and buttered radish toast (best best best technique and combo-do not skip the radish toast part of this meal haha. also she talks about dipping her radish in the steak juices in the end and calls is a “radish snack” YES. ITS ALSO DELICIOUS haha)-roasted tomato and anchovy bucatini (used roasted tomatoes I had made this fall and stored in my freezer and it turned out wonderful❤️. The recipe uses red onion which added an amazing sweetness! And the anchovy gave it a great deep and rich flavor in contrast. Don’t let that ingredient scare you! I used to favor Marcella hazan’s butter onion tomato sauce... and I can’t belive I’m saying it... but this is my new absolute favorite.So many thingsI have yet to try and am very excited for. So many basic recipes for fridge staples like pickling and “mayo for people who hate mayo” aka aoli =) and other awesome staple sauces. Her fresh breadcrumb recipes are great! She has tons of vegetarians recipes, a good sized grain section, plenty of fish and all kinds of meat option. So many great savory breakfast options and TONS of easy and beautiful desert options. I loved reading through this book as much as I’ve loved cooking through it! She is a great writer and really drew me in and captivated me haha. She is hilarious and relatable. She says she will never ask you to dirty more than one pan if it’s not necessary and will never ask you too take the leaves off the parsley because she promises that we will like the stems anyways lol. Do yourself a favor and go on Instagram and check her page out. Also look at the # DiningInCookBook she has started a cookbook revolution with this book! Everyone is sharing what they have made and it will give you an amazing idea of what you will get out of purchasing this book. It will not gain dust on your shelf- I pinky swear 🤞🏼 NOW GO BUY

This is my favorite cookbook ever. Alison has her own unique style and way of combining flavors. She’s confident with food and goes all in - using lots of ingredients I might typically use sparingly, and combining ingredients that don’t seem like they should work, but they really, really do!I could see how some people would think the recipes seemed weird - I was skeptical at first, but I decided to just go for it. After cooking 15 or so of the recipes, I’m sold! I now cook from this book almost every day, sometimes for multiple meals.Most ingredients are simple enough to find, and for the few that are a little more unusual (like Aleppo pepper), she uses them often, so they’re worth purchasing.So far, I love the eggplant with harisa (harisa is now available at Trader Joe’s!), the charred green beans with hazelnuts, all of the fruit salads (salty and savory fruit salads are a revelation!), the 4 bean salad, the kimchi and cheddar omelet, and the roasted chicken with tiny potatoes and sour cream. It’s all so good!Not only are the recipes great, cooking through this book has taught me a ton about food, and really improved my cooking even when I’m just improvising, or adjusting a recipe I found on the internet.One note - if you like sweet flavor in your food (sugar in salad dressings, for example), you may feel something is missing in these recipes. The author seems to prefers salty and savory flavors. It took me a bit to get used to, but I don’t find I miss the sweet anymore. Thank you for an amazing book Alison!!

I follow Alison on Instagram — a gorgeous & witty feed, especially her Stories. In an age of endless dietary restrictions, including some I'm sticking to due to a prickly digestion, Alison is a true bon vivant, indulging in glorious food that's not too hard to make.My requirements for recipe books is pics for every recipe (check, gorgeous) and nothing too involved in terms of cooking (check). These recipes have 6-7 incredients on average, including maybe 1 thing you have to buy (like flaky Jacobsen salt, in my case).Recipes are so much about the chef's persona. I feel like I'm cooking with this fascinating woman who's about my age but is super grounded, sensual, funny, who's seen the good & bad in life and knows how to create a feast in good times & bad (2017, anyone?).I just skimmed the book again & laughed at 5 out of 5 recipe intros I read. "In my opinion, homemade ice cream, like homemade ketchup, is rarely worth the effort and never as good as you think it's going to be." (And then she offers a glorious frozen labne desert.)My favorite recipe is the Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies, her version of the chocolate chip cookie. Easy to make, and the salty & sweet combo plus light texture means I'll be making them again.