The joy of cookbooks. Valarie and I love cookbooks. Regardless of where we sit in our house, a book is no more than an arm’s length away. We have multiple copies of digital cookbooks, but there is nothing like holding a bound cookbook in your hands, especially one filled with amazing stories and recipes. It is no surprise, whenever you open a cookbook of ours, you may see notes in the columns, tabbed pages, and printed out recipes or ingredient lists stuffed between the covers. These books are meant to be used.
We love the practicality and usefulness of cookbooks, but we are always hooked by the stories behind each recipe and cookbook. In that spirit combined with our passion for great food and “Exploring the World, One Dish at a Time” we are officially starting the Unstoppable Foodie Cookbook Club!
We would love to eventually roll the book club into an in-person cooking event, but for now we will keep it a virtual social media activity of sharing recipes from our favorite cookbooks. We are looking to eventually offer an online class where we can cook together real time through a live stream platform.
The goal of the book club is to inspire you to cook more. To elevate your home cooking skills and change up your regular menu and cooking repertoire. It is meant to be fun. Regardless of your current skill level, we look forward to you joining us. Based on the recipes we choose and the support we will provide, you will undoubtably increase your skills in the kitchen.
What we plan to do with the Unstoppable Foodie Cookbook Club;
- We will cook 3-4 recipes from the book and invite you to cook them as well and share photos with the #unstoppablefoodie on #unstoppablefoodiecookbookclub.
- We will share the featured recipes we cook.
- We will share your photos of your cooked dishes on our social media accounts and the Unstoppable Foodie Blog.
- In the coming months ahead, we will do a zoom call with those registered and cook some of our favorite recipes together.
- Finally, the fun part – a cookbook giveaway. We will give away one copy of the featured “cookbook of the month” through an Instagram Giveaway.
Our first featured cookbook for the Month of October is listed as follows:
Piatti, Plates and Platters for Sharing, Inspired by Italy – Stacy Adimando
We have been following this James Beard Award-winning author through her cookbooks and over the last several years as the Editor of Saveur magazine. We have always enjoyed our subscription. Each issue is always packed with great recipes and priceless culinary nuggets of information. Piatti, just like Saveur is always relevant and a joy to read. Piatti contains 90 recipes providing inspiration for your next event or quiet evening alone at home. The recipes deliver understated elegance in every dish. The book is divided into seasonal sections starting with Winter and ending in the Fall. The recipes we chose above just happen to be in the Summer and Fall sections.
She recently stepped down as Editor and welcomed her daughter, Francesca, into the world. We still follow her on Instagram and look forward to her new projects ahead.
We picked Piatti for several reasons. First and most importantly, it features Italian food and secondly it uses beautiful ingredients to prepare memorable dishes inspired by Italy. It is hard to pick recipes from this book to share. It is like trying to pick a favorite child, impossible!
Below are a few amazing recipes from Piatti that we want to highlight and recommend.
- Mortadella and Fontina Slab Pie with caramelized fennel (Page 192 – FALL)
Valarie has cooked this recipe for me well over a dozen times. I joke it is like a comforting bologna and cheese sandwich from your childhood but elevated to a food memory you will never forget once you experience the combined flavors. Take the unmistakable mortadella with its morsels of fat and pistachio topped with Fontina cheese and add a layer of fennel sauteed in a mixture of butter and Dijon mustard and sandwich it between layers of flaky puff pastry.
- Shrimp and Cherry Tomato Fra Diavolo with bacon and fresh corn (Page 153 – SUMMER)
Fra diavolo is a spicy Italian sauce typical used on seafood and pastas. In this recipe, Stacy amps up the heat with extra crushed chili flakes. This simple dish uses shrimp and cherry tomatoes with bacon and fresh corn for an amazing antipasto.
- Olive Oil Marinated Goat Cheese with celery and mountain herbs (Page 179 – FALL)
We love the flavor of goat cheese. Take the salty rounds wonderful flavor of goat cheese smothered in marinated celery, herbs, and substantial amounts of olive oil. Those complimentary flavors scream goodness.
- Clams with Broccoli Rabe and crispy prosciutto in tomato-wine sauce (Page 187 – FALL)
This is a short 15-minute dish, but the seafood lover in you will love the beauty of littleneck clams covered with delicious broccoli rabe smothered in a layer of crispy prosciutto and a tomato-wine sauce. This dish is best enjoyed right out of the pan in the center of the table with a fresh loaf of crusty bread.
- Roman “Treccia” Breads with Mozzarella, salami, and garlic scapes (Page 149 -SUMMER)
Treccia is a braid shape used with mozzarella cheese as well the occasional baked bread. This recipe uses a twist versus the traditional braid. The bread is filled with salami, mozzarella cheese and crunchy garlic scapes (the stem from the bulb).
We highly recommend adding this book to your cookbook collection. This cookbook is meant to enjoyed during every season! It will show you how to prepare beautiful seasonal ingredients into delightful spreads for your friends and family to enjoy.
We are sure you will enjoy this cookbook and the recipes within. Please share your photos and results with us so we can feature them on our socials and on our blog. The Unstoppable Foodie Cookbook Club is meant to be a social activity and a two-way street for all of us to get better at cooking and spending more time in the kitchen. Out tagline from the start has been – “Exploring the World, One Dish at a Time.” We hope you join us on this culinary adventure!