Eat What you Want – Gaby Dalkin
I introduced you to Gaby Dalkin shortly after I bought her book What’s Gaby Cooking. I couldn’t wait to share it with you because it was FULL of AMAZING recipes which are now staples for my family. I have not stopped cooking from that book since the day I bought it. Well, I am happy to share that SHE HAS DONE IT AGAIN! Her NEW book Eat What You Want is fantastic. Again, I have been cooking from it for weeks. Thank God it came during COVID giving me some new recipes to try! As in the first book, this one has SO MANY delicious recipes. With the suggestion of a close friend, I created a chart to narrow down the top four recipes to share.
Let’s dig in starting with the first recipe that I tried in this book the Chorizo Mac-n-Cheese. When I go out to dinner, I like to choose foods that make me happy and those that I don’t get to eat all that often. It feels like I am always drawn to mac-n-cheese and gnocchi because I LOVE them. There are quite a few local restaurants that offer things like bacon, roasted tomatoes, lobster, or sausage in your mac-n-cheese. Gaby’s combination of flavors was something I’ve never tried – and chorizo, well, enough said. This recipe did not disappoint. The melding of the Gouda and pepper jack cheeses created an ultra smooth sauce and would be good in and of itself. Adding the chorizo with the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce added so much deep, rich (and not too spicy) flavor, making this dish so savory. I consider myself a connoisseur of mac-n-cheese (only because of the number of times I have eaten and made it) and this was hands down my favorite combination of ingredients. It’s a MUST MAKE if you are a fan of cheese and noodles – correction – a MUST MAKE for everyone because who doesn’t like cheese and noodles.
I am going to keep with the cheese theme and talk about my next recommendation which is the Baked Feta with Honey and Black Pepper. I LOVE recipes that are EASY, DELICIOUS and IMPRESSIVE all at the same time. This one checks all those boxes and I am sure I will make this recipe at least 100 times before I die. This is the PERFECT thing to make when you have people over for dinner. It takes minutes yet looks labor intensive and, as an appetizer, is just enough that it won’t spoil the dinner you have made. It’s literally a chunk of cheese with olive oil, honey, black pepper and thyme served with crostini. It takes 10 minutes. You can have it ready to go and pop it in the oven when your guests arrive. This recipe would also take a charcuterie board to the next level. You have to give this one a try.
Tacos are always a family favorite – whether beef or chicken. How about pork? I have NEVER EVER made a pork taco and now I am asking myself what was I waiting for? If your family loves tacos, why not mix it up a bit and serve them pork – the other white meat. I will say that this recipe involves a bit more commitment than browning ground chicken or beef but it serves a crowd and you can slow-cook it all day. I don’t have an oven phobia so I actually leave mine in the oven all day while I am working (or all night while I am sleeping) to end up with a beautiful, flavorful chunk of pork shoulder. If you have ever made pulled pork this will be familiar. Rub, sloooooow cook, and enjoy!!! Serve this like you would serve any other tacos with all the fixings. Can’t wait for you to try this one. Let me know if you think it was worth the effort. My family LOVED this and to add extra flavor serve it with lime, butter lettuce and tortillas charred on a grill.
Last, but not least, is the LA Chop Salad. This salad is bursting with a variety of flavors that all come together beautifully. There is pepperoncini, salami, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and more!!! Gaby recommends her lemon vinaigrette (one of seven incredible dressings from her book) with a little oregano which I tried and LOVED! Greek or Italian dressings would both be delicious as well. This salad makes A LOT and was great to take for lunch the next day.
Eat What You Want has so much to offer – IT IS A COOKBOOK EVERYONE SHOULD OWN. Just like the first one – everything is sooo good you just want to keep cooking from it. Below is a chart of recipes I have tried and my comments for each dish to get you started. Your next favorite recipe is in this book! – get your copy today.
| 1-3 Could not eat |
| 4-5 Would not make again |
| 6-7 Might make again |
| 8-9 Definitely make again |
| 10 Make again SOON |
| Recipe | Rating | Page | Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen Sink Cookies | 8 | easy | a lot of ingredients | |
| Cauliflower Shawarma | 9 | 194 | easy | similar to Skinny toast w/o garlic What to try the bowl recipe with it next time. |
| Modern Margrita Pizza | 7 | easy but a lot of work for a pizza | messy – might need less olive oil used crust from Ishtar | |
| Chipolte Wings | 8 | easy | ||
| Guacamole | 9 | easy | ||
| Asian Cucumber Salad | 6 | 74 | easy | |
| Asian Vinaigrette | 5 | 253 | easy | |
| Chocolate Chip Cookies | 9 | 228 | easy | Very good |
| Bacon French Onion Dip | 8 | 43 | Med. – a lot of work & time | – a lot of work & time for a dip. Cut onions smaller – great appetizer for a party if you need to bring 1 thing. |
| Chipolte Chorizo Mac n’ cheese | 10 | 100 | Med- a lot of work | extra work cooking sausage and grating cheese but worth it for great flavors |
| Carnitas (pork taco) | 9 | 214 | med -lots of rep & cook time | cooks all day while you are working or sleeping |
| Broccoli Beef | 5 | 173 | easy | doubled the sauce which made it too salty |
| Helen’s Beef Picadillo | 5 | 169 | hard – time consuming | would be better on nachos or with eggs |
| Austin Style Breakfast Taco | 7 | 32 | easy | pretty basic but very good |
| the LA Chop | 9 | 76 | easy | great flavor combo. Salad would go well with many different dressings |
| Lemon Vinaigrette | 8 | 255 | super easy | light & healthy will make again |
| Aperol Spritz | 7 | 138 | super easy | sweet – cant drink all night |
| Pad Thai | 5 | 149 | med / complicated | ingredients not typical – rather get take out I over cooked the noodle |
| Baked feta | 9 | 47 | super easy | make for next dinner party – sooo good |
