Review: Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman

I'm off to New York in May for the husband's and my first wedding anniversary, so this arrived at the perfect time. We're staying in a gorgeous little West Village apartment which we booked  through AirBnB, and I'm really excited about having our own little corner of New York for the week, complete with its own teeny, tiny kitchen. Who knows, I might rise to the challenge and try some of the recipes while there.

 I'm a longtime fan of the Smitten Kitchen blog. Deb started her blog four years ago, cooking from her own tiny New York kitchen. In my flat in London, the kitchen is small, but at least the kitchen/living room is open plan so it feels a little less cramped and I can spread out onto the kitchen table as extra chopping space. Even so, I get shouty if people get in a 2 metre radius of the stove when I'm trying to cook. The space isn't big enough for two with a control freak like me in the kitchen, so I appreciate the challenges that a small kitchen can create, not least where workspace is at something of a premium.

Like me, she is a former vegetarian  so the recipes fit very well with the way I tend to eat on a day to day basis - the vegetables are clearly the main feature, with meat seemingly more of an aside. There's a fantastic array of vegetarian main dishes, though Deb has taken one step further down the path to omnivorous eating than I have as there's also some delicious looking pork, beef and lamb dishes too. Sadly, I am not yet brave enough to branch out further myself and try these but the chicken and fish dishes look to be such thing as foodie dreams are made.

 Sesame-spiced turkey meatballs with smashed chickpea salad

Deb is an obsessive cook - something which I cannot claim to be - always looking how to better and improve a recipe she has stumbled upon. She knows which ingredients shouldn't be scrimped on, and the ones where any old brand will do. And she knows that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well which is something I definitely adhere to.

Red wine velvet cake with whipped mascarpone

This copy landed on my doorstep with fortuitous good timing - it pulled me out of a creative rut when trying to dream up a birthday cake to make for the husband's birthday as there was the most fantastic red wine velvet cake featured in its pages. And even better, there's not a drop of food colouring in it!

wild mushroom tart

Similarly, a slightly quieter spell at work allowed me to indulge in a few post-work cooking sessions, which always helps me relax. Fabulous spiced turkey meatballs, wild mushroom tart and seared halibut were all perfect (if not a little indulgent) weekday dinner treats. I can see the meatballs rivalling my favourite Ottolenghi ones and going into regular rotation.

seared halibut and gazpacho salsa with tomato vinaigrette

This is a fantastic book which I think will become a firm favourite in my household. Deb's passion for food and ingredients is clear to see, and the book itself is both a love letter to New York and a compendium of immensely cookable recipes. In the time I've had it, I've had as much fun curled up on the sofa, absorbing its every word as I have cooking from the recipes. It really is home cooking at its best, with nothing so taxing that you can't make it when tired on a Thursday night. Every recipe has a lovely story behind it, and Deb's photography is similarly sumptuous, which is something as a food blogger that I am still trying to master. I can't recommend it enough.



I was sent a copy of Smitten Kitchen for review, however all views are my own.

A present to myself

I have been contemplating getting a new camera for some time. While I still adore my SLR, it is getting a little aged (coming up to seven years old). I also wanted something that was a little more portable, and after months of research and deliberating, the Fuji X100 seemed to be the clear winner. My good friend Sarah has one, and used it to take a number of my wedding photos. I was blown away by the quality of something so small. If, like me, you also have a bit of a thing for vintage film cameras then you'll agree that it also looks pretty amazing.

I'm not about to give up on my SLR for good - it has its own very definite set of merits, and I absolutely love using it. However, with lots of little mini-breaks planned for this year, it seemed like as good a time as any to take a leap into the semi-compact market. 

First impressions of the X100 are good though - it takes fabulous photos in low light (which was one of my main reasons for buying it). It's not as responsive as my SLR: I have to press and hold the shutter if I want a focal point which isn't bang on centre, and the autofocus is a little slow, especially when taking macro shots. However, the macro range is excellent, and I can see myself using it a lot more for food blogging.

It's not a camera for people unused to handling an SLR as it does require a read of the manual if you're going to use it to its best advantage, but it does have some lovely benefits. I'm a particular fan of the film simulation setting, which allows you to choose whether you'd rather use Fuji Velvia, Astia or Provia (alongside of numerous black and white and sepia settings) and I'm looking forward to playing around with these a bit more.

Sadly, it being a particularly grey and dull time of year I haven't yet had the opportunity to use it to its full potential for outdoor shots yet, but from my experience so far I think we're going to get along extremely well.

The X100 is quite expensive - it retails for between £500 and £850 usually. I got lucky - I bought mine 2nd hand on eBay off someone who I don't think really knew what they were selling so was significantly less than £500. However, if you want a neat little camera which takes fantastic quality photos then this one is for you.

For me, the only real downsides are that it is a little slower in handling than an SLR, but I'm unlikely to use this for action shots. The fixed range lens might also annoy some, but even when shooting on my SLR I rarely switch from my trusty f1.8 lens so this isn't so much of an issue for me.

All in all, it's a lovely little camera which takes fantastic photos and is so much more portable than an SLR. I can't wait to take it out on many more expeditions and think it will fast become a vital part of my kit.