The London Cookbook

When I first get a cookbook, I browse through it to bookmark recipes I want to make. Later, I browse through those to see which ones I want to make right away. Usually, those are the ones I have ingredients for, or that don't need anything that will be hard to find.

When I got The London Cookbook by Akessandra Crapanzano, I bookmarked a LOT of pages. The short list included a risotto with bell peppers, chicken scallopine with mushrooms and marsala, Iberian rib stew, and incredibly decadent-looking chocolate cake, a custard that used muscovado sugar, a crazy-looking tart with several layers, and an apple and calvados cake.

Oh, heck, how do I choose from those? What should I make first?

While some of those recipes might not sound particularly British, the book isn't necessarily about British food - these are all taken from restaurants in London. Which is why it's The London Cookbook. So, needless to say, you'll find a variety of recipes.

Some are more complicated than others, some are more fancy while others are more homey. But, for American cooks, you'll be happy to know that the recipes use US measurements, so you won't need to figure out whether a liter is smaller or larger than a quart.

I finally decided on the Chicken Scaloppine with Mushrooms and Marsala. It was a simple recipe - the sort you could make on any weeknight, which is great. And it tasted soooooo good. Normally, I would think a scalloppine would pair with pasta, but I ended up serving it over rice, and it was amazing.

I'll definitely be making a lot more recipes from this book. A lot.

I might be publishing this recipe on my blog ... or I might find another one. There are so many great options in the book!

I received this book from the publisher at no cost to me.