EDITED 4/23/18: Congrats to Laurie O. Hope you enjoy your new cookbook! Can’t wait to see what you make first! Thank you to all who participated!
This year my hubby and I decided to buy less gifts for each other and instead try to have more experiences together. We have a lot of “stuff” and decided we wanted to make more fun memories doing things together, instead of buying more things that we really don’t need.
Our anniversary and my birthday are a week apart in March, so the hubby surprised me with the perfect experience; a book signing at Terrain with Bravo’s Top Chef judge, Gail Simmons. We are both foodies, love watching Top Chef and are fans of Gail so this event was perfect!
Now technically, I did get a gift since the event came with a signed copy of Gail’s new cookbook, Bringing it Home, but we’re on the right track and I needed some new cooking inspiration anyways! Plus, since we had to purchase 2 tickets for the event and each ticket came with a signed copy of the cookbook, hubby had the great idea to give away our 2nd signed copy to one of my followers, because who needs two of the same cookbook, right?! Lol! (More on the giveaway later in this post!)
The event at Terrain was ahhh-mazing! Neither of us had been there before, so we were excited to check out somewhere new and Terrain didn’t disappoint. It was such a unique, beautiful setting; part upscale home and garden center, part kitchen goods store, part ethereal boutique and an amazing farm to table, organic cafe. It’s a destination place for sure and I totally see why Gail picked it for her book signing event. I only wish we had had more time to spend there. I want to go back and wander around some more getting inspiration for my home while shopping for beautiful, bohemian hand crafted jewelry and dining on delicious bites.
Upon arriving, the Terrain staff was welcoming and friendly. We started the night out with speciality cocktails and appetizers from Gail’s new cookbook, Bringing it Home. We sipped on charred grapefruit mezcalita while noshing on a fresh fruit & veggie tray with chili and sumac, crunchy chickpeas and an assortment of dips with pita chips; roasted red pepper & pomegranate, creamy herbed goat cheese and humus with harissa oil.
While we were in line to meet Gail, they passed around more yummimness from her cookbook; cornmeal crusted pickle chips with smokey mustard mayo, latkes rubens, mini jerk shrimp rolls (the only thing I couldn’t eat because I’m allergic to seafood) and the most heavenly, chocolate dipped cookies filled with dulce de leche caramel. They really picked the perfect dishes to showcase what we could look forward to from the cookbook!
We were lucky and got in line fairly quickly, so we didn’t have to wait long to meet Gail. Gail was friendly and gracious. She signed our book and took pictures with us. Afterwards, we had plenty of time to wander around, explore the store and stuff our faces some more. Lol! When the event ended, we left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. It was such a perfect night!
I couldn’t wait to get home and devour my new cookbook. So many goodies inside that I almost couldn’t decide what I wanted to cook first, although hubby was dying for those cookies so those were at the top of the list for sure!
After looking through the cookbook, I decided first to make the Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Soy-Lime Dressing since I already had just about everything I needed for the dish and didn’t have to go to the grocery store. The only thing I really changed up is I used rice noodles instead of soba noodles and I used my Braggs Aminos instead of soy sauce. I got my mise en place ready (chef speak for having all your ingredients prepped and ready to go) and was ready to dive in.
The recipe was easy to follow and came out perfectly!! The Soy-Lime dressing had a zing to it and reallly made the dish. I could see using it on lots of other dishes too. I was out of the sesame seeds it called for to garnish with at the end so I ended up substituting with my Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning and I think it added the perfect extra punch to the dish! Cold Soba Noodle Salad was so yummy, delicious and will promptly be going into repeat rotation! It was great freshly made and was also just as delish as leftovers for lunch the next day.
Next up, Chocolate Dipped Cookies filled with Dulce de Leche Caramel for the hubby (and me too)! Now these are also easy to make, but they do have a lot of steps so they aren’t quick. I made the Dulce de Leche Caramel the night before so it had plenty of time to cook and cool before adding to the cookies.
To save time, you could totally make the cookie dough ahead of time too since it can be refrigerated overnight or frozen. I made the cookie dough the next day and let it chill in the fridge for a couple hours. When I was ready, I rolled out the dough, baked the cookies and then assembled them with the chilled caramel. After dipping them in melted chocolate and sprinkling with some sea salt, I chilled them in the fridge for at least an hour.
I surprised the hubby with them when he got home from work and he was quite impressed. He proclaimed them a success and said they tasted just like Gail’s! Yay me!
Gail’s Moroccan Lentil Soup was the next thing I wanted to to try. I had almost all of these ingredients on hand too and only had to run out to get some fresh fennel to get started. Got my mise en place together once again and dove in. Another simple recipe to follow that didn’t disappoint. I’ve made similar lentil soups before, but Gail’s recipe far surpassed any expectations I had for this soup. The addition of the fresh herbs and lemon juice at the end added such a brightness to the soup I hadn’t expected. I had enough left over for lunch the next couple days and even froze a little too, so I’ll let you know how it tastes once I pull it out of the freezer.
Lastly, I made Gail’s Herbed Goat Cheese dip. This makes the perfect party dip and was super simple and quick to make. I didn’t have all fresh herbs, so I used a combination of fresh and dried herbs. I would imagine this probably comes out a little differently each time depending on which herbs you want to use, nonetheless, it was yummy. My kiddo like it so much he asked me to make it again only days later!
All in all, I had success with all 4 of the recipes I’ve tried so far and am totally loving the cookbook. Gail’s recipes are full of flavor and very accessible for the home cook. I’ve already picked out the next few recipes I want to try and am excited to add some new dishes to my repertoire!
Now for the fun part, I want to give you all a chance to win an autographed copy of Gail’s cookbook, Bringing it Home. All you have to do is sign up for my email list, come back and comment done and then let me know which of these dishes you would want to make first if you won. I will select one winner from my email subscribers to win the book. If you are already signed up and receive my emails, just let me know you’re already on my list and also let me know which dish you would make first.
I’ll announce the winner Monday, April 23, 2018. Full giveaway rules listed below.
Good luck all and Bon Appetite!
This post and giveaway is not affiated or sponsored by Gail Simmons, Terrain or Top Chef. I just really loved the book and wanted to share my extra copy with you guys.
Giveaway ends April 22, 2018 at 11:59pm. Once the winner has been selected, they will have 24 hours to claim their prize. If the prize has not been claimed within 24 hours, the winner will forfeit their prize and I will select another winner. Giveaway is only open to residents of the USA and must be aged 18 years or older to enter. Winner will be randomly selected from my email subscriber list.
