Easy Gourmet

October 27, 2014
Artfully presented and elegantly photographed, "i am a food blog" creator Stephanie Le's collection of dishes will resonate with foodies as well as those less familiar. Can't-miss comfort food like Pea & Bacon Risotto, Baked Mac and Cheese, pan-seared ribeye, and Curry Chicken Pot Pie will likely end up in regular rotation at the dinner table and live up to the titular promise of ease, but other dishes that seem simple on the surface (such as Lasagna, slow-roasted pork belly, or Beef Short Ribs & Mushrooms with Guinness) literally take hours to prepare. Other dishes are simple standards like Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary, Classic Carbonara, Roasted Vegetables, and Fish Tacos, but there's nothing particularly unique about them. Foodies will likely be drawn to look-at-me dishes like Crispy Duck with Maple Bourbon Sauce & Honey Sriracha Carrots, Bone Marrow Pasta, Pulled Pork Pancakes with Bourbon Syrup, and Soy Milk Donuts â all of which, to Le's credit, are fairly simple assuming readers are diligent in their preparation. To be fair, she's got some great takes on classics â French Onion Grilled Cheese and Lemon Meringue S'mores are ingenious and mouthwatering. Though the results are mixed, Le offers a thoughtful and often surprising collection of foods.

September 15, 2014

In her first cookbook, Vancouver-based food blogger Le (iamafoodblog.com) presents comfort foods that are easy to make on weeknights yet sophisticated enough to serve to guests. Her recipes, organized in nine chapters (e.g., breakfast, seafood, desserts), emphasize such preparations as roasting and frying and favor simple ingredients such as pasta, potatoes, and meat. Carrot cake pancakes, seafood pappardelle, and French onion grilled cheese sandwiches would be a great fit for contemporary home cooking collections such as Deb Perelman's The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Sophie Wright's Home at 7, Dinner at 8. Tuna yaki onigiri, tofu fries, and several other dishes showcase Le's penchant for Asian flavors. VERDICT Simple recipes, attractive photographs, an easy-to-read layout, and a functional lie-flat binding make this a great choice for young and aspiring cooks, small families, and anyone looking for easy meal ideas.

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