Food with Friends

I get a little tripped up on the name of this cookbook because there is actually a restaurant named Food and Friends in the town where I went to medical school!

As we speak, I’m probably on a plane and flying across the country to move all my stuffs over to where I’ll be doing my residency! I am both excited and terrified.

I haven’t met most of my intern class yet, but according to our residency bios, all of us love food, so I foresee future food gatherings (hopefully)!

Food with Friends

By Leela Cyd

Genre: Cookbook
Pages: 208

Food with Friends is devoted to “refining the art of hanging out,” and is a collection of recipes that the author gathered whilst on her travels.

She discusses a number of “secret ingredients” to keep around your kitchen to elevate simple cooking, as well as different + inexpensive ways to doll up your eating experience and set that table for your next gathering with family/friends! It even includes tips on how to amp up that food photography (something that I’ve been meaning to work on…)!

The author divides Food with Friends into 6 different chapters:

Breakfast & Brunch

I am all about breakfast, so this section made me happy–it had so many delicious recipes! *-*

Avocado & Coconut Tartlets, Bruleed Citrus Fruits with Fresh Herbs, Irish Soda Bread with Rum-Plumped Figs & Candied Walnuts, Bananas on Fire, Lemon-Lavender French Toast, just to name a few…

Apple Fritters & Cinnamon Yogurt Cream

Teatime

Monthly tea time was a semi-regular occurrence back when I was home with my friends. (We tend to find a mutually free time each month to gather at a milk tea shop and catch up on life. I haven’t actually been able to participate in this for the past 5 years, so you bet this year was a wonderful one. <3

Vegan Hot Chocolate with Coconut Cream, Assorted Spa Waters, Pistachio Rose Clouds, Orange Blossom Hagelslag on Toast, Sugar Cookies with Edible Flowers…

Matcha Egg Cream

Happy Hour

I don’t drink alcohol, but I am all about the food at happy hours! <3

This section has a bunch of awesome recipes, including Mango Sorbet Rose Sparkler, Tartines & Small Toasts, Beet-Pickled Eggs (pictured on the cover!), South Indian-Style Veg Cutlets, Chard Empanadas with Pistachio Crema…

Purple Cauliflower Hummus

Potlucks & Picnics

Sweet Potato Tortilla Espanola, Beets in Coconut with Curry Leaves, Bubbling Savory Oats with Broccoli & Cotswold Cheese, Tunisian Egg Pita with Harissa, Dill & Cumin Carrots, Turkish Red Lentil Soup, Butterscotch Pots de Creme with Toasted Cornbread Croutons…

Desserts

Got a sweet tooth? (It’s cool; so do I…)

Blueberry Galette with Mascarpone & Oat Crust, Coconut Lamingtons, Think Pink Faloodas, Chili-Lime Pineapple with Coconut Cream…

Rose Flan

Tiny Takeaways

There’s a recipe for Matcha Mochi!!!! <3 Other awesomeness includes…Scotch Caramels with Smoked Salt, Spice Blend Chai, Spiced Mango Butter, and Kale Pesto.

Whiskey-Pepper Magic Shell

The emphasis in this book is less on being healthy and more on expressing creativity within food so that it both looks and tastes good, so if you’re on a strict diet plan and/or you don’t care much about food aesthetics, this book may not be for you…

However, if entertaining guests and making food pretty + tasty is your jam, this book will be right up your alley! Each recipe comes with an intro, the serving size, ingredient list, and instructions.The food photography in here is absolutely gorgeous, and there were a good number of pages where I really wished I could grab the food out of the book.

• What’s your favorite potluck dish to bring?
• What’s the prettiest edible substance you’ve ever made?

Check out my other book reviews!