Cookbook Review ~ Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook by Nancy Vienneau

The second Southern Cookbook to be added to my collection, Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook by Nancy Vienneau is a treasure of recipes and stories that celebrate local, seasonal food with family and friends.

What started off as a couple of friends wanting to get together once a month to share good food and company turned into a hugely successful monthly gathering and a cookbook to boot! The book features just over 150 recipes (taken from their monthly potlucks) and the chapters are divided into months which I know I have said before but I personally love! There are quite a lot of photographs throughout the book however a lot of them are for ingredients rather than the recipes which is worth noting. The theme is potluck but this is no ordinary potluck….Instead it is a group of friends getting together to celebrate the local bounty with new and innovative dishes. What each guest brings is a total surprise as there is no RSVP, no assigned dishes and absolutely no rules!

Quite honestly I didn’t even know where to start with this book because I bookmarked SO many recipes (the book was literally a sea of yellow post-it notes!!), however I finally managed to narrow things down and in the end I tested 4 recipes.

Tested Recipes:

Silky Butternut Squash Bisque

Fresh Dill-Feta Quick Bread

Cara Cara Cashew Chicken

Italian Meatballs in Hearty Italian Tomato Sauce

The first recipe to be put to the test was the Silky Butternut Squash Bisque since it looked delicious and I love Butternut Soup. The recipe was straightforward and I really liked the idea of roasting the vegetables first which added another level of flavour. I tasted the soup after each stage (and each new addition of the final ingredients) and I’ll be honest, for me it tasted best before the Greek Yogurt and Vanilla was added. I was definitely hesitant about the vanilla and in all honesty I wouldn’t do it again. It was a nice soup, definitely a bit different from any type of squash soup I have made before but I didn’t love it. It’s unlikely that I would make it again.

Meal Planning Mondays & Cooking the Books!

I have been so quiet lately as not only have I been super busy but I was also lucky enough to have my Mum, Sister and amazing nephew/ God Son stay with us for the last 3 weeks! It was so much fun and meant there was no time for blogging even though I was still planning my meals like normal and cooking up a storm (nothing like cooking for family - it is by far my favourite thing)! Now I have a bit more time so Meal Planning Mondays are back, however for the next few weeks I am going to be focusing on some book reviews that are long overdue! I love reviewing cookbooks and putting recipes to the test, however it doesn't make for very exciting Meal Plans for you since there are no or minimal links for recipes, so for the next few weeks forgive me and instead I hope you look forward to reading the reviews! Once I am caught up with the three books I am currently reviewing I'll be back with more recipe links, hopefully some new recipes as well as even more new and exciting book reviews!

So since we are already on Wednesday of this week rather than posting my usual Meal Planning Mondays Menu, here is a list of some of the things I will be making and eating this week (links included where possible):

Pasta in Creamy Savory Pumpkin Sauce

Curried Squash, Lentil & Coconut Soup

Lasagna Pinwheels

Halloween Cake Pops (hopefully will have a pic to share!)

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Cottage Herb Bread

French Onion Soup

Key Lime Pie

So there you have it! Next week will be much the same with recipes coming from the books I am reviewing. If you are interested to see what books I am cooking from here they are...

Have a great week folks x