Our intrepid band of home-cooks gathered for the last time this year in our joint cookbook club featuring MAENAM: A Fresh Approach to Thai Cooking by Angus An, and BRAVETART: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks and J. Kenji López-Alt. Though the pre-pandemic potlucks were sorely missed, they persevered in the kitchen and met up to discuss the ins and outs of the books they'd covered this past year.

Overall, readers loved Dinner for Everyone by Mark Bittman, while Sue and Rebecca couldn't get enough of Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman. Salt, Fat Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat was also one people loved as an educational book, and though they found the index frustrating (Isabella especially hates a bad index!) they do recommend it to the cook either starting out, or looking for a new, practical approach in the kitchen. While Ottolenghi has become something of a mixed bag: inspired and unique recipes, but difficult-to-find ingredients; and has he sold-out now that he's tasted the sweet nectar of such dazzling success? The jury is out, but we still love the food in Simple.