Cookbook Club: Richard Blais' 'Try This At Home'

For this month's Cookbook Club, we tried recipes from a true fan favorite, Richard Blais of Flip Burger and Top Chef. His new cookbook is called Try This At Home — an attempt to be approachable despite the perception that his modern techniques have to be left to the pros.

Blais gave us three recipes for our dinner party — a charred artichoke with a smoky lemon aioli; a lemon curd and black pepper roasted chicken; and a Parmesan cheesecake with dates and almonds.

I attempted the menu for a group of 10 friends at home. In addition to myself, The Daily Meal's Cook editor Anne Dolce and members of The Daily Meal's Culinary Content Network also participated in the challenge, with most really enjoying every part of the menu.

The charred artichokes recipe was missing the charring step, but fortunately in our recipe on the site as well as in the book's second edition, this will be rectified. But many were excited to try artichokes — Simi of Tumeric 'n Spice, said, "Artichokes is something I shy away from [but] this was the perfect recipe to learn all about the vegetable with a heart." Most of the participants were particularly excited by the aioli. Rachel said, "The dipping sauce was very flavorful — the smoked paprika was distinct." Alexa from Lighthearted Locavore concurred: "The capers, smoked paprika, and smoked salt add a whole new dimension to the dill aioli sauce. A nice complement to the artichokes."

The lemon roasted chicken was a crowd-pleaser. Rachel said that "the brining made the chicken very moist and tender." Besty from Desserts Required enjoyed the fun of the recipe, noting that "The lemon curd was easy to make and my 17-year-old daughter, Shoshana, and I had a lot of laughs watching me separate the skin from the chicken." Alexa thought the curd in particular shined: "the lemon curd, herbs, and pepper flavors dazzled. Definitely worth the extra time."

And Lastly, the Parmesan cheesecake was polarizing — my party of 10 ate every last bite and loved it. But Betsy's guests didn't enjoy it as much — they felt that it had "a sour taste."

I would personally make all of these recipes again. I think the Parmesan cheesecake is a real treat, but perhaps it's a good item to have with other desserts in case some diners aren't into savory and sweet combinations. I also think that the chicken is a recipe I'll be going to again and again.

Intrigued? Try the recipes for yourself and watch the video above for tips from Richard Blais as well as our take on everything. And if you enjoy this one, you can always head over to our last Cookbook Club.