Passport to Flavor: 100 Global Dishes You Can Make Anywhere

Cookbook By: Chef Abby Cheshire

I’ve been following Chef Abby for a while on Instagram and was excited when I saw her debut cookbook was coming out. Passport to Flavor: 100 Global Dishes You Can Make Anywhere is full of inspiration from her journeys around the world. It allows you to travel around the world from your own kitchen.

The recipes in the book are all so different that no matter what you are craving you find a recipe that fits. I had a hard time narrowing it down but finally chose to make Guinness Beef Stew and Mushroom Risotto. Read on to see what I thought of each recipe.

Guinness Beef Stew

It has been ridicously cold here in Nashville so I was drawn to this Guinness Beef Stew. I make beef stew on a regular basis during the winter and so I was ready to try a new version. All of the ingredients are easy to locate at the grocery store. I did have to purchase a large pan that had an oven safe lid as none of mine did (still hadn’t replaced it since the fire) – so it’s a good idea to check on that prior to starting the recipe. Although, you can also use tinfoil to cover the pan.

The recipe instructions are simple and easy to follow, I did allow for a little more prep time then the recipe called for as it sometimes takes me a little longer to get everything chopped up and ready to go. I hate having to chop anything up while I’m cooking so I always do it ahead of time. For the potatoes remember you can soak them in water to keep them from browning if you want to cut them up ahead of time.

Within minutes of starting to cook my house smelled amazing and it made me so hungry! This was the best beef stew I have ever had. You may notice the parsley is missing from my photo…I was so ready to eat that I totally forgot to put it on the dish. The recipe makes a lot of stew, I really think you could feed 6 with it. Side note depending on what pan you use, I used a lodge Dutch oven, it is really heavy going in and out of the oven so make sure you are careful.

I will definitely be making this again soon and not just during winter, it would be perfect for a rainy summer night.

Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto but rarely make it at home (although one of my favorite recipes, I’ve ever made was a butternut squash risotto). When flipping through Passport to Flavor I saw this and immediately decided I had to try it out.

The recipe was very easy to understand, and all of the ingredients are easily found at the grocery store. Oh, make sure you are using a big enough pan, the one I started with didn’t work and I wound up switching pans almost immediately after starting the recipe. Risotto is one of those dishes that can seem like its failing until the very end and when I made this it was no exception, but in the end, it came together nicely. It did take a little longer than the recipe suggested for the liquid to absorb into the rice.

I liked the taste of the risotto but didn’t love it, some of the mushrooms seemed to soak up all the wine, and it was completely overpowering – especially since I am not a big drinker. When you got a taste that didn’t have a wine-soaked mushroom it was really delicious. If I make this again, I will substitute more chicken stock instead of the wine. Plus, I would leave out the oyster mushrooms as they aren’t my favorite and add some more of the baby bella mushrooms. I’m glad I tried the mushroom risotto even though I didn’t love it.

Overall, I liked Passport to Flavor: 100 Global Dishes You Can Make Anywhere. I was slightly disappointed with the wine taste in the Mushroom Risotto, but I would still make it again with the edits I mentioned above. And of course I will be making the Guinness Beef Stew again soon! There are still a bunch of recipes from this cookbook that are on my list to try and don’t worry, I’ll update my review with the new ones I try.

Will you be adding Passport to Flavor: 100 Global Dishes You Can Make Anywhere to your kitchen shelf?