Another meal from EatingWell, and we really liked this one too. The chicken is flavored with salt and garam masala – simple, but really delicious.

The cake, on the other hand was simple to make but yet again the recipe wasn’t well-tested. I’m unhappy with this cookbook. The author gave a nice talk at Omnivore books and seems very sweet, but as much as I want to love this cookbook, I can’t. I love the idea but I have little tolerance for recipes that aren’t well tested.

My complaint with this cake is that the photos shows a slice of cake that looks like it was made in a loaf pan. But the recipe calls for an 8-inch square pan. And an hour of baking time. That seemed really long to me, so I set the timer for 45 minutes. Honestly, it could have even come out sooner. The cake is good, but not spectacular. And the salt really doesn’t come through. Also, the vanilla syrup that is brushed over the cake is just okay, and the recipe makes way too much.

• Indian-Spiced Chicken Pitas (EatingWell, May/June 2009)
  
• Crushed Red Potatoes with Buttermilk (EatingWell, May/June 1996)
• Very Vanilla Cake (Salty Sweets, p. 65)