I’m thinking that the cookbook author did NOT test this recipe and has no clue about how egg whites work.

Love the cookie sheet cover! Genius!

I don't have a lot of smells in my fridge, either, and it has fancy filters and air cleaners. But there's broccoli in the crisper, and spring onions, and dried peppers, and... And the cheese is well wrapped, but it's cheese... And eggs, of course. I think the genius cookie sheet is going to help with any incidental "fragrance", besides keeping the parfaits from drying out etc. At least your double bag controlled the immediacy of the eggs. I'm sorry. I really did LOL at them, so felt less guilty for doing so when I got to the double bag working. :)

Maybe next month you can make a cookbook fricassee? You will have stuck to using the book and eliminated it from the earth in one blow. ;)

Early morning update: The panna cotta set up overnight. It would have been helpful if the recipe author had hinted that it was going to take that long. It would have changed my timing on constructing the recipe.

I’m the hostess next month. I get to choose the entree. Plllog, I think you’ve hit on a plan!

Lime curd done and it more or less conformed to the instructions. 🎉

Looks good enought to eat.

Your parfaits look pretty and i bet they will taste nice too. the crunch topping ingredients sound interesting and will look forward to hearing your verdict.

sometimes when ive made a multi-layer dessert i’ve quick chilled a layer by setting into a larger bowl of ice water until it begins to thicken. a walk-in freezer is very handy as well :)

Well done!👍

It does look good. Did you enjoy the eating? At least your club friends can appreciate all you did to produce it. :)

Congrats on rising to this challenge and creating such a beautiful complex sweet.

The recipe header says this dessert needs to be enjoyed with a long spoon and silence. I brought the iced teaspoons, but there is no way the 8 of us are ever going to be silent!

Yes, @plllog, I did enjoy eating it. I seriously doubt I will ever make it again. But if I did, I think I might try it without straining the blueberry mixture. I think a little texture in the bottom layer would be good.

I have leftover egg whites from making the curd. The recipe made way more of each layer than I needed. I’m thinking I might make small meringue shells and fill them with a bit of each layer and deliver to the neighbors for dessert tonight.

That sounds even better than the parfait!

For those not familiar, the book is Vivian Howard's DeepRunRoots. An extension of her PBS show and her first restaurant. (she now has four). Her show won an Emmy and the book won most of the awards that year, 2017(?) including cookbook of the year and a NYTimes best seller.

The written voice is hers as are the recipes. Many from her restaurant. I've never come across a bad review but i recall one very possitive reviewer did mention that a couple recipes had confusing directions. It was clear that this reviewer read the book cover to cover and knew about cooking.

That said, i do think cookbooks and recipes posted on-line need better editing. I find imprtant typos all the time. Also confusing directions.

She has such a fan club having sold out her book tour, she could have asked and sent recipes out to be tested. Nice to know it was well received. Despite the frustrations. Having made a few layered deserts using gelatin, i thinks timing is so important in a recipe.

About the nut mix. Her recent book, sitting next to me right now, has a spiced pecan using just egg whites. No oil. I so agree your recipe is confusing but having made all the ingredients in your parfait, including egg-white mayo, i would have grabbed my stick blender. This newer book is based on ingredients found in her small town including a Wallmart. No special kitchen tools needed.

I also do not think everyone will like her books across the board. Very bold flavors, unusual pairings, fresh raw salads, local seasonal ingredients. Bacon, pork, sausages, cornmeal, olives, anchovies. Lots of southern greens and root vegetables. Fresh local fruit---peaches, melons. I grew up in a small southern town so i can relate.

I used to have a tiny TV in my kitchen pantry wall. Background FoodNetwork or PBS during some kitchen prep or weekend multi-tasking. Some shows i would mute. Many i would turn up the volume like Ina or Jacque. Vivian and Patti's Mexican Table i might turn on the tea kettle and sit down and watch unless it was a repeat.

Sleevendog, that is interesting that you are familiar with Vivian Howard’s cookbooks. I’m glad your experience has been different from our luncheon group. There are 8 of us in our cookbook club. We are good home cooks. We have now used the Deep Run Roots cookbook for 3 luncheons, so that means we’ve cooked 21 recipes out of it (you bring wine the month after being hostess). Almost all 8 have had one problem or another. As I said on the other thread, we’ve cooked from some challenging books, but this one might be the most challenging for failure to test or proof read. btw, we are using the actual book not online reprints of the recipes.

Your photo is magazine worthy! Nice presentation on that beautiful plate. Glad your diligence in getting it right paid off.
What did you think of the color of the lime curd? I've made it before and it turned out bright yellow from the egg yolks (of course) but my sensibilities want it green. Pale lime green. Which would be impossible - even a drop of green food coloring wouldn't work with the bright yellow base - although your final presentation with the cream on top shows it a bit toned down from the first pic. What say you?

I'm not at all surprised at the frustration trying to cook from the recipes as written. I have to put on my translation hat guessing Vivian's written voice as presented. If i know a chef's personality/voice, i can figure out what they might mean.

My favorite recipe writer is Marcella Hazan. She wrote in long hand Italian and her husband translated, asking lots of questions about process, form, function, and what needed further explaining. He became her best editor making the written process clear. She was an excellent teacher as well. I can feel the sting on the back of my hand from her ruler when i dare to vere off her perfect recipes, lol.

But i can't help myself. The recent 'renaissance' cooking with no recipe 'recipes' is more my style. Use a few recipes and make it the way we like it. Pantry/crisper staples available and make it work. We learn from all of them. They way our ancestors cooked before cookbooks, using local produce, garden produce, and the chicks in the backyard.

Vivian's recent book, 2020, i doubt i would recommend at all. Though it is stained and a drink coaster, coffee stained, and dog eared and needs a new cover. A dozen times---"oh that's a good idea". I've made her LittleGreenDress a dozen times. But not much other i make as written.

My best curry eary january was using three recipes and finding our personal sweet spot.

Success is when we both talk about how good that was for days.

Some cookbooks elevate the home cook with ideas. 90% of my cookbooks are gifts. Most i have not even cracked the spine.

So many forums have cookbook 'cook-alongs'. Food52, EatMyBooks, Chowhound, ...I'm only in one about vivian's new book.

And so many cookbooks would be frustrating to cook as written for a gathering. I could not do it, but as i said before, for all your efforts, you learned a few things and had a hit enjoyed by your group. #%?!# would be my frustration as well. 😂

Olychick, I’ve had the same issue with lime curd and found that a drop or two of blue food colouring fixes that 😁