Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: Recipes from My Barn in th… (2024)

I'm surprised by how many people are giving this a 5-star rating based solely on the photos and without having actually tried any of the recipes. The purpose of a cookbook is to make the recipes, so this rating system makes no sense to me.

I tried 6 of the 8 ways to make fancy toast, the overnight oatmeal, the broccoli fettuccine alfredo, and the blueberry muffins. All of them were letdowns. They were either straight-up disgusting (I'm looking at you, toast) or bland bland bland. This is exactly why I don't buy cookbooks unless I've tried the recipes before and seen the reviews. Sending this one back to the library.

It does get some points, however, for how easy it is to follow and how relatively simple the recipes are. For someone like me, who is no master chef, that's a quality I greatly appreciate. And, as others have mentioned, the photos are beautiful, as is the layout.

I first discovered Tieghan Gerard’s blog on Pinterest. I was captivated by her photography (her test kitchen is a gorgeous renovated horse barn complete with loft apartment and stunning views of the Rocky Mountains) and her delicious recipes. I’ve tried many recipes from the blog and some, like chicken souvlaki, are on the menu a few times a month.

Naturally I was thrilled to devour her new cookbook, Half Baked Harvest, and it did not disappoint! Every recipe has a lush full color photograph accompanying it, some featuring her adorable little sister and taste tester Asher. I’ve made several recipes from the book, varying from simple to complicated and all have been well received by friends and family. The salami and provolone phyllo rolls with honey and pistachios are highly recommended!
~Kassie G.

I'm sure the author is a nice person, but this cookbook isn't worth the money. I admit the photography is lovely and makes things look better than they are. BUT--the tasty recipes (like Garlic/Herb Mascarpone Roasted Chicken) are not original, and the original recipes (like canned tuna with guacamole in lettuce cups) are weird and not as good as the classics. And seriously, a recipe for cinnamon toast that goes "toast the bread, spread with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar"??? Puh-leeze. A couple of her grandma's recipes (like beer bread with honey) look like they might be OK, but the rest--meh. At $30, the book just isn't worth the price. Take it out from your local library, cook just a couple of recipes, and if they come out well, then buy it.

This cookbook is not for me but that's personal preference. There was only one recipe, out of the whole book, that interested me.

This cookbook was not for me.

I did not know this was a blog, so I was unfamiliar with her work. I picked this book up from the library, intrigued by the cover tagline of "recipes from my barn in the mountains". The inside cover let me know she was from Colorado.

From that, I was expecting recipes using seasonal, local ingredients and perhaps some creative ways to use cuts of meat. That's not the case- there is avocado in almost all recipes, tropical fruits, even lobster and shrimp- all things not found in Colorado. Many used weird combos of ingredients that don't sound particularly good, and overall, not that creative (can we stop with avocado toasts being worthy of space in a cookbook?).

If you're looking for the typical recipes a trendy blog-turned-cookbook, this is probably a good choice. I found only one recipe that I was interested in trying. Overall, disappointed, and glad I checked it out from the library instead of purchasing.

OBSESSED! I've always loved Tieghan's blog, so I pre-ordered her cookbook the minute I found out she was publishing one. The photos are absolutely delicious, and her personal anecdotes are the perfect touch. Overall, it's a fun grouping of unique recipes but with a warm, familial feel. It was exactly what I had hoped for and I cannot wait to try out some of the recipes!

Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest cookbook Recipes from My Barn in the Mountains is a beautiful cookbook. Striking photographs accompany each recipe. The author begins her cookbook with suggestions on which kitchen “tools and toys” one will need to complete the recipes found in this cookbook. The reader can definitely tell that Ms. Gerard truly enjoys cooking while developing recipes that she states are “DOABLE”. She covers breakfast, appetizers & snacks (She is one of seven children in the Gerard family - so snacks would be a must, I think.), pasta & grains, poultry & pork, seafood, beef & lamb, (mostly) meatless meals, and my favorite - dessert. As an eat dessert first type of person, one can see why dessert is a favorite category. The following are recipes on my definitely to do list: PB & J Grilled Cheese, Five-Ingredient Honey Butter Beer Bread, Guacamole 101, The Cheese-Maker’s Mac and Cheese, Mrs. Mooney’s Penne, 30-Minute Healthier Chicken Parmesan, Beer Can (or one can use chicken broth) Chicken, Potato Chip Chicken (TG’s grandmother’s recipe), and, of course, for dessert - Chocolate Caramel Cake, Molten Chocolate Cake with Whipped Mascarpone, and Death by Chocolate Icebox Cake. Very impressive. Looking forward to making the Potato Chip Chicken. And I am very jealous of this talented creative maker of good things because she lives in the Colorado Mountains, and I went to CU which I absolutely loved! 4.5 stars.

Farm to table deliciousness!! Especially The Down Under Aussie Burger!!!

Very tasty recipes. A lot of the suggested ingredients are unusual and a little hard to find. Also there are a lot of ingredients listed for every dish. This makes the recipes rather expensive but the ones I tried were pretty good.

Recommended.

This is probably the most gorgeous cookbook I’ve ever seen, and the recipes are both delicious and unique. I adore this book!!

More like a 3.5, bit it's a really pretty book so I'll round up!

I’ve never been a huge cookbook person, but I loved this one! Beautifully made with delicious, easy to follow recipes and tips! Good for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Checked this out from the library to see if I’d want to cook as many of her recipes as I have from Super Simple and I DEFINITELY do. This one will be on my shelf (or my counter) permanently soon! First up: Braised Pork Tamale Burrito Bowls!

The photography is great. The concepts are great. But many of the recipes..... are not. I am an avid home cook, and I love working my way through recipe books. More than once the pasta dishes were dry, I thought it would happen when I made the fake alfredo from hummus. Some are incorrectly seasoned, some have waaaaaaay too much going on: the lobster BLT, on sourdough, with cheese (?!?) mayo, chili, avocado and just WHOA. Two thumbs down from everyone. I like books I can trust to make for company and this one I definitely cannot.

This is another one of those cookbooks that is real pretty, but like...the photography looks way better than any of the recipes actually sound to me (other than the Lemony Fried Brussels Sprouts--yum!). Partly a lot of them feel a little too fussy--too many ingredients, no indication of how long any of the recipes should take to make, steps that contain like 8 different steps within them--it's unappealing to me. I mean, I'd eat most of the non-meat things if someone cooked them for me, but very, very few of them inspired me to ever want to cook them myself.

But like I said, it's pretty!

What I really liked about this book is that the recipes are very attainable and realistic. She puts some fun twists on foods I wouldn't have thought of and shares a love Chipotle in adobo with me. However, a few things stood out to me as being a bit culturally.... off? Such as saying "lassi is just another word for smoothie" when it's actually it's own thing, yes similar to a smoothie, but not "just a word smoothie." I don't know how to word this perfectly but it just didn't sit right with me as well as a few other comments.

Beautiful photography. Found that some recipes didn't work as written and needed to be adjusted. Was surprised that some recipes involved store bought items like Paul Newman's Marinara sauce. That said, it was a beautiful book written by a non-chef that encourages other folks to get into the kitchen and have fun, eat at home, and experiment in the kitchen. I can get behind all of that!

Very, very disappointed with the book and recipes. With over 30 years of cooking experience, I was definitely attracted by the beautiful pictures and homey combination but the results are always, and I reinforce always below expectations - especially the lasagna which are recognized as her trademark dish! Would love to hear from other who have tried the recipes.

I love the HBH blog, and have a few favorite recipes from this book (the roasted broccoli hummus fettuccini seems like it’d be weird, but is fantastic). Tieghan’s recipes are interesting and flavorful, and her photography is gorgeous. This is actually a 3.5 ⭐️ book. A few frustrations with these recipes: LOTS of ingredients (and expensive ones at that), number of servings seem to be off (her recipes make much more than the listed 4-6 servings), and the sheer amount of time even the simpler recipes take to make. This is great for weekend cooking, but not for day to day.

I’ve become a recent fan of Half Baked Harvest after finding her and her mouthwatering pictures on Instagram. I have tried a couple of recipes from her blog and they were both hits. I bookmarked a ton of recipes from this book that I can’t wait to try. They look interesting and delicious while also being accessible.

I love her blog and love the cookbook as well. I’ve made 4 recipes from it so far and all of them have been hits. Some of the ingredients she uses frequently are expensive or hard to find but they are also ones that are easy to replace or omit.

This cookbook was grabbed on a whim when I had a bunch of holds on others and wow, it is perhaps my favorite cookbook to date. Her Instagram and website are also awesome, I want to be her friend and cook with her in her beautiful Colorado kitchen!

A cookbook I'd actually be excited to own. It's pretty. (And the food looks yum and some recipes I tried were really yum.)
Read last year (2017) sometime.

The absolute most beautifully photographed cookbook I’ve ever read. Just gorgeous and the recipes are simple, clean, mostly healthy and delicious!

Accessible recipes that read absolutely delicious, but a number of them are more effort than I'm willing to make.

I love this cookbook! Thank you, Tieghan. Making one of your recipes now.

This review is simply based on ease of reading, stunning photography, what seems like good recipes. I'll have to purchase my own copy and see what I think!

The K bars and the coconut rice shrimp dish are the winners. Family approved.

LOVE LOVE LOVE...this is one of my new all time favorites. We used this for cookbook book club and everything was delicious.