Cookbook Reviews

[elrohwen]

Date: 6/16/2010 6:12:03 PM
Author: Ninna

Date: 6/16/2010 5:36:20 PM

Author: elrohwen


I actually worked in the baking industry for 4 years (national company, not local bakery) so I know all about flour variation

Far more annoying for a large factory than a home cook, I can tell you that!

I take my hat off to you elrohwen, 4 years in a factory with those scary machines, can''t imagine. Nin

I worked in the corporate office, but traveled to the plants all the time. Compared to corporate life, I loved being in the factories! Haha

 

[mayachel]

I''m shocked at how much use I''ve gotten out of Alecia Silverstone''s "The Kind Diet". Literally everything I''ve cooked out of it has gotten rave reviews. It is primarily vegetarian/vegan cookbook with easy substitution suggestions if you are looking to swap out some ingredients. I wish it was less talky in the beginning if it had meant more food! As stated in my post earlier this week, I''m a green eater and the fiance isn''t=he has happily enjoyed everything I made so far. Plus I also think the dishes tend to be easy to throw together for someone new to cooking and easy to expand if you are creative with your cooking. Her seasoning ideas are outside my norm which has also helped common things taste fresh. Dinner rarely takes me longer than 20min. Which is a luxury.

 

[Bunny007]

Danielle & Elrohwen- I''m so excited to hear Smitten Kitchen''s doing a cookbook! I loveeee her blog. So many good things to say about it- good writing, pretty photos, and most importantly, DELICIOUS food. What''s been your fav recipe so far? I haven''t had a flop yet from her recipes.

I have some of the annual "Best of the Best" cookbooks released by Food and Wine. They''ve been really reliable so far and the recipes are really diverse.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/16/2010 5:22:17 PM
Author: *~*Danielle*~*
heh well for me personally I just think shortening is weird. Something about it just seems so manufactured and fake to me and when I''m baking I like it to be as ''Real'' as possible. I''ve successfully substituted butter in a lot of pies and biscuits and even biscotti, but never tried in a cake. So I don''t know what to expect (and don''t really know why I''m so worried about trying). I know realistically that plenty of bakeries must use shortening so I prob. should get over it .

I agree Doodle! I won''t use shortening at all, and I tend to skip using recipes that call for it.

I love cookbooks but I rarely use them for some reason (I bring the laptop into the kitchen, which probably isn''t the greatest idea). I love flipping through them, looking at the pictures, and reading the recipes though. We actually just donated most of our cookbooks to the library because I was tired of lugging them around in boxes.

I like watching the Food Network occasionally, and we''ve been gifted Rachel Ray''s and Alton Brown''s books. The recipes are pretty easy to follow, which is nice, but some of the recipes could be better.

 

[AsscherGirl]

Date: 6/16/2010 10:42:06 PM
Author: Bunny007
Danielle & Elrohwen- I''m so excited to hear Smitten Kitchen''s doing a cookbook! I loveeee her blog. So many good things to say about it- good writing, pretty photos, and most importantly, DELICIOUS food. What''s been your fav recipe so far? I haven''t had a flop yet from her recipes.

I have some of the annual ''Best of the Best'' cookbooks released by Food and Wine. They''ve been really reliable so far and the recipes are really diverse.

I have too many to pick just one! But I would say overall, my favorites are the challah bread, soba noodles, spinach quiche (this was a HUGE HUGE hit at a brunch I had) and the sugar and spiced candied nuts. And the Tiramisu cake is DELISH, but I first saw that in Dorie''s book, so I''m not sure where to place that one .

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 6/17/2010 9:08:51 AM
Author: *~*Danielle*~*

Date: 6/16/2010 10:42:06 PM

Author: Bunny007

Danielle & Elrohwen- I'm so excited to hear Smitten Kitchen's doing a cookbook! I loveeee her blog. So many good things to say about it- good writing, pretty photos, and most importantly, DELICIOUS food. What's been your fav recipe so far? I haven't had a flop yet from her recipes.


I have some of the annual 'Best of the Best' cookbooks released by Food and Wine. They've been really reliable so far and the recipes are really diverse.

I have too many to pick just one! But I would say overall, my favorites are the challah bread, soba noodles, spinach quiche (this was a HUGE HUGE hit at a brunch I had) and the sugar and spiced candied nuts. And the Tiramisu cake is DELISH, but I first saw that in Dorie's book, so I'm not sure where to place that one .

Which soba recipe do you like? I just made the sesame peanut noodles last weekend and they were great!

I love the salted brown butter rice crispie treats. I also love the onion tart with mustard and fennel. The baked chicken meatballs are also great. I need to try more of her recipes! They're all good.

 

[ladypirate]

I have a confession...I am a cookbook addict. I love them, especially ones you can read cover to cover. I love the Joy of Cooking (our copy is ancient and falling apart with a burn from an old school electric burner on the cover and a billion recipes tucked into it). I am also a HUGE Julia Child fan (Mastering the Art of French Cooking gets a lot of use at our house and I have been eying The Way to Cook.) One book that I just got as a wedding gift but have been LOVING is Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. I just made a cucumber, orange and radish salad out of there that was to die for. I have a great Thai cookbook (Simply Thai Cooking). Apparently I go for regional cookbooks rather than overall for the most part.

We also have a couple of books on cocktails that are really fun.

 

[AsscherGirl]

Date: 6/17/2010 9:20:04 AM
Author: elrohwen

Which soba recipe do you like? I just made the sesame peanut noodles last weekend and they were great!

I love the salted brown butter rice crispie treats. I also love the onion tart with mustard and fennel. The baked chicken meatballs are also great. I need to try more of her recipes! They''re all good.

It''s the spicy soba with shitakes and edamame. I usually add chicken and double the sauce (my hubby is a sauce freak - I always double haha). I never made the peanut ones, but that looks really good too! I think that will be going on the menu next week .

 

[dragonfly411]

Do any of you read cooking light?

I wanted to add, that I have the original Betty Crocker Cookie book and it is awesome. Some of the illustrations... are... um... interesting. But the chocolate crinkles are divine, and it has a great snickerdoodle recipe and some other really good cookies in it!

 

[JulieN]

Molto Italiano by Mario Batali- a couple of real winners in that one, and basic enough for beginners.

Sunday Suppers at Lucques gets heavy rotation with me, but it is very labor intensive.

My currant wanted list is:

The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz
Desserts by the Yard, by Sherry Yard
Molto Gusto, by Mario Batali

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/18/2010 10:38:16 AM
Author: dragonfly411
Do any of you read cooking light?

I LOVE Cooking Light, have every issue back to 1990!!! (Really!) Other magazines come and go in my house, but I save every issue of CL and plan to be a lifetime subscriber!

CL has a fun forum (bulletin board), too. I used to hang out there a LOT.

I also really like EATING WELL magazine, but have recently let my subscription lapse because I was getting far TOOOO many magazines to read.

Another magazine I like is Martha Stewart''s EVERYDAY FOOD. It''s a smaller size magazine, kinda like Reader''s Digest, and while I am not a HUUUUGE Martha Stewart fan, that magazine is really, really good, IMHO.

 

[dragonfly411]

Lynn - I just started getting Cooking Light last year and I love it! I love that they set up a meal plan for a week''s worth of dinners and a shopping list and I love the variety. I just extended my subscription for another two years.

I have to admit I don''t keep the issues b/c I have no space, but I rip out the recipes I know I want to try and will use, and keep those in a notebook.


I have devised a new lentil soup recipe that I''m loving right now