Cooking Light Superfast Suppers

I love love love this cookbook! I don't even know where it came from...it seems to have just appeared on my shelves one day, but it is fantastic. The title certainly doesn't lie as all the recipes are very healthy, and very fast to make. They also happen to be delicious which is a rare thing when combined with the words healthy and fast.

I made the White Bean Chicken Chili. It's beany and cheesy and chicken-y and was a huge hit with my husband. My absolute favorite recipe here is Barley-Black Bean Burritos. It's a crockpot recipe and is chock full of protein, fiber and flavor. I could seriously eat this every day for a month. It's that delicious.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it includes a menu plan of sorts for each of the main dish recipes. This is usually either a short recipe for a side dish or for a dessert. Many of the recipes also include several variations or additions so that you can mix things up avoid boredom. I will absolutely be keeping this book and cannot wait to put it to better use.

The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever

The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever is a great little spiral-bound book that I've found invaluable for quick crock-pot recipes. I've found the most crock-pot success cooking soups and meats, and used this book for recipe sources for both.

I made Cabbage Soup with Rice and Dill which while it didn't look very appetizing, had a great flavor and was very healthy. I also made the Barbeque Beef Brisket which turned out absolutely fantastic and is the worlds. easiest. dinner. Seriously. You dump a beef brisket and a load of BBQ sauce in the pot in the morning and by the evening you have a fantastic melt-in-your-mouth brisket ready to feed your family.

One recipe I did not have rousing success with was the Red Bean Beef Chili. It called for dried beans, and even after soaking overnight and then cooking on low for 9 hours, the beans were still too hard to eat. Had to transfer them to a stove top and simmer for another hour and a half before they were edible. I also made Beans Slow Cooker Style and had a similar problem. I'm not sure if this is an issue inherent to the recipes in this book though, or just an adjustment I need to make for my crockpot.

The book also includes recipes for appetizers like Spinach Artichoke Dip and Glazed Cocktail Sausages, Vegetarian Main Courses like Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole, and desserts and beverages like Candy Bar Cheesecake and Hot Mulled Cider.

There's also a fantastic section at the beginning of the book for basic crock-pot information. It includes information about different makes and models, and hints on getting the most out of cooking in a crock pot such as how to get the best flavors and textures, using the appropriate size pot, etc.

The one main drawback to this book is that many of the recipes do call for convenience or processed foods. However, using ingredients like that can definitely make for faster-made meals and there are quite a few recipes using healthier ingredients and whole foods. I've found this book to be a valuable addition to my shelf.

Kitchen Aid Bowl Lift Stand Mixer

This handy little spiral-bound book is the manual that came with my Professional Kitchen Aid mixer. I have yet to really broach adapting traditional recipes for use in the KA, so I've been steadily relying on this book. So far, the recipes are pretty solid, and I'm learning to rely quite heavily on it.

The majority of my efforts here were spent on bread recipes. I've made several variations of their basic white bread, which includes options for cinnamon bread, quick rolls, curlicues, and cloverleafs. Depending on the weather, I've found I frequently have to add extra flour. Typically the recipe is foolproof, although I did have one disaster loaf that was absurdly sticky, and although I ended up adding more flour, the final loaf ended up incredibly tough and spongy. I'll probably have to play around with the recipe some more to gain a consistent bread. I've also made the Honey Oatmeal Bread an Dill Batter Bread. The Honey Oatmeal Bread was delicious and made a great all-purpose loaf for sandwiches. The Dill Batter Bread was probably the oddest bread I've ever made, seeing as how it was both a yeast and a batter bread. It was absurdly sticky and took a lot of heat to rise, but surprisingly turned out great, and oddly tasted a bit like rye even though there was no rye in it.

The only recipe in here I've made that wasn't a bread, was Peanut Butter Cookies. It was an absurdly easy recipe to make, but the dough was insanely soft, and I'd definitely need to add more flour if I was to make them again.

In addition to breads and cookies, this also includes recipes for cakes, candies, appetizers, quiche, and meatloaf.

Real Fast Vegetarian Food - Ursula Ferrigno

The title of this book is certainly a misnomer. There is nothing "fast" about a lot of these recipes, as many of them involve numerous steps. The Southern Italian Layered Potato Pie sounded great on paper. It's chock full of mozzarella, potatoes, onions and mushrooms. But you have to chop about a billion onions, and then cook everything separately, before smashing the potatoes into oblivion and then layering everything into a baking pan. In the end, you basically get glorified mashed potatoes and I really didn't see the need to bake the whole thing when you could just as easily just stir it all together. The Beetroot Salad however, was fast, very simple, and incredibly delicious. The longest step for this recipe was boiling the beets, which let's face it, doesn't exactly take a whole lot of attention or effort. After that you add some chopped onions, basil, parsley and a little oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. I also made Parmesan Potato Pancakes (glorified hashbrowns) and a Wild Mushroom and Basil Tart, which, while not fast, was probably one of the best things I've ever eaten. So I don't know, I'll probably hold onto this one for the time being and do a little more exploration in it once I'm through the first round of all my books. It may end up being one of those that I only pull a couple of recipes out of and then dump the rest. We shall see.

Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cook Home Collection

Mmm. That's all I have to say about this book. It's a collection taken from some of Le Cordon Bleu's best recipes. Some of the recipes require numerous steps, but none of it is terribly complicated...just time consuming. And so, so worth it in the end. First thing I made was a Salmon, leek, and potato gratin and omg was it ever good. Chock full of two smoked and fresh salmon, cream, leeks, Gruyere. Yeah, pretty much to die for. 

Yesterday I did a little entertaining and did a menu of 

Melting Morsels

Chicken with mushrooms and onions

Sauteed Potatoes

Lemon Delicious (which I mistakenly, but more appropriately called Lemon Surprise)

The morsels were these little cheesy pastry things. I was expecting them to be like, well, little pastries, but they ended up being the size of puffy crackers. Still tasted crisp and buttery and cheesy, but I'd definitely cut them larger next time. The chicken recipe was rather involved, but ended up being the quintessential country French chicken dish...baked in the oven and chock full of browned chicken, bacon and mushrooms. Who doesn't like that? The Sauteed potatoes are now going to be in my personal arsenal. They were SO easy and so delicious. I think I will be making them very, very frequently. 

And then we have the Lemon SURPRISE. It was supposed to be one of those pudding-on-the-bottom type things, only I had to double the recipe to feed my crowd, and let's just say the pudding didn't really pud. So it was more like a runny-lemon-slop-on-the-bottom type thing. Still tasted good and lemony, it just wasn't very appetizing to look at. I may try a do-over on that and just follow the recipe exactly.

One of the best things about this book (besides everything from it tasting fabulous) is that each recipe has a large color picture, so you always know exactly how it's supposed to turn out. The recipes aren't new, and if you have a number of other Cordon Bleu cookbooks, it's probably not worth your money to get this one (they'll be all repeats), but if not, this is a lovely book to look through and use!

The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

Can I just say, I love this book? I love everything from it's earthy hand-drawn illustrations to it's crazy hippy recipes for potato peel soups. The Vegetarian Epicure was originally published sometime way back in the early 70s and came to me sometime in my early college days and it is one of the iconic vegetarian cookbooks of the time. It's like an artifact or something now. 

But despite how adorable it is, I actually like cooking from this book. Most of the recipes have stood the test of time and are thankfully older than some vegetarian frankenfoods, so the ingredients are all still familiar, normal things like regular fruits and vegetables. The book is organized by type of recipe, and includes the familar soups and sauces chapters, but also includes ones for souffles, crepes, and curries. From this book, I've made whole wheat orange pancakes, a lasagne with wine sauce, a potato cheese casserole and a fruit tart.  While some of the measurements were off, like the fruit tart that called for 6-7 plums, two peaches, and a whole pint of strawberries, but that only fit 3 plums, everything turned out delicious, and normal enough to serve to company. 

I don't think I'll ever get rid of this book. It brings back warm fuzzy memories of college, and  cooking for other people, because of course, everyone is vegetarian in college. And it's just plain adorable to read and think about baking bread and making a steaming pot of soup from on a rainy winter day. So nostalgia. I guess that's why I'm keeping it. 

Betty Crocker More Slow Cooker Recipes

I think I may have found my first book that I'm willing to give up! Did my standard five recipes out of this book, and I made a variety of things, from a Mexican Beef Stew, to Sherry Buttered Mushrooms, to Cauliflower Curry, but few of the recipes were really spectacular. With the exception of the mushroom recipe, which was fantastic, none of these really knocked my socks off. The Cauliflower Curry was rather bland, and honestly, how do you make bland curry?? I also made Southwestern Pinto Beans, mainly because I have three one-pound bags of raw pinto beans in my pantry (don't ask), and they were decent, but really kind of dry in the end. They were cooked in a bit of water, chipotles in adobo, and tomato paste, and the sauce turned out kind of, well, paste-y in the end. The flavor was good, but I guess I really like my beans to have a little more juice to them. I also had a total disaster of a recipe, but I'm not sure if I can really blame the book on that one, as it was for corn bread in the oven. Hard to screw up, I know, but this is a crockpot book, not a bread/baking book, so I guess I have to take this one with a grain of salt. But good god was it awful. The bread turned out utterly bland unappealingly moist...like...wet bread. Ug. My notes in the margin say:

I would only make this again if I added more salt, sugar, cheese, jalapeno, paprika, etc. 

I do have to admit though, that the beef stew was successful and did taste good. Maybe I just need to give up trying to cook anything but meat in the crockpot, as it seems like every meat recipe I make in the slowcooker turns out magnificent, while every other recipe is better suited for the trashcan. Hmm. There are a couple of other recipes I want to try out of this book, but in honor of its mediocrity, I've created a new tag, burn, for my burn list of books that are on their way out the door. 

Celebrate! - Sheila Lukins

This one's a solo endeavor by Sheila Lukins of The Silver Palate fame. As are many of her books, this one's focused on entertaining. However, rather than organized traditionally by recipe type, this one is laid out by holiday and includes national ones like New Year's Eve, Valentines Day, and Christmas, as well as other reasons to throw a party, such as a graduation or the Kentucky Derby. Each event includes a full menu for a set number of people (it varies by party), as well as suggested music and drinks. Lukins typically also includes a bit of festive decor advice along with each menu. 

I've had pretty resounding success with most of Lukin's recipes and have learned that for the most part I can trust them. I must admit, I did not make an entire meal from any of the chapters, but rather did a pick and choose with the recipes, so I really can't attest to how the recipes in a chapter come together as a whole. I made a variety of things, including Red Snapper In An Aromatic Broth (from the Celebrate India chapter), Summer Corn Salad (Glorious Summertime chapter), and Molasses Cookies (Super Bowl chapter). All were delicious, but I did have a good bit of technical difficulty with the cookies. The recipe calls for mixing the dough and then wrapping in plastic wrap to chill awhile, but using the word dough would be a stretch...it made more of a batter. I tried, very unsuccessfully I might add, to wrap it in plastic wrap, but it just oozed all over the place, and I'm really not sure why. I ended up just tossing the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for a while and it firmed right up and made great cookies. 

Taste-wise I think I prefer the recipes from the Silver Palate books, but I really enjoy the way Celebrate! is laid out, and that it takes the guess work out of menu planning for a mass, and puts the fun back into large entertaining events. 

Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh by Barbara Fairchild

I love this book. It's the companion volume to the new orange Bon Appetit book, and the recipes in here truly are fast, easy, and fresh. They're elegant enough for company, and yet simple enough for everyday eating. By far my favorite thing I made out of this was Red Beet Risotto with Mustard Greens and Goat Cheese. Good Lord it was delicious. And beautiful. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it. Essentially, you make this blood-red colored beet risotto and then top it with uber bright green chopped greens and then goat cheese. The intensity between the white-red-green color combination is not one usually seen in my food, and it was seriously a thing of art. Oh yeah, and it was freaking delicious. The only other time I've had mustard greens and I hated them. They were way too bitter and too...sharp and mustardy. For some reason, when combined with the beets and creamy goat cheese, it becomes the perfect compliment and the thing that really elevates the dish.

Another huge success of a recipe was Spaghetti Ala Carbonara di Zucchine. Unlike most carbonaras, this one has no meat, but it does have the traditional egg-cheese combination. I swear, this is probably one of the easiest things I've ever made and it was mild enough that even the kids ate it!  Also made were Honey-Glazed Oven-Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges, Rosemary Lemon Pinto Beans, and Banana Cake With Sour Cream Frosting. 

Fast, Easy, Fresh is divided up by type of recipe: starters, soups, chicken, fish, breakfasts, etc. Great extra bonuses include a shopping guide that details how and when (seasonally) to shop for fruits, vegetables, meats and fish. It is a definite keeper!

Halfway point reflections and More Recipes From a Kitchen Garden

It's been a while since my last post. I have in fact been cooking. Just not keeping up with the writing portion of things. I suppose I should take a moment to reflect now that it's halfway through the year. My lofty ambitions at the beginning of the year had me thinking this was going to be a nice little one year project. Ha! At the rate I'm going it'll probably take me three years. Ah well, I can't say it hasn't been enjoyable cooking my way through my collection, although it is starting to prove a bit more challenging now that I'm running into more and more specialty cookbooks, which means I might be cooking nothing but cheese or lemons or ice cream for a week. 

My book for today is More Recipes From a Kitchen Garden by Renee Shepherd & Fran Raboff. Lamely, I don't have the prequel to this, Recipes From a Kitchen Garden, but I became enamored with these two when I was working at a plant nursery a number of years back. It's one of those perfect companion books for an avid cook-gardener, and includes recipes for more uncommon ingredients like lemon thyme and scented geraniums. I'm a total sucker for a cookbook like that considering I grow the stuff but haven't the foggiest notion of what to do with it.  I made a couple of soups out of this as I'm also a sucker for soup, and I must say I LOVED the Cauliflower-Brie Soup. Here's a not-very-appetizing picture for you, because, well, my photography skills pale in comparison to my cooking, writing, and gardening skills.

You basically make a cauliflower puree and add hunks of brie that go all melty into the soup. 

I like the organization of this book, as it's clearly done from a gardener's point of view. The recipes are arranged by type of vegetable and include common things like asparagus and potatoes, in addition to more uncommon like kohlrabi and celeraic. I like how it provides a good range so you can stick with something familiar and comfort-foody, or you can branch out and try something new. They also include a great chapter at the end for herbs and edible flowers, with both recipes and also tips on how to make use of some of these extras.

All told, I'll most likely be holding on to this book too as it makes itself a bit of an asset in a cook-gardener's household. It's not easy to track down recipes making use of lavender and viola petals, so why get rid of a good thing when you have it right in front of you? 

The New Crank's Recipe Book by Nadine Abensur

Crank's is apparently one of the UK's top vegetarian restaurants. They've produced a number of books, but I was lucky enough to receive this one after a family member's foray to London. I've never eaten at a Crank's, nor have I ever perused any of their other books. This one was kind of hit or miss for me. For starters, it's a very tightly glued paperback...one of those ones where if you open it too wide, the spine starts to crack and the pages fall out. I hate that! Especially in a cookbook when you know, you kind of have to prop the thing open a lot. However, it does include a few nice color pictures in the middle, which is a huge plus. 

I found some of the recipes a little unaccessible. I'm not sure if it's because something was lost in translastion...it can be a bit like reading a Jamie Oliver book...heavy on the British vernacular, but minus his heavy slang. If you can get past that, i.e. translate it, then you'll find the recipes easier to manage. I believe my favorites of those I made, were Red Onion Soup with Toasted Cheese Floats, and Couscous with Roasted Vegetables. If you're a vegetarian and looking for a close proximity to the traditional French Onion Soup, the Red Onion Soup is a wonderful stand-in. It has a very full flavor and you'll never miss the beef broth. The couscous was delicious mainly due to the roasted, caramelized vegetables. Between the chopping and separate preparation of couscous there are a number of steps to this recipe, but none of it is difficult and the end result is very appetizing and healthy. 

I did have one pretty big bomb...Spinach Risotto Pie. Thought it sounded great...I love spinach, pie, and risotto, but basically it was just...dried out risotto smacked into a pie plate and then baked. Big waste of rice. 

Although some of these recipes are a bit complicated, and I don't yet feel I can trust them implicitly (meaning try cooking them before you try cooking them for guests), I think I'll keep this book around to explore a bit more. 

Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis

Does Giada ever make anything that doesn't sound/taste/look delicious? I didn't think so. This is her debut book and one I've had on my shelf for quite a while now. Heck, I've had it for so long, I was able to bring it with me when she did a signing when her third book came out. In fact, here we are. I am not the one in the yellow sweater. 

Anyway, I love Giada's food. Everyday Italian is a great starter book if you're interested in Italian food with a California flair. Most of the ingredients are very easy to find if you're on the west coast, and all the recipes tend to incorporate fresh, light flavors. Practically everything she does incorporates something I love (and sometimes, all of it): garlic, lemon, fresh basil, pasta. I mean really, how can you go wrong with that? 

Out of Everyday Italian, one of the highlights I made was Creamy Polenta with Gorgonzola Cheese. This makes for a fantastic comfort food and is a good one to try if you're leery but curious about either polenta making or blue cheese. Gorgonzola is very mild and a good starter blue, and her technique for making polenta will almost assure you will not have yellow paste stuck to your pan, as is wont to happen with some recipes. 

She also includes some great deserts, which if you haven't been able to tell by now, are sadly not something I frequently cook. But I'd be willing to be we'd all enjoy Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream and Rice Pudding with Vanilla, Orange, and Rum.  Who wouldn't?

Chocolate and Zucchini by Clotilde Dusoulier

I originally discovered this book through it's namesake's website chocolateandzucchini.com. I absolutely adore everything about this book from it's cute glossy paperback size to the pretty end papers inside. It's chock full of colorful, mouthwatering pictures, and the recipes are to die for. I mean it. They run the range from familiar (olive tapenade) to weirdly innovative (zucchini crumble with figs and mozzarella. don't laugh. It is divine. I kid you not). Every recipe you make out of this book is liable to become a signature recipe. And yes, there is indeed a recipe for chocolate and zucchini cake. This doesn't strike me as all that strange seeing as how zucchini bread is typically sweet and delicious, and very similar to banana bread. So why not? 

The one recipe I loved the most has to be Hazelnut Thyme Matchsticks. Wow they were a lot of work...you make a dough, you knead it,  you divide it, chill it, roll it out and cut it into eensy weensie teeny weeny sticks, and then finally bake them. But holy cow are they ever worth it. Each one melts into a tiny, nutty, buttery, thymey explosion in your mouth. Mmm. Now I want some more. 

How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Disclaimer: I've been working out of the older edition (yellow) and I know there is a newly revised one (red) that's now on the shelves. So all my comments will have to refer to the older copy and someone will have to let me know how the new one measures up. 

I have somewhat mixed feelings on this book.  I'm likely to keep this one on my shelves for some time, but while it really does include instructions for how to cook (almost) everything, I don't feel like the recipes themselves were all that noteworthy. There was also one glaring omission that I found rather annoying. Broiled steak. Isn't that something most people eat? Bittman extensively covers how to grill a steak, but really doesn't broach the subject of cooking one in the oven. So you know, if it's raining or freezing out and you don't really feel like going outside to cook yourself a hot meal, you'll have to find another book. I'm sad to say, I had to call my mother for instructions on how to broil a steak. Bittman failed me. I certainly hope they've fixed this in the new edition. 

I have somewhat mixed feelings on the recipes I did cook. They were: Minestrone, Brown Rice with Lentils and Apricots, Corn Stuffed Peppers with Spicy Tomato Sauce, and Quick and Easy Waffles. For all you sticklers, yes I did make a fifth recipe, but I can't remember which one and can't be bothered to flip through 808 pages of recipes to find the missing link. Technically, all of the recipes were successful, but with the exception of the Minestrone soup, none of them are ones I'll be craving to make again any time soon. The waffles were fine, but simply that...just fine. Same for the stuffed peppers. The rice and lentils were a total fiasco. Bittman instructs to cook the lentils and brown rice in the same, uncovered pot for 30-45 minutes. Well, mine ended up cooking for close to an hour and a half that way, and I had to add about 2 cups more liquid than called for in the recipe. Highly inconvenient if you were planning on serving dinner at a set time. Again, the end product tasted just fine, but it wasn't something I'd be dying to make again. 

All in all, I don't know that the recipes from this book are going to be ones I go back to again and again, but the book does hold solid instructions on how to prepare and cook many foods successfully (with the sole exception of brown rice). It's great to use as a jumping off point....he gives you just enough to go on to spark your own creativity. In that sense, I think it's a valuable tool...say you go to the farmer's market and find some kind of fantastic deal on a beautiful vegetable. Well, come home and look it up in How To Cook Everything. More than likely, you'll see some sort of recipe for your find, and usually the ingredients are loose enough that you could easily substitute whatever you have on hand and voila, you have a new creation. 

Martha Stewart Living The New Classics

Much like The Original Classics, I think this book is virtually bombproof. I had a little dinner party last night and everything I made (six recipes actually) came out of this book. What I made:

Lemon-Parsley Gougeres

Baked Buttermilk Chicken

Sauteed Peas and Scallions

Individual Portobello Mushroom Gratins

Sour Cream-Thyme Rolls

Papaya Sorbet

I was most excited to try making gougeres, ever since reading one of Ruth Reichel's memoirs. In it, she spends an entire chapter espousing the wonderfulness that are gougeres, and ever since then, I've been dying to try them (both eating and cooking). Essentially, they're like tiny little eggy pastry puffs and they absolutely melt in your mouth. They're so light you can down a dozen without even noticing. Oops. Did I admit that? They were so so so much easier to make than I was expecting, and are definitely something that were a hit, and that could easily be made for a quick appetizer after a workday. 

The thing I love about this book is it makes me want to abandon my cookbook project and just keep making things out of it. Everything is/sounds that good. I think the most exciting chapter is Side Dishes. Usually sides and vegetable dishes don't really whip me into a tizzy, but each one sounds so good I can taste it. The peas and mushrooms that I made both came out of this section. Some others I can't wait to try: Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms, Maple-Glazed Parsnips and Carrots, Cauliflower, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Gratin, Jerusalem Artichoke and Chestnut Gratin...you get the idea. Seriously, these will get you excited about eating your veggies. 

The one thing I wasn't excited about was the Papaya Sorbet. But that could be due to the fact that the first papaya I cracked into smelled of cheese and tasted like...well, like cheesey cardboard. Needless to say, I threw it out, went back to the store, and purchased some new ones. Those ones didn't smell of cheese and tasted like...well like just straight cardboard. The end result sorbet was actually pretty good and sweet, but I think if I were to make it again, I'd just use mangoes. Cause you know, they taste good and not at all like cheese or cardboard. Verdict: recipe successful, but I don't like papayas. Blech.

I really wanted to hate everything that came out of Martha Stewart, but it's just not possible with this book. The recipes are way too reliable, taste delicious, and are successful every time, even when I don't know what I'm doing (as was the case with the gougeres). 

Betty Crocker Cookbook - New Edition

This is another book that just about everyone's got a copy of lying around somewhere. I grew up with a different version. It was a dog-eared paperback with a cover that looked like a red and white checked picnic tablecloth. I think my grandmother had picked it up at her savings and loan back in the 80s when banks used to give you things like cookbooks and free coffee instead of trying to steal your money.  But I digress. 

I had a bit of trepidation about this new edition. The older one is one I learned a lot from...how to properly hard-boil an egg, how to make a proper potato salad...you know, things all proper cooks should know. The new edition looked much glossier, had a ton of pictures (my old one had none), and seemed like it couldn't possibly hold all the meat the old one did. But it does. And then some. It's been updated for the modern world, and honestly, the pictures hold a thousand words. They reallly do. The good old instructions for boiling eggs are still there, but there are also picture diagrams for things like how to cut up a chicken or identifying exotic fruits and vegetables. It's still my same tried-and-true old standby, but vastly improved. Definitely indespensible. The recipes are much like those in The Joy Of Cooking. They won't be blowing the socks off any gourmand, but if you're trying to feed your family (or just yourself), simply, and inexpensively, or even if you just want to learn the basics, this book is a clear, stood-the-test-of-time winner. 

Italian Vegetarian Cooking

Are you noticing a trend yet? That the majority of my books are either Italian or vegetarian? Ok, so what can I say? I was a vegetarian for years and I have a deep love of all things French and Italian. I promise though, my source of such books will eventually run out and you will have something new to read about. 

Italian Vegetarian Cooking, by Paola Gavin is a book I've had for quite a few years. I really like this because all the recipes are very simple and use ingredients that are common to find in most places. I also like how each recipe is identified by the region it came from, so you can really get a feel for just how regional Italian cooking can be. There is a strong focus on fresh ingredients and most of them are very healthy. 

The Joy of Cooking

Just about everyone has heard of the Joy of Cooking. Even people who don't cook typically have a copy of this on their shelves. Heck, it's been around for 75 years...you'd be hard pressed to have avoided the thing. It's a great basic book both for someone just beginning to learn how to cook, as well as for those more seasoned, due to the sheer volume of recipes and tips. It's one I will definitely be keeping as a reference. The recipes are ones you can trust on the first try. They have been tested again and again and again over the years, and I've found everything in here to be very reliable. I don't know that I'd say things turn out gourmet, or that it will be the best thing you'll ever eat in your entire life, but you can count on your efforts being a success, and being good. It's like your old pet dog that's always there for you. My favorite thing I made out of this, was Chili Cheese Corn Squares, not only because it was delicious, but because it's so versatile...you can use it as a side dish, as an egg/cheese dish, or even as a brunch dish. And it's kind of addictive too, so pace yourself. Here's the recipe:

Chili Cheese Corn Squares

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter a 9" square baking pay. Combine:

1.5 cups fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels, drained (I used frozen cause hello, it's the middle of winter)

4 cups shredded Monterey Jack (about 1 pound)

6 large eggs, well beaten

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I only used two. I bought three, but one of the blasted things was rotten, so there you go)

2 TB chili powder

salt and black pepper to taste

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool until it firms sufficiently to be cut, then cut into 3" squares. 

I would highly recommend using the fresh jalapenos even if you think you hate spicy food or hot peppers. They add a wonderful flavor with hardly any heat, and definitely not enough to set your mouth on fire. When I made them, these converted two self-professed jalapeno haters. Oh, and I forgot to add salt and pepper before baking, and it was still delicious. 

The Vegetarian Bistro - Marlena Spieler

This is seriously one of the most fantastic books I own. Upon paper, each recipe is wonderfully mouthwatering, and unlike a lot of other cookbooks, the final product not only does not disappoint, it's even better than the recipe sounds. I've actually had ten recipes from this book. Mainly because after I made the first five, my mother loved them so much that she went out and bought herself a copy of this and started cooking from it. Every recipe in here is divine. It's also a great cross-over book for folks that aren't vegetarian, because the food is so good you'll never miss the meat. Some of the recipes are a bit elaborate, and either involve several steps or making multiple recipes for sauces and such, but it's all very accessible, and nothing is really all that difficult to tackle, per se. I could happily eat out of this book every day for the rest of my life. Seriously. If you like cooking, and you like French food, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. You won't regret it. 

Here is a brief list of some of the things I've made from this book:

Wild Mushroom Pasta Gratin

Gratin of Macaroni, Red Wine Sauce, and Cheese 

Pistachio Tart with Almond Citrus Crust

Pureed Artichoke Soup with Garlic

Onion Tart with Arugula Salad

Now,  can you honestly tell me your mouth is not watering?

The Bon Appetit Cookbook, Part 2

I can't believe how long it's taken me to finish this book. I guess I just haven't had as much time for cooking as I thought I would. At this rate, it'll likely take me ten years to work through all my cookbooks! I guess I'd better step on it. 

I made three more recipes out of the BA cookbook last week: an appetizer, a main dish, and a vegetable side. The appetizer was an Herbed Dipping Sauce, and basically just a green dip for veggies. It had a mayonnaise base and combined spinach, green onions and parsley (or basil had it been in season). 

The main I think was definitely the star of this round. Per my sister-in-law's request, I made Rigatoni with Tomatoes and Vodka. Really, how can you go wrong with pasta, cream, tomatoes and vodka? The only challenge with this recipe is the sauce didn't thicken in the time stated. I ended up having to throw a little cornstarch in to speed things up, otherwise my drained pasta would have gone dry and hard and well who wants to eat that?

The vegetable side dish was Green Beans with Walnuts, Lemon, and Parsley. Something here went horribly wrong, but I don't think it was due to anything in the recipe. First off, it called for fresh green beans, and I used frozen cause who's got the time to wash, trim, and halve crosswise two pounds of green beans on a weeknight?? I think my parsley may also have been a little past its prime. I used home-grown and it's on its second season. I think it unfortunately may have gone a little bitter and the whole thing just tasted like that...bitter. Which is really unfortunate because it sounds delicious. I would definitely try this one again, and listen when it specifies fresh green beans, and I'll also use either new parsley, or some that I've purchased. 

All in all, I am definitely enjoying this book. The recipes are very accessible, and easy to follow, and for the most part, they can be relied on to produce a serveable and tasty end product. I'll be keeping this one. 

The Bon Appetit Cookbook, Part 1

My next book is one that I'd been wanting forever, and had just never gotten around to picking up. I was so excited when I received it as a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law and brother. I've made two recipes from this book already. They are Oven-roasted winter vegetables with rigatoni, and Country mushroom and nut pate. The vegetable pasta recipe was absurdly easy. Pretty much all you need to do is chop up a ton of veggies, and then just throw them in a roasting pan, boil your pasta and then mix it together. I was a little worried it was going to be dry or bland, and it was surprisingly neither. It had a lovely sweet-roasty flavor and wasn't dry at all. 

The mushroom pate was just ok. It involved an awful lot of kitchen equipment between the several bowls for mixing, the pans for sauteeing, the food processor, etc. And personally, I wasn't all that wowed by the end result. I think that was in large part due to the fact that I used button mushrooms which are pretty bland, ya know? Next time I'd definitely use mostly shiitakes and maybe a mixture of wild mushrooms. 

I'm thinking at least one of the next three recipes from this book is going to have to be a fish one. I'm really intimidated by cooking fish at home. I'm not sure why. In the past, it's usually turned out decent. I guess it's just because I don't have as much experience cooking it. That, and I did once completely slaughter a scallop recipe years ago and haven't braved cooking them again since. Another one of them will probably be something meaty/chickeny for the husband. That always poses an extra challenge though since I can't even taste my own cooking. I guess my review will have to entirely lie on the process, and his opinion!

Mushroom pie with walnut cream

Last week I made the fifth, and final recipe from The Silver Spoon. I'd decided to be a little adventurous and go with this pie, because it involved something I'd never worked with...puff pastry...and because, well who the heck knows what walnut cream is? It cost a small fortune to make between the box of puff pastry, and the 2.5 pounds of wild mushrooms required. But you know, it wasn't all that difficult once I got started. The ease of working with puff pastry was probably the biggest surprise. You pretty much just thaw it and throw it in the pan and voila! pastry! And the walnut cream was pretty much exactly that...walnuts, ground up with cream and some other good things like shallots and egg. It also called for ham, which I omitted, seeing as how I haven't eaten that in what? maybe 15 years now. I think if and when I were to make this again, if I was still omitting ham, I would likely toast the walnuts to make a richer flavor to the cream. Here's a shot of how it turned out

Going public

Well I've decided I might as well make this public. My theory is, if I know other people are reading this, it will force me to keep things more organized. I've decided to start a few tags...mainly for books I want to revisit and go more in-depth with after the year's end, and also for books I'll purge. I'm also thinking of reviewing all 5 recipes from each book. And also trying really, really hard to stick with just one book at a time. I think that's going to be my biggest challenge. 

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The Silver Spoon, Recipe 3 - Cream of Carrot Soup

I was actually really disappointed with this recipe. After the other things I've tried in this book, I was expecting some kind of monumental deliciousness. But the soup was just meh. Granted, it called for homemade meat stock and I certainly wasn't going to go there, but I don't think even that would have saved it. It's perfectly fine and carroty, just bland and boring. Not likely to make it again. 

This recipe was absurdly simple and had a very small list of ingredients. You know, like all proper Italian food. But its lack of depth of flavor really made me think I need to start challenging myself more. Anyone can make bland carrot soup. So I flipped through the book to find something a little more involved and found Mushroom Pie With Walnut Cream. I think this will be my next venture. It involves puff pastry which is totally unchartered territory for me. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend.