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.