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 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?