...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks.
Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such
proliferation. They are automatic sellers, since the book can be
flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a
celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up
on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans
of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of
the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the
restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books,
special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu.
Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But
because most of these books are American, they use only US volume
measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric
equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out.
The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks".
There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf
also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as
if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from
readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes
(not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work, but how could
that be? They all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many
books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with
tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life
in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding
about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem
to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a
lot of food shots, verging on gastroporn. The endorsements are from
other celebrities in a magnificent case of logrolling. If resources are
cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some
companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them
altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books –
Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such
proliferation. They are automatic sellers, since the book can be
flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a
celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up
on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans
of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of
the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the
restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books,
special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu.
Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But
because most of these books are American, they use only US volume
measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric
equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out.
The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks".
There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf
also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as
if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from
readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes
(not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work, but how could
that be? They all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many
books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with
tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life
in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding
about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem
to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a
lot of food shots, verging on gastroporn. The endorsements are from
other celebrities in a magnificent case of logrolling. If resources are
cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some
companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them
altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books –
12. TRULY MEXICAN (John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 264 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-
49955-9, $35 US hard covers) is by Roberto Santibanez, a well-known
Mexican chef-owner of many restaurants. He was culinary director of
Rosa Mexicano restaurants, and of Fonda San Miguel. Currently, he runs
a consultant firm, Truly Mexican. Here, in this book, he is assisted by
J.J. Goode, with Shelley Wiseman as the recipe developer. He is
concentrating on salsas, guacamoles, adobos, moles and pipanes. All
these sauces and their types can be applied to most foods; hence, you
can some up with a great Mexican meal by profiling the sauce. At the
end, there is a small section on foods to round out the meal, such as
some bean preps, Mexican white or red or green rice, mushrooms and
zucchini. Try pasilla and apple mole, lamb shanks braised in parchment,
adobo ribs, seafood guacamole, or grilled adobo-marinated skirt steak.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 89.
49955-9, $35 US hard covers) is by Roberto Santibanez, a well-known
Mexican chef-owner of many restaurants. He was culinary director of
Rosa Mexicano restaurants, and of Fonda San Miguel. Currently, he runs
a consultant firm, Truly Mexican. Here, in this book, he is assisted by
J.J. Goode, with Shelley Wiseman as the recipe developer. He is
concentrating on salsas, guacamoles, adobos, moles and pipanes. All
these sauces and their types can be applied to most foods; hence, you
can some up with a great Mexican meal by profiling the sauce. At the
end, there is a small section on foods to round out the meal, such as
some bean preps, Mexican white or red or green rice, mushrooms and
zucchini. Try pasilla and apple mole, lamb shanks braised in parchment,
adobo ribs, seafood guacamole, or grilled adobo-marinated skirt steak.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 89.
13. DOS CAMINOS MEXICAN STREET FOOD; 120 authentic recipes to make at
home (SkyHorse Publishing, 2011; distr. T. Allen, 282 pages, ISBN 978-
1-61608-279-6, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Ivy Stark, chef at New
York's Dos Caminos. Joanna Pruess is the focusing food writer. There is
also some log rolling on the back cover. Street food needs sauces, so
Stark opens with a chapter on 12 of them. This is followed by some
breakfast food, such as egg dishes, pancakes, biscuits and the like.
Vegetables and fruits include street salads as well as pickled red
cabbage. There is an assortment of fish, shellfish, beef, pork, and
game. Desserts and beverages are also included. This is much more than
just street food; it can be family or peasant food as well. Still,
preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.
14.SPILLING THE BEANS; cooking and baking with beans and grains
everyday (Whitecap, 2011, 268 pages, ISBN 9789-1-77050-041-9, $29.95
CAD paper covers) is by Julie Van Rosendaal, a CBC radio host and co-
host of TV's "It's Just Food". As well, she edits "Parents Canada"
magazine, and runs a food blog dinnerwithjulie.com. Her co-author is
Sue Duncan. The book is about beans, legumes, and whole grains,
emphasizing their low-fat, high-protein, cholesterol-free, and high-
fibre nature. They begin with "Beans for Breakfast" (such as buttermilk
waffles with bean puree), apps, salads, sandwiches, soups and stews,
one pots, pasta, sides, and desserts (pumpkin chocolate chip loaf
cake). It's not a meatless book, which means that there is room for a
lamb shank or two as well as sliders. Preparations have their
ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but
there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.
15. FRESH; new vegetarian and vegan recipes from Fresh restaurants
(Wiley Publications, 2011, 198 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-67796-4, $29.95
CAD soft covers) is by Jennifer Houston and Ruth Tal, co-owners of
Fresh restaurants. Here are 200 preps, most drawn from three previous
books (Refresh in 2007, Fresh at Home in 2004, and Juice for Life in
2000) with new material added and updated thoughts on nutrition. The
2007 book was vegan; the current book is both vegetarian and vegan.
Most of the preps are off their menus, so there is some familiarity
here for their fans and regulars. There are apps, soups, salads,
sandwiches and wraps, some entrees (mainly rice bowls), sauces and
dressings, sweets, juices, smoothies and the like (about 50 pages for
these drinks). The recipes here are what are currently being served at
the restaurant; hence, the mushroom pizza is gone (it used to be one of
my faves and the fave of my server). Typical dishes include a detox
cocktail, grounding greens bowl, kale and oyster mushroom salad, and
Portobello pesto sandwich. Preparations have their ingredients listed
in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric
equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 87.
16. PAULA DEEN'S SOUTHERN COOKING BIBLE; the classic guide to delicious
dishes, with more than 300 recipes (Simon & Schuster, 2011, 455 pages,
ISBN 978-1-4165-6407-2, $29.99 US hard covers) is a very convenient
book. It encapsulates all the basic and classic southern US food lore,
and makes it easy to prep at any home in North America. Deen, a best-
selling cookbook author, Food Network personality, caterer and
restaurant owner, magazine publisher (Cooking with Paula Deen), is the
one to summarize such US cooking. Here she is assisted by Melissa
Clark, a magazine food writer who has also written about three dozen
cookbooks. You can call the book a summation. The Low Country of the
Carolinas gets prominence, but there's also room for Cajun, lots of
corn, Afro-American foods: biscuits and gravy, she-crab soup,
jambalaya, chicken with drop dumplings. And you can't get more southern
than boiled dressing. Arrangement is by course, from apps to sweets.
Tips and advice abound. 80% of the 325 recipes are new to this book.
There are some illustrations of techniques. Preparations have their
ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table
of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.
dishes, with more than 300 recipes (Simon & Schuster, 2011, 455 pages,
ISBN 978-1-4165-6407-2, $29.99 US hard covers) is a very convenient
book. It encapsulates all the basic and classic southern US food lore,
and makes it easy to prep at any home in North America. Deen, a best-
selling cookbook author, Food Network personality, caterer and
restaurant owner, magazine publisher (Cooking with Paula Deen), is the
one to summarize such US cooking. Here she is assisted by Melissa
Clark, a magazine food writer who has also written about three dozen
cookbooks. You can call the book a summation. The Low Country of the
Carolinas gets prominence, but there's also room for Cajun, lots of
corn, Afro-American foods: biscuits and gravy, she-crab soup,
jambalaya, chicken with drop dumplings. And you can't get more southern
than boiled dressing. Arrangement is by course, from apps to sweets.
Tips and advice abound. 80% of the 325 recipes are new to this book.
There are some illustrations of techniques. Preparations have their
ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table
of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.
17. EVERYDAY EXOTIC; the cookbook (Whitecap, 2011, 184 pages, ISBN 978-
1-77050-064-8, $29.95 CAD soft covers) is by Roger Mooking and Allan
Magee. It is named after the Food Network TV show of the same title.
The preps are collected from the show's 52 episodes, about one per
show. The secret, of course, is to punch up the herbs and spices (not
the heat). So the lamb burgers have five spices, as does the mayo. The
meatloaf has coriander, and the pesto has cilantro. The mac and cheese
has curry. Even the macaroons had added pistachios. The show is
interesting and it works with the multiplicity of fusion flavours. Just
make sure that you have a good pantry and the spices/herbs are fresh.
Arrangement of the book is by ingredient and/or course. Preparations
have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 87.
18. THE BEEKMAN 1802 HEIRLOOM COOKBOOK (Sterling Epicure, 2011, 176
pages, ISBN 978-1-4027-8709-6, $25 US hard covers) is by Brent Ridge
and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, founders of Beekman 1802, a major lifestyle
brand in the US. They've written books about early farm life and have
appeared on Planet Green TV and other places. Here, they are assisted
by Sandy Gluck, a cookbook author and also host of a Sirius Satellite
food show. From their historic farm in upper New York state, the
authors do their natural goat milk soaps and Blaak cheese. The book has
been collated from preps of their farm, family, and friends. It is not
necessarily about 1802 food. It is tied into the seasons, and there is
room for your own recipes via blank note space for personal annotation.
There are also many variations. It's pretty simple but nouirish food,
such as winter vegetable soup, mini ham and cheese biscuits, sweet
potato pie, spinach salad, stewed green beans, and the like. But there
are too many gratuitous pictures of the boys and the farm. This space
could have been devoted to more preps. There are about 100 recipes plus
variations. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 82,
pages, ISBN 978-1-4027-8709-6, $25 US hard covers) is by Brent Ridge
and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, founders of Beekman 1802, a major lifestyle
brand in the US. They've written books about early farm life and have
appeared on Planet Green TV and other places. Here, they are assisted
by Sandy Gluck, a cookbook author and also host of a Sirius Satellite
food show. From their historic farm in upper New York state, the
authors do their natural goat milk soaps and Blaak cheese. The book has
been collated from preps of their farm, family, and friends. It is not
necessarily about 1802 food. It is tied into the seasons, and there is
room for your own recipes via blank note space for personal annotation.
There are also many variations. It's pretty simple but nouirish food,
such as winter vegetable soup, mini ham and cheese biscuits, sweet
potato pie, spinach salad, stewed green beans, and the like. But there
are too many gratuitous pictures of the boys and the farm. This space
could have been devoted to more preps. There are about 100 recipes plus
variations. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 82,
19. SALSAS OF THE WORLD (Gibbs Smith, 2011, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-4236-
2208-6, $19.99 US paper covers) is by celebrity chef Mark Miller of the
Coyote Café in Santa Fe. He's also written nine other cookbooks which
have soled about one million copies. Here he is assisted by Robert
Quintana, a food consultant-caterer also living in Santa Fe. These are
sauces from a dozen countries, including (of course) Mexico. There are
100 recipes here, ranging from quick to challenging, mild to hot, and
plain to smoky. It's all arranged by type, from easy to classic chili,
tropical, smoky, fresh salsas, hot, fruity salsa, and sour. Every
single one is delicious, beginning with artichoke fennel provencal
right through to the salsa de bruja. China, France, Peru, Morocco,
Italy – they all have some action here. Heat levels are indicated.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is a table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 89.
2208-6, $19.99 US paper covers) is by celebrity chef Mark Miller of the
Coyote Café in Santa Fe. He's also written nine other cookbooks which
have soled about one million copies. Here he is assisted by Robert
Quintana, a food consultant-caterer also living in Santa Fe. These are
sauces from a dozen countries, including (of course) Mexico. There are
100 recipes here, ranging from quick to challenging, mild to hot, and
plain to smoky. It's all arranged by type, from easy to classic chili,
tropical, smoky, fresh salsas, hot, fruity salsa, and sour. Every
single one is delicious, beginning with artichoke fennel provencal
right through to the salsa de bruja. China, France, Peru, Morocco,
Italy – they all have some action here. Heat levels are indicated.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is a table of metric equivalents.
Quality/price rating: 89.
20. CAKE LADIES; celebrating a Southern tradition (Lark, 2011, 143
pages, ISBN 978-1-60059-789-3, $19.95 US paper) is by Jodi Rhoden, who
owns Short Sweet Cakes bakery, is a cookbook author, and is a member of
The Southern Foodways Alliance. Here she has a project similar to
"Where Women Cook Celebrate", reviewed below. She's written profiles of
some 17 diverse southern US women, delving into their cake food lives.
Every town has some kind of a cake lady, a go-to person for community
celebration. There are 21 recipes too, such as a ten-layer chocolate
cake, a lemon cheese layer cake or applesauce spice cake. There are
even vegan red velvet cupcakes and a dirty cake. There are a lot of
tips, stories and kitchen wisdom here. Preparations have their
ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of
metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.
21. HOME COOKING WITH JEAN-GEORGES (Clarkson Potter, 2011, 256 pages,
ISBN 978-0-307-71795-5, $40 US hard covers) is the fourth book by Jean-
Georges Vongerichten; he's the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in
14 cities around the world. He's assisted by Genevieve Ko, a cookbook
author and senior food editor at Good Housekeeping. This is French-
style cooking with Asian accents. There are 100 preps here, all fully
plated and photographed. This is the stuff he cooks at home. Even so,
it needs a pantry for basic items. The arrangement is by course (apps,
salad, lunch, brunch, desserts) and by major ingredient (fish, poultry,
meat, sides). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Try candied
paprika pecans, quinoa with spinach and goat cheese, sausage and kale
pizza, pork chops with cherry mustard, braised endive with ham and
gruyere, or honeyed pear clafoutis tart. Quality/price rating: 88.
ISBN 978-0-307-71795-5, $40 US hard covers) is the fourth book by Jean-
Georges Vongerichten; he's the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in
14 cities around the world. He's assisted by Genevieve Ko, a cookbook
author and senior food editor at Good Housekeeping. This is French-
style cooking with Asian accents. There are 100 preps here, all fully
plated and photographed. This is the stuff he cooks at home. Even so,
it needs a pantry for basic items. The arrangement is by course (apps,
salad, lunch, brunch, desserts) and by major ingredient (fish, poultry,
meat, sides). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Try candied
paprika pecans, quinoa with spinach and goat cheese, sausage and kale
pizza, pork chops with cherry mustard, braised endive with ham and
gruyere, or honeyed pear clafoutis tart. Quality/price rating: 88.
22. ROBIN TAKES 5 (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011; distr. Simon &
Schuster, 402 pages, ISBN 978-1-4494-0845-9, $29.99 US soft covers) is
by Robin Miller, author of nine cookbooks and host of "Quick Fox Meals"
on the Food Network and blogger for the FN. There's some good log
rolling endorsements. The "5" comes as part of every prep: each recipe
has 5 ingredients of less, 500 calories or less per serving, good for 5
nights a week at 5PM for early family dining. Oh, yes, there are also
500 recipes here. This is top-notch family dining for the harried home
cook, arranged by course or main ingredient. So for chicken, there is a
separate chapter sub-divided into regional styles. You can have chicken
southwest US, Asian, French, Italian, Mediterranean, tropical, or basic
American, even with eight turkey recipes (tenderloin or breast or
burgers). There's also nutritional data for each serving. Preparations
have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is
a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 85.
Schuster, 402 pages, ISBN 978-1-4494-0845-9, $29.99 US soft covers) is
by Robin Miller, author of nine cookbooks and host of "Quick Fox Meals"
on the Food Network and blogger for the FN. There's some good log
rolling endorsements. The "5" comes as part of every prep: each recipe
has 5 ingredients of less, 500 calories or less per serving, good for 5
nights a week at 5PM for early family dining. Oh, yes, there are also
500 recipes here. This is top-notch family dining for the harried home
cook, arranged by course or main ingredient. So for chicken, there is a
separate chapter sub-divided into regional styles. You can have chicken
southwest US, Asian, French, Italian, Mediterranean, tropical, or basic
American, even with eight turkey recipes (tenderloin or breast or
burgers). There's also nutritional data for each serving. Preparations
have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is
a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 85.
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