CHOWDERS AND SOUPS; 50 recipes for the home chef (Nimbus Publishing,
2012, 82 pages, ISBN 978-1-55109-905-7, $18.85 CAN soft covers) is by
Halifax food critic Liz Feltham. It's a modest book, but it's full of
local Maritime seafoods such as lobster, shrimp, crab, clam, and local
fishes. Here are some classics, plus some modifications and re-doings.
There are a few changes to the traditional recipes, such as with the
smoked haddock chowder (also known as cullen skink). She uses sweet
potato instead of mashed potato, and herbes de Provence is the major
seasoning. There's an appendix on stocks and a glossary. Preparations
have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is
no table of metric equivalents. The index is by recipe name, not by
major ingredient.
Audience and level of use: home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: lobster and asparagus
chowder; maple parsnip soup; monkfish chowder; zuppa de pesce; smoked
mackerel chowder.
The downside to this book: I would have liked more recipes.
The upside to this book: two recipes for local fruit (chilled
strawberry and chilled blueberry soups).
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
7. THE ROMANTIC PRAIRIE COOKBOOK; field-fresh recipes and homespun
settings (CICO Books, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-
908170-17-0, $27.95 US hard covers) is by Fifi O'Neill, who grew up in
France but then moved to Manitoba for 15 years. She later re-located to
the US prairies but now lives in Florida. She fell in love with "the
prairies" and founded "Romantic Prairie" magazine. This is her second
book (first cookbook) about that style. The preps here reflect the
style of the prairies, so expect lots of harvested surplus foods,
artisanal baking, cheese making, preserving, pickling and so forth. The
100 recipes here, along with photographic essays, show a field to table
sensibility. It is arranged by course, apps to desserts, with a special
chapter on celebrations such as a harvest supper and Christmas. Recipes
are normally sourced from a farm in the US Great Plains area.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and
avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those who love farm food
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: Dutch apple pie; zucchini
and cheese tarts; tourtiere; venison stroganoff; roast buffalo; pickled
cauliflower; braised fennel.
The downside to this book: too many gratuitous general farm pictures,
which have been set in California, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire,
New York, and Virginia, hardly the "Great Plains".
The upside to this book: good choice of recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
10. SINFULLY EASY DELICIOUS DESSERTS; quicker smarter recipes (Artisan,
2012; distr. T. Allen, 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-57965-398-9, $25.95 US
soft covers) is by Alice Medrich. This is her eighth cookbook – the
others have all involved chocolate and/or cookies. She had previously
owned a dessert shop, called Chocolat. Here she branches out to stylish
but easy preps. There are also over 100 ideas for spontaneous desserts
that don't involve baking, such as dressing up humdrum fruits. There's
a section on the pantry, over 30 pages on ideas with ice cream, more on
fruits, followed by puddings, pies, tarts, meringues and cakes. She
also notes plenty of variations. Preparations have their ingredients
listed in avoirdupois measurements, and they are scaled so you have
both volume and weight. There are tables of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: dessert lovers, cookbook collectors.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: fragrant oranges with ice
cream, almonds and dates; apples in cardamom lime syrup; lemon-scented
apple upside-down cake; vanilla tart with winter cherry compote; spiced
and candied nuts; house truffles; coconut layer cake; bittersweet
chocolate cake.
The downside to this book: the typeface is a bit on the light side,
fatiguing to read after awhile.
The upside to this book: great photography.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
2012, 82 pages, ISBN 978-1-55109-905-7, $18.85 CAN soft covers) is by
Halifax food critic Liz Feltham. It's a modest book, but it's full of
local Maritime seafoods such as lobster, shrimp, crab, clam, and local
fishes. Here are some classics, plus some modifications and re-doings.
There are a few changes to the traditional recipes, such as with the
smoked haddock chowder (also known as cullen skink). She uses sweet
potato instead of mashed potato, and herbes de Provence is the major
seasoning. There's an appendix on stocks and a glossary. Preparations
have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is
no table of metric equivalents. The index is by recipe name, not by
major ingredient.
Audience and level of use: home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: lobster and asparagus
chowder; maple parsnip soup; monkfish chowder; zuppa de pesce; smoked
mackerel chowder.
The downside to this book: I would have liked more recipes.
The upside to this book: two recipes for local fruit (chilled
strawberry and chilled blueberry soups).
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
4. CREPES; 50 savory and sweet recipes (Chronicle Books, 2012, 144
pages, ISBN 978-1-4521-0534-5, $19.95 US hard covers) is by Martha
Holmberg, former publisher and editor and Fine Cooking magazine. It's
an interesting book, with some invaluable tips and procedure notes. She
tries to come to grips with gluten-free choices, and proposes a 100%
white rice flour crepe recipe. But she also covers both gluten-free
buckwheat and chick pea crepes, both a bit stronger in flavours. In
Brittany, the all-buckwheat crepes are called "galettes de sarrasin".
India uses a lot of chick pea flour in its preps, here represented by
spiced Indian potato and chickpea crepes (unfortunately, not indexed
under chickpea). The broad range of dishes should be enough to keep any
crepe lover happy. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both
metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no separate table of
metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pesto and crème fraiche
crepes with arugula salad; swiss chard and goat cheese crepes with
walnut crumb topping; coconut cream crepes with mango sauce; Meyer
lemon and whipped cream crepe cake.
The downside to this book: the chickpea flour crepe recipe uses wheat
flour, when it could have used white rice flour, making it 100% gluten-
free.
The upside to this book: a good collection.
Quality/Price Rating: 86.
pages, ISBN 978-1-4521-0534-5, $19.95 US hard covers) is by Martha
Holmberg, former publisher and editor and Fine Cooking magazine. It's
an interesting book, with some invaluable tips and procedure notes. She
tries to come to grips with gluten-free choices, and proposes a 100%
white rice flour crepe recipe. But she also covers both gluten-free
buckwheat and chick pea crepes, both a bit stronger in flavours. In
Brittany, the all-buckwheat crepes are called "galettes de sarrasin".
India uses a lot of chick pea flour in its preps, here represented by
spiced Indian potato and chickpea crepes (unfortunately, not indexed
under chickpea). The broad range of dishes should be enough to keep any
crepe lover happy. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both
metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no separate table of
metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pesto and crème fraiche
crepes with arugula salad; swiss chard and goat cheese crepes with
walnut crumb topping; coconut cream crepes with mango sauce; Meyer
lemon and whipped cream crepe cake.
The downside to this book: the chickpea flour crepe recipe uses wheat
flour, when it could have used white rice flour, making it 100% gluten-
free.
The upside to this book: a good collection.
Quality/Price Rating: 86.
5. CLASSIC ARTISAN BAKING; recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins and more
(Ryland, Peters & Small, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-
84975-225-1, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Julian Day, who runs a mail-
order artisanal cake business in the UK. These are some of his preps,
developed for home use. There are sections on family cakes, small
cakes, brownies and bars, biscuits and cookies, breads, and tarts. The
range is extensive and useful. Traditional cakes include Dundee cake,
St. Clement's cake, lemon polenta cake, Bakewell slices, and lavender
loaves. The Fig and Marsala Crostata was a standout. But some details
on gluten-free alternatives might have been useful. Preparations have
their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no separate table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: home cooks with expertise.
The downside to this book: it is mainly a British book, but was not
promoted that way.
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
(Ryland, Peters & Small, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-
84975-225-1, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Julian Day, who runs a mail-
order artisanal cake business in the UK. These are some of his preps,
developed for home use. There are sections on family cakes, small
cakes, brownies and bars, biscuits and cookies, breads, and tarts. The
range is extensive and useful. Traditional cakes include Dundee cake,
St. Clement's cake, lemon polenta cake, Bakewell slices, and lavender
loaves. The Fig and Marsala Crostata was a standout. But some details
on gluten-free alternatives might have been useful. Preparations have
their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no separate table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: home cooks with expertise.
The downside to this book: it is mainly a British book, but was not
promoted that way.
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
6. THE QUINTESSENTIAL QUINOA COOKBOOK; eat great, lose weight, feel
healthy (SkyHorse Publishing, 2011; distr. T. Allen, 215 pages, ISBN
978-1-61608-535-3, $17.95 U hard covers) is by Wendy Polisi, who runs
cookingquinoa.net, and claims more than 200,000 monthly readers. This
cookbook is mostly derived from that website. It's the second such
quinoa book lately, and more are on the way as quinoa becomes the
latest superfood. The bets news about it is that it is gluten-free, so
this opens up a huge new audience. You can find quinoa at bulk stores,
and even Costco has mounds of the organic variety, selling at a fairly
decent price. Important stuff in this particular book is that there are
alternative ingredients and prep methods for many recipes (vegan,
gluten-free, sugar-free, fast and easy). The arrangement is by course,
beginning with breakfast, followed by apps, soups, salads, entrees,
pasta-polenta-pizza, breads, muffins, and desserts. There is even a
section devoted to quinoa for kids, a nifty idea. She's got a basic
primer on what quinoa is all about, and some no-nonsense advice.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: health fans, gluten-free eaters
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: almond fudge quinoa
brownies; raspberry crumb cake; quinoa grissini; polenta lasagna;
quinoa falafel; eggplant parmesan.
The downside to this book: the book is very tightly bound, making it
difficult to prop it open. Recipes are on the recto page, so it is
possible to position the book and snap the spine if need be.
Photocopying is a pain, and maybe the publishers wanted it that way.
The upside to this book: it is good to have a quinoa book with photos.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
healthy (SkyHorse Publishing, 2011; distr. T. Allen, 215 pages, ISBN
978-1-61608-535-3, $17.95 U hard covers) is by Wendy Polisi, who runs
cookingquinoa.net, and claims more than 200,000 monthly readers. This
cookbook is mostly derived from that website. It's the second such
quinoa book lately, and more are on the way as quinoa becomes the
latest superfood. The bets news about it is that it is gluten-free, so
this opens up a huge new audience. You can find quinoa at bulk stores,
and even Costco has mounds of the organic variety, selling at a fairly
decent price. Important stuff in this particular book is that there are
alternative ingredients and prep methods for many recipes (vegan,
gluten-free, sugar-free, fast and easy). The arrangement is by course,
beginning with breakfast, followed by apps, soups, salads, entrees,
pasta-polenta-pizza, breads, muffins, and desserts. There is even a
section devoted to quinoa for kids, a nifty idea. She's got a basic
primer on what quinoa is all about, and some no-nonsense advice.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: health fans, gluten-free eaters
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: almond fudge quinoa
brownies; raspberry crumb cake; quinoa grissini; polenta lasagna;
quinoa falafel; eggplant parmesan.
The downside to this book: the book is very tightly bound, making it
difficult to prop it open. Recipes are on the recto page, so it is
possible to position the book and snap the spine if need be.
Photocopying is a pain, and maybe the publishers wanted it that way.
The upside to this book: it is good to have a quinoa book with photos.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
7. THE ROMANTIC PRAIRIE COOKBOOK; field-fresh recipes and homespun
settings (CICO Books, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-
908170-17-0, $27.95 US hard covers) is by Fifi O'Neill, who grew up in
France but then moved to Manitoba for 15 years. She later re-located to
the US prairies but now lives in Florida. She fell in love with "the
prairies" and founded "Romantic Prairie" magazine. This is her second
book (first cookbook) about that style. The preps here reflect the
style of the prairies, so expect lots of harvested surplus foods,
artisanal baking, cheese making, preserving, pickling and so forth. The
100 recipes here, along with photographic essays, show a field to table
sensibility. It is arranged by course, apps to desserts, with a special
chapter on celebrations such as a harvest supper and Christmas. Recipes
are normally sourced from a farm in the US Great Plains area.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and
avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those who love farm food
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: Dutch apple pie; zucchini
and cheese tarts; tourtiere; venison stroganoff; roast buffalo; pickled
cauliflower; braised fennel.
The downside to this book: too many gratuitous general farm pictures,
which have been set in California, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire,
New York, and Virginia, hardly the "Great Plains".
The upside to this book: good choice of recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 84.
8. THE OLD FARMER'S ALMANC GARDEN-FRESH COOKBOOK (Yankee Publishing,
2011; distr. T. Allen, 336 pages, ISBN 978-1-57198-541-5, $19.95 US
hard covers) is a good-value cookbook from the OF Almanac people. It's
even got Deborah Madison on board for some log-rolling. It boasts more
than 325 preps plus over 100 tips for growing and harvesting your own
vegetables, fruits, and herbs. There are recommendations on ripeness
levels, plus handy charts on storing foods, cooked vs. raw
measurements, substitutions, weights and measures, equipment to use,
and sources. There are also four special sections on a kitchen herb
gardens, a beginner veggie garden, an edible flower garden, and a berry
garden. There are recipes for meat, poultry, and seafood, so this is
not a strictly "vegetarian" book. Preparations have their ingredients
listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of
equivalents.
Audience and level of use: anybody desiring fresh food.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: cantaloupe and peach
conserve; vegetable hash; sweet and sour wax beans; rosemary chicken
with spinach; sweet potato casserole with sausage; watermelon BBQ
marinade; fresh raspberry muffins.
The downside to this book: this is a very heavy book because of the
paper used for the photographs.
The upside to this book: good choice of preps
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
2011; distr. T. Allen, 336 pages, ISBN 978-1-57198-541-5, $19.95 US
hard covers) is a good-value cookbook from the OF Almanac people. It's
even got Deborah Madison on board for some log-rolling. It boasts more
than 325 preps plus over 100 tips for growing and harvesting your own
vegetables, fruits, and herbs. There are recommendations on ripeness
levels, plus handy charts on storing foods, cooked vs. raw
measurements, substitutions, weights and measures, equipment to use,
and sources. There are also four special sections on a kitchen herb
gardens, a beginner veggie garden, an edible flower garden, and a berry
garden. There are recipes for meat, poultry, and seafood, so this is
not a strictly "vegetarian" book. Preparations have their ingredients
listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of
equivalents.
Audience and level of use: anybody desiring fresh food.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: cantaloupe and peach
conserve; vegetable hash; sweet and sour wax beans; rosemary chicken
with spinach; sweet potato casserole with sausage; watermelon BBQ
marinade; fresh raspberry muffins.
The downside to this book: this is a very heavy book because of the
paper used for the photographs.
The upside to this book: good choice of preps
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
9. THE RED HOT CHILE COOKBOK; fabulously fiery recipes for chile fans
(Ryland, Peters and Small, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 160 pages, ISBN 978-
1-84975-224-4, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Dan May, who began growing
chiles in the North Pennines in 2005. He now has the world's most
northerly chile farm, called Trees Can't Dance. He began producing
chile sauces. Here he has about 70 preps loaded with heat at various
levels. There's primer stuff on history, how to grow at home, how to
identify the varieties, and their strength levels. It's all arranged by
course, from apps to desserts (chile jam ice cream, chile pecan
brownies) and drinks. Each prep has a chile meter to indicate heat
levels. At the back, there's a listing of both US and UK chile
suppliers. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric
and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no separate table of
equivalents.
Audience and level of use: chile pepper lovers
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: tropical fruit salad with
chile and lime syrup; green chile bhajis; fruity African bean stew;
roast pork chops with spicy lentils; Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers.
The downside to this book: nothing much on sweet peppers or paprika.
The upside to this book: smoked peppers are included such as chipotle,
in five recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
(Ryland, Peters and Small, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 160 pages, ISBN 978-
1-84975-224-4, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Dan May, who began growing
chiles in the North Pennines in 2005. He now has the world's most
northerly chile farm, called Trees Can't Dance. He began producing
chile sauces. Here he has about 70 preps loaded with heat at various
levels. There's primer stuff on history, how to grow at home, how to
identify the varieties, and their strength levels. It's all arranged by
course, from apps to desserts (chile jam ice cream, chile pecan
brownies) and drinks. Each prep has a chile meter to indicate heat
levels. At the back, there's a listing of both US and UK chile
suppliers. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric
and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no separate table of
equivalents.
Audience and level of use: chile pepper lovers
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: tropical fruit salad with
chile and lime syrup; green chile bhajis; fruity African bean stew;
roast pork chops with spicy lentils; Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers.
The downside to this book: nothing much on sweet peppers or paprika.
The upside to this book: smoked peppers are included such as chipotle,
in five recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
10. SINFULLY EASY DELICIOUS DESSERTS; quicker smarter recipes (Artisan,
2012; distr. T. Allen, 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-57965-398-9, $25.95 US
soft covers) is by Alice Medrich. This is her eighth cookbook – the
others have all involved chocolate and/or cookies. She had previously
owned a dessert shop, called Chocolat. Here she branches out to stylish
but easy preps. There are also over 100 ideas for spontaneous desserts
that don't involve baking, such as dressing up humdrum fruits. There's
a section on the pantry, over 30 pages on ideas with ice cream, more on
fruits, followed by puddings, pies, tarts, meringues and cakes. She
also notes plenty of variations. Preparations have their ingredients
listed in avoirdupois measurements, and they are scaled so you have
both volume and weight. There are tables of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: dessert lovers, cookbook collectors.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: fragrant oranges with ice
cream, almonds and dates; apples in cardamom lime syrup; lemon-scented
apple upside-down cake; vanilla tart with winter cherry compote; spiced
and candied nuts; house truffles; coconut layer cake; bittersweet
chocolate cake.
The downside to this book: the typeface is a bit on the light side,
fatiguing to read after awhile.
The upside to this book: great photography.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
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