3.200 BEST SHEET PAN MEALS (Robert Rose, 2016, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0538-0, $27.95 CAN paper covers) is by the prolific Camilla V. Saulsbury, author of about two dozen cookbooks. She's also got powerhungry.com where she develops more recipes. As the publisher notes, sheet pan meals are great alternatives to one-pot meals. There is some heavy competition out there in cookbookland, but there is always room for one more, especially in the well-known Rose format with its metric-avoirdupois listing of ingredients and tips. It is all simple enough: seasoned meats and cutup veggies are drizzled with oil, herbs and spices to taste, and then all is baked/broiled/roasted on a sheet pan in the oven. You can do anything with a sheet pan, although you might want two or more to handle specific sweet desserts and savoury mains. Cleaning up is a breeze too. And of course there is no reason why you could not use both one-pots and sheet pans for meals that feed scores of people at once. The book begins with 25 very easy meals to make from an existing pantry. Then it moves on to breakfast, brunch, meatless, meats, and desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements.
Audience and level of use: beginner
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: warm kale, tomato and chickpea salad; summer roasted corn, potato and fresh mozzarella; huevos rancheros tortilla tarts; spicy sofrito shrimp and potatoes; sheet pan fajitas; pork posole.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
4.200 BEST SMOOTHIE BOWL RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2016, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0533-5, $27.95 CAN paper covers) is by Alison Lewis, recipe developer and author of other Robert Rose cookbooks. Here she works on the smoothie bowl: thick smoothies that you eat with a spoon, mostly at breakfast. It is Smoothie 2.0, with the addition of toppings such as fresh and dried fruits, seeds and nuts. Most of the preps her are gluten-free and vegetarian, and many are also vegan. She's got a section on how to build a smoothie bowl and how to acquire a smoothie pantry. Recipes covered are breakfast, green creations, kid-friendly, coffee and tea smoothies, dessert smoothies, with a concluding section on toppings. There's a great "complete breakfast smoothie bowl" on page 22, with protein, carbos, fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. My own breakfast has been emulating these for the past several years: I always have a bowl of nuts and seeds, mostly ground, with yogurt and then a choice of a savoury or a sweet liquid topping. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: beginners, those looking beyond smoothies.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: breakfast harvest bowl, peachy green bowl, avacolada, green star fruit bowl, orange-banana-coconut bowl, green tea blueberry bowl, honeydew green tea bowl.
The downside to this book: I think that there could have been more recipes.
The upside to this book: usual Robert Rose production with tips and ingredient measurements.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
5.THE SIX O'CLOCK SCRAMBLE MEAL PLANNER (American Diabetes Association, 2016, 418 pages, ISBN 978-1-58040-567-6, $22.95 US paper covers) is by Aviva Goldfarb, author of The Six O'Clock Scramble cookbooks, which help to reduce stress and improve health. She also has a website at www.thescramble.com. Here in this book she has a year of quick meals to help one prevent and/or manage diabetes. One main principle is to plan ahead and shop once a week with a list; there are many such lists in her book. The arrangement is by season, beginning with Spring. 160 recipes require 30 minutes or less to prepare, and there are 32 weekly meal plans of mains and sides. Separate sections cover snacks, dressings and dips, and quick breakfasts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents which is a shame since all the nutritional data is in metric.
Audience and level of use: those who want to manage their diet.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: ruffles noodles with spinach, feta and tomatoes; green salad with grapes; smokey beans and greens over grits; baked red snapper with onions; butternut squash and apple soup; vegetarian enchilada verdes; corn, tomato and bacon salad.
The downside to this book: no metric for ingredients or tables
The upside to this book: a good collection for those wishing to control their diet.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
6.FAST & FEARLESS COOKING FOR THE GENIUS (For the Genius Press, 2016, 287 pages, ISBN 978-1-941050-27-9, $24.95US paper covers, PDF eBook $21.95US) is by Ann Tudor, my wife and head chef at home. A MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS BEING DECLARED...The publisher says: "Home cooking is making a comeback, whether for health, entertainment, economy, or the simple joy of learning. Ann Tudor's cooking philosophy focuses on impromptu, innovative, and improvisational meals. Instead of set recipes, the book emphasizes riffing and playing with food." Here are kitchen secrets, stories, and free-wheeling kitchen moves. For anyone who forgot to learn how to cook, this is a chance to learn. The book is a boon to those who need to get food on the table with no delay. Long-time cooks as well will find new tricks and tips to encourage efficiency and improvisation. This is more than cooking wisdom; it is also a tight little stash of timeless kitchen secrets. Ann Tudor shares her revelations and shortcuts and revolutionary ideas, pulling readers into the warmth of her kitchen and her life. Here are meals and dishes that you can prepare when you get home (exhausted) from work, much less expensive than a diet of take-out and restaurant meals. She teaches you to fly by the seat of your pants, to cook without a net. In short, to riff. She outlines basic and easy principles and techniques for cooking. Using ingredients and methods that are sometimes idiosyncratic, Ann presents her credo: Don't be afraid, have a basic larder with some normal ingredients and some that are new to you, and approach the whole business in a spirit of play. The eBook alone should be a useful cell/reader text when you think of dinner for tonight – while on your way home! Orders at http://bit.ly/fast-fearless-cooking-ftg, use coupon code "fast-fearless-cooking-ftg" (no quotes) for discount. Quality/Price Rating: major conflict of interest.
7.BREAKFAST FOR DINNER (Ryland Peters & Small, 2016, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-703-4, $19.95 US hard covers) is largely by Carol Hilker, who organized the book and did about 47 recipes. The other 33 preps were chosen from the RP&S stable of cookbook authors; the majority from Hannah Miles and Dan May. It's basically a "cooked" breakfast that is eaten at dinner. The Full English Breakfast would be appropriate here. So it is largely egg- and hash-based. Waffles are useful as platforms for meats or veggies with gravy. Desserts are breakfast goodies such as Danish, raspberry coffee cake, or cinnamon rolls. Hey, if it all works, then you can have leftovers for breakfast the next day! Ultimately, though, you will spend as much time making a cooked breakfast as you would making some kind of a cooked dinner. Preparations have their ingredients listed in (mostly) metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: millennials
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pulled pork hash; monte cristo; Nasi Goreng bowl; saltfish buljol; strata; mac 'n' cheese sandwich; carrot cake scones.
The downside to this book: no waffle poutine prep!
The upside to this book: a good book for bachelors!
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
8.THE POWER OF PULSES (Douglas & McIntyre, 2016, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-77162-102-1, $24.95 CDN paper covers) is by Dan Jason, and sisters Hilary Malone and Alison Malone Eathorne. It deals with the food category of peas, beans, chickpeas, favas, and lentils. It is a nifty book, with Jason, who owns Salt Spring Seeds, providing home gardening advice. So he has a primer on the variety of pulses and their nutritional benefits. The Malones have 50 vegetarian preps for the reader to enjoy. Pulses are important: they are the best food to eat for nutrition and balance, they are inexpensive whole foods, they have diverse tastes and textures. and for renewable agriculture. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. End notes provide provenance sources and websites; the two separate indexes cover gardening and recipes.
Audience and level of use: vegetarians, those looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: crispy chickpea power bowl; lentil and butternut squash salad with kale and blue cheese; almond pesto pole beans with sourdough crumb; lentil and mushroom cottage pie; fava bean and artichoke tagliatelle; butter bean croquettes.
The downside to this book: I would have liked more recipes.
The upside to this book: it is a terrific theme book as you can readily grow pulses in your own backyard.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
9.GARLIC (Ryland Peters & Small, 2016, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-707-2, $21.95 US hard covers)is by Jenny Linford, a UK freelance food writer and multiple cookbook author. Garlic adds immense flavour to dishes; some do not like it, but many do. It's a member of the lilies: leeks, onions, chives, and is used internationally. Here are 65 preps that use garlic extensively as a main component, either for flavour or for textures. It is a full range, divided into areas from "mellow" through to "go wild", and including "comfort" and "fiery" along the way. There is also material about types and use, garlic festivals around the world (Gilroy comes to mind), medicinal and folklore use, and home cultivation. In general, preparations have their ingredients listed in both avoirdupois and metric measurements (with some inconsistency in treatment), but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: beginner
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: kimchi pancake with black garlic crème fraiche; toast garlic herbed labneh; Spanish garlic soup; wild garlic cheese scones; tzatziki; ajo blanco.
The downside to this book: I wanted more recipes, 65 is not enough.
The upside to this book: good photography and choice of preps.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
10.150 BEST RECIPES FOR COOKING IN FOIL (Robert Rose, 2016, 208 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0532-8, $19.95 CAN soft covers) is by Marilyn Haugen, cookbook writer, working her way through single purpose instruments for Robert Rose, such as cookbooks for spiralizers and sandwich makers. Here, the obvious advantage of cooking in foil is for messy BBQs and camp-outs (especially the latter, but you bring back the foil for disposal). Foil wrap is used at our house for a lot of things, and is always reused before being cleaned and recycled. The only trick is to make sure your packet is tightly sealed to keep in the juices and not dry out – that's the whole point. And promise yourself to recycle the foil since the format is not much reusable as a stainless steel pot would be. Her book is evenly divided among camping, grilling and ovens. Note to completists: she has NO dishwasher salmon recipe. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements.
Audience and level of use: beginners, millennials, campers, moist food lovers.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: breakfast tacos; blackberry peach crumble; curry coconut chicken; clam bake; grilled lamb with veggies; loaded baked sweet potatoes.
The downside to this book: more emphasis needed to be put on reusing and/or recycling foil.
The upside to this book: useful for new cooks.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
11.CRAFT SPIRITS (DK, 2016, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-4384-7, $22 US hardbound) is by Eric Grossman, a spirits writer, principally for USA Today. He writes on over 250 spirits, all made by artisanal small-scale processes. There's a primer on distillation, followed by material on vodka craft spirits, then gin, whisky, rum, brandy, agave, and other liqueurs. Each chapter has some relevant in-depth profiles of artisans (e.g., Hangar 1 Vodka, Grosperin XO Fine Champagne, Hudson Baby Bourbon) plus thumbnail sketches of the other 200 (all with bottle shots). And there are some fine cocktail preps of mainly the classics, deftly illustrated, and with ideas on how to create your own signature drinks. Now he needs to do a book on bitters...
Audience and level of use: knowledgeable spirit imbibers
Some interesting or unusual facts: "give your whisky an earthy yet sweet note by infusing with sweet potatoes".
The downside to this book: I would have liked more cocktail recipes.
The upside to this book: Good detail on how to create your own drinks. And he includes Ungava, the gin from Quebec made with Arctic circle botanicals.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
12.SAVOR (Artisan, 2016, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-57965-666-9, $29.95 US hardbound) is by Ilona Oppenheim, a graphic designer and photographer who owns the Ilona Agency. It's a book on "rustic recipes inspired by forest, field and farm" (subtitle); it comes with logrollers Eli Zabar, Ruth Rogers, and Francis Mallmann. It is also an art/travel book centred around Aspen, with many photos of the area and of the finished plate. It is arranged by area, beginning with the pasture (dairy: yogurt, butter, ghee, ricotta, custards) and moving through the earth (root veggies, kale, zucchini, tomato, pears, apples, peaches), the wild (dandelion, mushrooms, trout, pheasant, berries), the fire (grilled pizza, cheese fondue, smoked salmon, waffles, gluhwein), and the mill (oatmeal, muesli, breads, tarts). At the end, there's a list of resources. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: armchair travelers.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: see above. There is also biscotti, ancient grain pancakes, mountain berry marmalade, garlic scape compound butter, kale and feta quiche.
The downside to this book: too many non-food photos for my taste.
The upside to this book: good intro to farm-based food; she also recommends joining a CSA to get quality food.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
13.FRESH FISH (Storey Publishing, 2016, 352 pages, ISBN 978-1-61212-337-0, $19.95 US softbound) is by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, food writer and author of other cookbooks. It is a basic seafood book, perhaps assisted by the fact that the publisher and author are both Massachusetts-based. The subtitle is "a fearless guide to grilling, shucking, roasting, poaching and sauteeing seafood". But the only way to get fearless is to do a lot of it, so it becomes almost routine (see above). The book is valuable, but the new "inland" cook may need more coaching for confidence. Just about all forms of meals are covered: tacos, grilled fish, seared fish, baked fish, steamed and/or fired, and the like. The 175 preps also have accompaniments. Note too that "fish" in this context also includes "seafood" The wide range of cooking techniques makes this book valuable, but at the same time there seem to be too many non-food photos that are pretty but not needed. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: fish lovers, those who cook a lot.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: lobster BLT; marinated shrimps with fresh herbs; bourride with homemade garlic aioli; broiled oysters; white clam pizza; shrimp and crab manicotti.
The downside to this book: it is a very heavy book, and outsized as well.
The upside to this book: I loved the last photo in the book.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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