THE CORNERSHOP COOKBOOK (Square Peg, 2015, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-22410104-2, $38.99 CAD hardbound) is by Sophie Missing and Caroline Craig, both food writers, principally with Guardian Cook. Its hook is using your local shop and their recipes to create meals. There are about 100 preps here, based on easy ingredients found in the local shops that can make you avoid supermarkets. It is arranged by category, from the "quiet night in" through takeaway alternatives, catch-up dinners, unplanned dinner parties, comfort foods, and leftovers. Plus, of course, the sweets. Preparations have their ingredients listed in metric measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those cooks looking to do something new but easy and simple.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: croque-person a cheval, tuna melt, vegetable rice bowl, spicy Asian-style turkey and greens soup, sardine pasta with lemon breadcrumbs.
The downside to this book: there is a distinctly UK orientation which works well in Canada, but may bot go over well in US.
The upside to this book: it uses metric measurements, which is more precise.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
4.BRITISH COLUMBIA FROM SCRATCH (Whitecap, 2016, 312 pages, ISBN 978-1-77050-234-5, $40 CAD hardbound) is by Denise Marchessault, who had a cooking school in Victoria. She now writes and photographs in Vancouver. The gorgeous photographs in the book are attributed to Caroline West. These are a total of 111 recipes for every season, a celebration of BC food – as the publisher says, "through a cook's palate and a photographer's lens". It's arranged by season beginning with spring, and then further subdivided by savoury and sweet. This is a strong regional cookbook, but certainly most of the ingredients should be found nation-wide: apples, local cheeses, salmon, duck, seafood. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements.
Audience and level of use: nationalists, BC residents and lovers, home cooks.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: poached salmon in a tomato wine broth; cranberry-fig pulled pork; potato rosti; apple cranberry bread pudding; chunky seafood stew; crispy oysters.
The downside to this book: a few wine notes might have been useful.
The upside to this book: it is a bit of a memoir too, with detailed description of the local scene.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
5.VEGETABLES (Quadrille, 2016, 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-84949-752-7, $35 USD hardbound) is by Antonio Carluccio, a leading authority on Italian food. He's written two dozen book on Italian food, including one on veggies. He felt it was time for a re-visit. Here he has 120 recipes for veggies, mostly done up in Italian-style. He covers leaves, shoots, pods, seeds, roots through squashes, pulses, grains, herbs, spices, nuts and mushrooms. It's arranged by greens, followed by roots, vegetable fruits, pulses and grains, herbs and nuts. ending with mushrooms and truffles. There is a lot of impressive material about Italian veggies and the manner of cooking them, as well as illustrative watercolours. Deets are given for each veggie, with botanical info. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements with mostly metric, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: Italian veggie lovers, all vegetarians.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: farinata; pomodori farciti; avocado pera e gamberetti; frittata de peperoni e mandorle; risotto con zucca; piatto di vegetali con salsa olandese.
The downside to this book: It weighs a lot and can be awkward to use – most times I photocopy recipes that I cook from.
The upside to this book: everything sounds so good and makes me hungry, with the Italian names highlighted by bold caps.
Quality/Price Rating: 90.
6.SALT (St. Martin's Griffen, 2016, 214 pages, ISBN 978-1-2650-08871-0, $24.99 USD hardbound) is by Leslie Bilderback, a pastry chef who has worked around California restaurants. She's written four other well-received cookbooks (e.g. Mug Meals). Here she provides a discourse on salt: history, lore, culture, medical aspects. There's about 100 recipes, with details on how to make infused salts, how to hold a salt tasting, how to cook with salt blocks, and a market guide to artisanal salts. First up is the primer material, followed by salt infusing, curing, and apps to sweets, with a heavy emphasis on the section "sauces, condiments and dressings". There is also a listing of specialized salt purveyors. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are multiple tables of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: salt lovers
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: rabbited stewed with IPA; Mexican chocolate; fruity ice cream; harissa sauce; herbed cheese lined with fig leaves; pickled rhubarb.
The downside to this book: I wanted more recipes.
The upside to this book: good discussion on types of salt.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
7.CRAFT PIZZA (Ryland Peters & Small, 2016, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-761-4, $19.95 USD hardcovers) is by Maxine Clark, prolific UK food writer and cooking coach/teacher.
Here, in her latest RPS book, she covers mainly "classic" pizza, Sicilian, sourdough, calzone and focaccia made at home. She's also got pizzette and small bites. It is pretty thorough, with a primer on equipment and flours. About 80 plus recipes in all.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: pizza lovers, Italian food freaks looking for new ideas.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: focaccia with crispy kale with whipped ricotta, roasted garlic and chipotle; parmesan soda bread; rolled pesto and olive and garlic bread; rustic country pie; potato and mozzarella calzone.
The downside to this book: gluten-free is not covered
The upside to this book: good layout.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
8.FOR THE LOVE OF LICORICE (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-5107-1293-5, $19.99 USD hardbound) is by Elizabeth Johansson, a Swedish pastry chef who competed at the Culinary Olympics. She's also known as the Queen of Licorice. This is an English translation of the Swedish book, and it covers 60 preps for candies, desserts, and full meals. While there are three recipes using fennel and none with anise, the book focuses on licorice roots, granules, and pastilles. There's a primer and some cultural history about licorice; she also describes a licorice factory in Calabria. The book is arranged by dish: candy, ice cream, pastries, desserts, "food", and drinks. She covers a licorice tasting, licorice festivals, use in beverages (make your own liqueurs), and the like. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric conversions.
Audience and level of use: licorice lovers.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: licorice gratineed lobster with fennel salad; fish soup with ground licorice root and fennel topping; Belgian licorice waffles; white chocolate cake with lime marinated berries; salty licorice caramels.
The downside to this book: I would have liked more recipes, and perhaps something about anise.
The upside to this book: a good single ingredient cookbook, whose time has come.
Quality/Price Rating:
9.MY ABUELO'S MEXICAN FEAST (Hardie Grant Books, 2015, 128 pages, ISBN978-1-7427-0678-8, $29.99 USD hardbound) is by Daniella Germain, who was taught Mexican home food styling by her grandparents. Her first book (My Abuela's Table) paid homage to the culinary skills of her grandmother. This time, it is her grandfather's turn, and more of an entertaining style. It's got a lot of memoir material and family photos. The preps are sorted as regalos del mar (seafood), comida callejera (street food), tortas (sandwiches), nieves (sorbets), colosinas y dulces (candies and sweets), panaderia (sweet breads), and comida del rancho (ranch food). A passionate cookbook. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois with some metric measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: Mexican food lovers; memoir lovers
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: ensalad de nopales; arroz a la mexicana; chicharron; barbacoa; caldo xochitl; pavo en mole negro; cabrito en cerveza; arroz con chorizo.
The downside to this book: I wanted more!
The upside to this book: excellent watercolours by the author, a graphic designer.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
10.FOOD 52 A NEW WAY TO DINNER (Ten Speed Press, 2016, 280 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-57800-7, $35 USD hardbound) is by Amanda Hesser and Merill Stubbs, both co-founders of Food52 and former writers/test kitchen/editors, etc. at the New York Times. Hesser won a Beard Award for The Essential New York Times Cookbook. This current work is described as "a playbook of recipes and strategies for the week ahead". It is an organizing manual of some 16 chapters, divided into the seasons and further divided into two parts – one by Stubbs (with two weeks of organizing), and one by Hesser (with two weeks of organizing). There are game plans, pantries, and shopping lists. Perfect for the millennial, to reduce everything to a plan. And even to have home delivery of the food! As with most American cookbooks, preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: Millennials, frazzled homemakers.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: as we head into winter, I should be doing Amanda's winter: oxtails, rice porridge, brussels sprouts, mustard greens, coconut, hot {chili] honey. Or maybe Merrill's (pork tacos, fish, rice, beans, soup, cabbage, chiles,ginger, grapefruit, lime ice cream).
The downside to this book: you can become too reliant on the recipes that work into their scheme.
The upside to this book: organizing is always a good idea.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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