3.OPEN SANDWICHES (Quadrille Publishing, 2018, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-78713-125-5 $19.99 USD hardbound) is by Trine Hahnemann, a Danish cookbook author with over a dozen titles.
Here are 70 smorrebrod ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She4's got the primer and the basics in two different places, followed by two chapters "everyday" and "special" (most are everyday). Smorrebrod can be special. It can be a large cold table buffet of topings to put on food, a sort-of DIYA to eat for hours. In winter one could try herring followed by duck with chicory and apple and then salted beef with horseradish. In summer, it is shrimp, soft leeks with eggs and vinaigrette. With all the flavours, a buffet may be hard to pair with wines. Nevertheless, you-as-host can enjoy the relative ease and leisure of other people creating the food. For one thing, nothing becomes soggy because it is eaten just after creation. Christmas pork with cabbage is another winner.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those looking for entertaining ideas.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: there are rules based on traditions, such as rye bread, then salted butter, then the main topping of protein, followed by garnish and decorations. The correct order of eating is always herring first, then other fish, then meat or veggies, and cheese is last.
The downside to this book: no author bio...who is she? I had to use Amazon.
The upside to this book: here are nice notes on the herbs
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
4.BEAUTIFUL BUNDTS (Robert Rose, 2017, 288 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0576-2 $27.95 CAD paperbound) is by Julie Anne Hession, a competitive cook, photographer, blogger and cookbook author in Las Vegas and Wyoming. She's got 100 recipes for Bundts with their unique ring shapes. The range is from retro classics (babas au rhum, gugelhupf) through modern twists for every occasion. The Bundt pan can be used for many other dishes: sweet and savoury casseroles, cornbread, whole meals. She discusses the different designs of Bundt pans, including mini Bundts. The preps are arranged by format: basic, breakfast, filled, layered & swirled, pull-apart, holiday, international, mini, and savoury.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements.
Audience and level of use: home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pull-apart pretzel Bundt (with a smoky cheese dipping sauce, retro cranberry mold, funfetti birthday Bundt, savoury caprese brunch strata, mini mushroom risotto, baked Italian sausage rigatoni Bundt.
The downside to this book: there are still many people who own a Bundt but are uncertain what to do with it.
The upside to this book: it is easy to make gluten-free and vegan Bundts
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
5.THE ALASKA FROM SCRATCH COOKBOOK (Rodale, 2018, ISBN 978-1-63565-063-1 $27.99 USD hardcovers) is by Maya Wilson, food columnist for Alaska Dispatch News and chief blogger at "Alaska from Scratch". The cookbook and the photos (which also include some landscape) are derived from her website. It's arranged in traditional fashion, with breakfast upfront followed by soups, seafood, mains, beverages, and desserts. It's a very good description of Alaska life and food, a nifty regional cookbook. But the book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart.
Audience and level of use: Alaskans, home cooks
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: blueberry basil lemonade; ginny weasley; hunter's pie (ground game or beef); king crab pasta with sourdough bread crumbs; scallop tostadas with corn salsa and chipotle crema; slow-roasted king salmon with cucumber dill sauce; black cod over udon; salmon burgers.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
6.FEAST BY FIRELIGHT (Ten Speed Press, 2018, 202 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-57991-2 $22 USD hardbound) is by Emma Frisch, owner of Firelight Camps in Ithaca NY. These are everyday foods created by fireside cooking shared with friends and family. She's got menu planners, handy illustrations, equipment lists, and advice on how to prepare for any trip, even one to a local park during the week (and no need to pitch a tent). There are 80 recipes here plus memoir material about the joys of camp cooking. But the book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart.
Audience and level of use: happy campers, those who look cooking in the outdoors (not all BBQ)
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: spiced sweet potato and kale tacos; red pepper-fennel kraut; Campari sangria spritz; praline bacon; crispy lemon-thyme skillet chicken with green beans; grilled stone fruit with bread crumble; honey-coriander glazed pork chops with roasted corn salsa.
The downside to this book: nothing, really. It is pretty thorough, although I think that cleaning up could use its own chapter.
The upside to this book: it is all about sharing food at the campfire
Quality/Price Rating: 89
7.THE BODY BUILDER'S KITCHEN (Alpha Dorling Kindersley, 2018, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-46546-997-7 $19.95 USD paperbound) is by Erin Stern, a professional bodybuilder and competitor who has won over 14 titles. Www.erinstern.com has more about her and her kitchen. Her book is intended to give bodybuilders a foundation of 100 recipes plus meal plans to help develop a nutrition plan that works. These are the preps that have given her successful results. The are all easy, contain a minimum number of ingredients, and each prep includes totals for calories, protein, carbos and fat. She has five main meal plans that use the recipes: all of them are for seven days each – bulking, cutting, ketogenic, calorie cycling, and carb cycling. Each one of these plans comes with s shopping list. The preps promote muscle-building and fat-burning. But the book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart.
Audience and level of use: bodybuilders, dieters.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: broiled cod with tomatillo salsa; egg white custards; reverse-seared sirloin steaks; slow cooker BBQ pulled chicken; overnight mocha oats; Tex-Mex fajitas; Canadian bacon and egg cups; turkey and veggie rollup.
The downside to this book: I wanted more recipes.
The upside to this book: here is guidance on how to eat, what to eat, and when to eat it.
Quality/Price Rating: 87
8.A BAKER'S YEAR (St. Martin's Griffen, 2018, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-12738-9 $25.99 USD hardbound) is by Tara Jensen, who has a wood-fired bakery in North Carolina. Previously she had spent a decade as a professional. This is her story of a year of baking and living the simple life at the Smoke Signals Bakery. It ius all arranged by month, from January through December. Half of each chapter describes her life at the bakery for that month; the other half are the preps that are relative to that month. February is devoted to sourdough cultures. Most of the March recipes deal with pancakes while April has waffles. I like then presentations and style of the book. The book could have been improved if she also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart, and did more scaling.
Audience and level of use: home bakers, pastry chefs
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: savoury pancakes; shooting star cake; full moon cake; broken down berry pie; coalfield cake; stenciled loaves in a pan; cornmeal chess.
The downside to this book: I would have liked more bread recipes, and some gluten-free alternatives.
The upside to this book: her antry porridge includes whole spelt and whole barley
Quality/Price Rating: 88
9.THE CHICKPEA REVOLUTION (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018, 196 pages, ISBN 978-1-5107-2640-6 $17.99 USD hardbound) is by the team of Scarborough blogger Heather Lawless and Jen Mulqueen, a Toronto nutrition expert. The have given us 85 plant-based recipes; it's a vegan book centred around chickpeas as a way of cutting back on animal agriculture (responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions). Chickpeas are good because they are versatile, affordable, rich in protein (and fibre, iron, phosphate, et al), and they contribute to the soil by absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere. In addition to the chickpea itself, there are many cooking uses for chickpea flour, aquafaba (the vegan egg white), and chickpea pasta. The eight chapters here run through the mealtimes: breakfast through weeknight dinners, plus entertaining and cocktails. Kids are included too; this is a family book. This is also a good book for vegans and flexitarians. If you must need meat/fish/dairy/eggs – just add them as garnishes to most of the preps. This can expand the scope of the book. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, but at least it had metric conversion charts.
Audience and level of use: vegans, chickpea lovers
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: morning glory muffins; socca bread; fish-less tacos; falafel dog; garbanzo joe (vegan sloppy joe); Moroccan stew; acorn squash salad; roasted grapes and lemon-tahini dressing; chickpea pot pie.
The downside to this book: needed a cross-reference from socca to panisse and vice versa.
The upside to this book: good single ingredient cookbook, but I was looking for more recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
10.PROJECT FIRE (Workman Publishing, 2018, 326 pages, ISBN 978-1-5235-0276-9 $22.95 USD paperbound) is by Steven Raichlen. It's his annual (or so it seems: this is #31) BBQ book – the others have won five Beards and three IACPs. He's also done three PBS food shows (Project Smoke, Primal Grill, Barbeque University). So he needs no introduction. Here he concentrates on "cutting-edge techniques and sizzling recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S'mores". He's documented live-fire cooking in over 60 countries. His current book has 100 preps with many reinventions. There are reverse-seared beef tomahawks, fry-brined filet mignons, ember-charred porterhouses, and T-Bones enriched with melted beef fat. Unique items include spit-roasted beer-brined cauliflower, blowtorched rosemary veal chop, hay-fired mussels, peppery chicken under a brick, and herb-crusted salmon on a shovel. Live-fire of course needs an audience, and this is indeed top level showing off!! Also covered are breakfast, cocktails, desserts and veggies. A great book to be used for entertaining friends. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, but at least it had metric conversion charts. Quality/price rating: 90.
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Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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