...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic best 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 at home, but how could that be? The books 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 photo shots, verging on gastroporn. There are endorsements from other celebrities in magnificent cases 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 –
14.EASY VEGAN BAKING (DK Books, 2018, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-8013-2, $17.99 USD paperbound) is by Jerome Eckmeier and Daniela Lais, both long-time vegans and bakers. He has an Internet cooking show and blog; she's a journalist who has also worked in a vegetarian-vegan Austrian restaurant. Here they present 80 easy preps for cookies, cakes, pizzas, breads, pies, tarts, frostings, etc. They've got the usual vegan primer of basics, plus a recipe distribution through dessert, entertaining, quiche, bread rolls, and holiday foods. Very useful, with that DK layout. The book could have been improved if it also used more metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 85.
15.HEALTHY, QUICK & EASY SMOOTHIES (DK Alpha, 2018, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-7667-8 $16.99 USD paperbound) is by Dana Angelo White, RD, who specializes in culinary nutrition and recipe development. She's responsible for being a nutrition expert for foodnetwork.com as well as a founding blog contributor. She's got 100 quick preps under 300 calories each, and made with no more than five ingredients. Each prep has nutritional data such as carbs, fibre, protein, and fat. Most preps appear to be vegan in style (free of animal milk and honey) using coconut milk, almond or soy milk and maple syrup. But the remaining preps can be easily modified. Arrangement is by major ingredient: tropical, berry, green, and "combo" (e.g., pineapple and chia bowl with banana and orange). The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 88
Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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