2. SERIOUSLY SIMPLE PARTIES; recipes, menus and advice for effortless
entertaining (Chronicle Books, 2012, 224 pages, ISBN 978-0-8118-7257-7,
$24.95 US soft covers) is by Diane Rossen Worthington. She's a Beard
Award-winning radio show host, and the author of over 20 cookbooks,
including the Seriously Simple series. As her notes say, there is
material here for a Sunday football lunch for 10, a cocktail party for
20, and a holiday feast for smaller numbers. The trick is to use tested
techniques and simple shortcuts. There are 15 pages of menus, all with
page references for the recipes (which are arranged by separate chapter
courses). The Fall Harvest Party embraces 8 to 12 people, the Indian
Summer dinner party is for 6, and so on – it's all arranged by season,
about 4 – 8 each, 31 menus in all. There is the occasional drink
recommendation, and many tips on how to handle crowds and prepare in
advance. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: those looking for entertainment ideas and
food.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: for an autumn paella party,
there are prosciutto-wrapped figs with burrata and port, a tapas
platter, a white gazpacho, an arugula salad, paella, and a limoncello
zabaglione.
The downside to this book: I'd like some material on cleaning up, that
might be useful. Also, more menus, maybe up to 52?
The upside to this book: good sampling of crudities, cheese platters,
drinks, and doubling recipes.
Quality/Price Rating: 87.
3. 500 BEST QUINOA RECIPES; 100% gluten-free super-easy superfood
(Robert Rose, 2012, 528 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0414-7, $27.95 CAN paper
covers) is by Camilla V. Saulsbury, a food writer and recipe developer.
Here she comes up with the usual variety of preps for Robert Rose
dealing with a single product: breakfasts, apps, snacks, mains,
desserts, and more. We've been cooking quinoa for over two years (one
of the first such books came from Whitecap), and it is always a delight
to come across another quinoa book. My only complaint is that cooked
quinoa – by itself - tastes too delicate, very close to millet. So it
needs a booster of sweetness or acid or salt via a sauce or added
ingredients. But quinoa has the highest amount of protein of any grain,
and it is complete protein with all the essential amino acids, plus
mineral. The fact that it is gluten-free is appealing to IBS sufferers.
As a cook, you can use the seeds, flakes or make flour in your cooking
patterns. The easiest way to treat quinoa is to prepare it like rice.
Saulsbury uses the simmer method, the pasta method, the rice cooker
method, and the thermos method. She also adds it to baked goods, toasts
it, sprouts it, and makes flour. Each prep here comes with some advice
and comments. 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: single ingredient cookbook for those
interested in quinoa.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pancakes with yogurt and
jam; steak with horseradish and tomato quinoa salad; broccoli and
chicken and quinoa stir-fry; quinoa almond butter blondies; bulgogi
pork with quinoa kimichi slaw; seared salmon with pineapple mint
quinoa.
The downside to this book: nothing really
The upside to this book: good colour photo section.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
4. THE BIG BOOK OF BABYCAKES CUPCAKE MAKER RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2012,
240 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0417-8, $24.95 CN paper covers) is by Kathy
Moore and Roxanne Wyes, food consultants who also develop recipes and
standards for small appliances. They wrote the booklet that accompanies
the Babycakes cupcake maker. So if you own one, then this book expands
the available recipe selections. It also includes uses far beyond
cupcakes: mini-pies, cake bites, cheesecakes, scones, assorted savoury
cups, tortillas, and more. Everything takes about 10 minutes baking
time, and this is great for parties, bake sales or mass pigouts,
community socials, and the like. Even your kids can help out. There are
even about nine gluten-free preps, but you can easily adapt others
through trial-and-error. There also lots of tips and sidebars. Of
course, it is possible to make small bite-sized desserts apart from a
cupcake maker, but why bother? This book is extremely useful because
the cupcake maker can do so much more than just cupcakes. All the 200
or so 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: beginning cooks.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pecan mini pies; pina colada
cheesecakes; mud pies; candy cane cupcakes; root beer float cupcakes;
Linzer hand pies.
The downside to this book: no general notes on adapting the recipes to
an oven.
The upside to this book: there's a list of Internet and mail order
sources.
Quality/Price Rating: 85.
5. EVERYDAY KITCHEN FOR KIDS; 100 amazing savory and sweet recipes
children can really make (Whitecap, 2012, 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-77050-
066-2, $29.95 CAN paper covers) is by Jennifer Low, food editor,
cookbook author ("Kitchen for Kids") and beverage company operator. She
appears frequently on TV as an expert on cooking with kids. The
important thing to remember about this book is that there are no
knives, no stove-top cooking and no motorized appliances. The recipes
also do not call for gluten-rich ingredients such as wheat flour or
breadcrumbs (or they have a gluten-free option). There are long notes
explaining this and other maters affected by allergies and similar
medical problems. Indeed, everything is so easy and simple; it's an
ideal book for students away from home for the first time. The book
begins with meal foods for lunches or dinners, moving to special event
foods, then to baked goods, cookies, and sweets. About half the book is
desserts or sweets. 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: kids and their parents, even the
grandparents.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pink cherry cake; hocus
pocus pizza; ciabatta; sponge toffee lollipops; parmesan puffs; beef
stew; banana bread.
The downside to this book: it might actually help to have a few photos
of kids getting down-and-dirty with the food and the equipment, adding
a bit of a sparkle to the affair.
The upside to this book: there is a glossary of methods and
ingredients.
Quality/Price Rating: 86.
6. GRAIN MAINS; 101 surprising and satisfying whole grain recipes for
every meal of the day (Rodale, 2012, 232 pages, ISBN 978-1-60961-306-8,
$24.99 US hard covers) is by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough,
award-winning authors of more than 20 cookbooks. These preps here cover
the gamut, from the well-known (wheat berries) to the obscure (teff).
There's a primer of sorts on what whole grains are all about and
cooking whole grains. The rest of the book is balanced between
breakfast/brunch dishes, cold dishes, and warm dishes. Most of the cold
dishes are salads. A lot of the warm dishes are soups, stews, and
casseroles, with a few burgers. The gluten question is easily
addressed: barley, rye and wheat (in all their forms, including
triticale, kamut, spelt, farro) have gluten. All the rest are gluten-
free, but you must check with the grain processing facilities for
cross-contamination. Usually, only organic non-gluten grains will be
free of gluten. The book will also appeal to vegans and vegetarians
(and preps are labeled such). Preparations have their ingredients
listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric
equivalents.
Audience and level of use: cooks looking for healthy foods in one book.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: quinoa crepes with corn and
avocado; Turkish red lentil and bulgur soup; kamut burgers with
shallots and pecans; tabbouleh with chicken and pineapple; spelt berry
salad with white beans and ham.
The downside to this book: a few more recipes would have been useful.
The upside to this book: a good book to extend your repertoire.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
7. DUTCH OVEN CAJUN AND CREOLE (Gibbs Smith, 2012, 128 pages, ISBN 978-
1-4236-2525-4, $15.99 US spiral bound) is by Bill Ryan, founder of the
Louisiana Dutch Oven Society. This is the full-blown Dutch oven, made
of cast iron, ranging from 2 quarts to 12 quarts (8 inches to 16 inches
in diameter). It's an important kitchen implement, and there is a
primer on how to season it, clean it and look after it, as well as
control the heat. Then he gets down to the food, which of course is
that Louisiana "yum-yum" factor. There are a lot of notes about
seasoning, and then we begin with breakfast, followed by mains, sides,
breads and desserts. The resources lists tell you where to buy Dutch
ovens and supplies, as well as how to locate the other societies with
all their recipes. There is even an International society, at
www.idos.org Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois
measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Just under
100 recipes.
Audience and level of use: Dutch oven users (or any large pot).
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: chocolate pecan pie;
crawfish pie; baked cod Cajun style; Cajun breakfast casserole; lobster
Creole; BBQ pork medallions; loaded baked beans; New Orleans red beans;
scalloped corn casserole.
The downside to this book: spiral binding makes it easier for library
users to rip out recipes. This also happens in book stores, where you
should only buy shrink wrapped versions – or use online ordering.
The upside to this book: HOWEVER, spiral binding makes it easier to use
the preps since the book lies flat.
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
8. GLUTEN-FREE BAKING FOR THE HOLIDAYS; 60 recipes for traditional
festive treats (Chronicle Books, 2012, 167 pages, ISBN 978-1-4521-0701-
1, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Jeanne Sauvage who since 2006 has
maintained a blog at
www.artofglutenfreebaking.com. She maintains that
it is not enough to bake gluten-free, the recipe needs to be delicious,
or why bother? I'm with her on this. She opens with the primer on
gluten-free flours, and adds sources for ingredients and equipment.
She opens the recipes with cookies, and then follows with cakes, pies
and tarts, breads and crackers, and ends with deep fried treats
(cannoli, bunuelos, rosettes, pizzelles, krumkake, doughnuts). There is
even a gingerbread house, with templates for the walls and roof.
Nothing is really labeled as a festivity, except maybe Buche de Noel
and Mexican Wedding Cookies – these can be good for year round
holidays. All of the preps are well-detailed, with boldface for the
ingredients and a larger face for the technique. Preparations have
their ingredients listed (for the most part) in metric and avoirdupois
measurements, but there is no separate table of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: gluten-free food eaters.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts:
The downside to this book: not enough recipes – I want more (I'll pay
more too).
The upside to this book: I had to fight off my wife who wanted the book
before I reviewed it. Patience.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
9. 101 RECIPES YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT; a Prevention cookbook (Rodale,
2012, 244 pages, ISBN 978-1-60961-942-8, $24.99 US hard covers) is by
Lori Powell, food director of Prevention magazine, published since
1950. The premise is that these are the top 101 dishes that we should
all be eating since each prep contains the maximum impact of good
nutrients. For example, the dark chocolate pudding with whipped ricotta
satiates the chocolate need and provides all the benefits of chocolate,
is low in calories, and delivers a quarter of one's daily calcium
needs. Linguine with kale, olives and currants provides fiber and
nutrition. The book focuses on 13 essentials: calcium, fibre, folate,
iron, magnesium, omega-3, potassium, others plus four vitamins. This
should provide the maximum impact for your diet if you eat some of all
13 each day. Sounds reasonable to me, and with 101 easy type recipes,
it should be a no-brainer. The only caveat would be if you do not
actually like the food, such as (in my case) beets. That knocks out
three recipes for me. It could be a simple matter of just leaving out
that food, but then the balance is gone. The arrangement is by course.
Each prep has nutritional information, and there is a week's worth of
menus at the back to get you started. Preparations have their
ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table
of metric equivalents (even though the nutritional data is in metric).
Audience and level of use: those cooks interested in good health, but
harried for time.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: grilled eggplant, tomato and
fresh mozzarella sandwiches; pearl couscous with roasted beets, lima
beans, and feta; chopped vegetable salad with sardines and toasted pita
croutons; Swiss chard and white bean soup; curried red lentil and
carrot soup; roasted chicken breasts with sauteed cabbage and apples.
The downside to this book: not enough recipes, could we have more
please?
The upside to this book: enticing photos.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
10. WHOLE GRAINS FOR A NEW GENERATION; light dishes, hearty meals,
sweet treats, and sundry snacks for the everyday cook (Stewart, Tabori
& Chang, 2012; distr. Canadian Manda Group, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-
61769-001-3, $23.95 US paper covers) is by Liana Krissoff, a cookbook
author who had previously dealt with caning, hot drinks, and slow
cooking. The preps here are arranged by course, beginning with
breakfast ands brunch, progressing through apps and salads, mains and
sides, sweets and snacks, and ending with "homemade condiments to have
on hand". Most grains are gluten-free; the ones to avoid are the wheat
and rye family, barley, and possibly oats from a bulk bin. The 150 or
so preparations have their ingredients listed mostly in both metric and
avoirdupois measurements, but there is no separate table of
equivalents. Each prep has an indication of whether it is gluten-free,
vegan or vegetarian. At the end, there is a cheat sheet of cooking
times, arranged by grain, and a list of sources with addresses and
websites.
Audience and level of use: home cooks looking for healthy and new
dishes.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: teff upma (spicy Indian
mush); kinche (Ethiopian cracked wheat) with spiced butter and
tomatoes; batido de trigo (puffed-wheat drink); smoked fish and kasha
cakes; oven-baked brown rice balls; spicy soba noodle salad; porcini
and barley risotto.
The downside to this book: I'd like a little more discussion on gluten.
The upside to this book: just about everything is tasty, with added
spicing (not necessarily heat).
Quality/Price Rating: 88.
11. A YEAR OF PIES; a seasonal tour of home baked pies (Lark Crafts,
2012; distr. Canadian Manda Group, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-4547-0286-3,
$19.95 US paper covers) is by Ashley English, author of the Homemade
Living series (canning, chickens, bees, home dairy). The basics primer
has six essential pie crust recipes, some troubleshooting tips,
instructions for creating decorative pie crusts, and how to select
seasonal ingredients. Each season, beginning with winter, includes some
guest recipes from bloggers. Winter has such delights as pies made with
beets, cabbage, celeriac, collards, kale, mushrooms, onions, parsnips,
potatoes, rutabagas and turnips. Fruit is represented by citrus
varieties. Spring has more fruit, summer is almost totally fruit, and
autumn coasts with a good mixture of apples, cranberries, fennel, figs,
pears, pecans, pomegranates, pumpkins, quinces, and winter squashes.
While she herself doesn't have any gluten-free recipes, three bloggers
do: apple pie, pear tart, and smoked salmon tart. Preparations have
their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are
tables of metric equivalents.
Audience and level of use: pie lovers (who isn't?)
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: fiadone; spiced meat pie;
galumkis pie; roasted corn and pepper pie; lemon-lime chess pie; honey
pie; roasted butternut squash, cheddar, and sage galette.
The downside to this book: there's about 60 preps here, I wish there
were more, say 104, for pie twice a week.
The upside to this book: great idea, plus all the savoury pies as well.
Quality/Price Rating: 89.
