FAMILY-STYLE COOKBOOKS –

 

 

This is a roundup of cookbooks meant for family enjoyment, whether

 

workday eating or family participation, or just plain eating together....

 

 

MASTER THE ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER (Skyhorse Publishing,

 

2017, 258 pages, $25.99 CAD hard covers) is by Marci Buttars and Cami

 

Graham, both family specialists and bloggers at TIDBITS. As the publisher

 

says, this is NOT your grandma's pressure cooker. Here are more than 100

 

preps, with tips, for grains and yogurt and tender veggies, soft meats, and

 

so forth, with a range from breakfast to dessert. My kind of tool with large

 

type (including the index) and metric conversion charts. Quality/price rating:

 

87

 

SECOND HELPINGS, PLEASE! (Whitecap, 2017, 292 pages, $29.95

 

CAD paperbound) is a fundraiser project from the Mount Sinai Chapter of

 

Act to End Violence Against Women. It was originally published in 1968;

 

this is its 17th printing with some new material on quick and easy, low-

 

calorie, microwave recipes, and new tips. The last edition was previously in

 

2008. It's a basic community cookbook touching all the bases, perfect as a

 

gift for showers, weddings, anyone moving and setting up a kitchen, or a

 

holiday like Hanukkah (Dec 12 – 20 in 2017).  Of particular value are the

 

chapters with a lot of recipes for appetizers, party treats, soups and

 

veggies, and Jewish Festivals. Quality/price rating: 87

 

 

THE BEST OF AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN 2018 (America's Test Kitchen,

 

2017, 320 pages, $45 CAD hardbound) features the best recipes,

 

equipment reviews and tastings from the 2017 episodes of the popular

 

PBS television series (and some of their magazines and books too). Out of

 

1000 preps developed for their media, more than 150 are here as "best of

 

the best". It comes with the usual step-by-step photos and opinionated

 

equipment/ingredient thoughts. Newish topics for the 2017 year include

 

porchetta, panettone, sausage ragu, and frozen yogurt. Quality/price rating:

 

89

 

 

 

GRAVITY CAKES! (Robert Rose, 2017, 272 pages, $27.95 CAD

 

paperbound) is by Jakki Friedman and Francesca Librae, and utilizing

 

Jakki's business as a Manchester UK baker of gravity cakes (they create an

 

illusion of something pouring mid-air into the cake). These 45 projects can

 

be worked on by the whole family. The book has 650 step-by-step colour

 

photos to guide you. The preps are simple and the ingredients are

 

accessible. The designs  (Christmas, Valentine. Easter, Halloween, etc.)

 

are easy to construct; gluten-free preps are also available. Neat-o.

 

Quality/price rating: 87

 

 

 

BAKING CLASS (Storey Publishing, 2017, 144 pages plus stickers, $28.95

 

spiralbound) is by Deanna F. Cook who has written dozens of award-

 

winning books for kids. Here she builds on an earlier title, "Cooking Class", 

 

to present a way to get kids back into the kitchen and learn baking skills.

 

There are 50 recipes with step-by-step instructions so kids can follow on

 

their own. Classics include chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes,

 

pizza, cheese crackers: all made from scratch with wholesome ingredients.

 

At the back are stickers for colourful gift tag, labels, bake sale signs, and

 

cutout stencils for decorating cookies and cupcakes.

 

 

THE COMPLETE SOUS VIDE COOKBOOK (Robert Rose, 2017, 416

 

pages, $29.95 CAD paperbound) is by the world renowned chef, Chris

 

MacDonald (Avalon and Cava in Toronto). It's another in a long line of

 

"single-equipment" cookbooks (e.g.,food processor, crockpot, toaster),

 

here concentrating on using sous vide equipment and techniques to achieve

 

restaurant-quality results at home. Low temperature controlled food is

 

sealed in containers immersed in water. It works well if you have a lot to do,

 

and can be prepared in advance. But of course you do need the equipment.

 

A nicely done book that indeed can replicate restaurant food, with you

 

controlling the seasoning. The 175 recipes embrace the globe. Quality/price

 

rating: 87

 

 

 

 

A GRANDFATHER'S LESSONS (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

 

2017, 196 pages, $42 CAD hardbound) is by Jacques Pepin – and what

 

could be more family than Pepin cooking with his granddaughter Shorey.

 

He's been doing this since she was six; she is now 12 and capable of

 

cooking on her own. So here are meals that she enjoys as a young person,

 

and meals that are not always French-inspired. These are important life

 

skills, and they are illustrated with his renowned drawings. They open with

 

setting the table and good table manners – nice appreciations. Then they

 

move on to hors d'oeuvres [SIC from a Frenchman!] soups and salads,

 

eggs, sandwiches, pizza, fish, poultry, light meat, pasta, quinoa, veggies,

 

followed by 40 pages of desserts (hey, kids like to eat these things). Large

 

type in both the text and the index is a great bonus. Quality/price rating: 89

 

 

 

BUTTERCREAM BASICS (Robert Rose, 2017, 256 pages,  $27.95 CAD

 

paperbound) is by Carey Madden, whose cakes and cupcakes have been

 

featured in Vogue. She operates Violet, a custom cake bakery in

 

Philadelphia. This is buttercream decorating, and is the best gift for the

 

cake baker in your life. It's topically illustrated with step-by-step techniques

 

and loaded with tips, covering the major aspects of  cake and icing recipes,

 

borders and inscriptions, embellishment, blossoms, concluding with  a final

 

chapter on cupcakes. Quality/price rating: 87

 

 

NO EXCUSES DETOX (Ten Speed Press, 2017, 208p, $25.99 CAD

 

paperbound) is by nutritionist Megan Gilmore who specializes in detox at

 

www.detoxinista.com. She's got 100 preps for a more healthy eating plan –

 

gluten-free, quick and easy, relatively inexpensive, and meant for families.

 

Of course there's a plan, followed by courses: shakes, salads, soups, sides,

 

snacks, stir-fries, sweets, and staples. Ah yes, the "S" word dominates.

Quality/price rating: 87

 

 

EVERYDAY DIABETES MEALS (Robert Rose, 2017, 288 pages, $27.95

 

CAD papercovers) is by  Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD, CDN and Lisa

 

Mikus, RD, CNSC, CDN. Together they have three decades of clinical

 

experience. The 150 preps are for meals  with 45 to 60 grams of carbos.

 

The arrangement has easy consistent carbo dietary planning by choosing

 

from breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes, and then adding sweet or savoury

 

snacks within preset carb ranges. There's a 14 day meal plan. It's a lifestyle

 

change. Quality/price rating: 88

 

 

 

THE 7 WONDERS OF OLIVE OIL (Familius, 2017, 200 pages, $23.95

 

CAD paperbound) is by Alice Alech and Cecile La Galliard. It comes loaded

 

with lots of references, some quizzes, a handful of recipes, but no index.

 

Still, it is a useful read. Olive oil is discussed in a healthy sense: stronger

 

bones, some cancer prevention, higher brain function, some stroke and

 

heart attack prevention, reduction in diabetes risk, Alzheimer's disease

 

prevention, skin rejuvenation, and the Mediterranean diet. Each chapter is

 

succinctly titled. Quality/price rating: 88

 

 

 

THE LOW-FODMAP SOLUTION (Robert Rose, 2017, 268 pages, $27.95

 

CAD paperbound) is by Montrealer Cinzia Cuneo and others at

 

SOSCuisine, a group which designs specialized meal plans. Here they

 

concentrate on IBS. Research has shown that a low-FODMAP diet is

 

effective in three-quarters of IBS cases. You could be able to avoid intestinal

 

cramps, bloating, diarrhea and gas through the elimination of FODMAPs:

 

fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and

 

polyols – carbohydrates that are poorly digested in the intestine. Here she

 

has meal plans, shopping lists,  and 130 preps (many vegan). There are

 

also comprehensive lists of allowable foods and avoidable foods.

 

Quality/price rating: 89

 

 

 

THE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DIABETES

 

COOKBOOK (CICO Books, 2017, 160 pages, $29.95 CAD paperbound)

 

is by Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD., who is well-versed in diabetes care. It's

 

a guidebook for those who are pre-diabetic, diabetic, and  support groups.

 

She covers the challenges of living with diabetes, eating in  and dining out,

 

living on one's own, and travelling. She's got 70 preps tailored to those with

 

diabetes, including vegan and vegetarian options. It may not be everything

 

you'll need to know but it is a good beginning. Quality/price rating: 86

 

 

 

HOW TO HYGGE; the Nordic secrets to a happy life (St. Martin's Griffin,

 

2016, 2017, 208 pages, $27.99 USD hardbound) is by food writer Signe

 

Johansen; it was originally published in 2016 by Bluebird in the UK. "Hoo-

 

ga" (pronounced) usually translates as "comfort" or "coziness" implying

 

warmth, conviviality, and kinship. Nature sets the pace and provides health

 

benefits; the outdoors is better than the indoors. Try to be active at all ages;

 

try "fika" (collective restoration, eg, teas). Be minimalistic. There are more

 

principles scattered about the book. And there are more than a handful of

recipes.

Quality/price rating: 89

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com