...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
7.THE ESSENTIAL HOME-GROUND FLOUR BOOK (Robert Rose, 2016, 288 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0534-2, $27.95 CAN paperbound) is by Sue Becker, owner of The Bread Beckers and The Real Bread Company. She's a nutrition counselor in Georgia USA who has been teaching whole-grain flours for over 25 years. This is a reissue/reprint of the 2016 book. Real whole grains are both nutritious and delicious, and can be incorporated into any lifestyle and culture. Those grains with gluten (wheat, barley, rye) unfortunately cannot be assimilated by some people, but there are plenty of other grains and grasses to go around: rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, teff, sorghum, legumes. She covers them all in her determination to get you to bake and eat freshly home-ground flours; there is nutrition, lower cost, and better taste. The first half of the book details equipment for home-milling and the basics of baking. The second half has 100 recipes for yeast breads, quick breads, loaf breads, biscuits, cornbread, cookies, bars and cakes. As always there is the terrific Robert Rose layout of notes, ingredients, metric and avoirdupois measurements used in each recipe, and tips. Quality/price rating: 90.
8.MILK! (Bloomsbury, 2018, 2019, 385 pages, ISBN 978-1-63286-383-6 $19US softbound) is by Mark Kurlansky who has written a ton of books over the past decades (20 non-fiction). Here he returns to the topic of food (his previous such books were on Salt, Cod, WPA food, Oysters). I could joke that the topics salt and cod are related (salted cod) to milk in that milk is used to soften the cod as in "brandade de morue", thus continuing the food theme perhaps for a fourth title – but I won't. This is a culinary, cultural, and economic history of all things dairy, with some 100 or so recipes from all time periods. "Milk became the first food to be tested in laboratories, and is now the world's most regulated food." Today milk is at the centre of food politics, raising questions about everything from industrial farming and animal rights to GMOs, the locavore movement, and advocates for raw milk. He's got a bibliography, and index, plus a recipe index. 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: 89
9.RAW FOOD (DK, 2014, 2019, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-8402-4 $19.99 US paperbound) is by Anat Fritz. It was originally published in German in 2014; this is the first North American edition, in English. It is basically fast, fresh and easy all-vegan food. There are 65 recipes with distinctive flavour combos and techniques that provide a vegan culinary experience. Salads, smoothies, sauces, seeds, soups, spreads, sushi, sprouts, snacks – all the "s" words – abound. There is something here for everyone, and all of it is raw. Carnivores can easily adapt this to tartares – just so long as it is all raw. The book concludes with raw food ingredients and kitchen tips. But I am sure that the original German text used metric measurements. These have been converted to American volume avoirdupois. The book could have been improved if it also used the original metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 87.
10.WILD HONEY & RYE (Interlink Books, 2018, 2019, 208 pages, ISBN 978-1-62371-918-0 $22.95 US paperbound) is by Ren Behan. It was originally published in 2018 by Pavilion Books, and here it is reissued in a paperbound format. The emphasis is on contemporary Polish cuisine, a more modern and upscale approach to traditional food: less fat and sugar, modern techniques, brighter and fresher. As she says, the emphasis is no longer on dumplings and stews but rather on lighter, seasonal and more-spicy food. Typical newish grain s include spelt, buckwheat and millet. Fruit is fresher, honeys are infused, salads are more raw. Hearty dishes such as pierogi, goulash, and meatballs have a lighter touch and different fillings. 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: 88.
11.CUCINA SICILIANA (Ryland Peters & Small, 2016, 2019, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-78879-117-5, $19.95 USD hardbound) is by Ursula Ferrigno, consultant chef to the Caffe Nero chain. She's been on BBC, and runs classes for Sur La Table stores. She's written more than 20 cookbooks, mainly on Italian and Mediterranean themes. This book was originally published in 2016 as "Flavors of Sicily". Sicilian cuisine is a great crossroads melting pot mixture of Greeks/Romans/Arabs/Normans/Spaniards. Typical food include tomatoes, olive oil, sheep's milk, pistachios, olives, fennel, citrus fruits. Classics include blood orange and red onion salads, olive relish, fava bean soup, spring lamb, fried chickpeas with herbs, panelle [socca], and braised lemon chicken in the 70 or so recipes here.. 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: 88.
12.SALT & PEPPER (Ryland Peters & Small, 2009, 2016, 2019, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1-78879-122-9 $14.95 USD hardbound) is by Valerie Aikman-Smith food stylist, chef and author based in Los Angeles. It contains some preps from her previous books that dealt with preserves and pickles, dressings and small bites. It's a basic book of some 70 recipes using salt and/or pepper as gourmet seasoning ingredients. For salt, there are a number of salt crust recipes (lamb, shrimp, chicken, branzino) plus a few sweet and salty items such as Mexican chili chocolate salted truffles. Classics include margarita with a special salt, mojito with sea salt, or a bloody Mary with celery salt. For pepper, there is, of course, the pepper-crusted steak or the peppered peach chutney. 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: 88
13.125 BEST INDOOR GRILL RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2004, 2013, 2019, 189 pages, ISBN
978-0-7788-0102-3, $21.95 CAN paper covers) is by Ilana Simon. It is now back in print: a basic primer on using indoor grills, mostly electrical but including two-sided contact indoor grills and one-sided hibachi-style indoor grills. It is loaded with techniques, ingredients, tools, charts for internal cooking times, and the 125 recipes covering salads, sandwiches, burgers, mains and sides, plus a few desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Try Asian steak noodle salad, grilled brie pockets, or orange sesame chicken. Quality/price rating: 85.
14.ONE-POT VEGETARIAN (Hardie Grant Books, 2018, 2019, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-78488-357-0 $19.99 USD paperbound) is by Sabrina Fauda-Role, It was first published last year by Hachette Livre in Paris in French; this is the English language translation. These are 80 easy and tasty vegetable meals in one (non-electric) pot that can heated on a gas or electric range. For a nutritionally complete meal you will need a carbohydrate (pasta, grain, rice), some plant-based protein (pulses, legumes), veggies and/or fruit (carrots, zucchini, fresh or frozen), spices, and a creamy fat or oil (dairy, nut oil, cheese) for body. Recipes can be varied by changing the seasonings or the garnishes for distinctive flavours. These are complete meals, and in the case of meat lovers, can be served as an accompaniment to the main flesh dish. Basic dishes include rigatoni with tomato and chickpeas, farfalle with blue cheese and mushrooms, tomato and sweetcorn polenta cake.
The book could have been improved if it also used more metric in the recipes with metric volumes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 89
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Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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