The Best Cookbooks List

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Homemade With Love

 

Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen by Jennifer Perillo

This big beautiful book is also a very handy guide to making simple fast food for your family. Really fast. The recipes are easy to follow. There are markers on each one identifying them as gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, under 30 minutes to make, dairy-free, egg-free, make ahead and freezer friendly. And the recipes have few ingredients. 

What I also like about this cookbook is the ingredients. I love that Jennie uses natural cane sugar, local eggs, natural sea salt and fresh herbs. You could cook from this and feel good about serving what you make to your family and loved ones. I made the Homemade Cheese Crackers first and they came out superb. I also made the Ginger-Lime Slow-Roasted Carrots. I took them to a picnic to eat cold and they got rave reviews.

My favorite so far is the recipe for the doughnuts on the cover. I had to go out and buy a special doughnut baking pan to make them, but it was worth it. Lovely and light. Here's Jennifer's recipe for:

Lemon Buttermilk Doughnuts

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 lemon, juiced and rind grated
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
•   confectioners' sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 6-count doughnut pan, and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
3. In a measuring cup, use a fork to beat the lemon juice, buttermilk, egg and melted butter until well blended.
4. Pour over the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon to mix together until just combined.
5. Evenly spoon into the prepared doughnut pan and bake for 8 to 9 minutes until the doughnuts are lightly golden and spring back when touched.
6. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for 2 minutes. Unmold the doughnuts and transfer to a wire wrack to cool completely. Use a small strainer to sift confectioners' sugar over the tops before serving, if desired.

My next recipe to try is Jennie's Vanilla Birthday Cake, pictured above. It looks just like the ones my grandmother made for my birthday as I grew up. Lovely.

Homemade with Love: Simple Scratch Cooking from In Jennie's Kitchen

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Flavored Butters

Flavored Butters: How to Make Them, Shape Them, and Use Them as Spreads, Toppings, and Sauces (50 Series)

     Goat's milk butter! I make my own butter, because I love the taste and I love to add in crunchy fleur de sel. But I never thought of making goat's milk butter---and I think it is a wonderful idea.

     From the very first few pages of this new cookbook, I was inspired. The photography just reeled me in. On page 11 there was a shot of butter that had been made in a classic French mold, making me want to run to find one. Page 16, there was a picture of how to "roll" butter. Page 45, a photograph so beguiling I could taste the page: caviar butter on a bagel. And the photo on page 63 of green-tea sesame butter was so beautiful I could smell the page. This is the first time I have reviewed the photography in a cookbook, but I am so impressed by the styling and thoughtfulness of the photos done by the author of the book. Not only is she superb at creating intriguing recipes, but she is superb as a food photographer.

     Lucy Vaserfirer created this little cookbook gem. Within the 90 or so pages you will find a wealth of inspiration. Take for instance, the port butter recipe. What a great way to charm someone on Valentine's day. Her picture is of a juicy steak with a heart shaped portion of ruby-colored port butter melting on the top. And because I recently posted a recipe on my blog about making maple flavored homemade butter, I was drawn to Lucy's rendition, which took the idea to a higher level by adding cinnamon and brandied raisins.

     Her salted caramel butter recipe is destined for my popcorn this weekend, and her gorgonzola chive butter on a bulky sandwich. Run out and buy this cookbook. You're going to love using it.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Salad For Dinner

  Salad for Dinner by Jeanne Kelley

    The word salad has been undergoing a transformation in the past year or so. Rather than being presented as a side, or an afterthought, salads are taking the stage as the main dish---and I have to say I like that idea.

     When I lived in England and France, lunch was often a salad. In English pubs they do smashing salad plates where they pile together an assortment of salads. In France, the cruditee plate is a favorite of mine for lunch, again, a piling on of assorted vegetable salads on a plate. Although I don't remember having one for dinner when eating out in those countries, they were quite normal for lunch. Here in America, we already have an appreciation for enjoying a large salad for dinner in a restaurant or at home.

    Jeanne Kelley is extending the salad as a main course idea in her new book, Salad for Dinner. 

     This is an organized book, which makes it easy to learn from. Recipes for salads are divided into salads made from vegetables, salads with meat, salads with chicken, and salads with fish. Before you get to the recipes, there are complete instructions on how to clean greens, how to forage for salad, and how to grow greens for salads. And there is a lot to learn. I had never heard of mizuna, tatsoi, puntarelle, or miner's lettuce. And many ingredients in the recipes are ones that I have never come accross, so it was fascinating to read through this cookbook.

    Once I dug in and tried a few recipes, I was very content. The roasted acorn squash and brussels sprouts salad was superb and beautiful to look at with deep yellows, greens and deep reds---and it was absolutely delicious. 

    It's the flavor combinations Jeanne blends together that are so compelling. Beets and Blood Oranges and Goat Cheese and Almonds. Smoked Turkey and Port Figs and Blue Cheese and Whole Wheat Croutons. Mixed Greens with Farro and Bacon and Dates and Walnuts and Pears and Parmesan. See what I mean? Crunch and silk and salt and sweet all on one plate.

    She really won me over when she didn't leave us hanging at the end of the cookbook full of salads. She gave us a desset to finish with, a luscious chocolate cream pie. This was her reasoning:

    "I wanted to include one fantastic sweet in this book because, when you eat salad for lunch or dinner, shouldn't you be rewarded with dessert?"

    Exactly! 

 Salad for Dinner by Jeanne Kelley (Rizzoli, 2012)

 

COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Art of Cooking Morels

 by Ruth Mossok Johnston

This is a love story. A story of entwined lovers who share a passion for beauty, art and food. Ruth, who wrote the cookbook, and her love, David, who illustrated it. It is also, most obviously, a story of Ruth's love for morels and the recipes she has created to celebrate them.

The Art of Cooking Morels impacted me so strongly that I have placed it high up on a shelf of its own, as a treasured text to be pulled down often and paged through for the sheer enjoyment of the exquisite art and the inspired recipes. This is not a normal cookbook. It is an experience. A piece of art. A good read. Bravo to The University of Michigan Press for pushing it out into the cookbook world for those of us who so yearn to be drawn back to a connection with the miracle and beauty of food and place.

Morels are of the earth, earthy. They have a smell and texture that defy explanation.

Yes, they are not easily found in every grocery store. Could the treasure hunt to find them be part of their mythic allure? Fresh morels may be hard to find, but take heart. Here is where the everyday home cook can easily order them fresh or dried:

Fresh imported morels by mail.

Dried morels.

Now, go out and buy The Art of Cooking Morels. Order your morels if you can't find them locally. If they are dried, Ruth tells you how to easily reconstitute them. They are so delightful to cook with that you will wonder why you never tried them before.

And treasure this gem of a cookbook. If there were a museum of cookbooks, you would find this one under glass.

The Art of Cooking Morels , by Ruth Mossok Johnston with illustrations by David McCall Johnston.

 

 

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day

 

Artisan Bread In Five Minutes  by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois

Most of you know how crazy I am about great bread and making bread. I love a chewy crisp crust, a slight sourdough taste. I also love biscuits, soft and tender. Popovers, cheesy and hot. Baguettes are my constant quest.

So it was with delight that I spotted the title of this book as it promised a new way of enjoying making bread. The authors found a way to separate the work of making bread so that when you are ready to bake your loaf it only takes five minutes prep time before popping it in the oven. Brilliant.

"First, mix the ingredients from our recipe into a container all at once, and then let them sit for two hours. Now you are ready to shape and bake the bread, or you can refrigerate the dough and use it over the next couple of weeks. Yes, weeks! When you want fresh-baked crusty bread, take a piece of the dough from the container and shape it into a loaf."

I love these guys. Their "secret" and the special recipe for it will liberate home bakers everywhere and have them firing up their home ovens for their daily bread. Especially in testing economic times, making bread at home is an economical and totally satifying way of coping with keeping good nutritious food on the table.

After you make their master recipe, you are ready to create all sorts of loaves, pizzas, big soft pretzels, ciabatta, pannetone, and breakfast breads. I made the Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse and it was perfect.

If you love bread, go get this book. It is a must-have for a happy kitchen and it makes a wonderful gift for your foodie friends. I have mine marked up so that I have fresh loaves for the next couple of months. How happy am I?!

Artisan Bread In Five Minutes , St. Martin's Press, 2011.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Big Vegan

 

  

Big Vegan: More than 350 Recipes, No Meat/No Dairy All Delicious by Robin Asbell

It has taken me a long while to get around to writing a review of this new cookbook because I have been cooking from it! There are just so many recipes that are tempting that I have been integrating them into my daily cooking and thoroughly enjoying them.

And you literally could cook all of them and take a year to do it! This is a big, big 544 page book that weighs over three pounds---an everything book---a go-to book along the lines of the Joy Of Cooking---only it is all vegetarian and plant based.

"I believe that the best way to convince people to eat their veggies is to seduce, to tempt with an alluring plate that delights the senses. I hope you will agree that Big Vegan does that and more." --- Robin Asbell

What I love about the recipes are that they are NOT bland lentil soup and cashew meatloaf kind of vegetarian recipes, the kind that send me running when I see them on the menu in a vegetarian restaurant. These are vibrant, delicious, robust, gourmet vegetarian recipes that are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat. 

I made the Spanish Chickpea Fritters with Romesco Sauce and it was to die for. Simply wonderful. I also made the Wild Rice and Blueberry Salad which was filled with jewel like colors and deep flavors. And the Savory Eggplant Walnut Strudels were so good I plan to make them to pass around with cocktails during the holidays.

In addition to the recipes there is a large section devoted to explaining what vegan eating means and what pantry staples you will need to have on hand, an ingredient glossary and a resources page. Along the way the dialog is friendly and filled with tips and tricks for bringing out the best from your non-meat non-dairy ingredients.

This is the first book I have come across in this genre that is exciting. It sparks the imagination, reads beautifully, inspires me in that it makes it so easy to eat "healthy", and it excites me because I keep reaching for it and immediately finding something I really want to cook.

So besides being a great vegan cookbook, it is undeniably a great cookbook for anyone in love with food and cooking.

I am taking the liberty of sharing with you a recipe from Big Vegan for a yummy quick dessert I know you will enjoy!

Ginger Mango Rice Pudding

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup short grain brown rice

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1/2 cup palm or brown sugar

3 oz. dried mangoes, chopped

1/2 cup crystallized ginger, chopped

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

 Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, then cover tightly and cook for 40 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the coconut milk, the sugar, mangoes, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Cover and cook until most of the liquids are absorbed, about 10 minutes.

2. In a cup, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk with the cornstarch. Stir into the pot of rice and keep stirring until it is thick, about 5 minutes or more. Transfer the rice pudding to a serving bowl or individual bowls and let it cool, or refrigerate if desired, before serving.

Big Vegan: More than 350 Recipes, No Meat/No Dairy All Delicious by Robin Asbell

 

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Beaten, Seared, and Sauced

Beaten, Seared, and Sauced: On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America by Jonathan Dixon.

I love reading anything that has to do with food. History. Reference. Cookbooks. Love stories. Culinary travel. Memoirs. 

This memoir is written by Jonathan Dixon, a man who entered The Culinary Institute of America and decided to write about his experience there.

But this memoir in some ways became self-indulgent the more I read. To its credit, it did pull me into his plight at finding his true passion in life at an older age, but so did I and I am euphoric that I found it at all. Some people never do. So lucky us. Instead, it becomes evident that he is still operating under a cloud of regret. That regret and tone prevail throughout his story right to the end.

I was sad when I finished. Not because the story ended, but because for the first time in a very very long while I read a food book that did not bring me pleasure or even insight. I am rarely critical. I normally love everything, as most of you know! But this tale only provided a feeling that I had just passed through a storm and was glad to be out of it. Left with a bit of a confusing ending, I am still at sea and wishing I had been brought into the dock. 

I am sorry if I have offended anyone. This is just my opinion.

 

 

 

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams At Home

 

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer

This is my new Bible for making ice cream. I live on the East Coast and can't get to a Jeni's ice cream store, but I can as of this month buy Jeni's amazing cookbook for making her inspired artisinal ice creams at home. She even suggests using the exact ice cream maker I have, making it even more encouraging.

You see, I have a lot of ice cream recipe books. I have old ones. I have retro ones. I have almost every one I could find. I also have hand-written notes from my grandmother for her favorite homemade icy concoctions. They all go to the bottom shelf for now. The only other one I am keeping close at hand is David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, also a great reference for anything frozen.

This is by far the one that offers flavors an adult would crave. This is by far the easiest to follow, makes the most sense, and is the most exciting. I was turning the corners of pages to bookmark ice cream recipes I wanted to try when I realized I was bookmarking every page. Can you tell I love it?!

Think of making Sweet Basil & Honeyed Pine Nut ice cream, Pineapple Piment d'Espelette, Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Cognac Figs, or Cucumber Honeydew Cayenne Frozen Yogurt, Sour Beer Sorbets, Star Anise Ice Cream with Candied Fennel Seeds, or Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet. I plan on starting at the front and making each and every single one. 

Those of you that follow this blog know how much I love macarons. There is a whole section on how to make your own Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches!

And what about that old fashioned favorite of mine, Baked Alaska? Jeni offers us a guided tour on how to easily make a Baked Alaska Pie. If the results are as good as the pictures look, I am going to be very very happy!

This is a heart-felt book, one written with thoughtful care, attention to detail, compassion for the uninitiated, encouragement for the timid. Jeni speaks about ice cream the way a sommelier speaks of wine. "Fudge like texture and a pleasingly dry finish" ....."cardamom, with notes of citrus and pine, adds a blunt floral perfume."

But there is more. Recipes for "Swanky Cocktails" using the ice cream or sorbets, Vino Santo Sauce, rainbow colored terrines, and the story of how Jeni came to this place in her life running throughout the book, so by the end you feel as if you have taken the journey with her. Bravo Jeni. A truly valuable and entertaining anthem to making creative artisanal ice creams at home. I am so happy to have this new cookbook!

Such a fun video to watch of them making Jeni's ice cream! Click below to watch!

Good Time from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on Vimeo.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: A Southerly Course

This lovely sweet cookbook is a special one for a northern girl. It amazed me with pictures of things I have never seen, and food I have never tasted or even heard of.

A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home by Martha Hall Foose reads well and is lushly photographed and illustrated. For those of you with a cookbook addiction, this will be one you want for your collection because it can be enjoyed as a good book or as a cookbook with recipes. 

Every picture tells a story. Every story results in a recipe. 

Where I might get some of the ingredients might be a challenge here in the north. But if I can't find fresh crawfish, I'll substitute shrimp. If I can't find pigeons, I'll use cornish game hens. No problem.

I had more fun reading the comments! "Hominy and tomatoes with a South Texas chili spice are a great change from boring potato salad. It is sort of like changing the radio dial from a typical oldies station to a fiesty, fun Mexican one."

or...."Cold beer is the thing to drink with frog legs, but it is also a great marinade to flavor and tenderize the meat."

Cool. The author's personality and her love of her roots in the south create a soft glow all around the book. Pastel colors. Fading sunlight. Billboards from her town. Pictures of Elvis. It works. You'll love it. 

Recipe for Butterscotch Pots de Creme from A Southerly Course

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons Scotch whisky

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mace.

Method:

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

1. In a large heatproof bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, and brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and keep warm.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook without stirring until the mixture becomes dark amber, swirling the pan if hot spots develop. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the Scotch whisky and 1/4 cup of the warm cream mixture, whisking until combined. Whisk in the remaining cream mixture.

4. Whisk the caramel mixture into the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and mace. String the custard through a fine strainer.

5. Ladle the custard into 6 pot de creme or 4-ounce custard cups. Place the cups in a roasting pan and carefully fill the pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up their sides. Cover the pan with foil.

6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custards barely jiggle when shaken. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and remove the foil. Allow the custards to cool in the water to room temperature. 

7. Transfer the custards to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.

p. 234, A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home by Martha Hall Foose