Books Blog : cooking

Christmas is Coming

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:48:00 GMT

I don't want to alarm anyone, but Christmas is coming; in fact it's less than two months away. Now, it's still entirely too early to be putting up tinsel and whatnot, but it is absolutely time to get on the waiting lists for these new Christmas cookbooks!

I'm personally very much looking forward to trying out the recipe for toffee thins on page 86 of Sweet Christmas: Homemade Peppermints, Sugar Cake, Chocolate-Almond Toffee, Eggnog Fudge, and Other Sweet Treats and Decorations by Sharon Bowers, with photographs by David Bowers.

Other new Christmas cookbooks to be excited about:

Christmas Baking: Fun & Delicious Holiday Treats by Mia Ohrn

A Home-Baked Christmas: 56 Delicious Cookies, Cakes, & Gifts from Your Kitchen

American Christmas

If you really can't wait for these titles, I recommend checking out a copy of an older title, A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies by Dede Wilson, which has a nice variety of cookies to try.

Thanksgiving

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:50:00 GMT

Thanksgiving is maybe one of our simpler holidays. We give thanks for what we have and we eat good food. The giving thanks part usually doesn't require a lot of preparation; maybe just a few minutes quiet consideration. The good food, on the other hand, can sometimes be a challenge. Last November, it seemed like a lot of people came to the library looking for Thanksgiving cookbooks, so I thought I'd highlight a few here this year.

Thanksgiving: How to Cook it Well by Sam Sifton

Thanksgiving by Lou Seibert Pappas, with photographs by Lara Hata

How to Cook a Turkey and All the Other Trimmings by the editors of Fine Cooking

Betty Crocker Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook

Thanksgiving 101 by Rick Rodgers

Vegetarian Times Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook by the editors of Vegetarian Times

If you're looking for something beyond the food, try these titles:

The Thanksgiving Book: A Companion to the Holiday Covering Its History, Lore, Traditions, Foods and Symbols, Including Primary Sources, Poems, Prayers, Songs, Hymns, and Recipes, Supplemented by Chronology, Bibliography with Web Sites and Index by Laurie C. Hillstrom

Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday by James W. Baker

My Cooking Class Book Series

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:47:00 GMT

A new series of cookbooks has recently caught my attention. The My Cooking Class series includes Vegetable Basics, Sauce Basics, Chocolate Basics, Steaming Basics and Middle Eastern Basics. All the books have large color photographs to illustrate every recipe. I'm looking forward to spending some time with Vegetable Basics and Chocolate Basics, then maybe I'll try some more titles from the series.

Geeking Out in the Kitchen

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:05:00 GMT

I've always thought if you can read a recipe, you can cook, more or less. However, I've been told this simply isn't true and that there are actually very smart people who fail miserably in the kitchen. This past summer O'Reilly, a publisher I usually associate with software manuals, published Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food by Jeff Potter. It is not just a cookbook. Yes, there are recipes aplenty but the book is more about cooking as a science, which might just be perfect for challenged cooks with scientific minds.

The book also features brief interviews with people like Adam Savage, from the television show Myth Busters.

Previously on the Books Blog: The Hungry Scientest Handbook

An Almost Overwhelming Selection of Yummy Cupcake Books

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:46:00 GMT

Cupcakes are for everyone! Who doesn't love cupcakes? They're fun, they're delicious and they can be easy to make. There are more than a dozen books devoted to cupcakes here at EVPL! Hello, Cupcake! and What's New Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson are good choices if you want to get fancy with the icing on top. Do you know someone who eats a vegan diet? Surprise them with cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. If you prefer to work with boxed cake mixes, Cupcakes From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn and Betty Crocker Just Cupcakes are for you. Personally, I think Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella is one of the most promising of the batch, but you'll have to come to the library, check some out and see what you like best.

Halloween is Almost Here

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:16:00 GMT

Halloween is almost here and new books for Halloween have been arriving at the library over the past month. Here are the two that have me most excited:

Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers is a whole 150-page cookbook just for Halloween! Extreme Halloween by Tom Nardone covers a broader range of Halloween excitement while doing exactly what the subtitle says: making Halloween scary again!

You might also look at Tom Nardone's older books, Extreme Pumpkins and Extreme Pumkins II, as well as his Extreme Pumpkins website.

Cooking Knowledge for College: Vegetarian Edition

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:27:00 GMT

When I decided to become a vegetarian in the fall of my third year at University of Southern Indiana, Carole Raymond's Student's Vegetarian Cookbook quickly became a favorite of mine. It isn't intimidating like a lot of the vegetarian cookbooks I'd looked at before it. Its recipes generally don't make big heaps of food that one person might have trouble eating on their own, which I find nice as well. If I'd had the brand new College Vegetarian Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends by Jill & Megan Carle, back then, it would have had me pretty excited as well. In fact, it looks good enough I am excited! I'm looking forward to trying the enchilada recipe on page 88. Like its non-vegetarian counterpart I wrote about before, the recipes are organized into chapters such as "Just Like Mom Makes" and "Impressing Your Date". Another book you might look at is The Starving Students' Vegetarian Cookbook by Dede Hall, although I wasn't very impressed with it. If you've given up egg & dairy along with meat, check out Carole Raymond's other book, Student's Go Vegan Cookbook.

Cooking Knowledge for College

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:15:00 GMT

If you're ready to try cooking something more than Hamburger Helper, check out these books: College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends by Megan & Jill Carle, The Healthy College Cookbook by Alexandra Nimetz, Jason Stanley & Emeline Starr and The Everything College Cookbook: 300 Hassle-Free Recipes for Students on the Go by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson. All three cookbooks offer tips for those just getting started with cooking and lots of recipes to try. The one that looks most promising, though, is College Cooking. It has chapters like "Impressing Your Date", "Just Like Mom Makes" and "Avoiding the Freshman Fifteen". In addition to those chapters, College Cooking has sections with ideas for food for theme parties-- Toga Party, Cinco de Mayo, Tapas Party, Oktoberfest, & 80's Party.

Notes on Cooking

librarianinheels@evpl — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:43:00 GMT

Whether you're a total novice or a more seasoned cook, Notes on Cooking: A Short Guide to an Essential Craft is a great basic book on the ins and outs of cooking - just basic cooking. Not French cooking, or Indian Cooking, or sushi-making - just the basic rules of the kitchen. For instance - did you know that you can test the freshness of an egg by cracking it on a plate and observing whether or not it spreads? If the white and the yolk spread, the egg is not fresh - it should be thrown out. If the white and yolk maintain their typical dome-like appearance, go ahead and use the egg. If you're wondering whether or not to use a piece of meat or fish because you fear it might not be fresh, have you ever heard the axiom "When in doubt throw it out?" (My mom told me that one, but it's in here, too.)

Notes on Cooking is broken down into sections, like "Understanding the Recipe" and "The Cook's Role" and separate sections for different kinds of food. There's even a section on mise en place, which, if you're a fan of the Food Network or the reality show Top Chef, you've probably heard a lot but never really understood. And it's not a girthy book, mired in explanations and definitions. It's short and to the point - with numbered entries that are essentially short paragraphs. There is a lot in this book that I already knew (thanks, mom) - but just as much that I didn't. So whatever your level of interest in cooking is, check out Notes on Cooking and to see what you might not know! It's a great basic resource, and it will save you a lot of long-distance phone calls to your mom.

Why I will never Master the Art of French Cooking

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:46:00 GMT

Lately I have been doing a bit of catching up on my reading. My most recent audiobook is Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, read by the author. For those of you unfamiliar with the book and /or new movie, Julie Powell was a young New Yorker in a dead-end job and seeking some sort of meaning in her life. When her husband suggested she attempt re-creating the recipes in Julia Child's massive classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julie dedicated the next year making 524 dishes from the book. In addition she wrote a blog detailing the joys and trials of the process, which earned Powell a number of online readers.

While I found the details of preparing classic French cuisine interesting, I think my real fascination with the book was the way Powell doggedly dedicated herself to the project, a quest if you will, and the way it changed her. I think we all hit points in our lives when we feel "stuck" and frustrated with our lives. Julie & Julia is a marvelous example of how to channel those frustrations in creative and life-changing ways.

And so, why I will never master the art of French cooking. As a working mom, I find it difficult many days to even get dinner on the table, let alone take several hours (and a lot of butter) to do it. I find myself drawn not only to meals which can be prepared with some expediency, but also to more homegrown fare. The cookbooks I use most frequently? Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (mine is a dog-eared paperback, but several well-illustrated hardbacks are available throughout the system) and Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook: Feasting With Your Slow Cooker. Another new favorite is The Garden-fresh Vegetable Cookbook, which is great for all the fresh produce available right now.

Whatever your taste, sample your library's vast collection of cookbooks soon--and bon appétit!

Do You Love Tomatoes? I Love Tomatoes!

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:30:00 GMT

So far, I have recieved tomatoes from three different gardens this year, which is great because I love tomatoes! They're beautiful and taste good with almost anything; one of my favorite, simple things to do is put them on a grilled cheese sandwich. Yum!

Last week, a new cookbook, The Too Many Tomatoes Cookbook by Brian Yarvin arrived at the library. I was amused to see a whole book devoted to one of my favorite garden fruits. As so often happens, curiosity got to me and soon I was looking to see if we had other tomato books. It turns out there are more than a dozen just waiting for tomato-loving cooks!

So, how do you like your tomatoes?

The Heirloom Tomato : From Garden to Table : Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit by Amy Goldman; photographs by Victor Schrager

Tomatoes and Mozzarella : 100 Ways to Enjoy This Tantalizing Twosome All Year Long by Hallie Harron and Shelley Sikora

The Great Tomato Book by Gary Ibsen with Joan Nielsen

Tomato Imperative! : From Fried Green Tomatoes to Summer's Ripe Bounty by Sharon Nimtz and Ruth Cousineau

Lee Bailey's Tomatoes by Lee Bailey

Cooking With Sundried Tomatoes by Lois Dribin and Denise Marina ; illustrated by Susan Ivankovich

My Favorite Baking Book

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:36:00 GMT

In January, I made a New Year's Resolution (even though I don't like New Year's Resolutions) to cook and bake more. I've used recipes from many sources but some of the best have been from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. I've made the banana bread on page 23 and also the variation with coconut and macadamia nuts on page 25 and both are quite tasty. The yellow cupcakes on page 343 will turn anyone who doubts the deliciousness of plain yellow cake into a believer. Oh, and the simple chocolate frosting for the cupcakes? It is quite possibly the easiest frosting to make and better yet, one of the most delicious I've ever had! On March 14th, Pi Day, I turned to page 178, the Pies & Tarts chapter, for guidance to make my very first pie, a yummy peach pie.

Baking Illustrated is part of the A Best Recipe Classic series of cookbooks. One of the really fun things about this series of cookbooks is that each recipe is preceded by a page or two describing how the authors came up with the final recipe. They discuss ingredients they tried in previous versions and why they felt the final product didn't benefit from them or what it is that an ingredient they kept in the final printed recipe brings to the mix.

Tell everyone about your favorite cookbook(s) below in the comments!

Additional Links:

Cook's Illustrated magazine

America's Test Kitchen

The Author gave me... ...breakfast?

kiya@evpl — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:46:00 GMT

You never know what you might find when you go exploring on authors' websites. Maybe there will be a contest - a chance to win a signed book or other prize. Perhaps some short stories about minor characters in an ongoing series. With Google or other search engines it can be easy to locate author websites. Here are some interesting things I've located lately.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes modern romances with engaging characters, strong women, and very descriptive love scenes. When I went looking for her website I found an epilogue for one of her books, a contest, writing tips, information about the charities she supports, a message board, and the grand prize - RECIPES! So far, my favorite is the Baked Oatmeal - a casserole that can prepared ahead and pieces reheated in the morning for a quick and easy hot breakfast - SO much better than instant oatmeal, and just as easy in the morning. The whole family likes it, and I've started experimenting with adding different fruit before baking. My kids also liked the Harvest Soup, and the Pumpkin Dip was yummy for dipping apple slices.

Emilie Richards writes a mystery series about a minister's wife, occasional romances, and what is often called "women's fiction" - including her Shenandoah Valley Quilt series. Her website includes her blog - I loved this entry about her recent trip to Guatemala. Also included on her website is information about quilting, and the quilts she describes in the Shenandoah Valley series, along with other treasures.

Jeffrey Cohen mostly writes mysteries and screenplays, but he also has a couple of nonfiction books about raising children who are somewhere on the Autism spectrum.

Whatever he is writing, you can be sure his sense of humor shows through. Cohen's latest gift to his readers is a song about all the different subtypes of mysteries: cozies, noir, hard-boiled, etc. Take a couple of minutes to watch the video, and see why his fellow authors are taking up a collection to buy him a trench coat.

Last but not least, Len Fisher writes about science for those of us who are interested in science, but not especially well-educated in the field. At least one magazine describes him as "the guy who puts the Fizz in Physics." His website features cartoons, his blog about the writing he does, some humorous stories from the media about science.

Please share the authors' websites that you like to visit.

EVPL has books by:

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

HRevvdon@evpl — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:05:00 GMT

Comfort Food (2008) by Kate Jacobs is a light book set in the world of a cable cooking channel. I listened to the audio version while on a road trip. That's a good format for this novel. There's not much to think about with this book, it is just good entertainment. Funny and ecclectic characters are jumbled together in predictable but funny situations. The main character is Gus - a middle aged widow with two grown daughters with their own problems as celebrity kids. Gus is thrown into a new cooking show format with Carmen, an ambitious Spanish ex-beauty queen who's main ambition is to be in the spotlight and own her own restaurant. The cooking assistant is a financial whiz millionaire who has given up his career, but not his money, to pursue his love of food and cooking. My favorite quirky sidekick minor character is Gus' next door neighbor - an ex-tennis star who has become reclusive since she was ostracized for throwing matches at her father's behest. All ends well, as you would expect.

This is a quick read and very entertaining, especially if you like watching the shows on the Food Channel.

Jacob's other books, Friday Night Knitting Club and its sequel Knit Two, have been very popular. I have not read them but if they are the same as Comfort Food, I am sure they are worth a listen.

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals

librarianinheels@evpl — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:18:00 GMT

I love food, and I am a sucker for a man who can cook. So when I heard Melanie Dunea being interviewed on NPR about her book My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and their Final Meals, I knew I needed to check it out, especially since the Introduction is written by Anthony Bourdain, one of my all-time favorite chefs and creator and star of the Travel Channel series No Reservations.

This is more of a coffee table book than I expected it to be - but it's still full of great interviews with great chefs like Anthony Bourdain (once again - a personal fave), Eric Ripert, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Daniel Boulud, Jacques Pepin, and others. Dunea is a photographer, so the book includes a wonderful portrait of each chef, accompanied by a scripted set of questions about his or her last meal. Some of the answers given are surprisingly simple meals - others are sophisticated and complex. The portraits are also wonderful and each seems to perfectly fit the character and style of the chef being interviewed. The book also includes recipes for these final meals, if you are so industrious that you want to attempt to make some of them.

I really enjoyed sitting and looking through this book, and reading what some of these amazing chefs have to say about food, life, and love. My Last Supper would make a great Christmas gift for the food lover in your life, too!