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Recipe of the Week: Ice Cream, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 14th 2008 11:56AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dessert, Dairy, Comfort Food, Cookbook of the Day

cover of Recipe of the Week: Ice CreamThe official start of Summer is rapidly approaching. That means it's nearly time for trips to the beach, backyard cookouts and lots of homemade ice cream (preferably eaten outside with friends and family). Whether you've got a hand crank ice cream maker, one that attaches to your stand mixer or a fancy one with its own compressor, you can always use some fresh ice cream inspiration.

That's where Sally Sampson's new book Recipe of the Week: Ice Cream comes in. As the title suggests, Sampson has written a fresh recipe for every week of the year, making it possible for you to always be experimenting with new recipes, while still going back to your favorites. She has included recipes for ice cream, granitas and gelatos in the book, so no matter what your preference, there's something here for you.

One of the nice things here is that Sampson has worked to lower the amount of sugar in her recipes over more traditional ice cream recipes, so if you are one without a strong sweet tooth, you may find this book particularly appealing. The only problem I've found with this volume is that Sampson doesn't give any advice as to how to go about choosing an ice cream maker if you don't already have one. She assumed a certain level of prior knowledge, which is good for someone with ice cream experience, but isn't particularly helpful for the novice.

However, if you are excited for fresh ice cream inspiration and you have a bit of ice cream making experience, I would recommend this book without hesitation.

A Well-Seasoned Appetite, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 12th 2008 8:02PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day

cover of A Well-Seaoned AppetiteI've something of a crush on Molly O'Neill since I read her autobiography, Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food and Baseball a couple of years ago. She communicates a love of and respect for food that is unlike many other writers I've encountered. So, when I came across a copy of her book, A Well-Seasoned Appetite at my library's used bookstore, I added it to towering stack in my arms.

Published in 1995, it was one of the first of the current crop of cookbooks to combine recipes and essays in this manner, and to organize them by season. She starts with Spring and moves forward through the seasons, allowing for those challenging in between times by including shorter sections devoted to the times of year when it is nearly Summer, but just not quite.

For those of us who always want more with our recipes--more information, more notes and more detail as to how the recipe came into being, then this is a wonderful book to have in the collection. There's not a single recipe in here that doesn't satisfy that desire for more. The only problem I've discovered in reading it is that after just two or three pages, I am absolutely ravenous and in need of instantaneous sustenance (preferably whatever I had just been reading about). Most of the time I have to satisfy my cravings with an apple or a handful of pretzels. I'm hoping that soon, I'll instead get to sate my hunger with her Spinach with Garlic and Lemon or the Sour Cherry Crumble.

The Big Book of Backyard Cooking, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 11th 2008 12:00PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Books, Grilling, Cookbook of the Day

cookbook imageIt's spring, and as the air continues to warm, eyes glaze over with the thought of great grilled food and backyard feasts. For me, that used to mean tasty, barbeque, sauce-laden steaks, or my old roommate's frequent marinated chicken souvlaki. But then I got a new cookbook, one that has been my backyard, outdoor bible for a few years now -- Betty Rosbottom's The Big Book of Backyard Cooking.

It's not a fancy book. There are no delicious pictures of grill marks and icy drinks, but that's okay. There's more room for recipes and flavor combinations, and really, it's not like we don't know what some potato salad or a grilled hamburger looks like. But it's more than just the mainstays. This recipe has just about every sort of meal you could dream of eating outside, from the bites you grill to the sides you make ahead of time -- from hot dogs to boiled lobster, sandwiches to tasty salads, cool drinks to desserts.

Some recipes are as simple as a steak with a simple, tasty sauce. Others infuse the flavor throughout, like my favorite Lemon Dill Chicken Burgers and the insanely tasty Spicy Fried Corn, Vidalias, and Red Peppers. There's lots of classic recipes, as well as little twists to make your old favorites new. I've found this to be not only the perfect book for creating a large barbeque menu, but also for quick sauce ideas and year-round treats. Plus -- it has a recipe for the best iced tea I have ever had -- but that will come soon, in a separate post.

If you're looking to switch up your old outdoor mainstays, or add a little variation to your menu, Rosbottom's book is for you. It's clear, diverse, and ridiculously handy.

The Farm to Table Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 8th 2008 5:57PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cookbook of the Day, Local Eating

cover of the Farm to Table cookbookFarmers' Market and CSA season has finally started here in the Philadelphia area. The beginning signs of vegetal abundance and warmer weather has me delighted. Where I was once, just recently, totally uninspired by food and cooking, I am now itching to spend every free minute in my kitchen. Ivy Manning's new book, The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally has played a large role in this resurgence in food energy, as her books is filled to bursting with gorgeous pictures and accessible recipes.

In the past, I have often found that when I'm presented with glossy, beautifully bound cookbooks, I never want to actually cook out of them, because I'm afraid that I will ruin them with a single trip into the kitchen. However, I've had no such hesitations with this book, despite its beauty, because the recipes are just so appealing.

Manning has arranged her recipes by season and begins the book with Spring. Tucked in between each of the section title pages and the recipes is a two-page spread entitled Meet the Producers. In each of these four essays, Manning takes her readers out to the farms, homes and markets of the people who grow, raise and make the foods she buys. It is a lovely addition to the cookbook, as it builds an emotional connection between the reader and the food.

I would definitely recommend this cookbook for those of you who are excited to shop at Farmers' Markets this summer or who have joined a CSA, as it offers lots of good inspiration.

The Pauper's Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 7th 2008 12:31PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: British Isles, Books, Cookbook of the Day

cover of The Pauper's CookbookFirst published in 1971, The Pauper's Cookbook continues to be relevant today, especially in these times when we're all trying to make our food dollar stretch to cover increasing food costs (I went to a local bakery yesterday to buy some sandwich bread, and nearly had a heart attack. They were selling half loaves of my bread for $4.95. In the past, I would be able to get a full loaf of that bread for $3.75).

Written by Jocasta Innes, this book came to be when she couldn't find the cookbook she wanted in her local bookstores. She says, "It stood to reason that there must be a good few other people in my situation, trying to conjure good food from limited cash, battered old pots and pans and kitchens more nightmarish than dream. What a blessing for us all such a book would be, I thought, and waited for some highly qualified expert to leap in and write it." When no expert stepped up, she traveled into the void herself, creating a highly readable and deeply useful cookbook.

The book is written in a narrative style, without the traditional recipe formatting that we are all used to. However, instead of being frustrating, it makes for an entertaining read and easy experience, almost like having a friend or relative talk you through the steps of the dish.

The recipes are divided into sections entitled, Standards (which include soups, sauces, cheap veggie dishes, some eggs and classic British comfort foods), Padding (lots of rice, barley, oats and beans), Fast Work (just as it says, a section devoted to getting a meal on the table quickly), Programmed Eating (menu suggestions), Fancy Work (dishes that will impress), Dieting on a Budget (keeping your calories and budget low) and Private Enterprise (jams, jellies, marmalades and quick breads).

It's a fun little book, especially if you are someone living in the US who has a weakness for British cookery writing.

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 6th 2008 4:03PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day, Local Eating

cover of PlentyPlenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally is another book that isn't quite a cookbook. However, it contains a handful of recipes, describes in detail the process of freezing corn and canning tomatoes and is, on a very basic level, a book about food, cooking and nourishing the human body and mind.

Written by Alisa Smith and J. B. MacKinnon (he's referred to as James throughout the book), it documents the year they spent only eating foods that were grown/raised/produced within a 100 miles of their home (they started a movement, 100 mile and local eating challenges are quite common these days). The chapters alternate narrative perspective, so that James tells half the story and Alisa tells the balance. Divided by month, each chapter begins with a recipe that is seasonally appropriate and local to their home in Vancouver, BC.

If you are interested in incorporating more local, seasonal foods into your diet, this is an interesting read.

The Ultimate Pet Food Guide, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 5th 2008 6:06PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cookbook of the Day

cover of the ultimate pet food guideToday's featured cookbook isn't one that you would want to cook out of for yourself. However, I know that there are many of you out there who are interested in making sure that your pets have healthy meals and so I thought it might be fun to turn our attention to a book that can help you out with that goal. If you've been thinking about changing up the foods that you feed your pets, but are uncertain where to start, The Ultimate Pet Food Guide by Liz Palinka will be incredibly helpful in giving you a hand in determining how to best nourish your furry family members.

The book is filled with helpful information about what is good and bad to feed your pets, ways to supplement their diets so they get all the nutrition they need and more than 50 recipes for easy home-cooked food that your pets will love (I realize that cooking for dogs and cats isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'm sure that there are some of you out there who share at least parts of your dinner with your pets many nights). The other useful thing in this book is that it will give you an insight into how food effects your pet's behavior. There is the possibility that if you have a misbehaving animal, their diet might have something to do with it.

Sam the Cooking Guy, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 2nd 2008 12:04PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day

cover of Sam the Cooking GuyI think the easiest way to describe Sam Zien and his new cookbook, Sam the Cooking Guy is by saying that he seems to be the male equivalent of Rachael Ray (back before RR exploded all over daytime television and Dunkin' Donuts commercials). He says he's not a chef, just wants to help the average person get dinner on the table and dreams up crazy/quirky names for his dishes. Before you think this comparison to be damning, I want to remind you all that back in the early days RR made some good food and really helped people think about skipping the drive through in order to make dinner at home.

And, if you're looking for that elusive cookbook, the one that is entertaining to read and offers some easy to follow and tasty recipes, then this could be a good one to check out. The book contains 126 recipes, which would keep you cooking for quite a while. He's a big fan of those pre-cooked deli chickens, pre-baked pizza crusts and ready-to-eat bacon, so he's not for those people who like to do things from scratch, but for the "quick and easy crowd" he might just be the new, hottest thing.

Julia Child and Company, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 29th 2008 2:02PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day, Celebrities

cover of Julia Child and Company
In the days before the internet, cooking shows had to figure out an easy way for viewers to get a hold of the recipes featured on their programs. There was typically an address that one could write to to obtain the recipes. Alternately, they would leave the ingredient list and instructions up on the screen for some time at some point during the program, so that a quick transcriptionist could hurriedly jot them down. Sometimes, the only option for the viewer was to take notes while watching (my Aunt Doris always watched Julia Child with steno pad and pencil in hand).

This book, Julia Child and Company, was something of a revolution. Printed in 1978, it came out at the very same time as Child's show of the same name began to air. That way, viewers could watch the show at leisure, unworried about catching every nuance of the recipe as they knew they'd have Child's clear and careful written instructions to reference later on. Now, thirty years later, we can't follow along with the series, but we can still utilize the recipes in the book.

It is organized by menu, which is fun in that you can see just how Child would have served a meal (it's not just French food in this volume, she incorporates a variety of cultural favorites). However, if you don't want to recreate an entire show's worth of food, you do have to poke around a bit more to find what you're looking for. If you're a fan of Child and want another opportunity to "hear" her calm, helpful voice in the kitchen, this is a good book to add to your collection.

Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 28th 2008 12:30PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day

cover of blue eggs and yellow tomatoes
Most of the time, when I sit down in front of my shelf of cookbooks, I reach for smaller volumes that I can quickly page through in my search for the recipe that will satiate my hunger. However, on occasion, what I most want is a hefty cookbook, with lots of pictures and description that help me imagine just how good the food will taste when it's on my plate.

Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley, is one of those hefty, satisfying cookbooks (far more of a banquet than a snack) that you'll want to keep out on the kitchen table, to flip through for inspiration and culinary motivation. Written with an eye towards seasonality (although what new cookbook doesn't take local and seasonal foods into account these days), the recipes are written to best highlight foods that ripen and grow at the same times of year.

In addition to containing an abundance of tasty-looking recipes, this book also devotes several pages to instruction on how to start your own backyard garden. It is the perfect thing to get you excited for the spring and summer growing and cooking season.

On Rue Tatin, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 25th 2008 11:04AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, France, Cookbook of the Day

cover of On Rue TatinBack in January, when I first started this project to revive the Cookbook of the Day feature, one of the very first books I featured was the Farmhouse Cookbook, by Susan Herrmann Loomis. I had picked it up at a thrift store and fallen in love with the way that the author had captured local, fresh, direct-from-the-farm cooking. Commenters on that post mentioned that she had written other cookbooks and that Loomis also had her own cooking school in France. Intrigued, I started looking around for copies of her other work, picking up the Italian Farmhouse Cookbook (surely to be featured here someday) and her memoir, On Rue Tatin.

It's On Rue Tatin that I want to spotlight here today. It took me several months after buying my copy before I actually found the time to read it, but once I started I became totally engrossed. It combines many of my favorite things: stories of exploring new places, old houses and the challenges of making them livable and lots and lots of food and cooking. Each chapter is followed by three or four or five recipes that were previously mentioned in the text. Reading them is nearly as good as reading the rest of the book, as she always includes a description of where the recipe came from and the situations during which her family has eaten that meal.

As someone who lives in a modern apartment building, in the middle of a big city, where farmers markets don't start until May, and the clerks at the corner convenience market are surly and decidedly unhelpful, I loved the opportunity for interior travel that reading this book allowed me. If you long to exist in a food world different from the one you know, this book will give you a chance to do that, even if it's only for a brief while.

The Breakfast Book, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 24th 2008 2:01PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day, Celebrities

cover of The Breakfast BookI have something of a crush on Marion Cunningham. I love her Lost Recipes book and I often flip through my edition of Fannie Farmer, just to read her down-to-earth, wise words about cooking (and by extension, family and home). She is on my list of food writers with whom I would love to sit and talk (I would do most of the listening), as she has experienced the entirety of the modern-day food revolution.

Last Saturday, I found myself in a used bookstore and as I skimmed the food section, Cunningham's The Breakfast Book nearly jumped off the shelf and landed straight in my hands. At $4.50, it was a bargain and I do believe that it will pay dividends for years to come. It is chock full of recipes that work for everyday morning meals (the Cereals section will help you happily shake up your basic oatmeal routine) as well as ones that are better for special brunches and holiday celebrations (Featherbed Eggs on page 159, a baked dish of bread, custard and cheese that is similar to a Strata, is destined for my next festive brunch).

The Quick Breads section alone makes the book worthwhile, especially since that section is filled with recipes that appeal to people trying to increase their whole grain intake (I can't wait to try the Buttermilk Barley Biscuits). I realize that I've waxed poetic about a great many cookbooks and that you all can't possibly incorporate all of them into your collection. However, if you are a particular lover of breakfast, this is a book you must look over.

Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 23rd 2008 9:30AM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Dessert, Baking, Cookbook of the Day

I usually shy away from anything or anyone who uses the word "whimsical" (see: Sandra Lee on the Food Network, or that Shabby Chic woman), but this cookbook by a mother/daughter team in Westchester, New York is s'darn sweet, I just had to feature it.

The title is a little misleading: the book features both cake and muffin recipes, which is really nice. (A sample: whole wheat blackberry muffins, almond coffee cake, and spicy chocolate cake with cinnamon-chocolate whipped cream.

But the obvious star is the decoration: from mini flower pots to dragons to bumblebees, the cakes are almost too cute to eat.

It's important to note that the if you're into mini desserts and small, single-size portions, you'll love these recipes. But if you're more a quadruple-decker cake lover, this might not be the book for you.

And if you love this book, you'll adore their others, here and here.

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 19th 2008 5:00PM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Cookbook of the Day

If you think Les Savy Fav is the name of that hip new French clothing designer, or that Camera Obscura is just the name of an old camera, you're probably not the demographic this book is aiming for.

Then again, people can always bond over their love of food, no matter what their musical preferences, right?

Pretty much the phattest, baddest cookbook in town, I Like Food, Food Tastes Good is a conglomeration of recipes sent in by indie rawkers.

As you'd imagine, the recipes are all over the board, from soups to entrees to drinks. Some notable mentions: Death Cab for Cutie's Veggie Sausage and Peanut Butter Sandwich; They Might Be Giants' pomegranate-infused cocktail; and Camera Obscura's Vegetarian Paella.

Fair warning: some of the recipes's aren't exactly written by professional food writers: The infamous El Hefe from punk band NOFX writes, "make some mac and cheese, then mix in a can of nelly chilly...word." Well, at least it's to the point.

Bottom line: the book is kind of like an indie rock song. Even if the initial hook (in this case, the fact that musicians are featured) doesn't pull you in, you can appreciate the fact that the song (er, recipes) were made with love. Or...something.


Hey Mr. Green, Cookbook of the Day

Posted Apr 18th 2008 11:05AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day

cover of Hey Mr. GreenIn honor of Earth Day (this coming Tuesday, April 22nd) today's featured cookbook isn't really a cookbook at all. Hey Mr. Green is a compilation of questions that people have asked Sierra Magazine's Bob Schildgen (Mr. Green himself) over the course of the last three years. People write in to the magazine and query Mr. Green on ways that they can make their life, well, greener. Many of their questions have to do with food, which is how it becomes an appropriate book for this post.

The second section of the book is entirely devoted to things edible. Mr. Green's provides well-researched replies to questions having to do with local eating verses organic, ways to eat organic foods on a budget and methods of calculating the impact of transporting food to market. He does also include a few recipes and offers up a list of ten things you should take into account when organizing your diet.

When it comes to food these days, it's important to think beyond our own kitchens and out into the rest of the world. We make a lot of choices when we feed ourselves and our families that can have global repercussions and this book is an excellent remind of how to tread lightly.

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If you've ever made brownies, they're not as easy as they look. Here are a couple of hints for a better brownie.

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