Cookbook Spotlight

'Grillin' With Gas' - Cookbook Spotlight

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Nov 13th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: The Taunton Press.

'Grillin' with Gas: 150 Mouthwatering Recipes for Great Grilled Food'
by Fred Thompson
Photographs by Ben Fink
The Taunton Press -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

"Barbecue Nation" author Fred Thompson goes through the hows and whys of gas grilling in his latest book. Here you'll learn what to look for in a gas grill, how to use it and how to turn it into a meat-smoking machine.

Along the way, you'll find some solid recipes to keep you grilling all year long.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books, Reviews

'Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Sarah De Heer, Posted Nov 9th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook by Food & Wine Magazine

Photo: Amazon.com

'Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook'
Recipes from Food & Wine Magazine
Photographs by Melanie Acevedo
Food & Wine Books -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Whether you're an avid subscriber to Food & Wine or you visit the website once in a while for a recipe, this is the book to add to your kitchen shelves. "Quick from Scratch Italian Cookbook" provides cooks of all levels with satisfying and healthy recipes. Classics are translated into practical weeknight meals with basic step-by-step instructions and there are recipes for every season.

And what would an Italian meal be without wine? There's a no-fuss wine-pairing recommendation for each and every recipe to take pressure off the cook.

Boasting everything from antipasti, soup and pasta, to fish, poultry and steak, recipes like linguine with cauliflower, garlic and bread crumbs and baked rigatoni with spinach, ricotta and Fontina will keep everyone at the table content. Finish the meal off with one of many tantalizing desserts such as honey-baked figs with ice cream or espresso granita with whipped cream.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books, Reviews

'Antojitos' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Nov 6th 2009 @ 2:00PM

antojitos cookbook Photo: Ten Speed Press

'Antojitos: Festive and Flavorful Mexican Small Plates'
by Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy with Mary Goodbody
Photography by Lucy Schaeffer
Ten Speed Press -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Antojitos, as Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy explain in their book of the same name, are small bites sometimes eaten as appetizers in Mexican cuisine and sometime just downed as a street snack to satisfy between-meals hunger pangs.

The owners of New York City's La Palapa have written a book that covers all manner of these spicy snacks -- from empanadas and tacos to ceviches and mole. Along the way, they give brief stories about the dishes as well as menus perfect for any fiesta, and colorful pages filled with images of Loteria cards and stock Mexican art that add a whimsical touch to the cookbook.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books, Reviews

'Momofuku' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 2:00PM

momofuku cookbook Photo: Amazon.com

'Momofuku'
by David Chang and Peter Meehan
Photographs by Gabriele Stabile
Clarkson Potter -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Even if you haven't eaten at one of the Momofuku restaurants in New York City, chances are you've heard about David Chang -- the James Beard award-winning chef painted at times as a "neurotic" "culinary rebel" who just happens to be "a pork-loving, pickle-happy individualist."

Well, now it's his turn to tell his story. The world is finally getting a cookbook from the man who built his food empire on a simple bowl of ramen.

"Living up to high expectations sucks," he writes in "Momofuku." "But for all that, I know this: I am one very lucky bastard."

Lucky, yes, but it helps that his creations are filled with unlikely but delicious flavor pairings.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books, Reviews

'Long Nights and Log Fires' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 1

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Amazon.

'Long Nights and Log Fires: Warming Comfort Food for Family and Friends'
Commissioning Editor Julia Charles
Photography by Ryland Peters & Small
Ryland Peters & Small -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

"When the cold wind blows and the snow piles up outside, where better to be than at the heart of a warm kitchen, enjoying the aromas of good home cooking wafting from the oven?" ponders the intro to the supremely satisfying "Long Nights and Log Fires" cookbook.

Crafting a comprehensive repertoire to all things comfort food, the gratifying collection dishes up everything from "soups and snacks," "sides and salads" to "one-pot wonders," "bakes and desserts" and even heart-warming drinks, including Mocha Maple Coffee and Mexican Chocolate with Vanilla Cream. Using a bevy of autumnal ingredients -- relying on fresh produce, flavorful herbs and spices and a comforting dairy element -- this cookbook features everything sweet, spicy and savory to satisfy palates on cold nights.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

'Savory Baking' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Oct 26th 2009 @ 2:00PM

savory baking Photo: Chronicle Books

'Savory Baking: Warm and Inspiring Recipes for Crisp, Crumbly, Flaky Pastries'
by Mary Cech
Photography by Noel Barnhurst
Chronicle Books -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Baking doesn't have to be a sweet thing, as Mary Cech proves in her new cookbook "Savory Baking." The veteran pastry chef turns traditional pastries upside down with recipes for seafood strudel, Yukon gold brown betty and caprese-salad-filled profiteroles in this mouthwatering book.

You don't have to throw out everything you know about baking to feel at home in Cech's kitchen. Instead, you'll use your skills to whip up creative twists to the classics.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books

'Top Chef - The Quickfire Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Kat Kinsman, Posted Oct 23rd 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Amazon

'Top Chef - The Quickfire Cookbook'
by Emily Miller with foreword by Padma Lakshmi
Chronicle Books -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

It's Padma's world. The rest of us just cook in it -- just mostly without a gigantic LED countdown clock, a dozen cleaver-wielding competitors jockeying for prep space and a mandate to make haute nibbles from the contents of a 7-Eleven's snack aisle. But if that's what cremes your brulee and you haven't the tats, 'tude and temerity to audition for competitive reality TV, you can live vicariously through this book.

Or you can just go online and save the $29.95.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

'New American Table' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Oct 19th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Wiley.

'New American Table'
by Marcus Samuelsson
Wiley - 2009
Buy it on Amazon

The youngest chef ever to receive two three-star ratings from the New York Times, Marcus Samuelsson is known for his diversified cuisine. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden by adoptive parents, Samuelsson -- drawing on his own unique upbringing -- has created an homage to the cultural origins of American cooking.

Samuelsson shares more than 300 recipes in his half-cookbook, half-travelogue that showcases the ethnic influences on American cuisine, from Pickled Herring Hot Dogs to down-home Boiled Peanuts; Jerk-Spiced Catfish with Green Papaya Salad to Latkes with Apple-Horseradish Sauce. It's quickly apparent his take on American cuisine isn't the stereotypical apple pie and bacon cheeseburger.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

'Jamie's Food Revolution' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 2

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Oct 16th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Hyperion

'Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals'
by Jamie Oliver
Hyperion -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

The revolution will not be supersized. Jamie Oliver is a man on a mission to reclaim traditional home cooking from the fast and processed food purveyors of the world via simple, inexpensive, appealing recipes.

The book kicks off with a rah-rah manifesto that dovetails with Oliver's televised traveling roadshows geared toward getting the least healthy eaters in the UK and the USA to back out of the drive-thru and drive home healthier eating habits, centered around the debatably lost art of home cooking. He presents a compelling argument with solid, satisfying building-block recipes and oddly heartstring-plucking photo profiles of plain ol' folks cooking at home.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight

'The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

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by Alexa Weibel, Posted Oct 14th 2009 @ 2:00PM

'The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook'
Recipes by Tarek Malouk and the Hummingbird Bakers
Photographs by Peter Cassidy
Rylan Peters & Small -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Once a journalist, London-based writer Tarek Malouk forsook his career to indulge his love of American desserts. As visions of cupcakes, pies and brownies pranced in his head, he enrolled in baking classes in New York and returned to London, eager to open a restaurant to showcase his cherished treats.

Though one might typically be hard-pressed to picture a hard-nosed journalist convert to cooking and create such a loving, warm cookbook, Malouk successfully conveys his love and appreciation for the range of American desserts in "The Hummingbird Cookbook."

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Cookbook Spotlight, Edible Gifts