Slashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gifSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Cooking for One, With Pleasure : Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/25/cooking-for-one-with-pleasure-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/25/cooking-for-one-with-pleasure-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/25/cooking-for-one-with-pleasure-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under:

Joe Yonan's book, Serve YourselfCourtesy Photo


While reading Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One, the line "Feed your head!" (from the Jefferson Airplane song "Go Ask Alice") kept running through my mind. Maybe it's because in his new cookbook, Washington Post Food and Travel Editor Joe Yonan brings home the point that preparing delicious food is a gift, whether it's for one or for 20. Feeding yourself well, and spending time experimenting with food, is not only good for your taste buds and your health, it pumps up your well-being.

That Joe Yonan has a way with solo adventures in the kitchen has long been evident in his "Cooking for One" column in the Post. And with the more than 100 recipes gathered in Serve Yourself, his talent for creating recipes that range from the rib-sticking (Yucatan-style Slow-Roasted Pork) to the delicate (Turbot with Tomatoes, Walnuts, and Capers Over Couscous) is clear.

There are singles classics -- you know, those dishes you can throw together on the fly but that are still fantastic -- such as tacos and sandwiches. But what tacos, what sandwiches: Korean short-rib tacos, a smoked-trout, green apple, and gouda sandwich. And there's a whole section on pizzas, starting with a no-knead pizza dough and featuring great combinations such as kimchi, ham, and fried egg ("the runny yolk richness," Yonan says, "pulls everything together").

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]]>cooking for onejoe yonanServe YourselfSlashfood EditorMon, 25 Apr 2011 11:00:00 ESTItalian Food, Jonathan Waxman's Way: Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/18/italian-food-jonathan-waxmans-way-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/18/italian-food-jonathan-waxmans-way-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/18/italian-food-jonathan-waxmans-way-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Amazon

When chef Jonathan Waxman throws open the glass garage doors at his restaurant Barbuto (in Manhattan's West Village) on a warm spring afternoon on the far side of lunch hour, and you've just eaten a forkful of pillowy gnocchi with spinach and almonds, you'd be inhuman if you didn't turn to your mates and say, "Ah, life is good." Waxman's wood-fired oven is throwing flames, and the silver-haired chef (and former "Top Chef Masters" contestant) might himself be delivering one of his signature roast chickens with salsa verde to another bunch of customers, all of whom seem to be smiling. Barbuto just does that to you.

Jonathan Waxman has always done things his way at Barbuto -- simple, delicious, playful, and very Italian. That he isn't Italian doesn't mean a thing. He cooks like a Roman grandmother, says his business partner Fabrizio Ferri. And in his new cookbook, Italian, My Way, he shows us how to play with the classic dishes he loves (such as linguine with wild mushrooms or pizza with pancetta, tomatoes, burrata, and scallions), and amp up others, spun from a good forage or a good day at the fish market (warm dandelion greens with scrambled eggs and chives; strozzapreti with octopus, red wine, and onions).

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]]>cookbooksitalian foodJonathan Waxmanjonathan+waxman+cookbookjonathan+waxman+cookbooksjonathan+waxman+pizza+dough+recipejonathanwaxmancookbookjonathanwaxmancookbooksjonathanwaxmanpizzadoughrecipeNanette MaximMon, 18 Apr 2011 15:00:00 ESTPoll: Which Celeb Cookbook Would You Buy?http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/12/poll-which-celeb-cookbook-would-you-buy/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/12/poll-which-celeb-cookbook-would-you-buy/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/12/poll-which-celeb-cookbook-would-you-buy/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photos: John P Iblis/jpistudios.com; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Amanda Edwards/Getty Images


Three very different celebs have released cookbooks in recent weeks, each one with a unique spin. Rocker Sheryl Crow's If It Makes You Healthy: More than 100 Recipes Inspired by the Seasons has a personal narrative and get-fit message, while Eva Longoria's Eva's Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends is built around homey recipes the actress has collected over the years. And although Gwyneth Paltrow has taken a bit of teasing for the highbrow tone of her book, My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness, it's clear she loves food and wants to pass on her enthusiasm. Which book suits your style?

Vote for your pick after the jump.

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]]>celebrity cookbooksEva LongoriaGywneth PaltrowSheryl CrowSlashfood EditorTue, 12 Apr 2011 14:00:00 ESTCookbook Gift Guidehttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/07/cookbook-gift-guide/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/07/cookbook-gift-guide/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/07/cookbook-gift-guide/#commentsFiled under: , ,

cookbook giftsPhotos: Amazon.com


When it comes to giving a cookbook as a gift, there's no such thing as one size fits all -- sometimes you want a cookbook for a serious cook; sometimes you want a sweet-and-simple general-interest cookbook, and sometimes you want a cookbook for someone who doesn't actually cook but likes to read about cooking. We've asked T. Susan Chang -- food writer, cookbook reviewer for KitchenDaily and The Boston Globe, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Kitchen Window series -- to do the sorting for you. Here are her favorite gift-cookbook picks:

Cute little books for anybody:

o. Tea and Cookies: Enjoy the Perfect Cup of Tea--with Dozens of Delectable Recipes for Teatime Treats, by Rick Rodgers (William Morrow, $21.99). Cookie cookbooks are a gift that keeps on giving, especially if you happen to be invited over for tea. A smart selection in a delightful package.

o. Simply Ming One-Pot Meals: Quick, Healthy & Affordable Recipes, by Ming Tsai (Kyle Books, $29.95). Nobody likes cleaning pots. Keep it to a single one, with Asian-fusion how-tos from the cutest Chinese chef on TV.

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]]>cookbooksgift guide 2010giftsT. Susan ChangTue, 07 Dec 2010 11:00:00 ESTWhen 'General Hospital' Meets General Foodshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/29/when-general-hospital-meets-general-foods/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/29/when-general-hospital-meets-general-foods/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/29/when-general-hospital-meets-general-foods/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: SOAP DISHES: The Cookbook


Still rounding out your holiday shopping list? Surely you've got an aunt, grandma or second cousin somewhere who lives for daytime TV, and for whom this would make the perfect (or ironic) gift: Soap Dishes: The Cookbook.

Billed as a collection of favorite recipes from your favorite soap stars, the book features more than 30 dishes from the villains and vixens of such daytime staples as General Hospital, All My Children, Days of Our Lives, Bold and the Beautiful, One Life to Live and The Young and the Restless.

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]]>cookbooksgiftssoap operasJason BestMon, 29 Nov 2010 14:00:00 ESTCookie Recipes With a Rich Historyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/08/cookie-recipes-with-a-history/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/08/cookie-recipes-with-a-history/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/08/cookie-recipes-with-a-history/#commentsFiled under: ,


Gourmet Cookie BookCover image reproduced courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; cookie photo by Romulo Yanes (C) 2010 by Conde Nast Publications

Before you pull out the same old snowman cookie cutter and butter-cookie recipe this holiday season, give a thought to the cookie as a sign of the times. The food editors at the late great Gourmet magazine did. They baked a lot of cookies in the 68 years the magazine was published (1941-2009). So some tough choices had to be made when former Executive Food Editor Kemp Minifie and her team pored over all those recipes to choose the finest cookie from each year (except maybe for 1962, when only one cookie appeared). What began as a "best of" feature for the Gourmet website has now become The Gourmet Cookie Book, published November 2 (from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). From the rich almond-flavored Cajun Macaroon (1941) that tasted of New Orleans to the very French Christmas bread, Grand Marnier Glazed Pain d'Épices cookies, of December 2009, this is a collection that says as much about what makes a great cookie as it does about cooking that's inspired us for almost seven decades.

Slashfood talked to Kemp Minifie, who created recipes for Gourmet for more than thirty years, about some of her favorite cookies from the magazine's early years.

Slashfood: How did you ever pick just one cookie for each year?

Kemp Minifie: We went through all the issues, and tried to choose the one cookie that would say a lot about the time in which it was made. Take the Honey Refrigerator cookies from 1942. There was a war on, and there was rationing. Sugar was scarce. So we cooked with honey, which also helped the cookies keep well. These cookies go great with a tangy cheese, like goat's-milk or gorgonzola. In 1943, the Scotch Oat Crunchies also worked with our need to stretch ingredients by using oatmeal, which was inexpensive. This English and Irish take on the biscuit is thin and crisp, not too sweet, and it's filled with jam.


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]]>cookiesgourmet magazineSlashfood EditorMon, 08 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST'Dulce' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/dulce-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/dulce-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/21/dulce-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

dulcePhoto: Amazon.com

"Dulce"
By Joseluis Flores with Laura Zimmerman Maye
Photographs by Ben Fink
Rizzoli -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

The cover photo of "Dulce" features churros with a dish of chocolate sauce alongside. Poised for a nibble, it's food porn at its very finest. But can you judge a book by its cover?

I have a love affair with cookbooks. "Dulce," despite its amazing collection of tempting recipes, stepped out on me. It tested my love and I don't know whether to give it another chance or break it off.

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

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]]>dulcejoseluis floresJoseluisFloreslaura zimmerman mayeLauraZimmermanMayeMaggie RuggieroFri, 21 May 2010 14:00:00 EST'Forgotten Skills of Cooking' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/forgotten-skills-of-cooking-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/forgotten-skills-of-cooking-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/30/forgotten-skills-of-cooking-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

forgotten skills of cookingPhoto: Amazon.com

"Forgotten Skills of Cooking"
By Darina Allen
Photographs by Peter Cassidy
Kyle Books -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

Forgotten Skills of Cooking is a genie in a book instead of a bottle. Crack it open and the wisdom of a googleplex of grannies is at your fingertips. Darina Allen is lovingly referred to as the Julia Child of Ireland -- that's high praise, and praise that's rightfully bestowed. Allen is the very best combination of cook and teacher.

Culturally, something has shifted in an unpleasant way: we spend hard-earned money on inferior "quickie" foods, eat poorly in a nutritional sense, and have come to consider meal preparation a chore. It's all about slapping food on the table. Ouch and yuck.

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

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]]>darina allenforgotten skills of cookingMaggie RuggieroFri, 30 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST'Ready for Dessert' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/16/ready-for-dessert-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/16/ready-for-dessert-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/16/ready-for-dessert-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

ready for dessertPhoto: Amazon.com

Ready for Dessert
By David Lebovitz
Photographs by Maren Caruso
Ten Speed Press -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

This is the Slinky of cookbooks. I've been paging back and forth, back and forth, mesmerized, spurred on each time I land on a silvery endpaper. It's an enticing, beautiful book with charm and know-how. But this book is not for a coffee table; I'd put it on a pedestal.

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

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]]>david lebovitzDavidLebovitzready for dessertReadyForDessertMaggie RuggieroFri, 16 Apr 2010 17:00:00 EST'The Brazilian Kitchen' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/the-brazilian-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/the-brazilian-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/08/the-brazilian-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

the brazilian kitchenPhoto: Amazon.com

The Brazilian Kitchen
By Leticia Moreinos Schwartz
Photographs by Ben Fink
Kyle Books -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

When I'm having that "hmmm, what's for dinner moment," rarely does the word moqueca come to mind. Nor, for that matter, does my super cool iPhone grocery app know the ingredient cupuaçú. Well, If Leticia Moreinos Schwartz has her way, that's about to change. If you've got a hankering for Brazilian food, The Brazilian Kitchen could seriously rock your pantry.

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

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]]>cookbooksleticia morenos schwartzthe brazilian kitchenMaggie RuggieroThu, 08 Apr 2010 17:00:00 EST'Secrets of the Skinny Chef' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/secrets-of-the-skinny-chef-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/secrets-of-the-skinny-chef-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/04/02/secrets-of-the-skinny-chef-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

secrets of a skinny chefPhoto: Amazon.com

Secrets of a Skinny Chef
By Jennifer Iserloh
Photographs by Mitch Mandel
Rodale -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

My winter diet weighs heavy on me... in every respect. I've allowed myself to eat as I please knowing that my down winter coat hides a multitude of sins. With the first buds of spring come the guilt.

So I turn to Secrets of a Skinny Chef. Initially I'm skeptical. Who wouldn't be? The cover says the recipes are decadent and guilt free. I expect there to be a contract with the devil in the appendix. Instead, there is the most unassuming bible of healthy, good eating.

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

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]]>jennifer iserlohsecrets of a skinny chefSkinnyChefthe skinny chefTheSkinnyChefMaggie RuggieroFri, 02 Apr 2010 13:00:00 ESTSeasonal Spanish Food - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/17/seasonal-spanish-food-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/17/seasonal-spanish-food-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/17/seasonal-spanish-food-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Amazon.com

Seasonal Spanish Food
By José Pizarro
Photographs by Emma Lee
Ten Speed Press 2010
Buy it on Amazon

What makes a standout cookbook, at least for me, is cracking it open and being so tempted by everything that you don't know what to make first. The book never makes it to the coffee table because you can't get it out of the kitchen. In record time, it's spattered and dog-eared. Seasonal Spanish Food is just that kind of book.

But it's more than just recipes. I found myself standing in the kitchen, mid stir, reading Pizarro's recipe stories. It's the whole package, the real deal. There's charm and enticement throughout.

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

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]]>seasonal spanish foodseasonal spanish food cookbook reviewseasonal spanish food reviewspanish cookingMaggie RuggieroWed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:00 ESTMy Favorite Ingredients - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/11/my-favorite-ingredients-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/11/my-favorite-ingredients-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/03/11/my-favorite-ingredients-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

my favorite ingredientsPhoto: Amazon.com

My Favorite Ingredients
By Skye Gyngell
Photographs by Jason Lowe
Ten Speed Press 2010
Buy it on Amazon

Inspired by seasonal eating, Skye Gyngell has assembled her favorite ingredients and given them star treatment in casual, stunning recipes. The lush flavor combinations are daring but not at all fussy, and her mindful use of ingredients and simple techniques result in utterly embraceable food.

Her sixteen favorites range from single items like cherries, chocolate or honey, to more complex categories, like shellfish. There's lots of wiggle room in each chapter to find what you crave, and even in the dead of winter the possibilities for something sumptuous are at your fingertips. Sometimes a category is a little less accessible, like game birds, for instance, but after reading the recipe, heck, you kind of want to track down a partridge even if you have to go out and shoot it yourself. Oddly enough, after reading the recipe, I noticed that my butcher advertises partridges. Live, learn, and eat well.

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

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]]>my favorite ingredientsskye gyngellMaggie RuggieroThu, 11 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST'Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/10/asian-flavors-of-jean-georges-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/10/asian-flavors-of-jean-georges-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/10/asian-flavors-of-jean-georges-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges book coverPhoto: Amazon.com

'Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges'
By Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Photographs by Sang An and Daniel Del Vecchio
Broadway Books 2007
Buy it on Amazon

At age 23, Jean-Georges Vongerichten was sent to Bangkok as the Oriental Hotel's chef de cuisine. Expected to cater to an international clientele using European techniques while making use of the local Aw Taw Kaw's market offerings, he was forced to start from scratch in conceptualizing flavor palates. But like a seasoned painter discovering a whole new color scheme, Vongerichten was dazzled by the potential for one-of-kind nuances and tastes -- and he had a keen knack for creating them, which later made him a pioneer of the fusion cuisine phenomenon.

Writes the chef, "One day, I went to the market to buy apples for our signature foie gras dish and there were none. Instead, I bought some ginger and Thai mangoes... I went back to my kitchen and seared a piece of foie gras, caramelized a piece of mango and reduced an intense vegetable broth with some ginger. When I ate this combination, fusion was born for me."


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]]>asian flavors of jean-georgesjean-georges vongerichtenAlexa WeibelWed, 10 Feb 2010 13:00:00 ESTMad Hungry - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/mad-hungry-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/mad-hungry-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/mad-hungry-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

mad hungryPhoto: Amazon.com.

"Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys"
By Lucinda Scala Quinn
Artisan - 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Many cookbooks rely on a theme. Sometimes, it's an over-arching concept, like all of French cuisine. Other times, it's a little more niche, like, say, cupcakes or bacon. But Lucinda Scala Quinn went a totally new direction for her latest cookbook, "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys." More than just a theme, she introduces us to a way of life, one where feeding a ravenous family -- without picking up the phone for takeout -- can be quick, fun and delicious.

As the Executive Director of Food for Martha Stewart, Quinn knows how to deliver impressive meals. But her recipes here come across completely differently than the fussy pages of "Martha Stewart Living." Steps are stripped down; flavors are dialed up. This approach makes for a revolutionary and yet straightforward approach to not just getting dinner on the table, but truly serving something that meets the demands of big appetites with more than just hefty portions.

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]]>lucinda scala quinnmartha stewartmartha stewart livingJacqueline TerrebonneFri, 29 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST'Beaumont's Kitchen' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/15/beaumonts-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/15/beaumonts-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/15/beaumonts-kitchen-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: ,

Beaumont's KitchenPhoto: Amazon.com

'Beaumont's Kitchen: Lessons on food, life, and photography with Beaumont Newhall'
Photographs by Beaumont Newhall, Henri Cartier-Bresson
Radius Books-2009
Buy it on Amazon

A brilliant mix of art book and cookbook, "Beaumont's Kitchen" seduces you with its restrained beauty. Light years from the world of celebrity chefs and megawatt food gods, this book exposes us to the world of a man who was just as at home in the darkroom as he was the kitchen. Known as one of the father's of photographic history, Newhall took up writing a column called the Epicure's Corner for the Brighton-Pittsford Post in 1956. There, he would unravel the mysteries of the kitchen in his warm and instructional voice.

His articles are clipped and laid out into this book. As a collection, they give a historical sense of how much recipe-writing has changed in the last decades. Totally conversational, the recipes are part of the narrative -- no columns of ingredients and curt orders here. Instead, it's the voice of a friend guiding you through a recipe he might have picked up on a trip abroad or in his mother's kitchen.

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]]>beaumont newhallbeaumonts kitchenbeaumonts kitchen reviewcookbook spotlighthenri cartier-bressonJacqueline TerrebonneFri, 15 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST'The Balthazar Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/08/the-balthazar-cookbook-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/08/the-balthazar-cookbook-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/08/the-balthazar-cookbook-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

balthazar cookbookPhoto: Amazon.com

'The Balthazar Cookbook'
By Keith McNally, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson
Clarkson Potter Publishers -- 2003
Buy it on Amazon

If you ever thought delectable French food could only be attained at overpriced restaurants, this cookbook by Balthazar restaurateur Keith McNally and company will prove you wrong. And hats off to them for revealing the beauty of French cooking: For the most part, it necessitates a minimal amount of ingredients (of good quality, bien sûr), executed to perfection.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

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]]>balthazarfrench cookingfrench foodfrench onion soupthe balthazar cookbookAlexa WeibelFri, 08 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST'My Nepenthe' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/06/my-nepenthe-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/06/my-nepenthe-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/06/my-nepenthe-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Andrews McMeel Publishing

'My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur'
Recipes by Romney Steele
Photography by Sara Remington
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC - 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Resting on the grandiose cliffs of the Big Sur, California's picturesque central coastline, Nepenthe Restaurant has become an eating mecca for the artistic, bohemian crowd.

Movie buffs may even recognize the terrace on the cover from the 1960's romance The Sandpiper, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The likes of Henry Miller, Steve McQueen, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles have sat around the table of the Fassett family's restaurant for the past sixty years -- and now cookbook readers can too.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

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]]>cookbook spotlightmy nepenthenepenthe restaurantSarah LeTrentWed, 06 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST'DamGoodSweet' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/damgoodsweet-cookbook-review/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/damgoodsweet-cookbook-review/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/damgoodsweet-cookbook-review/#commentsFiled under: , ,

DamGoodSweetPhoto: Amazon.com

'DamGoodSweet'
Recipes by David Guas & Raquel Pelzel
Photographs by Ellen Silverman
Taunton Press -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

When a cookbook can transport the reader to a specific region, passing down the history and memories of the locale through recipes, then that reader is in for a treat. New Orleans, a city of vibrant traditions, is a melting pot for melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Classics that have made their way all over the country include beignets, pecan pie, coconut cream pie and red velvet cake. "DamGoodSweet," a tribute to the Big Easy, is filled with recipes for such classics, as well as some dishes that have fallen out of favor like Calas Fried Rice Fritters.

Broken down by classic New Orleans recipes, pies, cakes, custards and puddings, ice creams, jams and curds, and lagniappes (a little something extra), Guas and Pelzel offer 50 recipes that will keep your sweet tooth satisfied like bananas Foster, fried apple pies, and old fashioned chocolate pudding.

"DamGoodSweet" separates itself from other baking cookbooks by bringing back the importance of preserving and passing down recipes and memories, making it one of our favorite baking books of the year.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

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]]>chocolate bread puddingcookbook spotlightdavid guasicebox pieIceboxPieSarah De HeerWed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST'Good Eats: The Early Years' - Cookbook Spotlighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/21/good-eats-the-early-years-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/21/good-eats-the-early-years-cookbook-spotlight/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/21/good-eats-the-early-years-cookbook-spotlight/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

good eats cookbook coverPhoto: Amazon.com.

'Good Eats: The Early Years'
By Alton Brown
Stewart, Tabori & Chang -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Fans of Alton Brown are sure to like "Good Eats: The Early Years," an episode-by-episode companion guide to his popular Food Network show. Of course, Brown has gone on to host "Iron Chef America" and become a spokesman for Welch's and Diamond Crystal Salt, but it is "Good Eats" that garners him perhaps the greatest culinary respect.

The book follows "Good Eats" through six seasons, episode by episode. There are diagrams, screengrabs from the show, tips from each episode, and recipes, which Brown calls "applications." Think Mr. Wizard meets Julia Child on Monty Python -- that's actually what this host is going for.

"Good Eats: The Early Years" is not the TV show. "It's more like 400 pages of liner notes," Brown writes. "But really good liner notes."

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

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]]>alton browngood eatsgood eats cookbookSara BonisteelMon, 21 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST