Tastefully Five : Flavorful & Nutritious Five Ingredient Recipes Review

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(More customer reviews)I found this a very good book.
It was easy to understand and use. There were many tasty recipes. Each recipe was presented along with a breakdown of its nutritional value.
With so many kinds of diets and varying nutritional requirements for each person it is more important than ever before that recipes are presented along with a nutritional breakdown per serving. The recipes in this book were analyzed by the 'Nutrition Recipe Analysis' recipe management. In the beginning of the book there is a section on Nutritional Guidelines for recipes.
There are recipes from appetizers and beverages, breakfasts, breads, soups, vegetables, salads, poultry, seafood, meat, desserts to vegetarian. There are even additional directions for microwave use and a english/metric conversion table. The book has both a table of contents and an index. I am of the opinion that only quality books have an index.
About 130 pages.
It's wonderful to find a source of easy recipes which are both tasteful and nutritious.
I recommend this book to anyone that likes to eat.


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Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California Review

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(More customer reviews)During my nine years of living in Rome, I discovered that the best dishes were based on simple recipes that could be prepared with infinite variations. In her latest book, celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis demonstrates this proposition, presenting us with what in Italy is called cucina casareccia--and in California, home cooking.

Among her most mouth-watering concoctions are the antipasti: prosciutto-wrapped dates stuffed with blended mascarpone and goat cheese; smoked salmon and apple carpaccio; and fried cheese-stuffed zucchini blossoms (I was particularly grateful for her suggestion for testing the heat of the oil: toss a cube of bread into the olive oil--medium heat; when the bread browns, the oil is ready.). Similarly, her salads--"easy to throw together"--are truly inviting: an example is her green-bean salad, seasoned with fresh rosemary, parsley, chopped garlic, drizzled with olive oil (Her advice on choosing the best olive oil is especially enlightening.). Her lentil salad--mixed with grapes and cucumbers, among other ingredients, including hazelnuts--tickles one's tastebuds. And her recipe for Involtini--rolled-up beefsteaks filled with a mixture of various ingredients including garlic and basil--recalled forgotten memories of my father's putting me to work as a child, chopping parsely, garlic, together with something he called "fatback," which I imagine was lard, but which has now been substituted by olive oil. The strings with which he used to tie the involtini together have also been replaced by easier-to-use 4-inch skewers. Merely reading the recipe causes me to remember the aroma of involtini simmering in marinara sauce.

The beauty of these recipes is that they invite one to be adventurous, as the author suggests in combining the best of Italy with the best of California. Are lobster tails too expensive when preparing her divine brown butter risotto? Substitute shrimp. Too much sugar for you in her imaginative strawberry and rosemary scones? Use half the amount! The amazing thing about Italian cooking is that, as the author remarks, it is always "evolving."
Although "Giada at Home" contains some shortcuts, such as her tempting lemon-chicken soup, which calls for "low-sodium chicken broth" and " diced rotisserie chicken" [My father would turn over in his grave if he caught me following her suggestion to break the spaghetti into two-inch pieces!], many of her recipes, such as those which call for slicing, dicing, beating, and grating, require one to spend considerable time in the kitchen.

If you have the patience and enjoy cooking, I am certain that the results will be worth the trouble.

Buon' appetito!


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Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto's Kikunoi Restaurant Review

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(More customer reviews)I have two sorts of cookbooks in my collection. There are the books that I cook from, in which many pages have food stains, folded-down corners, and bindings that fall open to favorite recipes. I also have cookbooks that I consider "picture books." Sure, they have recipes, but I look at them primarily for inspiration or entertainment or fantasy ("Yeah, like I'm gonna cook something with two pounds of fois gras!" or "That's over the top, but isn't it beautiful?"). I rarely cook anything from the picture books, but that's okay; I enjoy them nonetheless.
Kaiseki is very much in the latter category. If this book isn't nominated for an award on visual merit alone, I shall be appalled. Photographically, it's simply stunning. If you appreciate how beautifully food can be presented... well, it earns its five stars right there. It's also a stunning example of how good Japanese food can be; many of the photos make me yearn to consume them.
The cookbook is organized in an unusual manner. The recipes are all in the back of the book, in small type (too small, I think). Most of the book is given over to the delicious photos, menus, and text. The text is largely what you'd expect as a long headnote in a regular cookbook. For example, you get two long paragraphs about the seasonality of fresh bamboo shoots, accompanying a blow-you-away picture of bamboo shoot sushi (it looks like a bird of paradise flower arrangement). These sections are divided into Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, reflecting the restaurant's focus on eating whatever is ripe right now.
I can't imagine that I'm going to cook anything here, though. The author doesn't try to Americanize anything, or to suggest "if you can't find sea bream, substitute [something else]." It's definitely a Japanese book. Maybe, if you have more Asian markets than I do and you know the cuisine better, you're better able to contemplate the recipes. If so, you'll probably be interested in steamed tilefish with fresh green tea leaves; or abalone in a salt dome; or fresh black soybean skewered on pine needles.
But don't worry if your ability to make these recipes is as distant as my own. Kaiseki may spend more time on your coffee table than in your kitchen, and that's okay. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book, and well worth it for anyone who simply loves to admire food treated well. It would make a superb present for any foodie, too.

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Harrah's Entertainment Presents The Seven Stars Cookbook: Recipes from World-Class Casino Restaurants Review

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(More customer reviews)Most of the recipes in this book are southern. There's a lot of southern style sea food dishes. The book has very few recipes from Harrah's Reno/Lake Tahoe. I was disappointed because of this. The book is illustrated with very nice pictures.

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50 Great Appetizers Review

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(More customer reviews)Hard to believe that such s small slim volume (111 pages) could hold so very many temptations and gorgeous gotta'-try-this photos. But, it surely does. So believe I'll copy the Juli5 of blog/movie fame who tried to make all of Julia Childs' cookbook recipes in a year, and work my way through this compendium of savory suggestions.
One of the many things to admire about this book is that not only is it brimming with the best of small bites but it also includes recipes that do double duty - as appetizers or as a main course. For instance, the Lamb Fritters with Curry Sauce (p. 91). Ah, we added a green salad and enjoyed these con much gusto for supper. The fritters can be shaped and refrigerated for up to 3 hours should that be more convenient.
Another first-rate at home meal is the Tea-Smoked Chicken Wings (p. 34) paired with the Orange Broccoli Salad (p. 100). Need we say that not only are Johns's recipes palate pleasers but also very easy on the eyes, such as the Prosciuto-Wrapped Asparagus (p. 72) It looks gift wrapped - who wouldn't appreciate this present? Plus, it's so easy to do that we chose two other appetizers, put the three together and relished a very festive, fun dinner.
Johns thoughtfully includes a page for Equivalents, and a Sources page that lists useful stores. (We're in love with Italian food importer Manicaretti, which may be found online).
50 Great Appetizers is a delicious indispensable!
- Gail Cooke

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Appetizers are the new entrees." --New York MagazineStarters, amuses-bouche, antipasti, hors d'oeuvres, mezes, antojitos, dim sum, tapas, canapes, finger foods--no matter what you call them, people everywhere are choosing small plates over traditional entree-based meals.Internationally acclaimed chef and culinary instructor Pamela Sheldon Johns presents 50 festive appetizers and practical party-planning advice on presentation, preparation, decoration, and food safety to inspire many successful gatherings. Also included are 10 themed menus featuring recipes for Middle Eastern mezes, farmers market morsels, Mexican antojitos, vegetarian plates, and more.The recipes in this handy and giftable cookbook are categorized according to cooking method, including those that are topped and dipped, grilled and skewered, stuffed and rolled, or plated and sauced. Mouthwatering four-color photographs illustrate the book throughout.Recipes include Stuffed Grape Leaves with Dilled Yogurt, Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta, Roasted Poblano Chilies Stuffed with Shrimp and Crab, Tea-Smoked Chicken Wings, and much more.

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The Pressure Cooker Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently got a pressure cooker and wanted to know how to use it for everyday cooking. With 3 small children we rarely eat gourmet! I collect cookbooks, but rarely use them! This cookbook however is open for every meal. It acts as a great instruction manual for how to cook any ingredient, plus tells you how to translate an old favorite recipe to the pressure cooker.

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Technology has made today's pressure cookers quieter and safer, and pressure-cooked foods are prepared in one-third the time of traditional cooking methods. These easy-to-follow recipes enhance any cook's ability to cook under pressure with ease.

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Authors in the Kitchen: Recipes, Stories, and More Review

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(More customer reviews)This book not only introduced me to a number of 'new' authors/illustrators but helped me connect with some old favorites. Some of the recipes were child friendly but all of those I have tried are great to serve on the day we check one of the author's books from the library. Great way to help us connect our children with good reading. I have also cheated and on the day we ordered pizza we shared the broccoli recipe from Judy Casely -- knowing that the children would LOVE the pizza and not like the broccoli. They were glad to find out that Casely likes pizza too although the broccoli is heathier. Of course we also tried the English muffin pizzas too -- great for lunch. One day we had a 'literary luncheon' with Paul Brett Johnson's fried chicken Keiko Kasza's potato salad and Mary Casanova's crazy chocolate cake. All were teacher friends. Introduced them to some great authors and great books. This is a fun way to start a book conversation and would make great items for our book group. wish there was an adult version as we like the little bits of information about the books, and the authors, along with the themes shared. Lots of good food and lots of good anecdotes.
Also recommended: I think I read that a new title will be out next year -- Authors in the Pantry. I'll look forward to i

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