Category: Cookbooks

Description

Author and savory pie expert Ken Haedrich takes you on a global tour of dinner pies from food cultures across the world.

Dinner pies have become a favorite go-to for one-dish recipes. Perfect your own crust or, dare we say, buy a pre-made crust and the variations are endless. Learn how to make Classic Americana Chicken Pot Pie, British Steak and Ale Pies, Swedish Meat Pies, Italian Easter Pie, and many more crust and no-crust versions of one of the world’s most prolific go-to dinners. Recipes for a range of crusts and make-ahead ideas are included along with how to use the almighty leftover to create pie masterpieces that are all your own!

With 75 recipes and amazing four-color photography, this is both a cookbook and an around-the-world tour of culinary traditions that can be incorporated into your own home kitchen weekly menu. Great for parties, families, Sunday night dinners, neighborly welcomes, holidays, and any-old-night-of-the-week dinners, and breakfasts and lunches—Savory Pies from Around the Globe offer something for every kitchen.

My Thoughts

Pies seem to be the trendy form of baking these days, and Ken Haedrich offers dozens of recipes for a savory version of pie that will turn heads at dinner parties. His recipes for savory pies are mostly delicious (there are some odd ones, but I’m sure they are just odd for me). The traditional Steak and Ale pies, pot pies, Easter pies, and my personal favorite – hand pies – are nicely balanced and accompanied by generally clear instructions.

The basic recipes for pastry dough are fairly simple even for beginning cooks and the ones I tried were quite tasty. This will make a solid addition to library shelves everywhere.

Published By: Quarto Publishing/Harvard Common Press
Publication Date: 1/18/2022

Thanks to Edelweiss & Netgalley for the review copy

Description*

The “buoyant and brainy Mexican cooking authority” (New York Times) and star of the three-time James Beard Award-winning PBS series Pati’s Mexican Table brings together more than 150 iconic dishes that define the country’s cuisine.

Although many of us can rattle off our favorite authentic Mexican dishes, we might be hard pressed to name more than ten. Which is preposterous, given that Mexico has a rich culinary history stretching back thousands of years. For the last decade, Pati Jinich has sought out the culinary treasures of her home country, from birria, to salsa macha, to coyotas, to carne asada. 

Many of these dishes are local specialties, heirlooms passed down through generations, unknown outside of their original regions. Others have become national sensations. Each recipe is a classic. Each one comes with a story told in Pati’s warm, relatable style. And each has been tested in Pati’s American kitchen to ensure it is the best of its kind. Together, these essential recipes paint a vivid picture of the richness of Mexico. 

Review

It’s a rare cookbook that I recommend for LibraryReads, but Treasures of the Mexican Table is so charming, chatty, and informative that I had to do so.

Pati Jinich writes to you as though you are her best friend and she’s teaching you how to make Mole or Carne Asada or any one of the delicioso recipes in this comprehensive book. For the first time ever, I feel like I am beginning to understand the subtle but powerful differences among chiles. Jinich also clearly demonstrates and communicates the depths and differences in cooking throughout the Mexican states. Her stories, included with every recipe, add a delightful charm to this book, making it very readable as well as utilitarian.

Some of the recipes use ingredients that are not readily available in my little corner of the world, so some cooks may be disappointed, but Jinich often offers alternatives that will give a similar flavor. Many recipes are also somewhat complicated, making this a book for the experienced cook. The variety of recipes is outstanding, with some of the most intriguing being Grilled Oaxacan Air-Dried Beef, Carne Con Chile, Wedding Stew (Asado De Boda), and Mole Poblano with Chicken (which has a whopping 26 ingredients just for the Mole sauce) which looks and sounds amazing.

If you watch Jinich on PBS, you will hear her voice in your head as you read. She wraps you in her enthusiasm and joy in her cooking and sharing her Mexican heritage with the world.

Highly recommended.

Publication Date: November 2, 2021
Published By: Mariner Books
Thanks to *Netgalley for the review copy

Description

A charming holiday baking book brimming with delicious, indulgent recipes, cozy winter photography, and lots of holiday cheer from Sarah Kieffer, author of 100 Cookies, beloved baker behind The Vanilla Bean Blog, and creator of the “bang-the-pan” method.

Delight family and friends with edible gifts and whip up some delicious baked goods to treat yourself through the long winter months after the holidays have ended. Recipes include: Triple Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Meyer Lemon-White Chocolate Scones, Pear-Almond Danish Bread, Hot Chocolate Cake, and Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pepita Streusel. With happy, festive photography and anyone-can-do-it recipes, this is a perfect holiday gift sure to please anyone in your life who loves to while away the winter months in their warm and cozy kitchen.

Sarah Kieffer is quickly finding a place on my cookbook shelves. While many of the recipes in Baking for the Holidays are familiar to me, Kieffer has included plenty of suggestions for twists on originals – unusual thing you can add to cakes, breads, and pastries – that add new life to old classics.

Every recipe I tried resulted in delicious, well-baked goodies, due to Kieffer’s careful and detailed instructions. She’s a good writer, and very attentive to detail, which makes her a great writer of cookbooks! The photography is full of luscious images of cakes, cookies, pastries and other delectable items.

My favorite “new” recipe is the one for Morning Buns, which I will be adding to my rotation of special items to bake for holidays.

Buy this for the baker in your life!

Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Published By: Chronicle Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Description*

Kevin Belton’s fourth cookbook and television series focuses on the amazing food found throughout Louisiana. The star of New Orleans Cooking with Kevin Belton heads to multiple parishes found across Louisiana to explore dishes and unique flavor profiles associated with each area of the state. Kevin Belton’s Cookin’ Louisiana has 78 recipes (3 from each episode of the coordinating TV series) along with a generous helping of Kevin’s captivating stories and humor. Recipes include Smoked Meat Loaf with Sweet Glaze, Louisiana Fish on the Half Shell, Cane Syrup Cake, Pumpkin Soup, Fried Alligator Bites, and Shrimp Scampi Risotto.

The thing I enjoy the most about Kevin Belton is his down-to-earth authenticity, and that shines through every page of this delightful book.

The book is a wonderful blend of Belton’s storytelling about his home state of Louisiana and a collection of delicious recipes. Heavy on seafood, but including plenty of meat for the carnivores, Belton serves up stews, gumbos, stuffed veggies, and even some desserts.

I was happy to find a recipe for his Creole seasoning, too, and made that straightaway. I’ll be trying out a few of the recipes and expect that my Great Lakes born & bred husband will devour every one.

ARCs of cookbooks are often difficult to follow because the formatting and photos often aren’t fully correct, so there were a few recipes jumbled together, but I was able to figure them out.

Belton’s stories about the different parishes in Louisiana are charming and informative, but sometimes did not really connect with recipes offered in the chapter. I’m guessing that may be an editing issue that will be corrected prior to publication.

Overall, an excellent cookbook from a guy who cooks real food with history and meaning and who, like all excellent cooks, has a story for everything!

Published By: Gibbs-Smith
Publication Date: August 31, 2021
Thanks to *Edelweiss.Plus for the review copy

From Netgalley & the Publisher:

What is Big Love Cooking? For Joey Campanaro, Italian-American chef and owner of venerated Greenwich Village restaurant Little Owl, big love cooking is his mother and grandmother hovering over the stove every Sunday, nursing a bubbling pot of red sauce, and filling the house with the familiar, irresistible scent of garlic, tomatoes, and carne.

This cookbook is an ode to the generous, comforting dishes of that big love cooking. With helpful, conversational advice and 75 crowd-pleasing recipes, this cookbook is a return to hearty platters and comfort food. Welcome home.

Recipes include Gravy Meatball Slider Buns, Pork Chop with Parmesan Butter Beans, Ricotta Cavatelli with Tomato Broth, Bacon, and Fava Beans—accessible, delicious meals to make at home and serve to loved ones.

About the Author:

Joey Campanaro is the owner/chef of Little Owl Restaurant, and co-owner of Market Table and The Clam in New York. He is the winner of the Food Network Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge, and has appeared on The Today Show, Iron Chef, Vice Munchies, Chopped and many more. He has also contributed to Bon Appetit, Esquire, Slate, and the New York Times, among others.

Joey was raised in an Italian-American household in South Philadelphia where the food of his childhood inspired him to make cooking his vocation. With a culinary approach firmly rooted in his Italian grandmother’s kitchen and honed in a range of America’s top restaurants, he brings a lifelong affinity for Mediterranean cuisine to every dish he creates.

Little Owl is a corner gem with a big porkchop and an even bigger heart. Celebrating 13 years in Greenwich Village (New York City), Little Owl offers bold Mediterranean cuisine with friendly yet professional service that captures neighborhood dining in NYC. Understated yet elegant, an intimate room, it’s your home away from home.

I don’t often recommend cookbooks for Reader’s Advisory or Library Reads lists because, well, they’re cookbooks and usually not all that interesting to fully read.

Big Love Cooking is different.

Joey Campanaro has produced a cookbook that is fun to read as well as full of delicious recipes. Reading this is like being invited to the warmth, noise, and chaotic love of the Campanaro Sunday table. I married into a family much like Campanaro’s where food traditions reign supreme. The family has changed in the 35 years I’ve been with my husband, but the food remains the same.

There is a great balance of story and instruction here, with many of the recipes containing little asides from Campanaro regarding how to prepare the food. It makes you feel as though he’s right there next to you and encouraging you to try a little of this, or taste a little of that. This approach is entertaining for the experienced cook, but also very helpful for the new cook who may not have the confidence to deviate from the recipe. Campanaro “Big Love” approach just might help that new cook become more confident.

The personal stories of Campanaro’s family are entertaining and endearing. I think every Italian family has a set of “Uncle Frankie’s wine glasses” (and an Uncle Frankie!). For my family, they were individual hourglass-shaped glasses that originally held little shrimp cocktails. My father-in-law would fill them with his homemade wine and pass them out every holiday. And the “Old-School Salit” is my mother-in-law 100% – I *still* haven’t mastered the ratio of oil and vinegar poured directly on the “salit.”

The recipes, though, are the stars here. The “Little Owl Gravy Meatball Sliders” and “Sesame Seed Breadsticks” are amazing, and the directions for the “Sunday Gravy” are authentic and easy to follow. What really makes this book shine, though, are the recipes from Campanaro’s Little Owl restaurant. Horseradish Crusted Cod, Asparagus Homefries, Crab Cakes with Beefsteak Tomatoes, Little Owl Pork Chop, and so many more.

This will make a lovely gift for the cook in your life. Highly recommended.

Publication Date: September 8, 2020
Published By: Chronicle Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

100 recipes for all types of cookies–chocolatey, fruity, crispy, chewy, classic, inventive—there’s a foolproof recipe for the perfect treat for everyone in this book.

Sarah Kieffer writes The Vanilla Bean Baking Blog and introduces a whole new technique for baking cookies that ensures crisp edges and soft centers for the most delicious cookies.

Recipes range from the Classic Chocolate Chip made three different ways, to bars, brownies, and blondies that reflect a wide range of flavors and global inspiration. 

As an avid cookie baker, I am always on the lookout for new cookie cookbooks. I am not, however, a fan of Instagram or food blogs, so I was unfamiliar with the author. I am very glad that she has made the transition from online to print, because this book is a delight!

Filled with luscious recipes that range from old favorites to brand new flavor combinations and techniques, there is something here for the novice to the experienced baker. Kieffer comes across as chatty, witty, authentic, and just plain fun. She doesn’t take herself super-seriously, which is a flaw in most food bloggers and Instagrammers, and she approaches baking with precision blended with a heady dose of risk-taking.

I always appreciate a book that blends sumptuous recipes with an intelligent introduction and commentary that carries throughout the book. Kieffer’s fondness for Shakespeare is apparent in the generous sprinkling of quotes throughout, making the book fun to read.

I don’t buy many cookbooks in print anymore, but I will be buying this one, along with a couple copies for family & friend bakers.

Publication Date: October 20, 2020 (just in time for holiday baking!)
Published By: Chronicle Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

In Heirloom, Sarah Owens’ efforts to introduce cooks to using locally grown, “heirloom” food is commendable, and she writes eloquently and passionately about the benefits of doing so. A lengthy introduction leaves the reader fully informed as to why Owens prefers this kind of food and cookery, despite the sometimes  overblown descriptions and statements describing the relationship between humans and food consumption.

The recipes here are organized in two parts – by type such as fruits & vegetables, meats, and grains, then by season, which is helpful and supports the narrative style of the text.

There’s some definite “Earth Mothering” here, with recipes and instructions for making your own vinegar from carefully selected plants, and fermenting food which, let’s be real, regular people are probably not going to work into their busy lives, even though the recipes are totally fascinating!

And that leads me to my main criticism of this book – it is definitely written from a place of privilege. There’s little to no understanding by the author that many Americans live in food deserts, where they can’t easily access fresh food, and certainly can’t afford to pay for some of the ingredients used here. That said, this will find an audience with the semi-affluent to affluent Moms who are trying to get their families to eat healthy.

Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Published By: Roost Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy