lemonadesandwich's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
6 books reviewed. Showing 1 to 6Sort by: Rating | Title 
Ball Blue Book of Preserving
By
Alltrista Consumer Products - 2004
If you are going to make jam, you need to have this. I'm new at jam making. I have some other books with more elaborate recipes, but I keep going back to this for basic information, ratios, instructions, etc. It covers pretty much every item you might want to preserve, with nothing elaborate or fancy.
It's not expensive, it's thin so it won't take up too much space on the bookshelf, and it will get abused. It's an essential reference.
The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
By Rachel Saunders
Andrews McMeel Publishing - 2010
This is a monster cookbook! Everything you could possibly want to know about jam. Its a fabulous reference, and the detailed instructions, the list of different fruits, the equipment recommendations and all of the other details are wonderful to have in the kitchen. Especially for someone new to the whole jam making process (like me).
Its has a heavy emphasis on fresh ingredients, which I found somewhat overwhelming as I do not live in California, so my options are much more limited. It also assumes that you will spent as much time as humanly possible on each batch of jam (the perfect batch of marmalade apparently takes 3 days!), which also becomes burdensome.
In my first batch of marmalade, I found I went back to a simpler cookbook for the actual recipe, but kept referring to this one throughout for tips and details about what I should be doing.
It's not a kitchen essential, but if you are going to make jam, this book is both inspirational and instructional.
Cinnamon, Spice, & Warm Apple Pie: Comforting Baked Fruit Desserts for Chilly Days
By Ryland Peters & Small
Ryland Peters & Small - 2010
I find the title of this book misleading, since it involves a lot of fresh fruit, most of which are not available or at their best on those chilly days.
It's also unusual in that there is not an individual author. I've gotten so used to the cookbooks with a single voice throughout, that I found this one strange in that there are no stories or framework, just the recipes.
There are gorgeous photos, recipes are laid out and the instructions have the right level of detail. Everything I've tried so far is very good.
MoonPie
April 29th, 2011This is the official MoonPie website, so it has a few recipes to do with your extra MoonPies (as if there is such a thing.) It's not very extensive, but it is fun.
A Taste of the Tropics: Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean
By Jay Solomon
Crossing Press - 1992
This cookbook could use some editing (and I notice there is a later edition, so it may have gotten some.) Some recipes are missing things like oven temperature or other small details. But the things I've made have been tasty, and there are definitely some things still on my list to try.
Whoopie Pies : Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes
By Sarah Billingsley, Amy Treadwell, Antonis Achilleos
Chronicle Books - 2010
This is a fun little book. You probably don't need a whole book of whoopie pie recipes, but there's enough here that I have on my to do list. The savory recipes seem pretty silly to me, and not really appealing. But I am very tempted by the many variations. Its very accessible, without being dumbed down or too simplistic.
I like the font and line drawing styles too. Not necessarily essential, but adds to the fun feeling.