southerncooker's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist: Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes
By Cat Cora, Ann Kruegar Spivack
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2010
This book contains casual recipes that look as if you spent hours but only take minimal time. It includes healthy meals and is said to be meals that Cat makes after work for her own family. Cat puts her Greek and Southern roots twist on many foods and sneaks out calories when ever she can without sacrificing flavor. She encourages you to twist the recipes to make them your own. Her and her partner have 4 boys all under the age of seven and she includes some of their favorites such as Enchilada Pie, Easy Chicken Curry, Bucatini Pasta with bacon, and crispy baked fish sticks with honey mustard dipping sauce.
This book has wonderful color photos, mostly of the food but a few also of Cat and two of her and her partner's four sons preparing food. I love the layout of this book The recipes are on one page or continued on facing pages, where if the book is open then you can see the complete recipe, and sometimes a photo of it as well. The type is black with the names of recipes and headings in a green that matches the cover of the book.
Cat includes a note at the bottom of many recipes and a paragraph or two at the beginning. There are also boxes included at the bottom of some of the recipes called Twist It. In them she gives you hints and tips on doing something a little different with the recipe or some of the ingredients. Sometimes a recipe will be followed by another recipe also with Twist it at the top where you can turn one recipe into another recipe. There are even a few called Twist it again where you take the first recipe even farther. Sometimes a bonus recipe will be included following the main recipe. These are called chef's touches and can be served as a stand alone dish but also can be used to enhance the main recipe.
For instance one of the recipes I plan on trying is called Tom-mozz Skewers with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette and the chef's touch is Crispy Buttermilk-soaked Onions. The onions are served on top of the skewers if desired. In the paragraph along with the onions she tells how they compliment the Skewers and that they also go great with the Ginger-Marinated Steak recipe.
Contents: Introduction; appetizers and drinks; soups and salads; main dishes and sides; desserts; good to know; resources; index. In the Good to Know chapter there are recipes for things like stocks, homemade mayo, infused oils, pesto, salsas, herbes de provence, roasted garlic and southern corn bread.