southerncooker's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
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Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2008
If you like the Barefoot Contessa's other books I think you'll enjoy this one also. I love the green used in this book, it's my favorite color. Like her other books it has wonderful photography. You know the kind that makes you want to lick the pages!
In this one she gives you some hints and tips and even shares some of her food secrets at the beginning of the book. Also included on one page at the beginning of each chapter she gives you some good advice about different topics. At the end she answers some FAQ's to help with some basic food questions. She says you can go to her website barefootcontessa.com to see an ever evolving list. On her website are also menus using all her previous books and this one as well.
The book is divided into the following chapters: cocktail hour, soup, lunch, dinner, vegetables, dessert, and breakfast. She also includes a sources page, barn sources and resources, menus, index and a recipe index.
I also like the little tid bits she includes at the beginning of each recipe, something like when she made the recipe, where it came from originally, how she came up with it, or a hint or tip about it. There are also little tips included beside some of the recipes.
Gritslickers: Southern Home Cooking for Today's Cooks
By Lisa Lofton Shively
Lisa Shively Cookbooks - 2005
I got this one at the Southern Women's Show and had it autographed by Lisa. I love the name of this one and Lisa includes the story of how this one was named in the book. Think cityslickers only southern.
I love to cook and enjoy tackling a more complicated and complex recipe when I have the time. On a work night it's usually a different story. I'm exhausted most days when I get home from work at 5 PM, or sometimes even later. On those nights I want nothing more than to get in and out of the kitchen in as little time as possible and with little effort and clean up. It's also a definite plus if the meal is economical. You'll find this type of recipes in Gritslickers.
LIsa says she's often called thrifty, sometimes even as an insult, but she always considers it a compliment. She rarely spends more than $5 on meat for a meal for her family of four. Her recipes more often than not call for a short list of ingredients, which are always found at your local supermarket and quiet often already in your pantry or fridge.
There is a short note included after every recipe. Type is easy to read and black. The book lays flat on your counter. There is up to three recipes per page. Included is a page of tips and a few pages of stories at the beginning of the book. Chapters include: Appetizers & Beverages; Soups & Salads; Vegetables & Side Dishes; Main Dishes; Bread & Rolls; Desserts; Cookies & Candy; This & That.
If you enjoy southern recipes, notes and stories with your food, economical and easy recipes, I think you'll enjoy this one.
I've made several of the recipes already with great results and little effort.
The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
By Ellie Krieger
Taunton - 2008
I fell in love with this book the moment I laid eyes on it. It has beautiful color photos throughout. Not only does it include nutritional information, it also tells you what nutrients the recipe is an excellent source of and a good source of. In the beginning she shows the essential nutrients for good health and their daily values and functions.
Ellie shares tips for a healthier way to eat and cook, and also shares her New Way Pantry to help get you started on the right track. There are boxes with tips throughout the book. Each recipe begins with an interesting brief note from Ellie.
As soon as I got home with this one I read it from cover to cover and was eager to begin cooking from it. I made a list of over 50 recipes I want to try.
I like Ellie's philosophy that recipes and foods fall into three categories, Usually, Sometimes, and Rarely and there is no Never. She says no ingredients are off limits, some just need to be saved for special occasions or the rare craving.
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
I love watching the Barefoot Contessa on the food network and get great ideas for meals as well as trying many of her recipes. This book has beautiful color photos - one for almost every dish.
Each chapter begins with some interesting comments from Ina about topics such as: making a grocery list, outdoor parties, planning a menu, designing a kitchen, and developing a recipe. Included with each recipe is a paragraph just under the recipe title. Also on the side of almost every recipe is a hint or tip sometimes even two. These hints and tips as well as the recipe names are written in bright colors -- orange, green, blue, purple and red. The recipes and paragraphs before are in black ink.
The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everyday Occasions
By Katie Lee
Simon Spotlight Entertainment - 2009
This is a beautiful menu book, filled with lots of color food photos. There are menus for a few holidays and special occasions as well as everyday occasions.
Katie says the most important thing her grandma taught her about being a hostess is that it isn't just about the food -- it's mostly about the way you make people feel in your home. I love what she says about the title of her book, if you put the words "comfort" and "table" together you get comfortable.
There's only one thing I don't like about this book. A few recipes are continued on a page where you have to flip back and forth. Thank goodness it's only a few.
I like that she includes a little story with each recipe. She also includes a few tips throughout the book. Along with the menu at the beginning of each chapter she includes a wine suggestion as well as a play list of music for the event.
My daughter, Sarita chose the Roasted Pumpkin and Pomegranate Salad from the Fall Harvest Dinner Menu, for part of her birthday supper 2009. It was wonderful. My sister, Sarah and son, Dexter who didn't think they'd like it really enjoyed it and my sister had two heaping helpings. We couldn't get my husband, Harold or Sarita's husband, Andrew to try it.
If you enjoy menu cookbooks or need a new book for entertaining ideas I think you'd enjoy this one.
The Deen Bros. Cookbook
By Jamie Deen, Bobby Deen, Melissa Clark
Wiley - 2007
If you are a fan of the Food Network show Road Tasted that Bobbie and Jamie once hosted (it's now hosted by the Neely's who's BBQ place is in the book), and thought this book contained recipes from the people and places they visited, you'd be wrong. Even though the places and people are featured in the book the recipes are from Jamie and Bobby themselves. They include recipes in each chapter that reminds them of the places they visited.
The book is divided into The South, The West, The Midwest and the East. In each section there is information on and photos of the people and places they visited, the types of food served there, and the recipes, along with more color photos of the finished dishes, the brothers came up with for the book. The foreword for the book is written by proud Mom - Paula Deen.
If you enjoyed the show I think you'll enjoy this book. I got this one recently from paper back swap. I decided to try the boys version of Mac and cheese from the Midwest section. This recipe was inspired by Beechwood Cheese Company, Beechwood, Wisconsin as was, Classic Cheese Fondue and Pecan Crusted Cranberry Cheese Balls. We all loved the mac and cheese here.
Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals
By Sara Moulton
Broadway - 2005
I used to enjoy Sara Moulton's, Cooking Live and Sara's Secrets on the food network. I've had this book awhile and am just starting to catch some of the PBS shows that feature recipes from this book.
In this book Sara shares her secrets and recipes for getting good, healthy meals on your table during weeknights when many of us are tired after a long day's work. She also gives you tips and lists for stocking your pantry for ease of preparing recipes in the book. There are gorgeous color photos and the print is green and brownish but still quiet easy to read.
In most of the recipes she gives you suggestions for substitutions for many ingredients to suit your families tastes or what you might already have on hand. Most ingredients can be found at your local super market but for those few rare harder to find ones she lists mail order sources.
After the introduction she has a chapter called How to Use this book, where she gives a brief description of each chapter as well as suggestion on how to get your weeknight meals to the table faster. Then comes a chapter on Stocking your pantry. This is followed by chapters called: Basics; Soups for Supper; Entree Salads; The Substantial Sandwich; Breakfast for Dinner; Poultry; From the Meat Dept; From the Sea; Vegetable Plates; Shop and Serve; Just Open the Pantry; Cooking Ahead; Side Dishes Take Center Stage; Quick Sauces; Easy Desserts; Sources; and finally the Index.
Sara lists hands on and total prep time for every recipe. There are more than 200 recipes included and if you consider all the ingredient substitutions that can enhance and change a recipe, there are really many more than that. I love reading what the book cover refers to as Sara's warm, and friendly head notes" that are included in the recipes.
Biker Billy's Freeway-A-Fire Cookbook: Life's Too Short to Eat Dull Food
By Bill Hufnagle
Cookbooks - 1999
This is a vegetarian cookbook filled with spicy recipes which range from mild to extremely hot. Besides the recipes there are also tips for growing, buying, handling, and cooking with the hot peppers that make the recipes sizzle. The Burpee Seed Company named an extremely hot hybrid jalapeno after Biker Billy. This is his second cookbook, the first being, Biker Billy Cooks with Fire.
In the first chapter there is a Scoville unit list and a list dividing the peppers into - mild, medium, hot and atomic. He also lists them by fresh and dry and describes each. He shares his biker pantry. There are recipes for salads, pasta, appetizers, breads, main dishes, and even drinks.
One thing some people might find irritating is that the names of recipes and list of ingredients are in a red ink.
If you are vegetarian and like you food on the spicy and sometimes wildly hot side or just want to add more wild and spicy vegetable dishes to your life, then I think this is a good book for you.
Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style
By Paula Deen
Simon & Schuster - 2005
Paula Deen starts the book off just like she does her show -- Hey, Y'all!. I can hear her voice with the familiar southern drawl as I read the introduction. In the introduction she continues the story where she left off in a previous book. She shares some more about her and Michael and of marrying him on a food network special called Paula Deen's Wedding. She also shares a little about the movie Elizabethtown she played in. She ends the introduction similar to the way she always ends her shows, sending best dishes and love from Savannah, GA.
Lots of great sounding recipes Deen style are included in this book. If you enjoy Paula's Home Cooking, her other cookbooks, or southern cuisine, then this is the book for you. Paula and her friends share stories, ideas for southern style entertaining and their recipes in this wonderful book.
I like the little notes from Paula included with each recipe. Be forewarned though for those who don't enjoy colored ink, the ingredients for each recipe are in dark blue ink, the rest of the recipe is in black. I don't think the dark blue is hard to read at all though so maybe it won't distract from the recipe for anyone.
Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader: Recipes from Mitford Cooks, Favorite Tales from Mitford Books
By Jan Karon
Viking Adult - 2004
If you've read any of the Mitford books by Jan Karon you'll know that food often plays an important part in the characters lives. Some fans actually wrote Ms. Karon and told her that her books made them hungry. This book is great for reading as well as to cook from.
I really enjoy the Mitford books and can relate to them. They are set in North Carolina. This book has lots of southern recipes since Mitford is a fictional town patterned after Blowing Rock, NC, where Karon lived for awhile. Karon was born in Wilson, NC.
Liver mush, Baloney, Dukes Mayonnaise, White Lily Flour -- some of the very familiar items I've grown up with and are explained and included in this book for those who may not be familiar with them.
Although this book is mainly targeted to Mitford fans, if you enjoy southern cooking or want to find out a little about the books in the series, I think you'll also enjoy this book. Jan Karon's books tend to pull you in and make you feel a part of the Mitford family and I think this is also true of the Mitford cookbook. Jan even shares some of her real family photos with us in this book. Good reading, good food, and you feel like a part of the family.
This book is divided into chapters which are the titles of Mitford books, with the last chapter being of Karon's Mama's recipes. Included in the chapters are excerpts from that book, favorite recipes of the characters, and also helpful hints.
You'll read Jan's thoughts on aprons, what several people told her they'd want for their last meal, and you can learn how to season a black iron skillet, among other things. You'll be treated to recipes for 150 dishes that will please almost anyone. Good down home cooking.
Included is one of Ms Karon's most requested recipes -- Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake. She kept telling people it was a fictional cake but they kept requesting the recipe. In 1997 Victoria Magazine invited her to be their writer-in residence. During the year she was there she wrote a Mitford story that was printed in the magazine and in that story she also mentioned the now legendary cake. That story is also reprinted in the Mitford cookbook. And editor at the magazine there said there should be a recipe for that cake. The recipe was created by Scott Peacock, famous chef and often linked to Ms. Edna Lewis, a wonderful southern cookbook author. They co-authored the book The Gift of Southern Cooking.
Jack Daniel's Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook
By Lynne Tolley, Pat Mitchamore
Nelsonword Publishing Group - 2009
Lynn Tolley is the great-grandneice of Jack Daniels and is the proprietress of Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Restaurant in Lynchburg TN.
Not all recipes in the book use Jack Daniels but many do. There are lots of great information and photos included among the recipes. Included in the information is How Jack Daniel's is made; About Barrels and Barrel houses; Hog Killing time in Tennessee; Tennessee Walking Horses; Southern Food Something Special; The art of Tall Tales and The Lynchburg Hardware and General Store, to name a few.
If you enjoy cooking with spirits or a bit of history with your recipes, then this would be a good book for your collection.
The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
By Edna Lewis, Scott Peacock
Knopf - 2003
I immediately read it from cover to cover when I got this one. This is one that was so interesting to me it was hard to put down. It's almost as if you can hear Miss Lewis and Scott Peacock talking to each other and you, while sharing their love of cooking and eating southern food. Many of the recipes combine the best from each of the authors recipes to make an even better one. They also share parts of their lives and families with you through recipes and wonderful photos. If you enjoy southern cooking then I think you'd enjoy having this book in your collection.
I love the way each recipe has some background information included with it. These are the places where you feel that you're being let in on the authors secrets of great southern cooking. This book isn't meant for those on a diet though since they often use butter and lard.
Fast Food Fix: 75+ Amazing Recipe Makeovers of Your Fast Food Restaurant Favorites
By Devin Alexander
Rodale Books - 2006
Devin Alexander has a show on Discovery Health called Healthy Decadence She is also the author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook.
With this book you can have your fast food and still loose or maintain weight. Nutritional information is included for all recipes. In the first chapter she tells you how she choose the recipes for the book and how she came up with the healthier versions. I enjoyed reading this section as well as what she wrote about each recipe.
She includes Drive thru tips which are time savers, and Even Better tips which save more calories and use even less fat. Most recipes make only one serving but are easy to double or triple or what ever to make as many as you need for your family. She also uses a clock symbol to denote which recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less and there are 58 of those. There is also a Stop sign to indicate things you need to know before you start a recipe.
The Most Decadent Diet Ever!: The cookbook that reveals the secrets to cooking your favorites in a healthier way
By Devin Alexander
Broadway - 2008
Devin is also the author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook, The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook, and Fast Food Fix.
I enjoy cooking from this one. Nutritional information is included for all the recipes. Sometimes she even gives two and in some cases even three different serving size nutritional information in case you want to eat a bigger or smaller serving size. I find this very helpful.
At the beginning of the book she gives you information on following a food plan like the way she eats. She has maintained a fifty-five pound weight loss for over 16 years. She is a chef and former LA, CA caterer. She also encourages you to follow your own plan, whatever it may be and incorporate the recipes in the book into your plan.
There is lots of great reading in this book. She includes interesting background information with each recipe. Things like how she came to make the recipe healthy and information on where to purchase some ingredients you may not be familiar with. At the beginning of the book she also shares her decadent pantry with you, as well as a section on explaining ingredients you might not be familiar with and a helpful tool list. There are lots of great color photos.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting some tasty healthy recipes. These recipes fit well if you are a weight watcher or just watching your calorie count or even want to follow her Healthy Decadent Diet.
Last Dinner On the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner
By Rick Archbold, Dana McCauley, Walter Lord
Hyperion - 1997
This was a very interesting read with some photos of recovered items from the
actual Titanic as well as photos, paintings and drawings of some of the
famous passengers from the ship. There is a picture of the actual menu from
the first classs dining saloon and according to the book it would have
probably included eleven courses. Included in this were things like Oysters a
la Russe, Cream of Barley Soup, Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Filets
Mignons Lili, Lamb with Mint Sauce, Poasted Squab on wilted cress, many
veggies, Waldorf Pudding, Chocolate Painted Eclairs, and of course wine or
spirits with every course.
A third class meal included vegetable soup, Roasted Pork with Sage and Pearl
Onions, Green peas, Boiled Potatoes, Plum Pudding wiht Sweet Sauce, Cabin
Biscuits and oranges.
Included in the book is information on how to host your own recreation of the
Last dinner on the Titanic and how to brief your guests to portray different
people who were onboard.
There are 50 recipes included in this book which are said to be researched and
carefully tested for modern kitchens.
New Soul Cooking: Updating a Cuisine Rich in Flavor and Tradition (Melting Pot)
By Tanya Holland, Ellen Silverman
Stewart, Tabori and Chang - 2003
his is a beautiful book from one of my favorite people from the now canceled, food network
show, Melting Pot. This book is also special since I got to see Tanya at the LA
Times book festival and she autographed the book to me. Growing up in the south
I grew up on good old southern type soul food and it's nice to have this book
that uses fresh and healthy ingredients. Even though there is no nutritional
values listed you can tell by the ingredients that these dishes are healthier
for you than many of the standard southern recipes.
There are 95 recipes included in this book, many with beautiful color photos.
At the festival from this book Tanya made Sweet Potato Blinis with Bourbon-cured
salmon and caviar; File-crusted scallops with tomato and okra ragout; and a most
unusual dish - Raspberry Grit parfaits. They looked really good and she said the
photographers son loved them as proved by the picture of him enjoying one in the
book.
Weight watchers take out tonight
By
Weight Watchers Publishing Group - 2002
I love this book! Out of 150 recipes there are 111 I'd love to try. Several
more really but there are a few items in those that are harder to find here such
as miso, wakame, fresh tuna (can sometimes but the price is outrageous), mirin
and a few others. Most recipes use ingredients that are readily available in our
area or they offer substitutions that are.
This book includes lots of favorite take out items made healthier. Each of the
recipes includes easy how to tips and nutritional information as well as weight
watcher point values for each serving. Each recipe has a fraction of the fat and
calories of it's restaurant counterpart but in my opinion all the flavor. At
least that's true for the three recipes we've tried so far.
Mom picked this one up for me not too long ago at a yard sale. I'm sure glad
she did as I'm gong to be using this one quiet a bit since there are so many of
our favorite dishes included. Things like Hot and Sour Soup, Shrimp & Pork Won
tons, Shrimp Fried Rice, General Tso's Chicken, Chicken Empanadas, Spinach Rice
& Black Bean Burritos, Nachos Supreme, California Vegetable Rolls, Pizza
Margherita, Vegetable Calzones, Scampi, Shrimp Pad Thai, Tandoori Chicken, and
too many more to mention. Am I making you hungry yet?
To start off I made out a list of 25 recipes I thought our family would enjoy.
I then listed all the ingredients I don't normally have on hand beside the
recipe to take with me to the grocery store. That way I can check my list
against sale items and pick a dish or two to try each week.
Most of the recipes include a clever cook's tip. In the back are a dry and
liquid measurement equivalent charts, and three lined pages for notes. There is
also a section in each chapter for the perfect pantry for that particular
cuisine.
A few days ago I made two recipes from the Indian section, Dal with Spiced
Tomatoes and Potatoes and Chapati (an Indian Bread). Sarita and I loved them
both. Harold and Dexter don't care much for India food but Harold did taste of
it. When Sarita was in college we occasionally had lunch together at an Indian
Buffet place near her college either when I took her back or picked her up. Now
we can make some of these items when ever we're in the mood.
Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook's Corner and from Home
By Bill Smith
Algonquin Books - 2006
his is a small, seasonal book divided into Fall, Winter, Spring and summer.
It utilizes the foods of each season just as they do at the Crook's Corner
restaurant, located in Chapel Hill, NC, where many of these recipes are served.
I haven't had the pleasure of eating there but I have heard many good things
about this restaurant and it's on my someday places to eat list.
I wish I could say I have this one in my collection but it is one I checked
out from the library. It is on my wish list though and in the mean time I've
copied a few recipes I want to try. His version of Fried Green Tomatoes,
Honeysuckle Sorbet, and Green Tabasco Chicken sound like dishes our family would
really enjoy tasting.
Bon Appetit Magazine called Crook's Corner, " a legend", and Travel and
Leisure Magazine called it, " country cookin' gone cool". Delta Sky rated it
"the best place to eat in Chapel Hill, in NC and possibly on earth."
Bill Neal was the first chef there in 1982 and was there for several years. He
also has several wonderful southern cookbooks available and I have a few of his.
For more than a decade Bill Smith has resided over the kitchen. While there he
has reinvented Southern Classics and also offers imaginative interpretations of
bistro fare.
He puts together traditional and classic southern dishes with his own unique
style. He includes some information about each recipe, such as who he got it
from, what he based it on, or how it came to be. He also includes commentary
about when and where he first acquired a taste for a certain food and a little
about people who have worked or eaten at the restaurant.
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
I got this one for my daughter, Sarita's birthday a few years ago. We both enjoy watching
Nigella's show on the Food Network by the same name, Nigella Express.
Recipes from the shows are among the ones in this book. Of course there
are additional recipes that aren't from the shows.
As you can tell from the title the recipes in this book are quick to
make. Even though this is true they are very long on flavor. Not only
is this book fun to read, (like hearing Nigella talk to you), she
includes an interesting note before each recipe, it's also a great one to
cook from.
We've made the Breakfast
Bars p. 94, Croque Monsieur Bake p. 107, Cheddar Cheese Risotto p 176,
and the Doughnut French Toast p. 188.
If you enjoy Nigella Express the show then you'll love this book.
Nigellas brings back the fun to cooking even after you've had a long day
at work or play. This is one I know we'll be trying recipes from often
Healthy Exchanges Sensational Smoothies
By JoAnna M. Lund, Barbara Alpert
Perigee Trade - 2004
I got this one from paper back swap back a couple summers ago and I LOVE IT! After the book arrived Sarita and I have been enjoyed a different smoothie almost every day and so far they've all been fantastic. What a great way to get fruit and sometimes calcium in our diets. A bonus is they're actually healthy.
All the recipes are easy to make and call for just a few ingredients. Place
them in the blender and in seconds you have a delicious, nutritious, frothy
drink that sometimes has to be eaten with a spoon.
Some of the ones we've tried so far are Frosted Strawberry Smoothie,
Strawberry Colada Smoothie, Strawberry Romanoff Smoothie, Fuzzy Navel
Smoothie and Tri-Fruit Smoothie. I made so many this summer, too many to mention them all and I have so many more marked to try.
There is even a chapter called Blender Bonuses, with recipes for other things
you can make in the blender. Sarita made the Pimiento Cheddar Cheese Dip and
it was good but a bit more mayonnaise than we like. If we make it again we'll
just use less mayo.
Some of the smoothies we've made call for Diet Mt. Dew and since neither of us
care for Mt Dew we subbed diet 7 up instead and they were delicious. Some of
the smoothies call for yogurt, some skim or soy milk and some fat free ice
cream in addition to either fresh or frozen fruit.
If you like smoothies don't miss this book. I know this is one that won't
spend much time on the shelf here.
Dessert Every Night!
By JoAnna M. Lund
Putnam Adult - 1998
Do you or someone you love feel like it's not a proper meal without a
little something sweet to finish up? Here's a book filled with desserts
that are good and still good for you. With the desserts in this book
you can enjoy a treat every day and still not feel guilty. Imagine having
such treats as Banana Peanut Butter Delights, Old Fashioned Bread
Pudding, Heavenly Layered Lemon Pie, Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie, Joyful
Almond Cheesecake, Hawaiian Strawberry Paradise Cheesecake, Black Forest
Trifle, Peach Praline Shortcakes, and Lemon Coconut Bars. You can if you
have this book.
The recipes are easy to make with ingredients that are easy to find at
your local market. The end products look and taste like you slaved all
day but they are quiet easy to put together. Need a dessert for a get
together or special dinner guests or to serve someone who has diabetics,
then this is the place to look and no one will know that they are
really made in the healthy way unless you spill the beans. Nutritional
information is included for all recipes.
Cooking Healthy with a Man in Mind
By JoAnna M. Lund
Putnam Adult - 1997
In this 338 page book you get to hear from JoAnna's husband Cliff since
he writes the introduction. The recipes included in this book not only
were approved by Cliff but many were tested by hundreds of visitors at
a taste-testing buffet. She has also included many of her sons
favorites as well.
If you want to cook healthy for the man or men in your life then the
recipes in this book are sure to please. My men are often reluctant to
try recipes if they think I'm trying to feed them healthy but they'll try
a JoAnna recipe anytime. When I first started cooking from her books my
son, Dexter would often say are you sure you can eat this on weight
watchers, it's too good to be good for you. The first time I went out to
Calif to spend some time with hubby, Harold I copied some recipes from
this one to cook for him and he enjoyed them too.
The Blazing Glory Chili was a big hit at our house the first time we
tried it and we've made it many times since. We also enjoyed the Golden
Onion Pie and the Bar-B-Que Beef Strips are to die for. If you or
someone you know enjoys sloppy Joes then you should try Healthy Jo's as they
are very good.
There are many more tasty, man pleasing, healthy recipes included in
this book and all of them are approved by JoAnna's truck driving husband
Cliff. As with her other books nutritional values are included for all
her recipes.
Cooking Healthy with the Kids in Mind
By JoAnna M. Lund
Booksales - 2002
I think I got this one from Ebay and it's signed by JoAnna. Big Plus for me.
Although this one is for cooking for kids the big kids and I enjoy so many of
the recipes included in this book. As with all of JoAnna's books all nutritional
information is included. The brief notes included with each recipe are an added
bonus.
Some Get Out of Bead Breakfast's we've enjoyed from this book are, Scrambled Egg
Hash, Ham Breakfast Casserole and Pineapple Upside-Down French Toast.
From the Soups section you can't go wrong with Minestrone in Minutes, Chicken
Pot Pie Chowder or Meatball Soup.
Two great sandwiches from that section we enjoy are Tuna Sandwich Melts and
Chicken Fruit Sandwiches.
We've also tried and enjoyed the following from the Main Dish section, Creamy
Tuna- Potato Scallop, Cheesy Chicken Pot Biscuit Cups, Country Chicken and
Biscuits, Deep Dish Turkey Pot Pie, Tom's Easy Cheesy Skillet, Pizza Popover Pie
and Quick Pork Parmigiana.
From Snack Time you can never go wrong with Cinnamon Crisps, Peanut Butter
Cookies or Apple Biscuit Drops.
Finally from the special occasion section Peanut Butter Cup Pie is often
requested by my oldest kid, hubby, Harold.
If you're looking for some kid friendly and kid pleasing recipes this is a great cookbook to add to your collection. I'm sure the kids would enjoy helping you make some of the delicious, healthy dishes in this one.
Cooking Healthy Across America
By JoAnna M. Lund, Barbara Alpert
Perigee Trade - 2001
I have many of JoAnna's books and this is one of my favorites. I love having
recipes from across the US remade to be more healthy. I also love reading the
little notes included with each recipe. It feels as if JoAnna is talking to me.
Even though JoAnna is no longer with us she lives on in her recipes. JoAnna passed away after a hard fought battle with breast cancer, May 20, 2006. I had the great pleasure of getting to know JoAnna thru a cookbook collectors group and we shared a couple of private cookbook swaps. She was an amazing lady with a wonderful attitude even while battling cancer.
As is true with all of her books the nutritional values are included which makes
these recipes great for anyone following the weight watchers program.They are also great for diabetics and anyone trying to live a healthier lifestyle.
To give you an idea of the recipes in this book I'm listing our families favorites I've made from the following chapters in Cooking Healthy Across America.
From the New England section I've made Fireside Chicken with Biscuits and Corned
Beef Hash.
From The Eastern Seaboard - Scaled-Down U.S. Senate Bean Soup, Jersey Tomato
Salad, Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches, Maryland Crab Cakes and Creamy Chicken
Cordon Bleu Skillet.
From The South - Dixie Grits Casserole, Brunswick Stew and Pulled-Pork
Sandwiches.
The Southwest - Come and Get it Chuck Wagon Chili, Green Chili Stew, and Alamo
Fudge.
While writing this review I just realized I've never made a recipe from the West
Section but think that needs to be remedied soon by trying The Golden State
Carrot Cake.
From the Northwest - Willamette Valley Blackberry Cobbler is often requested
when we have fresh blackberries to pick.
Fruit Kolaches is what I've tried from The Heartland and from All-American
Classics - Creamy coleslaw, Mainstay Meatloaf and Chocolate Cake with Chocolate
Frosting.
If you're trying to eat healthier but don't want to give up comfort food then I highly recomend any of JoAnna M. Lund's cookbooks. She even had a few that she wrote before she passed away that came out later.
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook, Concise Ed
By Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic - 2004
Nutritional information is included for all recipes. I made two recipes from
this book and plan on making more. Dad planted a large patch of fall greens including turnip, mustard and kale, so I have been searching for healthy ways of preparing some of them. One of the recipes I made used some mustard greens - Wilted Greens with warm Balsamic Vinegar. I didn't realize I was out of balsamic until I actually started making the dish so I substituted some of my homemade blackberry vinegar. Although the dish was pretty good it tasted as if it were lacking something. I think it might be better
suited to the balsamic.
I also found a recipe that uses kale - Braised Kale with Cherry Tomatoes.It was delicious with some grape tomatoes. The other recipe I made was Warm Potato Salad and it was very good with the fresh tuna steaks I made to round out our meal.
It has beautiful color photos. Some of the recipes do used ingredients that are a bit harder for me to find in our area like, fava beans, buck wheat groats and bulgur to name a few. I would probably have more luck when I head to the big city shopping.
There are also many recipes in this book I wouldn't make because
of personal taste preferences and hard to find ingredients.
Looking through the chapters I find that I would make 11 out of 24 of the
vegetable dishes, 4 out of 11 of the salads, 3 out of 13 of the soups, 1 out of
24 of the pasta and grains, 6 out of 20 of the beans and legumes, 2 out of 18 of
the fish and shellfish, 3 out of 12 of the poultry and meat, and 2 out of 14 of
the desserts. I think those dishes I would make makes having the book worthwhile
and you certainly can't beat the price I paid for it, $1 at a yard sale.
Gale Gand's Short and Sweet: Quick Desserts with Eight Ingredients or Less
By Gale Gand, Julia Moskin
Clarkson Potter - 2004
This book actually belongs to my daughter, Sarita. I rarely pay full price for a cookbook and most of mine were previously owned. This one is one of the few exceptions. It is one of the books I purchased at the Cooks Library before going to the LA Times book festival in 2004. Since Sarita couldn't go with me and she loves cookbooks as much as I do and is also a better baker than I, I had Gail sign this one for her. She wrote " To Sarita - I hear you're the family Baker! Love & Dishes Gale Gand 4-25-04" I had a wonderful time at the festival and also a nice chat with Gale while she was signing the book.
Sarita has made a few things from this one and I always turn here when I want to make lemon curd. Sarita made the fruit pot stickers which are delicious. She's made them several times since using different fruits.
My great niece Tesia made the peanut butter worms. Since we needed somewhere to put our worms on we also made the Velvety Cocoa Cake from the 30 minute recipe section. We turned them into cupcakes and sprinkled the optional confectioners sugar over before placing the worms on top.
Not only is this a great book to cook from it brings back wonderful memories of the festival I got to attend.
Make a Joyful Table
By JoAnna M. Lund
Putnam Adult - 1999
If you want a
Healthy Cookbook with recipes special enough to serve
company, or to just treat your family to some
delicious healthy cooking, then you need to add this
one to your collection. Some of the great recipes I've
tried from this book are Seafood Macaroni Bake , Oriental Chicken
Noodle Soup, The Best Turkey Chowder, Chicken Cordon
Bleu Casserole, Creamed Chicken over Muffins, Chicken
Pot Pie Sauce with Noodles, Corned Beef Toasties, and Italian Asparagus Tomato
Stir Fry.
This is a great book to pull out when you have company
coming or any time you want something healthy, quick
and tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen, when
in fact you only spent a few minutes for a delicious
meal.
Carolina Thyme
By Junior League of Durham & Orange County
Favorite Recipes Press (FRP) - 2001
This is an excellent Junior League cookbook from the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties in NC. It has wonderful sounding recipes and my copy looks like a porcupine with all the little post it's sticking out of recipes I hope to try.
Top Secret Recipes Lite
By Todd Wilbur
Penguin Group - 1998
This book gives you recipes for some of your favorite restaurant foods make lighter. It gives nutritional information for all the recipes. If you're familiar with Todd Wilbur's other restaurant copy cat recipes and enjoy them, you'll like this one two.
The American Century Cookbook
By Jean Anderson
Clarkson Potter - 1997
This book is filled with wonderful recipes from the 20th century. It's also a great read. If you're interested in food history then this is the book for you.
The Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook: More Than 1,000 Recipes * 1,800 Photographs
By Susan Westmoreland, David Murray, Jules Selmes
Hearst - 1997
This book is filled with wonderful color photos, both of the food and of step preparations. The nutritional information is included for all recipes. They are often several recipes per page. With more than 1,000 recipes and 1,800 photographs this is a great book for both the beginning cook and those more accomplished.
Lee Bailey's Tomatoes
By Lee Bailey
Clarkson Potter - 1992
This is a small cookbook filled with great tomato recipes. There is 35 recipes included, everything from savory to sweet. Recipes for both ripe and green tomatoes and even a tomato sandwich. I grew up on tomato biscuits and tomato sandwiches in the summer. Still love them. If you need ideas to use up some garden tomatoes, then this is the book for you.
Jack Daniel's The Spirit of Tennesssee Cookbook
By Lynn Tolley and Pat Mitchamore
- 1988
This book has some great information about Jack Daniels and the Lynchburg area of Tennessee. It also contains some good sounding recipes often using Jack Daniels. A fun read and a fun one to cook from.
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook
February 6th, 2010This is a wonderful healthy cookbook. All nutritional information is included with the recipes. Has beautiful photos of every dish... you know the kind that make you want to lick the page. You'd never know these are good for you dishes.
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2009
I had my daughter who works at the library get this one for me through interlibrary loan. Now I'm in trouble, since I know I'm going to have to buy a copy of my own. (I did get my own copy when I went to the Bread Festival in Asheville, NC. I also got to attend a session with Peter Reinhart and he signed my book.) This is a wonderful, informative bread baking book. I've learned so much just reading through it the past few days.
At the moment I have three doughs in the fridge, proofing for tomorrow. They are English Muffins, which I'll make in the morning, Many Seed Bread, which I plan on doing in two loaves so my daughter can take one home with her, and finally The soft sandwich bread and rolls, which I put in two bowls, one to share with my daughter for her to bake next week, and one for our supper tomorrow night.
I'm looking forward to making many more breads from this book.
1995 Taste of Home Annual Recipes
By Jean Steiner, Heidi Reuter Lloyd, Julie Schnittka, Julie Schnittka, Mark Hagen, Julie Schnittka
Reiman Assoc - 2000
I love the Taste of Home annual cookbooks. They contain a full years worth of the recipes from the magazine. I've enjoyed almost every recipe I've tried from them and many have become family staples.
The Art and Soul of Baking
By Sur La Table, Cindy Mushet
Andrews McMeel Publishing - 2008
This is a huge book. It weighs just over 5 pounds. It's filled with wonderful color photos of not only some of the finished products but some step by step photos as well. I won this book in a Project Foodie contest. (projectfoodie.com)
The first two chapters help you to learn what you need in a bakers kitchen and also the bakers pantry. Next are chapters on yest breads and rolls, layered pastries, quick breads, Pies, Turnovers, and dumplings, Tarts, fruit desserts, cookies, bars, and brownies, cakes, custards, bread puddings, and cheesecakes, souffles, meringues, and pate a choux, and finally basic recipes and finishing techniques.
The book is laced with some boxes with tips called What the Pro Knows. There are also many tips for success in your baking adventures. Did you know there are eight main ingredients in baking? Well you can find out what they are if you read this book.
There is lots of information included with each recipe, and often variations after the recipe to help you turn something into something even more. If you are a baker or just want to become one then this is the book for you. It's fun to read, browse through and bake from.
From Our Home to Yours
By Lisa Lofton Shively
Lisa Shively Cookbooks - 2007
This is one of the books I got at the Southern Women's Show in Charlotte, NC last September. Lisa autographed it for me while I was there. This is her first cookbook.
It's filled with down home, southern, country cooking. Lisa was born in Georgia but moved to NC where she grew up. She has also lived in Florida, Washington, DC and all over NC. She now lives in Eden, NC close to where she grew up.
She does use some convince products in some of her recipes. She includes recipes for main dishes, desserts, salads, appetizers, breads and soups. Lisa also shares some of her tips at the beginning of the book. This is a revised edition and she includes notes and sometimes stories along with the recipes. She said she learned that people who enjoy her cookbooks also enjoy the stories she sometimes included ,so she does that more often with her newer cookbooks.
Down Home with the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook
By Patrick Neely, Gina Neely, Paula Disbrowe
Knopf - 2009
This book is more than just a cookbook. Also included is the story of how Pat and Gina met, married, and came to be on the food network. Before each recipe is a note from Pat or Gina and sometimes both of them about where the recipe came from, what one of them might do different, and sometimes hits or tips to help you successfully make the recipe yourself. It's a fun book to read as well as cook from.
If you love southern cooking then you'll enjoy this one. The recipes are tried and true family recipes from Pat, Gina, and their families. Some recipes are ones that have been in their families for generations. There are also some recipes from their restauants and a few you might have seen on their Food Network Show. They share their Barbecue seasoning and sauce recipes too. There is even a section from Pat's brother and restaurant partner, Tony giving you tips on grilling at home.
If you like photos in your cookbooks there are plenty of those here. Many family photos as well as mouth watering food photos. You shouldn't have any problem at all finding the ingredients called for in this book. The type is black ink with the ingriedents list and name of the recipe in brown. Most recipes are on one page with a few taking up two pages that you can easily read on facing pages with the book open.
I have wanted to try their siginature BBQ Spaghetti ever since I saw it on the Road Food show when the Deen brothers went to their restaurant. The recipe is in this book. The only problem for me is you have to make the seasoning recipe, sauce recipe, smoked BBQ and then the spaghetti. That wouldn't be a problem but both Dexter and Harold say they wouldn't even try it. That leaves me and if Sarita were here her, but I don't think Andrew would eat it either and this makes quiet a bit. I'd love to go to one of their restaurants and try it there. I do have the recipe though if I ever want to tackle it.
Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook
By Paula Deen, Melissa Clark
Simon & Schuster - 2009
This is a fun book with lots of color photos of the recipes as well as of Paula and her various family members. There is a great family photo on the back of the dust jacket. Of course there are recipes from Paula but also, her husband, Michael, his children and brother, her son's Jamie and Bobby and Jamie's wife, her Aunt Peggy, brother Bubba and his children, her cousin, Johnnie and several others as well as her friend, Katie Lee.
Each recipe includes a brief story of who the recipe is from and a little something about why it's a family favorite. This is a fun book to read as well as cook from. Many recipes are what you would expect from Paula with a few surprises. If you're a fan of Paula, love southern cooking, want to learn more about how her family really eats or want to get a peak into her family life, then this is the book for you.
For the most part recipes are either all on one page on continued on a facing page. There are a couple exceptions to this rule and you have to do a bit of page turning on a few recipes. Type is black ink with the recipe name and ingredient list in a green color.
I read this one from cover to cover when it arrived by way of a paperback swap friend. Then I marked several recipes to try and finally made the first one a couple weeks ago.
Best of the Best from North Carolina Cookbook: Selected Recipes from North Carolina's Favorite Cookbooks (Best of the Best State Cookbook)
By Gwen McKee, Gwen McKee, Barbara Moseley
Quail Ridge Press - 2006
This is the Best of the Best from my home state, NC. It is filled with select recipes from North Carolina's favorite cookbooks as collected by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. As with all the BOB state cookbooks it is illustrated by Tupper Davidson. ISBN: 0937552380 It is a spiral bound book and lays flat nicely when you want to cook from it. All the ones I have are spiral bound except the California one.
One of my favorite features of the BOB cookbooks is the catalog of contributing cookbooks listed in the back. I have eight of the thirty-eight listed in the NC edition. Of course I now have several more of those on my ever growing wish list. NC is one of my newest additions to my BOB state cookbook collection and I haven't cooked from it yet. It's kinda funny that I'd bought a few BOB NC ones to give away in swapson cookbooksetcetera but hadn't gotten one for myself until awhile back when I got it from paperbackswap.com
Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Annual Recipes 2002
By Julie Schnittka
Taste of Home Books - 2002
hese annuals have all the recipes from the previous years issues of the Light and Tasty Magazines. All nutritional information is included. There are also lots of color photos all through this one. I do enjoy many of Taste of Home's family of magazines and these are my favorites so I'm delighted when I find one of the annuals. I think Mom found this one for me at a yard sale.
Instead of being divided into months like the Cooking Light Annuals this book is divided into categories that are included in each issue of the magazine. As with the Cooking Light annuals it's nice to have a year's worth of magazine recipes in one place instead of stacks of magazines laying around.
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2006
By Editors of Cooking Light Magazine
Oxmoor House - 2005
I got this one from one of my favorite places to add to my collection, paperbackswap.com.
These books hold all the wonderful recipes from the previous years issues of Cooking Light magazines. They also have several color photos of finished dishes.
They are divided into months just like the magazines. I like this since I can go to any of my annuals and choose the month we're in and find some good healthy recipes to prepare during that month. It's also nice to have the recipes in one place instead of having stacks and stacks of magazines laying around.
Another of my favorite things about these books are the nutritional information included with each recipe. This makes it easy for me to figure out weight watcher points. This particular annual says on the cover over 1,000 new recipes. Isn't it wonderful to have that many healthy recipes at your fingertips?
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2003
April 28th, 2010These books hold all the wonderful recipes from the previous years issues of Cooking Light magazines. They also have several color photos of finished dishes.
They are divided into months just like the magazines. I like this since I can go to any of my annuals and choose the month we're in and find some good healthy recipes to prepare during that month. It's also nice to have the recipes in one place instead of having stacks and stacks of magazines laying around.
Family and Friends Cookbook: From Casserole Comforts to Champagne Wishes, 50 Menus, Meal Plans and 200
By JoAnna M. Lund, Barbara Alpert
Perigee Trade - 2005
As always with JoAnna's books, this one starts with a poem by her Mother, Anges Carrington McAndrews. This book is divided into menus. Those menus are Meatless and Fish; Poultry; Beef; Pork Plus; and Entertaining: Sunday Dinners and Celebrations Meals. The final chapter is on making Healthy Exchanges work for you.
All recipes include nutritional information, as well as Diabetic Exchanges, and Healthy Exchanges. this book is perfect for diabetics, weight watchers, and calorie watchers, in addition to those using the Healthy Exchange program.
Features I like about this book:
The spiral bound lay flat binding
Tips for Cooking for a Crowd
Complete Nutritional Information for each recipe
This is one of the few JoAnna books I didn't have, so I was delighted when I was able to pick this one up from paperbackswap.com
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2004
April 28th, 2010
They are divided into months just like the magazines. I like this since I can go to any of my annuals and choose the month we're in and find some good healthy recipes to prepare during that month. It's also nice to have the recipes in one place instead of having stacks and stacks of magazines laying around.
Another of my favorite things about these books are the nutritional information included with each recipe. This makes it easy for me to figure out weight watcher points. This particular annual says on the cover over 1,000 new recipes.
Chocolate
By Susan Branch
Cedco Pub - 2000
his is a cute little book, 4 1/2 inches wide by 6 1/4 inches tall and 32 pages long. I love Susan Branch's books, filled with her drawings and hand written. It only contains a dozen recipes but what recipes they are.
If you're a Chocolate lover then you'll love this little book. The names of the recipes are written in different colored inks but the recipes themselves are in black. Some people might not like the cursive handwritten recipes and may even find it hard to read, but I think it gives the book a special feel along with Susan's art work and cute little sayings.
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World
By Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter - 2002
If you enjoy eating vegetarian meals, either all the time or occasionally, like we do, then this is a wonderful book.
It is a thick book with 758 pages and over 650 recipes.If you want to learn to cook Indian then Madhur Jaffrey's books are a great place to turn. In this book she shows her talents in other cuisines as well. We've made several recipes from this book and enjoyed them all.
There is a glossary of ingredients and techniques included that is very helpful. Also included are several color photos. Each section begins with a detailed introduction in which she describes methods for preparation and storing as well as different cooking techniques and their cultural origins.
Passionate Vegetarian
By Crescent Dragonwagon
Workman Publishing Company - 2002
I love this book! It has 1100 pages and over 1,000 recipes as well as notes on cooking, eating, loving and living.
If you enjoy vegetarian cooking and eating, either all the time or part of the time, or just need some ideas for cooking veggie dishes this is a great book.
Taste of Home 1996 Annual Recipes
By Janet Briggs, Julie Schnittka, Julie Schnittka
Reiman Publications, LLC - 1999
I have always enjoyed the Taste of Home magazines and love their annuals. A years worth of recipes in one neat package. Love the photos included as well.