Just in time for summer barbecue season comes a comprehensive cookbook with 300 recipes for grilled items. And it’s not just meat. There are recipes for grilled fruit, grilled vegetables, and a variety of fish and seafood. The authors of “300 Big & Bold Barbecue & Grilling Recipes,” Judith Fertig and Karen Adler call the book’s theme “global goes local” because the recipes incorporate ingredients and techniques from around the world.

Among the recipes included are Flamed-Seared Fennel and Potato Salad, Island Grilled Papaya with Fresh Lime, Planked and Pepper-Crusted Maple-Glazed Salmon, Wasabi-Grilled Scallops with Japanese Beans, and Grill-Smoked Trout with Cilantro Gremolata.

“300 Big & Bold Barbecue & Grilling Recipes,” published on April 1, 2009, is available from Amazon.com and most book retailers. It’s well worth picking up.

(photo credit: the Lisa Ekus Group)

Post from: Blisstree

300 Big & Bold BBQ & Grilling Recipes

This 611-page encyclopedia of food goes letter by letter through ordinary (like eggs) and obscure (like dulce de leche) foods, cooking styles, and cooking and food terms. It’s fascinating reading for beginning and experienced cooks alike.

The encyclopedia-style entries would be enough to make this a great book, but “The Science of Good Food” also includes a variety of recipes, interspersed among the pages. You’ll find such things as Duck Confit (duck cooked in its own juices), Perfect French Fries, and Mustard Greens with Soy, Ginger, and Sesame.

“The Science of Good Food” would make an excellent gift (perhaps to a spring bride or summer graduate). The book is available via Amazon.com or through most online and retail booksellers.

(photo credit: Lisa Ekus Group)

Post from: Blisstree

The Science of Good Food

Among the more than 100 recipes are fun things like Chocolate Tacos (chocolate tortillas filled with berries and sorbet), Watermelon and Feta Salad (dusted with chocolate!), a Lacy Singapore Omelet (filled with vegetables), and Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches with Coffee Carmelized Bananas. The book is divided into various cuisines–Asian, Mexican, American, French–and every page brings a new surprise.

“Chocolate for Breakfast” is available from most online and retail booksellers, including Amazon.com.

(photo credit: Lisa Ekus Group)

Post from: Blisstree

Chocolate for Breakfast

“The Deen Family Cookbook,” which will be available for sale starting April 7, includes such healthy dishes as Spicy Chicken and Green Chile Chili, Grilled Orange-glazed Pork Tenderloin, and Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Vidalia Onion Skewers.

The book, available at most online and retail booksellers, includes more than 140 recipes and dozens of color photographs–a little something for everyone.

Deen is the host of the popular Food Network programs, “Paula’s Home Cooking” and “Paula’s Pantry.” She is the founder of The Lady & Sons Restaurant and part-owner of Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in Savannah, where she lives with her family.

(photo credit: Simon & Schuster)

Post from: Blisstree

The Deen Family Cookbook

Maria is wild about lasagna and is willing to bet that you will be too, if you aren’t already! Just listen to some of these dishes:

• Sicilian chicken sauce lasagna
• Arugula and prosciutto lasagna
• Asparagus and goat cheese lasagna
• Tortellini lasagna Bolognese

Maria has traveled all over the world to collect the inspiration for this book. Most of the recipes feature the traditional broad noodles that we think of with lasagna, but some of her varieties use crepes, phyllo, tortillas, and even sliced polenta.

There’s much to drool over in this wonderful new cookbook! I made the “Lazy Carbonara Penne for a Crowd” (shown above) and it was very very well received. Below is the “Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna” which was also very popular

Images: book – MacMillan, pasta dishes – Cyndi Lavin

Post from: Blisstree

Cookbook review: The New Lasagna Cookbook

Courtesy of The Taste of Home Cookbook and website!

Warm Broccoli Cheese Spread

I cut this recipe out of a newspaper a year ago and decided to trim it down by substituting fat-free and reduced-fat ingredients. Whenever I make this for an occasion, I end up being asked for the recipe. -Patricia Moore of Toledo, Ohio

SERVINGS: 14

CATEGORY: Lower Fat

METHOD: Baked

TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 25 min.
Ingredients:

* 1 package (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, cubed
* 1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream
* 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
* 3 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained and patted dry
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
* Reduced-fat wheat snack crackers

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and salad dressing mix until blended. Fold in the broccoli and 1-1/2 cups of cheese.
Spoon into a shallow 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with crackers. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

Here’s mine…note that I used white cheddar cheese, so it doesn’t look quite as cheesy as theirs, but it was!

Don’t miss my review on this wonderful cookbook!

Post from: Blisstree

Warm broccoli cheese spread

I want to tell you about the most delightful cookbook that I’ve read through in awhile! It’s call The Taste of Home Cookbook, the new revised edition, and it’s a companion book to the cooking magazine by the same name! I love everything about this book: it’s got a notebook style binding, so that you can remove sheets if you need to, it’s well-organized, prep and cooking times are clearly marked…I could go on and on. But the best thing about it is the selection of recipes!

I’m kind of appetizer-challenged. We’ve all got a weak spot, and this is mine, so I’m always looking to delicious stuff that won’t destroy my waistline. Well, the first one I tried was such a hit that I’m going back for more!  I’ll share this particular recipe and my results in the next post.

Another feature that I like are the multitude of recipes that give you 4 preparation options:
“Classic Recipes” (Taste of Home) for traditional preparation techniques
“Time-Saver Recipes” (Simple & Delicious) for minimum effort
“Light Recipes” (Healthy Cooking) for trimming calories, fat, etc. but not flavor
“Serves 2” (Cooking for 2) for scaled-down versions for smaller households

Cool idea, huh?

Finally, I want to pass on to you that Taste of Home is running a contest.  The deadline is March 1, 2009, and they invite you to submit your best recipes in any of the categories listed above!  You can get all the details at Taste of Home’s website.  

Post from: Blisstree

Cookbook review: The Taste of Home Cookbook

I read cookbooks for fun. And for knowledge, but mostly for fun, because I think food and cooking is lots of fun. The cover of this new book caught my eye immediately, and I decided to settle in with it one evening. Even though the subtitle (Essential ingredients for cooking and eating) should have prepared me, I was still taken by surprise. This is not a cookbook, but an ingredient book!

I love the way it’s organized, covering foods by categories (fruits, grains, seafood, sweeteners, etc), alphabetically within the category. There are also charts sprinkled liberally throughout with seasonal information, cooking times, nutrition, heat comparisons (for hot peppers), and just about anything else you might want to know about food. It’s not a dry textbook though, so if you’re looking for really in-depth nutritional info, you’d be best off with a different book. What this highly entertaining volume offers is a glimpse into a world of many new choices that weren’t available to us even 5 years ago.

Now, if only my local market was a bit bigger…

Post from: Blisstree

Book review: New Good Food

Publisher’s Weekly writes:

The 300-plus recipes are so far-ranging it’s hard to believe a bread exists that isn’t included here. There are white breads and sourdoughs, all manner of whole wheat and grain breads and breads featuring nuts and dried fruits, cheese and savory flavorings. There are crusty ciabattas, a sturdy Irish Potato Brown Bread and a variety of challahs. Hensperger also includes dozens of sweet breads, including croissants, coffee cakes and traditional holiday confections. There are recipes for pizza and flatbreads, as well as selections from a variety of traditions, from Alsatian kugelhopf to Zuni Indian bread. She even offers instructions for using bread machines to make pasta, jams and chutneys. By the end, Hensperger will have convinced readers that it’s time to overcome any qualms and get to work. The bread machine is here to stay.

The sheer breadth (ha ha) and depth of the book is overwhelming. Critics note that there are no recipes for whole grain breads that do not also include white flour, while fans rave about the amazing variety included. Critics note that there are a lot of recipes that call for manual intervention during the baking process, while fans say so what? Don’t make those loaves if you don’t want to. Fans far outnumber critics, which doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s up to you and your style.

I have been very pleased with each recipe I’ve tried so far. The brioche turned out to be amazing! I never would have expected to get the same fine texture that I get from hand kneading. One thing that put me off at first is that Beth calls for gluten to be added to practically every recipe. I’ve never used added gluten, and decided I didn’t really want to go hunting for it and start now. The recipes turned out fine without it (so far!). Maybe they’d be even better with it, but we just don’t seem to care in my household!

Post from: Blisstree

Book review: The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook

Oprah Winfrey has a new cookbook out, called The Oprah Magazine Cookbook. Many of the recipes are a bit more involved than a thirty minute meal would allow for, but there are some stunningly good recipes included. I found a few online at Oprah’s website, and here’s one that fits within the boundaries of a sixty minute meal anyway!

Grilled Tenderloin of Beef with Spicy Fresh Herb Vinaigrette
Created by Celia Barbour
From Great Food in the August 2007 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
Serves 8 to 10

Vinaigrette:

* 1 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
* 1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
* 1/2 cup mint leaves, loosely packed
* 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
* 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, or more to taste
* 1 large clove garlic
* 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
* 2/3 cup olive oil
* 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste

Beef:

* 1 tenderloin of beef, trimmed (about 5 to 6 pounds)
* 2 Tbsp. olive oil
* 2 tsp. kosher salt
* 2 tsp. cracked black pepper

To make vinaigrette: In a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with knife blade, combine herbs, red pepper flakes and garlic. Pulse until well chopped. Add vinegar and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add 2/3 cup olive oil until vinaigrette is almost pureed. Add salt and adjust seasoning to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.

To make beef: Preheat gas grill to medium-high, or prepare a charcoal grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Brush meat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on grill, cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. For rare beef, remove from grill when a meat thermometer reads 115° (120° for medium rare). Let sit 20 minutes; the temperature of the tenderloin will rise about 10 degrees and it will continue to cook. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature, topped with herb vinaigrette.

Post from: Blisstree

Grilled tenderloin of beef from Oprah