I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

The name of this book is what makes you want to read it.  Anything with spaghetti in the title is a must read.  However, this memoir I only felt luke-warm about, and that won't cook a noodle in any hurry.

Giulia is unlucky in love.  Not even dating until her early twenties, she falls for a series of men who just aren't quite what she needs.  And she's obviously not what they need either as they don't offer to make things permanent.  And this is in spite of her good cooking, active personality, and want of a decent relationship.  As she travels the years she dates several people, and each have their own quirks and good, but they also have some flaws too.

Giulia isn't afraid to point out everything she does wrong when it comes to dating.  She says she falls too fast, tries too hard, and goes after people who are interested in her, not necessarily those she is interested in.  She just wants that relationship.  The men she meets are interesting.  I can't say that I would have been attracted to any of them, too broody and not enough work ethic in some of them.  Most of them were able to cook though, so that's a plus.  Since it's Giulia's memoir, we get a somewhat biased view of them though so it's hard to tell what their true personalities may be, although it seems like she tried to be fair.

As memoirs go, this one was actually kind of depressing.  There's so many failed relationships that if you're single and having trouble in the dating realm yourself you start despairing of ever getting a good date.  Or a date for that matter.  Because you certainly don't want to go with whatever's interested regardless of your feelings.  Giulia's relationships she does have actually last for long periods of time (at least the 3 and 1/2 that she really focuses on in the book) so the breakups are more traumatic too.  One thing that really irritated me about the book (and this may just be my personal preferences) is the constant talk about music and how certain music was edgy and people liking bands before they were popular.  If the music's good, who cares about the when and why?  Not a huge deal, but whenever I encounter it in a book it rubs me the wrong way.  Aside from that though, the writing was smooth and progressed at a good pace.

This was an ok memoir.  It's very much a story of dating and a little bit about food (there are recipes).  If you really like drama this will be a good book to read and if you like food, stick around for those recipes.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti
Copyright 2009
273 pages

101 Things to Eat Before You Die(t) by Anneka Manning

Ok, so you know right away from the cover this is going to be a book full of delicious foods.  Because you're not supposed to have them while dieting.  And it's true.  Almost everything in here is delicious.  In fact, the cover is falling off of my copy because I've used it so much.  As of November 2013, I have made 27 of the 101 recipes in this book and there are still tons that I'd like to make. 

The book is separated into four different sections.  Nibbles, Snacks & Things in Small Packages, Soups & Mains for Hearty Eaters, Pasta, Rice & Noodles, and Vegetarian Plates.  There are no desserts in this book, but the author has another book full of those that if it's even half as good as this one, it will be full of good stuff.

Nibbles, Snacks & Things in Small Packages is of course the appetizer section of this book.  But really, a lot of them could be made into full meals.  The first recipe, Beef Nachos, took kind of a long time to make.  It had good flavor, but wasn't overly different than the dips you can get at the store.  The Quesadillas were fantastic though and very simple to make.  I liked the use of the taco seasoning in the mix.  Fried Ham and Cheese Sandwiches were somewhat plain but definitely old style comfort food.  Being that I'm living in the South now, I also tried the hushpuppies, which weren't your standard hushpuppies but very good.  And they cooked quick.  If you like Shrimp Scampi, the Garlic Shrimp will fit the bill.  One of the less favored recipes in this section was the Ham and Pineapple Pizza Wheels.  They were pretty but didn't have a lot of flavor.  A standout recipe, in comparison, was the Honey-Garlic Ribs.  They had great flavor.  Just a bit sweet with a kick.

Another interesting recipe in the appetizer section was the Corn Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Syrup.  This is a wonderful mix of flavors and I can't believe I'd  never had it until this book.  They reheated well too.  The Fried Potatoes with Garlic Mayo was a little too tangy for me, but the potatoes crisped up nice.  The Potato and Coriander Samosas had kind of a plain flavor.  And there was a lot of extra that there wasn't enough dough for.  But that was tasty on its own.  The Sausage Rolls cooked well and you can make them as spicy as you want depending on the type of sausage.  There seemed to be a good representation of Mexican food in this book, and the Tortilla Flutes were one of the first recipes I made.  I liked them, but loved them when I added cheese to the recipe.  Same with the burritos.

I didn't make as many recipes in the Soups and Mains section.    The Chicken Laska involved a lot of ingredients and wasn't as flavorful as I expected from the amount of spices in it.  It was good, but not fantastic.    The Chili Pork Ribs though were full of flavor and I'd recommend making extra sauce as you're going to want it.  Chili con Carne was easy to make and tasted like a standard, good chili.    The Classic Burger with Barbecue Sauce was very full of onions and delicious because of it.  And the sauce recipe was so easy to make you wouldn't believe it.  Quiche Lorraine was great, but not near as thick as the picture would lead you to believe. 

Pasta & Rice was my favorite section.    The Vietnamese Fried Rice had a lot of good stuff in it and was very good at hiding vegetables in a delicious dish.  Pastitsio was interesting, especially in its use of lamb and the topping made of yogurt was the best part.    It's hard not to like gnocchi and the use of bacon in the dish in this book just puts it over the edge.  Same with the spaghetti carbonara.  Quick to make, it uses cream and bacon as well and everyone loves that!  The paella was as good as most paellas, although it called for some pricy ingredients.    For those that like a plain spaghetti, the bolognese had all the meat you could want and you could definitely taste the wine. 

My favorites out of this section were the Singapore Noodles and the Spanish Noodles.  The Singapore made use of char siu (which I had to scour the Chinese markets for) and little vermicelli and was so good I couldn't stop eating it.    Same with the Spanish noodles.  They used a lot of pork, some great seasonings, and a picada sauce that tied it all together.  And it was easier to make than I thought it would be.

Lastly was the Vegetarian section.  Because they have good food too.  The Pasta Boscaiola was just as good as the other pastas, and was quick to make.  It's actually the only recipe I made in this section.  But there's a lot of cheese in most of them.  Which always makes for a good thing. 

Most of the ingredients in this book are easy to find.  Although there are a few that may be out of some budgets (saffron) or ability to find (char siu).  But since there is such a wide variety that just means you can go on to something else that is tasty.  And most of the recipes are easy enough for a beginner to make.  There are some that use a lot of ingredients, but the method and directions are clear to follow.

The book is quite beautiful too.  Almost every recipe has a full sized picture (a few have smaller ones) that takes up a whole page.  And all is in bright vivid color.  Including the cover.  In fact, the pictures made me try quite a few dishes I might not have otherwise tried because they looked so good.  There are notes on some of the recipes for added tips, and serving amounts listed as well.  There's also a standard index. 

I would definitely recommend this cookbook.  It may not be one you can use every day because of its heavy ingredients, but it's one  you will want to use every day.  Because the food is just that good.

Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri and Ann Volkwein

I love the FoodNetwork show that this cookbook is based off of. Seriously, I practically worship it and Guy Fieri and make it a point to go to all the places I can that have been featured on the show. Which means, that when this book came out, it of course had to go on my shelf. But now, I've owned it a few years, and have still rarely selected it as a go-to cookbook. But I'm still obsessed with the show.

For those not familiar with Guy Fieri or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, it's a show where chef Fieri drives around America looking for those places to eat that only the locals known about. These can be roadside stops to hole in the wall diners. But the thing they all have in common is delicious food you can't get enough of. Sometimes this food is as innovative as Captain Crunch French Toast (a recipe in this book) or as simple as a burger cooked right. This book, in addition to having some recipes either from the locations or loosely based off of some of the recipes, has small snippets about the different places the crew went, little blurbs written by Guy, and an introduction to the team that films the show.

The book itself is separated into regions (i.e. Northeast, South, etc.) but if you're looking for a specific type of food, there's a glossary in the back that separates them out with page numbers according to the meal type. Then, in the regions, we are introduced to the place without about a page of description on the location, maybe a picture, and then however many recipes are being offered for the location. Unfortunately none of the pictures are in color though. I would have paid more for this book for color photographs.

I've tried about twelve of the recipes in this book. The first of course (going in order of the book pages) was the American Chop Suey. I pasta and hamburger dish that was tasty, especially when you added cheese to it. It made a lot though, so prepare to eat leftovers! The Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese was very filling and had a thick sauce with a rich taste. The Beef Brisket from MoGridder's was ok. I made the seasoning and sauce that went with it, but they were both pretty standard and nothing any better than what I get on a grocery store shelf. Pete's Rubbed and Almost Fried Turkey was very salty. And I have to warn, this should probably be done outside, even if it is just a breast, because most kitchen's exhaust systems won't be able to handle it. The InCrusted Dolphin Sandwich from Scully's Tavern had a nice crunch to it. And you could bake instead of fry if you want to. A local haunt near where I live, The Penguin, offered up some pimento cheese. It did not taste the same as at the restaurant and had too much mayo. Although admittedly there has been change in ownership since the show filmed so that could account for the variance of taste as well.

Probably some of the best recipes in this book were the pies. Both the Coconut Cream and the Black-Bottom were delicious and easy to make. And in case of the Black Bottom Pie, it was very impressive looking. Because I can't pass up a Mac & Cheese recipe, I also tried Smoque's version. It wasn't bad, and I did enjoy the breaded topping. Unfortunately Mom's Meatloaf wasn't near as good. It was plainer than a lot of other meatloaf recipes I've come across. I also had a lot of trouble with the Hodad's Bacon Cheeseburger. My bacon patties just wouldn't stay together. And the Squeeze burger is definitely better made on a flap top. A regular home cook just won't be able to replicate it easily. The Greek Money Meatballs were also nothing special but they were filling. The pollo guisado was way too spicy for me. I couldn't handle it. And I'm very glad that I didn't add water to the sauce, because it was watery enough without adding it.

So overall the recipes were a mix of good and bad. I think this book is more useful as a guide to the different places Guy visits rather than a cookbook. There are some decent recipes but really, they aren't the ones from the show and some make you scratch your head wondering where they came from as they were dishes not even mentioned at the various places. I'd rather cook Guy's original food (which you know is the exact recipe you're seeing on tv) than have fake copies of the ones off of DDD. And a lot of the recipes are more appropriate for a restaurant setting as they use a myriad of different ingredients and would be expensive for a standard sit down meal at home.

I think if you approach this book for the stories you'll be more content than thinking of it as a cookbook. But since it advertises itself as "with recipes" it's hard to align yourself to that sort of thinking. Maybe with some color photos and a few better recipes this could have been something amazing. But hey, there's a second book (and maybe even a third at the time of writing this review) that may be worth taking a look at! For now though, I'll consider this book merely average compared to the brilliance of the show.

Herbivoracious by Michael Natkin

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine Program**

**I have tried 13 of the recipes in this cookbook**

I've been back and forth on how to review this cookbook. Having had it in my possession for about a year now (I always take a long time to review cookbooks since I try out a good amount of recipes), it's been hard for me to open it up and actually use it. So many of the recipes just didn't appeal to me or jump out and make me want to use it. And I've hard mixed feelings on some of the recipes I have made. I'm not a vegetarian, but I cook vegetarian quite often and enjoy the cuisine. And I think I have more vegetarian cuisine cookbooks than I do of other types of cuisine.

I received an Advanced Reviewer's Copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. This means that it isn't a "complete" cookbook that I've been working through. The only picture was the cover (which is beautiful) although I've been told that the finished product has wonderful pictures. So when reviewing this, I have to bear in mind that maybe some of the recipes would have been more appealing with pictures to back them up and those who buy the full copy of the book will have a more positive experience than I did. As far as the rest of the layout of the book, I found it easy to read and well organized, with appropriate sized text for the recipes. Aside from the recipe section, there's also a beginning describing ingredients and kitchen tools, which can be helpful at times. I also appreciated the descriptions of the dish and the information at the beginning of the recipes.

In Appetizers and Small Dishes, the first chapter of recipes in this book, I actually only tried one recipe. There were several I thought about, but alas, just didn't have the time to powder my own cheddar cheese for the onion rings or do some of the other time consuming tasks that were required. I did make the Tempeh-Filled Potstickers. They were good, filling, and the sauce was great, but they were exceptionally time-consuming to make. At least for someone who's not experienced with making gyoza.

I made two recipes in the Soup section. The Garlic Miso Broth, which tasted heavily of Garlic and not much of anything else. And the White Bean and Kale Soup, which had a main flavor of the added Parmesan, but was otherwise plain with a nice texture. I think if I were to make it again, I would try adding quite a few spices to the mix. I do plan on making the Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Pumpkin Seeds in the future, it's just sourcing the pumpkin seeds that is proving difficult (and I just don't have enough time to peel individual seeds after carving a pumpkin myself). But it sounds delicious.

I did not make any of the salads. That's just a section I avoid in most cookbooks as it seems like a lot of work for a salad, no matter the book. There were some interesting sounding ones, like Green Mango Salad and Jicama, Radish and Orange Salad. But it's not a section that appealed to me.

I was surprised to see that the Main Course section was rather small. Only 8 recipes in total. But the Superfrice Grilled Cheese was good. I know it's a standard recipe, but the author was able to make it a little bit special using a unique cooking method.

The Main Course Pasta and Noodles dishes section was much larger. I tried the Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil and the Linguine with Mushrooms. Both were quick enough to make, but didn't offer a lot in terms of flavor, although I used all the ingredients recommended. I even added extra red pepper flakes to the Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil. The Linguine with Mushrooms had a wonderful texture with the mushrooms and white wine, but I think maybe adding more seasoning would have helped the dish. Just a bit of basil or oregano.

I thought the Stovetop Main Courses were interesting sounding. I actually only tried the Quinoa Cakes. Which had a great flavor once the salt and pepper was added, but I had the worst time keeping them together in cake form so it ended up just being quinoa on my plate. Not a terrible thing, but a little frustrating when trying to make it. There were enough eggs in it for a binder, so I'm not sure why they weren't holding together well.

From the Oven Main Courses I immediately went to the Mac and Cheese. This version was a Triple-Smokey Mac and Cheese. I loved the idea, and loved the texture, but ultimately found it a little too spicy. I think half of the chipotle amount would make this dish just about perfect. Unless you can really stand the heat, in that case you're good to go with the recipe. It also is a mac and cheese that freezes well. A couple of the other recipes in this section look easy to make, so in comparison with some of the other sections, this is one that is more approachable.

Side dishes was the next section. The Roasted Cipollini Onions and Beets were very good. There's not a vegetable out there that can't benefit from roasting, at least as far as I'm concerned. And this was a good mix of things. Jamaican Rice and Peas was spicy, even from one pepper, but it was very easy to make in my rice cooker and I was pleased with the results. It was also very filling.

I'm not much of a dessert person, so it really surprised me that I found the dessert chapter the best chapter in the book. The Raspberry-Blueberry Buckle was the perfect way to get rid of old fruit in the fridge. The Maple Pudding with Spiced Pecans was simple to make and absolutely delicious. The pudding was the perfect texture and used relatively few ingredients. And I loved the spice on the pecans. It was my favorite recipe in the book actually.

There's a breakfast section, but my idea of a breakfast is soda, so I have not tried anything from that section. And the last chapter of the book is just for various condiments and cooking items. I tried out the book's way of making homemade bread crumbs, and it was very effective and easy. The other items in the chapter were mostly sauces and they sounded interesting.

Overall I wouldn't call this a cookbook for beginners or new vegetarians. The recipes can get complicated and a lot are time consuming. They also require that you know very many different types of cooking using a variety of different appliances. Those that like a challenge though, could appreciate this cookbook. That's not saying that there aren't simple recipes, because there are a few in here. But, like I mentioned before, there's a recipe in here where you have to powder your own cheese. So it runs the gamut.

I think ingredient-wise it might not be as approachable either. I live in a major Metropolitan area (Charlotte) and I was even a little intimidated by some of the ingredients that were needed for this book. I'm sure there's somewhere around here that sells 99% of what's in this book, but finding that can be daunting and a lot of things (morels, certain sauces, fresh lychees) are not something that most people are going to be able to get their hands on. So that's something to keep in mind when you are cooking with this book. Sure you can go off of the recipe and use replacements, but sometimes that doesn't always work out as well, and for those who like to stick to recipes, it can be frustrating. Some of the ingredients, even if they are something you can find, can be on the pricey side too, so that may be another deterrent.

As far as it being vegetarian, this book does a good job of providing variety. Some of it may not sound that appealing to people, but at least it doesn't make use of a lot of fake meats or other standard vegetarian fare and it does have a lot of unique recipes. There are recipes that use cheese, so I wouldn't consider this a vegan cookbook, but it does have some vegan recipes in it.

I think that there are people out there who this would be a great cookbook for. But for me, it was just a little too time consuming to get some great recipes, and the others weren't as appealing to me. The ones I did have were mostly average (with a few really good recipes). But overall, this is a nice book to have around if you want to do something special.

Lonely Plant: The World's Best Street Food

**This book is part of the Amazon Vine program**

Travel and food. Two wonderful things. And this book combines the two of them. Although in some ways scary and it some ways fantastic.

The book is broken up into two sections, the savory and the sweet. Each recipe has a description the left hand side including "What is it?", Origin, Tasting, and finding it. Sometimes there are tips, variations and other tidbits. The right hand side is the recipe itself, usually with a picture. And they come in alphabetical order so it's somewhat easy to find what you're looking for. And there's a lot of color in the book too in the backgrounds and text. It's very visually pleasing.

The recipes are also quite interesting. While I can't envision myself preparing chicken feet, there are plenty of approachable recipes that can be tried even if you aren't that brave. I've tried quite a few recipes in the Savory section though.

Bsarra, from Morocco, was a lovely soup that while thicker than I expected, had a terrific flavor. The Burek, from Bosnia, was also good, but it just didn't hold together well and was hard to shape. I did like the Mushroom Crostini, it was quick to make too. Pastys are either a love or hate food, but these weren't too bad and the variety of fillings are endless. Currywurst was actually really sweet, and I didn't enjoy it that much. One of the best recipes is Gozleme which, while time consuming, was tasty and filling. The Chicago-Style Hot Dogs are just that, down to the celery salt. Kelewele was easy to make, but you couldn't taste the spices, it needed to be stronger. The same with the Knish, just not a lot of flavor. One of the most interesting recipes was the Kushari. Although I didn't like the massive amount of dishes it produced, I did like the food itself. The tomato sauce had good flavor.

The Maine Lobster Roll was easy to make, surprisingly. But I felt it was kind of a waste of Lobster, to smother it in mayo like that. The Pastizzi was also relatively simple, and interesting, but a bit plain. But the pierogies. Oh, they turned out fantastic and I'll be returning to that recipe. It was fantastic. Same with the Poutine. It's fattening, but delicious. And the Pretzels. Must be something about food that starts with "p". Lastly, the Zapiekanka, was kind of like a french bread pizza, but I wasn't thrilled with the mayo.

The Sweet section wasn't near as bit as the savory. And admittedly I didn't make as many recipes in this section either. But the Baklava did taste just like store bought and were quite good. However, the Beaver Tails were ok, but didn't hold on to their cinnamon sugar that well. The Sfenj was good. But the water measurement was off by 1 1/2 cups for me. And it definitely needed a sweet topping or it was kind of savory.

Overall, most of these recipes were a success. Not all had a ton of flavor, and some were hard to cook, but the majority were well worth making. I enjoyed them quite a bit. And I did love the pierogies. The whole book is worth it just for that one recipe. And I enjoyed all the stories and history that were included for each recipe.

A great book! This is one that either a cook or world traveler will like.

Edible Cocktails by Natalie Bovis

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

Ok, I always try to make at least 10-20% of the recipes in a cookbook before reviewing, but I'd be a downright drunk if I tried to do that with this one. I just can't consume that much alcohol by myself. But I did get to try a few, and I thought this was an interesting book.

The book is split up into several different parts. There is an introduction and list of kitchen and bar tools and their uses, glasses, and the types of alcohol. Chapter 2 talks more about gardening and growing your own ingredients. Then we get into the chapters that actual deal with making the drinks, starting with a very large section on grapes and including grape based cocktails, sparkling cocktails and specialty sangrias. Out of this section I tried the Classic Champagne Cocktail and the majority of people with me who tried it enjoyed it. The bitters gave it a very unique taste.

Chapter 4 is syrups, shrubs, and other sorts of additives. There are actually recipes for jams in this section, although I prefer to use actual jam books for that sort of cooking (although there is a recipe for making your own pectin). The variety of syrups is endless though and there was a huge selection. I made the cherry-cinnamon and it was only slightly medicinal tasting but the taste was good and it had a nice thickness to it.

Chapter 5 is the odd one. This has all the infusions with ingredients like meat and eggs. I'm a sucker for Bacon so I made the Smoked Bacon-Washed Bourbon and the accompanying Bacon Cherry Creek Cocktail. By itself the bourbon had a slightly fatty flavor and the smoke was strong. When mixed into the cocktail I thought it was horrendous. My grandpa liked it though and thought it had a strong smoke flavor but was light on the cherry. If you're not into bacon there's recipes using prosciutto and chorizo too. Also in this chapter I tried out the Homemade Irish Cream. It did taste like the popular brands but was quite a bit stronger. I had to cut it with more than the usual amount of chocolate milk that I normally use.

Chapter 6 is the Mixers, Garnishes and Ice. This is where you find the salt and other such things. I didn't give anything a try, but they had a few interesting recipes like the Strawberry Pink Himalayan Salt rim. The last chapter, 7, is also one I didn't utilize but it just had a lot more drink recipes from margaritas to martinis.

I think this is definitely a book that would be more utilized by an experienced mixologist. As only a casual drinker that enjoys a wine cooler now and again, getting over the sticker shock for some of the prices and then the complicated mixings of the alcohol was a little much for me. But I appreciated all the fresh ingredients and the syrup mixes. Using some imagination, a lot of these ingredients could be put to use for non-alcoholic drinks too (there's a recipe for lemonade in the book that would be good to mix the syrups with).

The format is nice, with bright colorful pictures and the text was easy to read. While there was the introduction and beginning to let you know what some of the terms meant, it was still hard for a beginner though.

There's definitely a better audience for this book than me, but it was still well done. I can see a lot of people who enjoy their mixed drinks really loving this book and using it for all sorts of events.

Energy Food by Beverly Le Blanc

**I have made 9 of 38 recipes in this book.**

We all need a little more energy right?  Or at least I do.  So I saw the cover of this book, the picture looked decent, and thought, "why not give it a try."  And it wasn't a bad book, although I can't say it gave me any more energy.

Energy Food contains recipes specifically designed to give you an added boost throughout your day by way of nutrition. It is separated into four parts, with an introduction at the beginning and an index at the end.

The introduction is pretty standard, it introduces the goal of the book, says a little about looking at carbs a different way, has simple but satisfying tips for improving your diet (i.e. brown rice instead of white) and also talks about breakfast since it is supposed to be the most important meal of the day.

The first chapter is Breakfast Boosters, and it is about breakfast.  Sure, there is the standard granola and such, but this chapter had a lot of different breakfast ideas in it that weren't your usual healthfood recipes.  The Apple & Spice Oatmeal had few ingredients and cooked quickly, but it definitely needed the optional honey to be palatable.  Even with the apples the oats overpowered all taste.  I also thought it was weird that the ingredients list included "ground mixed spice" but yet never said what this mixed spice was.  I defaulted to some nutmeg and cinnamon, but who knows if that is what they meant.  The Scrambled Eggs with Leeks were nice and had a light flavor.  They were quick to make but still very filling.  A smoothie recipe, Blueberry Bliss wasn't too bad, but the predominant taste was of yogurt. 

The next section is Lively Lunches (yes these are cheesy chapter names, but oh well).  A lot of the recipes in this section were for soup, but non really jumped out at me as something I wanted to eat.  I did however try the Baked Sweet Potatoes with Red Bell Pepper Hummus.  I had to cook them longer than the recommended time, but the overall flavor was good and I liked the addition of the peppers to the homemade hummus.  It gave me a chance to break the food processor out and use it for a change.  It was a very filling dish.  The Tomato Frittata was an easy to make dish and set up quite nicely with the egg ratio.  I think my favorite recipe out of this section was the Buckwheat-Tomato Bake.  It was different, and the addition of the feta cheese made it very tasty.  The Chicken Avocado Salad was par for the course but the dressing that went with it was surprisingly tasteless and I was a bit disappointed.  I think adding more herbs to the mix would improve it quite a bit. 

Dynamic Dinners is the next section.  There were a lot of good looking recipes in this chapter but none yet that I've tried.  They all didn't appeal to the people I was cooking for and I didn't relish the thought of eating leftovers five days in a row so I didn't make them.  I think the main turnoff was that the majority were vegetarian and they wanted a little meat (I tried to explain alternative protein sources, really!).  I do think at some point I'm at least going to make the mushroom risotto.  It looks quite tasty as does the roasted vegetable pizza.

The last section is Super Snacks.  These are the little pick me ups throughout your day to keep you moving.  There's a standard trail mix in here, some scones, and other things you can just grab and go with.  I made the Chewy Oatmeal Cookies, and sent some with my dad to work, and they were well received.  They of course had raisins in them (I substituted half for craisins for a little more sweetness) but they had a good texture even if they didn't look like the picture.  The Mediterranean Melts were something that you had to cook, but they ended up being fancy Bruschetta without the bold flavor. 

My overall thoughts of this book was that while the recipes were nutritious, they weren't that flavorful.  Maybe I have a bold palate and like too much spice and herbs, but somehow I don't think so.  Just the addition of some more spices or other flavors would have really amped up the dishes.  Just because it's healthy, doesn't mean it has to be bland.  Luckily though the recipes are easy to make and I can see a beginner getting along fine with most of the recipes in the book.  There are a few that are a little more complicated to cook, and there's no basics described (how to scramble an egg) but anyone who can cook a little should be able to make most of these dishes. 

The types of dishes in this book are mostly vegetarian.  There are a few animal protein sources, but they are limited to chicken and fish (no shellfish).  Nuts are also used as a protein.  Because of these limitations, it might not be a book for someone who enjoys red meat or a lot of variety. 

For energy, I didn't notice any extra in my case, but my dad, who has MS, seemed to react very well.  It could have just been the extra socialness of having someone around to talk to, but after a few days of eating this food he seemed to have more energy and a happier personality. It's also good food for going light on the calories and I dropped a few pounds after eating this type of food for over a week.  But, I also started running again so it is probably a mix of the two. Even so, it is a better alternative to fast food burgers and fries if you're trying to lose weight. 

A positive thing about this book is the amount of pictures.  There is a full page picture for each recipe and they are all beautifully done.  I liked looking at the food more than I did eating the food actually.  And it was nice to see what everything should look like when finished.  The book format itself was easy to read with the right side being the picture and the left side having the recipes in large print (very easy to read).  The ingredients list came first, followed by the name of the dish and description, and then the actual steps to the recipe.  I do wish since this was a healthy cookbook that they included the calorie count, fat content, etc.

An ok book, I can't say I'd refer back to if much.  I have a couple of Vegetarian cookbooks that have tastier food and are just as healthy (Vegan Planet) or healthy with more protein sources (Food to Live By) that I'd rather refer to.

Energy Food
Copyright 2007
96 pages

Donuts: An American Passion by John Edge

Take some dough, fry it, and then douse it in sugar. You now have the donut (doughnut). A favorite breakfast (or anytime) treat of many, the donut can actually be found in many cultures all over the world and by different names. But the concept is the same. Sweet fried dough. And this book is part of a series on American food by Edge. But you don't have to read them in any particular order.

"Donuts" is what you'd expect. It's a book about donuts. There's some history, mentions of different types of donuts by culture or country, and some explorations of famous donut shops. Edge also includes a few recipes for certain types of donuts.

Edge visits a lot of different donut shops, but they seem to mostly be centered on the West Coast. There is a vast majority of shops in Seattle and California, and quite a few in Hawaii too, which for the purpose of this book I'm going to consider "west coast" instead of the island that it is. Sure we do get down to New Orleans for some beignets, but the east coast only has a few mentions, and the south is dominated by Krispy Kreme. Now, granted, Krispy Kreme is popular and what started the doughnut revolution, so it does have its place in this book. All of the donut shop owners though don't really offer a whole lot about themselves or their products. Or at least Edge doesn't write about them very much. He does make note that they were mostly secretive, but I would have though there would be more than there actually is in this book.

In fact, most of this particular book is about the different donuts Edge tries at all these places. When compared to the other books I've read in this series, it just isn't as impressive on giving the whole picture of the food. It does the travelogue thing, but the history and lore of the food just isn't very prominent in this book. This was actually the first book of his that I had trouble keeping my attention on. I kept wandering off to more interesting things. And considering its not that long of a book, that was surprising to me. But I made my way through it and learned a little more about the donut. Although he tantalized with mentioning things like Ny-Quil donuts but never actually saying what they were.

I'd give this book two and a half stars. There was some interesting information contained within it, but largely it didn't have enough interesting things to make it an excellent food book.

Donuts
Copyright 2006
174 pages

Apple Pie: An American Story by John Edge

This is the second book in Edge's series about food. The first was about Fried Chicken. And I do think this second book was written better. And I'm not even a pie fan, but I found the information contained within to be interesting.

Apple Pie is definitely considered all American. There are so many variations from crumb toppings, to mock apple pie, to a flaky crust that everybody believes they do it the right way. In this book, Edge goes around the country trying out different versions of the pie and meeting the people that make them. Sadly, most of the pies he tries are not up to par, but there are a rare few that stand out and make his trips worthwhile. He also explores some of the history behind the pies and even presidents that had a fondness for the apple variety.

He meets some interesting people in his journeys. Especially the ladies that make the fried pies, they have some unique, albeit sad, stories about how they first started making pies. And then there's the guy who adds chilies to his pies. I thought he was interesting and had a fantastic idea. One I'd like to try out myself if I could only make a decent crust. And Edge himself is a charming narrator. He has a lot of belief and love of food and keeps trying even if he does run in to some not so tasty renditions of pie.

This book flowed a little better than the first book did. The chapters were slightly longer and allowed for a more in-depth look at the places he was exploring and the type of pie that was being produced. It also allowed more time for interviewing the people and relating a bit of history as well. I still would have liked to see more about the food itself. He covered the history very well, and even included a few recipes, but this was a very fast read and I think a lot more could have been added.

This book hasn't quite made me a pie convert, but I do want to try the green chili apple pie now and will have to hold on to the recipe from this book. I think anyone who appreciates the history of food would probably enjoy reading this book, or really any from the series.

Apple Pie: An American Story
Copyright 2004
162 pages

Fried Chicken: An American Story by John Edge

Fried Chicken is the first in a series by John Edge that explores different American foods.  Or at least those foods that Americans claim as their own.  And this book combines a little bit of history with cookbook and food travel writing. 

Fried Chicken explores all the fried chicken of the regions.  Southern to Ohio to New York's chicken wings to out on the west coast in Seattle.  In each area, he details the history of the area and fried chicken and then goes on to explore a restaurant or two in the area.  He lists out the merits (or downfalls) of each one.  And at the end of the section he includes a recipe that's supposed to represent the fried chicken of the area. 

This is about food, not people.  But there are some people that he focuses on.  Mainly the cooks, who all seem to be characters of their own sort.  But one thing ties them together, their love of food.  And Edge seems to take great love in eating the food he travels all over to try.  I especially liked the two ladies who worked at an inn and had for over fifty years, just like their mother before them.  They were the most endearing story in the whole book.

As for the readability of the book, I didn't really like it.  It was too jumbled for my tastes.  I liked the history, the recipes and the reviews of different places, but each chapter was way too short to really get the point across.  We were reading about wings in New York when way too soon we were down in Tennessee learning about hot chicken.  It was just little snippets of everything mashed together.  And while some of it was interesting, it just didn't feel thorough.  But it was a quick read.

I'll still read more of the series because I like anything involving food.  And there were some neat stories in this one.  But I think he could have really made this into something special.  Although he did make me want to infuse honey with rosemary.

Fried Chicken: An American Story
Copyright 2004
180 pages

The Muffin Tin Cookbook by Brette Sember and Melinda Boyd

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

I take forever to review cookbooks, mainly because I like to try as many recipes as I can possibly stand before reviewing. To date (1/22/2013) I have made 42 of the 200 recipes in this cookbook. And I would say that I would give this cookbook a 3.5 to 4 star rating.

The main concept of this book is that everything is cooked/prepared in a muffin tin. This requires three different sizes of muffin tins; mini, regular & jumbo. It should be noted that you could probably get away with just one size of muffin tin but in doing so would sacrifice the calorie counts the cookbook author has provided. Even so, three muffin tins for 200 recipes isn't a bad figure for equipment needed for a cookbook. There's also a short introduction in the book that explains the muffin tin sizes and a little section on liners as well. This section also includes using pie crusts and crescent rolls in the muffin pans (how to prepare them). It also explains the Nutritional Analysis charts and the little leaf icon that notes a healthy recipe.

The first chapter of the book is the appetizer section. The scallop bites were easy to make and had a distinctive Asian flavor. I felt a little foolish making individual scallops in a tin as they are pretty easy to separate out for a calorie count though. The spiral snacks too were hard to wrap my brain around muffin tinning, but they had a good taste, despite the gigantic mess they made in preparation. Mushroom Stuffed Brien in Croute was great right out of the oven, but didn't reheat well. And the Crab Dip Cups had a strong hint of horseradish but everything else had a moderate flavor. A real standout in this section was the Hot Nuts. They were a favorite appetizer at the family Thanksgiving and only had three ingredients.

Breakfast was the next section and even though I'm not a big breakfast fan, I ended up making several of the recipes in this chapter. The Egg Crescent Pockets were a good concept, but following the directions exactly (and yes the oven was the appropriate temp) yielded eggs that had a plasticky texture to the top of them. Luckily, the Ham and Egg Cups turned out ok and were tasty, yet simple to make. Coffee Cakes were light, simple, but not overly abundant on flavor. The Denver Omelets tasted like a mini quiche and were a quick recipe. The first recipe I ever made out of this book was the Apple-Granola Yogurt cups which were tasty, but definitely required a fork to eat. I did try the book's method for baking hardboiled eggs and it turned out successful. No harder to peel than a boiled hardboiled egg either.

Chapter three was Beef and Pork and while I'm not a big beef eater, I did try a few of the recipes in here. Meatballs in Spaghetti Nests were time consuming but they tasted good and had a unique concept of making a noodle dish. Bur-Ogies involved meat and pierogies but the amount called for wasn't enough to encase the pierogie in the meat. And the taste was only so-so. Finally, the Cheeseburger Pies were easy to make, but tasted like a cheap fast food cheeseburger despite using premium mustard, ketchup, etc.

Chicken and Turkey was next. The Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie was one of the recipes I tried here and it had an interesting mix of flavors, but I found it a little too sweet. The Chicken Parmesan also had that noodle bowl technique, but was bland and very messy. There was also the Chicken with Caper and Dill Sauce that I thought was too lemony and the chicken too dry. It seemed an odd thing to make in a muffin cup and I think that because it was cooked in the muffin cup with few other ingredients, that's what made the chicken so dry. A waste of liners on that particular recipe. Mango Tandoori chicken, by contrast, was delicious. It was time consuming to make, but worth the extra effort. Likewise, the Chicken Coron Bleu had a very good flavor. The Chicken Fettucine returned to the noodle cups but this time did it justice with a great mix of flavors and creaminess.

Chapter Five is seafood and that just seems a very odd thing to cook in a muffin tin to me. I tried the Shrimp and Pesto in Phyllo and it was moderately successful though with few ingredients. The Crab Cakes were a good idea, but I noticed as I was mixing it up that the mixture was too soupy and had to add more bread crumbs than called for. The creamy shrimp in puff pastry was messy and light on taste and not a particular recipe that I'd recommend.

Chapter Six is where the carbs seemed to be located. Titled Potatoes, Rice, Pizza and Pasta it had the hearty fare. I tried making the Duchess Potatoes which were like fancy mashed potatoes but extremely messy when trying to eat. And the Hearty Deep Dish pizzas were good despite their very doughy texture. Maple Sweet Potato and Kale had a good flavor for the sweet potato, but the kale turned out more like dried out kale chips (and not the good kind) rather than a nice side dish. The Yorkshire puddings tasted of grease and didn't have a whole lot of flavor otherwise. The last dish in the chapter, Shrimp Risotto, was a favored dish at New Years and while it was a tad bland, it cooked very nicely in the muffin tins.

Vegetables! The Cauliflower Gratin here had an excellent flavor. This is good because the very next recipe was a dud with the Cherry Tomato Cups just tasting like spaghetti sauce. The Roasted Swiss Chard didn't roast well in the cups and was light on flavor. But then the Zesty Corn Cups were full of flavor and easy to make. I've just started eating brussels sprouts this year and the Brussels Sprouts Cups weren't bad. I doubled the sauce though and they were still kind of dry. I might recommend tripling the sauce on those. I also liked the Smashed Pea Cups which were different but quick to make and nice and cheesy. The Green Beans and Mushrooms tasted good and almost seemed garlicky, despite not having garlic directly in them.

Muffins and Breads is chapter eight. I made the Pizza Muffins and was tired of them after eating one. They were dry and didn't hold a lot of flavor. The Irish Brown Bread Squares (well round for me, I didn't bother buying a square muffin tin) tasted like regular Irish brown bread. I was really excited for the Mango Coconut Muffins, but sadly they weren't very flavorful. They mostly tasted like flour with a hint of coconut and no mango flavor at all. The Buckwheat Pear Muffins though did ok on flavor, although a tiny bit more sweetener could have been used.

The last chapter, Desserts, is not one I used much. I'm just not much for sweet things. I did like the Poppy Seed Cupcakes. They were nice and light and airy with a delicious flavor. The poppy seed really came through. The Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Oreo Frosting made good use of a cookie. The frosting was the best part and I'm not even a frosting person. And the Hot Chocolate Muffins were popular at work, but they were extremely messy to eat.

The reason I'm rating this book in the four star range rather than at a flat three star range is probably because of its convenience for dieters and calorie counters. Since every recipe tells how many calories there are per tin, it makes it extremely easy to know what you're eating. Likewise, these can be individually frozen for the busy person to take out and eat later and makes it even easier to make ahead and have a variety of meals later on. So even though there are a lot of so-so recipes here, for someone who's not as obsessed with food as I am, it would be a convenient book to cook out of. Especially considering none of the recipes take a particular amount of skill. Your average cook would be just fine with this book and a beginner might only have a little trouble.

Ingredient availability for the recipes in here is pretty good. In fact, you buy one thing for a recipe and you can almost guarantee that there is another recipe you can use the leftovers in. This happened for me several times with items like pie crust, pepperoni, and certain cheeses. The ingredients also aren't that premium (excepting seafood of course) and I'd say that while not a budget cookbook, it certainly isn't an expensive one either.

My biggest complaints about the book though would have to be its format. For one, all the pictures are in a section in the middle which I detest. Either have them with the recipes or not at all. I don't enjoy flipping back and forth to try to look at things. Then there's the binding with the book. I haven't had this book for even a year yet and it's coming apart. Granted I've used it almost exclusively the past few months, but even so, most of the pages are loose and just shoved in where I could get to them later and at this point, only half the pages are still attached to the binding. I sent a three hole punch is in this books future. Which is a shame, because there really isn't an excuse for having that problem in a cookbook. Of course, even when the binding was intact you couldn't open this book to a recipe and lay it out flat. The tight binding would automatically close the book unless you lay something on each side to hold the pages down.

Great for dieters and it does have a lot of unique ideas, this is a decent book. I probably wouldn't refer back to it repeatedly, but there still are a few recipes left in there that I might give a try.

The Red Hat Society Eat Dessert First Cookbook

**I have made 25 of the recipes in this book**

This is quite the decadent cookbook. And with the holidays rolling around there is always plenty of room on the table for dessert. This book has quite a few fabulous recipes in it, and most are quite easy to make as well.

As most people know, the Red Hat Society is a club for ladies who primarily dress in purple and red and hats. And I'm sure there's more to it than that, but I honestly don't know much beyond that. Except that these ladies can cook, and that this book puts dessert before everything else.

There are several sections to this book. The first is "Cakes for Every Occasion". The Raw Apple Cake is the first recipe in the book and it was interesting, but it did turn out rather dense, so it was a filling type of cake. The Best Ever Coconut Pound Cake was ok, but didn't actually taste coconutty, and the recipe for glaze that came with it made entirely too much. But then there was the Peanut Butter Sheet Cake. Oh my goodness. This was about one of the most fabulous cakes I've had, and I usually prefer my peanut butter spicy as compared to sweet. Then there was the Double Delicious Banana Cake. It was good, but quite messy and the batter only made enough for 2 layers, instead of the three that it called for. A time consuming recipe in this book was the Mexican Chocolate Cake, but it was entirely worth it. There's something about a mix of spices and chocolate that is a great favorite of mine. Claire's Lavender and Lemon Cake was ok, but I didn't find it remarkable or overly note-worthy. The only real disappointment in this chapter was the German Black Forest Cake and that's because it was mostly put together from canned and boxed ingredients and it just tasted fake to me.

The next section was "Savory Cheesecakes and Pies". I made the Mini Surprise Cheesecakes to take into work and they were very popular. And for a cheesecake they weren't that hard to make either. Then there was the Fresh Blueberry Cream Pie. I greatly enjoyed this. It was definitely fresh tasting. The Strawberry pie was also delicious.

Which leads us to "Pastry Delights". I made the Cranberry-Maple Nut Scones in this section and they were amazing. Light, flaky, and filled with great ingredients, I could probably eat these for breakfast every day. The Sun Parlor Coffee Cake was also good, and another hit at work. As was the Mom's Neverl-Fail Sour Cream Coffee Cake. And they were so easy to make. The Strawberry Orange Muffins were another good breakfast item.

"Munchable Cookies" was a favored section of mine, just because cookies are so quick to make. The sugar cookies were very good, and I used some almond flour in them to really amp up the flavor, they turned out great even with the substitution. The Chocolate Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies were also very yummy and easy to make. The Chocolate Chips Cookies Plus tasted ok, but were quite crumbly for eating. I'm intrigued by crispy cookies so when I tried the Crispy Oatmeal cookies I was pleasantly surprised to find out they tasted good and still didn't involve a lot of labor to make. The Molasses Cookies though I wouldn't waste my time on again, they were just kind of blah in taste. The Southern Shortbread Cookies were popular, and I added a bit of Amaretto for a kick. And the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies I can't say I enjoyed the texture on. They might have tasted ok, but they were kind of gummy.

"Mouthwatering Bars and Luscious Brownies" was a chapter I didn't delve into too far. It had all the standards though. The Apple Nut Squares tasted healthy, and they were easy to make. The Blonde Brownies tasted ok, but they were rather dry.

Next chapter was "Old-Fashioned Favorites". I made the Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce and it was ok, but not something I'd make again. They had other interesting sounding recipes in the chapter though that I haven't tried yet, like Rice Pudding and Fondue.

"Frozen Delights" was a chapter I did not get into. But there were recipes for ice cream or recipes involving ice cream, like Baked Alaska.

Which brings us to "A Medley of Other Sweet Pleasures". This is a mish mash of all types of desserts, and I only read through a little bit in this chapter. But there are puddings, bread puddings, cobblers, etc.

"Brittles, Truffles and Assorted Candies" is exactly as it sounds. There are even numerous types of fudge in this section. I made the Fleming Fudge and it didn't set up right for me, but I was living at a high altitude at the time which could have had an influence.

The last section was "Thirst-Satisfying Beverages" and I didn't make anything from this chapter. Nothing particularly stood out for me but there are punches galore and even an eggnog recipe in this section.

Technically speak this book does a good job on measurements and baking times. There were only a few that I had trouble with, and one of those could have been due to the high altitude. So a beginner cook could probably be quite successful using this book. Everything is clearly spelled out.

The book was put together beautifully. Great big pictures that are well done for a good portion of the recipes. And throughout the book are pictures and stories from different Red Hat Society Club Members, which would probably be appealing for someone who is a member. I kind of just ignored them. The index is easy to use and each recipe is credited to the lady that submitted it. This would be a great book for someone in this club or someone who enjoys making desserts.

Taste of Home Baking Book

This review is from the Amazon Vine Program.

**I have made 19 of the recipes in this book**

Alright, I've sat on this book for a year without reviewing it. And why is that? Because I tell myself I have to make a certain number of recipes before I can review a cookbook, and since I'm a single person, I can't make something every day or I wouldn't fit out my apartment door. But that day has finally come and I wanted to make known what a terrific book this is.

You'll notice that this is quite a large book, set up in a binder format so that it can lay flat. There are two plastic covers that come with it, that you can set over a page to protect it from splatter. I'm too lazy to use them, but they seem like a good idea. Next, the inside covers have food equivalents and substitutions tables on them. This is almost my favorite part because it is so handy. Then we get into the actual book itself.

The first tab is baking basics and this is just a short section explaining methods, measuring tools, what kind of bakeware you should have, and the difference between eggs sizes and other such things. For someone who's new to the world of baking (or an expert who may not know a couple of things) this chapter is very useful. But enough about that, on to the food!

The first section is cookies and because cookies are easy to make, this is where I spent most of my time. The Cherry Pecan Dreams were pretty good and the Butter Wafers were easy to make and turned out light and crispy, as they should have been. Next, the Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies were also delicious. But then there was the Chocolate Chunk Shortbread which was terrible and not very good tasting at all. Luckily, that was one of the only not so good things in this section. Further into the chapter, the Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies were addicting, and I'm pretty sure that I ate the majority of them myself. The Orange Cinnamon Chocolate Chips Cookies were unique and I shared them at work where they were scarfed down instantly. And despite having made these cookies, there were much much more in this chapter that I haven't yet had the chance to make but am excited to try, like the Walnut Crescents.

The next chapter was Bars & Brownies. This section is a little shorter, but not by much, there are quite a few bars and brownies to be had. The Caramel Pecan Bars were easy to make, but a little overly sweet. But the Triple Nut Diamonds were faintly reminiscent of Pecan Pie and not hard to make despite looking complex. The Toffee Bars were also easy to make and tasted very good. I will say I wish I had made the Tiramisu bars already, they look delicious! It will definitely be on the list to try soon.

Cakes I didn't really get into that much. I'm not much of a cake eater, nor do I enjoy making them. They have about every cake and frosting you could think of listed in this section though, so if you do like cake, I'm sure you'll find something here.

Cupcakes are kind of like cakes, I don't find myself being drawn to make them either. But this was also a very small section compared to the rest so it may have just been that none caught my fancy. There are some Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes that might be good for the holidays though.

Cheesecake I can't stand, I've only ever made it for other people who like it (and I'm beginning to sound like I don't like sweets at all from the last three chapters, I do, really, I'm just picky about sweets). They certainly have some exotic sounding cheesecakes in this chapter though, like the Pina Colada Cheesecake or the Mexican Cheesecake (yes there are some savory ones listed).

The Pies and Tarts section is especially timely for the holidays. The Never Fail Pie Crust is definitely a recipes that someone who always has troubles with crusts (like me) should use. It was easy to make and use and tasted just fine for the pies in this chapter. For Thanksgiving last year, I made the Vermont Maple Oatmeal Pie which was definitely unique and enjoyed by the family and the Ginger Streusel Pumpkin Pie, which was a fancy take on the classic and probably the best loved pie at the holiday. I do have to say that I may make the Black Forest Tart for the holidays this year, it looks sinfully delicious.

The next section's title always makes me laugh because it's titled desserts. I thought that was everything in this book, but apparently not. There are a lot of cream puffs in this section, but I haven't yet made any of them. I have however made the Strawberry Pizza, which was among the favored desserts that I took into the workplace this year. And best of all, it was simple to make. The Banana Brown Betty was also easy to make, but turned out mushy and the taste was only ok. I think Brown Betty's should probably stick to other fruit.

I love Quick Breads. Easy, no time to rise, and usually delicious, they're great to take to potlucks or as a contribution to a group dinner. And there are several in this chapter that were successful. Like the Chocolate Zucchini Bread and the Lemon Bread, which had a light lemon flavor and a somehow dense yet light at the same time texture. The Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread was also nice, and had a cake-like texture to it. The Coconut loaf was a good idea too, but it was a little too dense in texture. I do wish I would have tried some of the savory quick breads in this chapter, but just haven't gotten to it yet. The Amish Onion Cake looks amazing.

Muffins, Biscuits and Scones is the next chapter in this giant of a book. I actually haven't tried anything from this section yet, and I'm not sure why. There's a bunch of different savory and sweet muffins, biscuits and scones in here. And the Pepperoni-Olive ones especially sound like a good snack.

Yeast Breads is a good section too. I actually like the process of kneading dough, it's a great way to get frustrations out. I actually made the Vermont Honey-Wheat bread the other day and it tasted just as a honey wheat should. Although it did take some very pricey ingredients like maple syrup and honey and a good amount at that. Still, it was perfect when toasted and slathered with peanut butter. The Pepper Cheese bread was good too, although a tad crumbly. And there are so much more in here, like the No-Knead Harvest Bread, that I would definitely like to try. There's even recipes for stromboli in this section.

The next section is Coffee Cakes and Sweet Rolls. As I scan this section I'm beginning to realize that I haven't really made it through this book much at all. There's just so much here! From doughnuts to sticky buns, it's a large section.

Almost Homemade I must admit that I largely ignored. I don't like using packaged mixes and that's what the majority of this is. Sure it's convenient, just not my style. In a book filled with so many other good things, this is just a section I'd avoid.

Trimmed Down Favorites is a section for those who want to indulge without killing their waistlines. The Makeover Frosted Banana Bars were really good and easy to make, but alas, I like full fat so they're the only thing I made in this section. They did have some gluten-free in this section as well though.

The last chapter is Holiday Classics and while I consider this all to be Holiday foods, Taste of Home gets specific. Nearly every holiday is represented here, from Christmas to Halloween to Easter. There's even St. Patty's day cupcakes.

And we end the book at the indices, which are general and alphabetical and a lot easier to find certain things than flipping through the book is. There's just so many recipes that it makes it hard to find things otherwise. Especially when you can have up to four per page. But even with that many recipes, there are still pictures of some of them on every page, which is nice. I like to compare what I make to the pictures to see if I did it right.

I really like this book and refer to it often if making something to share at work or at a group meal. Things are simple to make and understand, the instructions easy to work with, and the food more often than not delicious. Also, most of the ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store. It can be overwhelming at times due to its sheer size and amount of recipes, but I try not to let it intimidate me too much. If you're a big fan of desserts or just like to bake this is probably the book for you. In fact, it might be the only one you need because of everything in it.

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, you also get a free year's subscription to Taste of Home magazine, which was a nice little surprise to come with the book.

Review by M. Reynard 2012

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

Ok, for the moment I'm going to ignore the fact that the way this book is tied in to the Hunger Games series is to regurgitate different quotes and situations from the book, find a relatable food and go from there. I'm going to look at it from it's stance as a cookbook, and the food that you prepare from it. We'll get into the whole Hunger Games thing later.

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook has 9 chapters and an appendix. The appendix is largely a listing of herbs. There are also acknowledgements and an index and an About the Author section.

The first chapter, Breakfast of Champions, is just what you'd expect it to be. A chapter about breakfast foods. There are such sundries as orange muffins with sweet preserves to a Sumptuous Sausage Sunrise dish. The Fearfully Fried Potatoes (and yes I realize exactly how cheesy the dish names are) were standard fried potatoes. In fact, I was scratching my head a little at why they were included in this cookbook. The Orange Muffins with Sweet Preserves I made as well, and they were very very sweet. The texture was not muffin like though, but more like a very dense cake. The preserves made to go with it filled the equivalent of a regular sized jelly jar, and was way too much to go with the muffins, unless you made ten batches of muffins. The Fruit Frenzy was actually pretty good, but then again it was just a fixture of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and pineapple. Which is very standard. Cheese Souffle for the Spoiled Snackers was a light dish, and it had a decent taste, but wasn't really something that was sought after in my house. I do have to say that the Cheesy Meaty Hash Brown Casserole was very good and very easy to make.

Chapter 2 outlines bread, which in the Hunger Games is kind of important, so it's a large chapter. It even has a recipe for bread involving seaweed. I didn't really try too much from this chapter, I already have favored recipes for some of the breads included in here, and I'm not much of a bread eater. I did try Katniss's Craved Cheese Buns, but found them very sweet for a dish that was incorporating cheese.

Chapter three involved soups, stews and salads. A Wild Dog stew is including in this listing, but let's face it, who is going to actually get a wild dog to make the stew (even if it does say you can substitute beef). I made the Raging Wild Mushroom Ragout, and while it was simple to make it didn't have a lot of flavor. I also had to add some noodles to it, because on it's own, it just wasn't the meal that the author claimed it was. Rue's roasted parsnips were very time consuming and the reward for all that time spent was a very light flavored dish that wasn't worth it.

Chapter Four is entitled Humble Beginnings and is the chapter for small dishes. To me these could be considered sides or appetizers. The Creamy Bashed Potatoes confused me, I couldn't figure out why they were called bashed when all it was was mashed potatoes. The Capitol Creamy Spinach Fettuccine, like most dishes in this book, didn't have a lot of flavor. And The Propos Grilled Cheese Sandwich was a regular grilled cheese, nothing special about it.

Chapter Five was all about seafood. It was probably the shortest chapter and I only tried one dish, the Spicy Seafood Gumbo, which was actually pretty good, but very very spicy and might not be able to be handled by those who don't like their foot that hot.

Chapter 6 was titled Don't Call Me Chicken, Poultry Dishes for the Brave. There were a lot of recipes in this chapter, but surprisingly, most just didn't jump out at me. I made the Monterey Jack Cheese, Bacon, and Green Chili Stuffed Turkey Breasts, and surprise surprise, it was bland. I also noticed that the cooktime was way off for the dish too. I used think pieces and it still took much longer to cook than the recipe said it would.

Chapter 7 covered meat as well, this time in Lamb, Beef and Pork. And for such a large selection of dishes that can be made from these items, this was a shorter chapter as well. I did make the Beef Strips from the Backpack and it wasn't too bad. At the very least, it was easy to make.

Chapter 8 is the controversial one. The Wild Game section. Let's forget for a moment that most people just don't have access to this kind of meat (unless they want to scrape it off of the road), this is a chapter that most people would just avoid out of principle. But I'm up to new things, if I ever find a way to obtain a beaver, or tree rat, or whatever, I might give the recipes in here a try. There are some venison recipes, which is somewhat easier to obtain.

The last chapter is Desserts and this chapter was all over the place. I made the Harvest Heirloom Apple Cake and it didn't use the 6 apples it called for. In fact, had I used them the cake wouldn't have held together. So I used half as much and the cake turned out ok and even rose nicely. The Baker's Secret Banana Bread was a standard recipe, but it tasted good and was also easy to make. I think my favorite recipe out of this book was the Brown Sugar Shortbread, it had a very nice taste. The Sweet Sugar Cookies from a Sweetie made a ton more cookies than the 1 dozen the book said it would (and I make big cookies even) but they tasted ok. The same applied to the Big Softie Ginger Cookies. Then came the Opportunistic Strawberry Bread. It turned out horribly. I could tell going into it that it wasn't going to turn out right, but I persevered thinking the author knew what they were talking about. It was dry and crumbly and not bread like at all. It disintegrated when you went to pick up a piece.

So there were ups and downs through the whole book, and the bottom line is, I couldn't see myself returning to this cookbook very much. Most of the recipes just weren't worth the effort or produced weird results. I don't want to have to 2nd guess a cookbook on ingredients and whether or not the author knows what they are doing. I was also confused about who this cookbook was market towards. Obviously it's for fans of the Hunger Games series, but when you look at the recipes they range from wildly complicated to extremely simple, with no rhyme or reason. And that just didn't work for me. If I'm using a cookbook for a souffle I don't want to turn the next page to see how to make a grilled cheese. I think it would have been better to stick with the simple recipes since this is a cookbook geared towards young adults because of the series. At least then it would know what it was instead of having an identity crisis.

So now I'll weigh in on how the book ties to the series. It's awkward. There are little snippets on every page and the titles of some of the recipes are just so hokey that I have to roll my eyes. It was as if the author tried too hard to make it line up exactly and overdid it. I enjoyed the book series and was kind of excited to see the cookbook, but now after having had it for a few months, I'm a little sorry it's sitting on my shelf. I just think that the book could have been more graceful than it was in relating to the series.

Not something I'll refer to often, that's for sure. There just aren't enough recipes that interest me or that I'm confident will actually turn out ok. There are a few good ones, but not enough to warrant promoting the book.

The Food52 Cookbook by Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine Program**

Food52 is a food blog, but now is a cookbook, filled with recipes from different cooks. And I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. Almost all the recipes turned out fantastic, although there were a few duds. It is a higher end, tougher cookbook; but I think that it would appeal to a wide range of people.

To date (4/1/2012) I have made 22 of the 140 recipes within this cookbook.

This book is separated into seasons. Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring, based on the ingredients available during the season and the general theme of food. As said before, a good portion of these ingredients are higher end. So this isn't a budget cookbook, nor is it a quick fix cookbook.

At the front of the book is actually a bonus chapter, known as the test run that has three recipes. I haven't tried either, but they seem simple enough, although the one calls for an obscene amount of butter. They include a salad, pasta dish, and a dessert.

Summer:

The first recipe in this section is the Summer Corn Chowder. This is one of the ones I've made and it was extremely good. The removal of the corn from the cob took a little time, but otherwise it wasn't a complicated dish to make. It just took a little time. The Blueberry-Coconut Muffins were also extremely good, with healthful ingredients, and were a quick mix to stir up. They'd probably be good with another kind of berry as well. Daddy's Carbonara was interesting, because of the use of eggs. But it tasted good and it didn't require a lot of prep work. I do think it could have used a touch more seasoning. A snack of Rosemary Thyme Pita chips was simple to make, although I found peeling apart the pita layers much more difficult than the book would leave me to believe. But they tasted much better than any pita chip you could find in a bag at a store. For cookies, the Zucchini-Lemon Cookies were very healthy tasting and almost made you feel like you were getting away with something even though you were having a cookie. Another dessert, the Simple Summer Peach Cake, was enjoyed by my coworkers, but it was kind of dry and crumbly. For another Zucchini Dish, the Zucchini Pancakes did not turn out well at all. I had an inkling at the beginning that they wouldn't hold together based on the ingredients and I was right. The taste was a little bland too. The Eggplant Parmesan was another one of those failed recipes for me. It was complicated to make and definitely not worth the time it took. It wasn't very flavorful.

There were plenty of other recipes from ribs, to fried chicken, to other things, and I definitely plan on trying some more of these dishes. They fit the Summer theme well and I imagine the vast majority of them are tasty.

Fall:

I absolutely loved the Savory Bread Pudding. It was easy to make and with the mushrooms and gruyere cheese, it was definitely savory. I really enjoyed it. Continuing with the mushroom theme, the Creamy Mushroom Soup was delicious as well, although it was quite time consuming to make. A great snack was the Smoky Fried Chickpeas. They didn't last very long because they were so good though. I didn't really enjoy the Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce. It sounded so delicious but was quite plain and took a long time to make. It should be forewarned that the Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies will keep you up all night if you eat too many of them. I speak from experience. I do have to say, as delicious as they were they would have been great with some dried cherries added in. The Southwestern Spiced Sweet Potato Fries with Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream turned out some fantastic fries, but the sour cream dip was not very good. I ended up using ranch dressing instead.

There's once again some great recipes I haven't yet got to try in this chapter. I look forward to some of the heavier meat dishes, like the Rib-Eye with a chocolate sauce. It just sounds intriguing.

Winter:

Lentil and Sausage Soup for a Cold Winter's Night was exactly that. Perfect for a colder day. It was heartier healthier fare. It did take awhile to make though. Moving on to the Roasted Bagna Cauda Broccoli, I just wasn't impressed. The flavors, despite having somewhat bold ingredients, weren't very strong. The Creamy Sausage Stuff Mushrooms were easy to make and had a fantastic flavor. I liked the use of Asiago cheese in the filling.

I have to admit, there just weren't as many recipes that intrigued me in this chapter. There were a couple of seafood recipes that would probably be good. But I didn't really see the heartier fare that I expected. There also weren't as many desserts in this chapter either, as compared to the others.

Spring:

The Chewy Sugar Cookies were not very flavorful, but they were easy to make. A great spring ingredient is asparagus, and the Absurdly Addictive Asparagus is extremely good. I loved the pancetta that was mixed in with it. It was even easy to make. Pasta with Prosciutto, Snap Peas, Mint and Cream was also another wonderful dish. And again, east to make and a quick fix. The Maple Yogurt Pound Cake has been voted the best baked good I have brought into work thus far. It was just moist enough, and had great flavor. My mom is the connoisseur of Creamy Cucumber dishes, and the Creamy Cucumber Side is one of the best she's ever had.

I haven't tried too many recipes from this section yet, but I'm eager to. Since we're just getting into spring I look forward to trying more of these. Especially the Caramelized Pork Bahn Mi, it just looks delicious.

So overall everything in this book was very good. Its rare to find a cookbook that has every recipe turn out perfect or be tasty, so the few that aren't are acceptable. I do think that the expensive or odd ingredients might make it difficult to make some of the recipes, or turn more strictly down-home type of cooks off. Because some of them can be hard to obtain, and my family didn't even know what a good portion of them were (porchetta, Sriracha, etc.). So this book is definitely more of an adventurous culinary trip.

The layout of the book is nice. Despite having a hard back cover, it sets open easily enough. The recipes are easy to read with a large enough font, and almost every recipe has a picture. Some even have some preparation pictures the ones that are taken are quite beautiful and make the food look delicious. I do have to complain though about the way the recipes are sorted. Since its by seasons I didn't expect desserts, main dishes, etc. to be in separate chapters. But I at least expected them to be organized within the chapters themselves. This book had a week type structure, but I think it would have been better served to have everything separated by type of food within the chapters. I didn't enjoy flipping one page from a main dish, to the next to a dessert, to a side dish, back to a main dish, another dessert, etc. It just makes it harder to find things as I'm not one for really looking at the appendices or table of contents.

I do like this book, and its definitely deserving of a permanent position on my cookbook shelf. I plan to refer back to it again, especially for some of the recipes I have already tried, like the chickpeas and a few others. They seem to be good standbys with great flavor.

Super Suppers Cookbook by Judie Byrd

As of 2/3/12 I have made 36 recipes from this book.

Ok, this is your average cookbook. I actually don't know too much about the Super Suppers franchise, but from this book I'm assuming its one of those make ahead and freeze type of places. Which, judging by this book, its only part of the goal of this book, because there were a good many recipes that you could neither make ahead, or freeze after done. I'm not saying that the book is all bad, but its probably not what someone would expect who is a Super Suppers franchise.

The book is broke up into many sections; Tips & Techniques, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Seafood, Vegetarian, Bread Grain & Rice, Salads, Vegetables & Fruit, and Desserts. The tips section mainly involved how to peel, grate, and cut things and a few other cooking techniques.

The next section was Beef. Most of these recipes ranged from the common, to a few exotic dishes. A surprising favorite was Steak Soup. It was a huge hit with the family. The Asian Beef and Vegetable Wraps were good, but didn't really work the way the book said they would and were a bit of a mess to eat. The Cranberry Sweet and Sour Meatballs, were a little on the sweet side, but a good quick meal. Sadly the meatloaf was a greasy mess. Now the Swedish Meatballs, those were worth having again. They were absolutely delicious.

For Pork there were quite a lot of chops on the menu. And I actually haven't really made any of the chops but rather focused on some of the other things in the chapter. The Ham and Corn Chowder was very creamy and very good. I would make it again. Likewise with the Baked Potato Soup. For Sweet and Sour Pork, I also found the recipe easy to make and delicious. The Jambalaya wasn't spicy at all and was very good.

Poultry had some hits in it too. The Amish Chicken and Rice was easy to make but extremely bland. The Chicken Dijon was also pretty bland, and I wouldn't waste my time making it again. Now the Maple-Mustard Chicken was very good, and the Parmesan chicken was good too, even if it did reheat soggy. Sadly the Thai Chicken Wings were a good idea, but again, bland.

Seafood was kind of a bummer chapter. The Crab & Artichoke Pasta was something that sounded delicious, and actually wasn't very delicious. The Seafood Divan though was very good, although the whitefish was a little soggy and not as appetizing. I did like the Shrimp Scampi, the sauce was tasty. The Shrimp in Cheese Sauce might have been good, but it burned very easy, and that trashed the dish. While the Shrimp Stir-Fry was too salty to be good. There were also recipes for crab cakes and other dishes, but I haven't gotten around to those yet.

Vegetarian dishes of course involve a lot of pasta and egg dishes. Pretty common fare. I made the Chinese Noodles but they were very faint on taste, but they were easy to make. I did like the Caesar Pasta Salad, although I had to add a lot more dressing to made the taste strong enough. The same was true with the Hot Orzo Salad, although it did have a strong lemon flavor.

Bread, Grain & Rice is kind of an odd chapter. Not something I'd expect to see in a book like this actually. But it had a couple good things to make. The Spanish Rice I actually made with duck stock instead of chicken, but it was still good, but took way longer to cook than the book said it was. The Stuffed Greek Bread was absolutely amazing. I plan on making it again. There were some cheesy biscuits that were pretty easy to make and they tasted good, not Red Lobster's by any means, but it still rated pretty high.

I never delve much into the salad part of books. Salads to me are just throwing together what you have in the fridge. But I did make a few things. One of those things was the Steamed Broccoli Salad with Pine Nuts and Raisins, which was good, but I didn't care for the nuts and raisins in it. The Spinach Salad was wonderful too though and the Maple Vinaigrette that went with it was spectacular. The maple definitely came through.

Vegetables and Fruit. Well that's just what it sounded like. The Incredible Baked Beans were incredible. Just as good as any fancy ones you'd get in a can, and probably healthier. The Potatoes Cordon Blue were also very good, but kind of watery despite it being cooked for longer than it called for. Everyone's probably made Roasted Vegetables, and this was a pretty standard recipe, but I do think they tasted just the way they should have. I also liked the Spinach with Lemon and Parmesan, unusual flavors that came together well. Unfortunately, the Baked Asparagus with cheese was somewhat tasteless.

And finally we come to desserts. I'm not really a dessert person, but other people like it, so I make it for them. And they liked the ones out of here. The No-Bake Chocolate Cookies were good, but took almost two days to set up correctly. The Hello Dolly Bars were delicious, but a bit overly sweet. And lastly, the Bread Pudding was simple to make and tasted much like the normal recipes.

My biggest complaint about this book is the way its binding. After only a few uses the pages started falling out. And it didn't lay flat on the counter which also made it hard to use. I ended up punching holes in it and tied it together with string to hold it together. It works, but I shouldn't have had to do that.

So the overall thing to take from this book was that things were extremely easy to make, but often bland and required quite a bit more seasoning to make them worth eating. There were some stand-outs though, and this is a good book for a busy person as it does offer the tips for making ahead. I can't say its something I would refer back to very often, but it does have a few recipes that I would make again. Its standard fare, with a few twists, and its a book for the whole family to enjoy.

In The Small Kitchen by Cara Eisenpress

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

Recipes Tried (8.17.2011):20 of 100

Ah, another cookbook based off a blog. Filled with stories and anecdotes along with recipes. I should learn by now that these aren't really to my taste but I always hope that the recipes will be more than enough to make up for the other stuff I must sift through. I'm not going to say this is a bad cookbook by any means, but I won't say it is excellent either.

The two authors of this cookbook are friends, who, as they grew up, moved to college, and beyond took their friendship to the kitchen. The express their love of cooking, their mistakes and their successes. They also share dinner party tricks and tips and other sundry items and stories. I have to confess that I wasn't very fond of their stories; like most personal anecdotes I read in cookbooks its probably great for those who known them, but to the stranger it can be hard to connect.

There are several chapters including Getting Started, which doesn't have recipes but rather is a how-to and pantry stock of sorts. Next chapter is Cooking for One, which as it sounds is cooking for one. Despite it being named this however, many of the recipes could easily be shared, at least the ones I tried. I have tried the Peas for One, which was good but made quite a bit. The Spinach Pie Quesadilla, which really wasn't anything special which is the same comments I have for the Swiss Chard Frittata. The Yogurt Carbonara was quick to make but really not so excellent as well. The Soft Scrambled Eggs and Gooey Grilled Cheese Sandwich were both things that are pretty standard and basic to make. I did really like Phoebe's Pesto Panino and thought it had a great mix of flavors. In the soups range, I did try the My Mother's Garlic Soup which for the amount of garlic it had in it, had surprisingly little taste.

The next chapter focuses on Potlucks and has all sorts of dishes you can make and share with your friends (and drinks). It was a smaller chapter, but I did try the Fusilli with Pomodoro Fresco which had a good sauce but wouldn't stick to the noodles for some reason (could be my error). I also tried the Sexy-Ugly Onion Tart which was pretty good but could have been spiced up a little bit. The pie crust recipe that accompanied the tart turned out a really good buttery crust.

Cocktail Parties was next and as expected a lot of finger foods and dips enveloped this chapter. My first stop was the Noodles with BGSK Peanut Sauce that I absolutely loved but couldn't figure out why it was in a cocktail party section. The White Bean and Rosemary Dip I made was good and very popular at our family reunion, but at the same token the Black bean Dip didn't go as well as it was insanely spicy. There are some empanada and drink recipes in this chapter too that I can't wait to try.

Dating and Food came next and it contained an array of different types of foods for different types of the day. I haven't tried too much in this section yet, but the Plain Jane Pancakes tasted ok but didn't cook evenly even in my cast-iron skillet. I can't tell if the fault lied within my ingredients being bad or the ratio of ingredients being off. The Barbecued Lentils were surprisingly good and filling and definitely something I would consider making again. However I would have to give myself plenty of advanced notice as they were somewhat time consuming.

Brunch contained just what it sounds like, Brunch recipes. There actually aren't very many recipes in this chapter (5) and I haven't tried any of them yet. However, a couple of them are compotes and really, one is kind of a build your own thing so I'm not sure how to really define this chapter.

Giving was a chapter all about desserts. I made quite a few of them. The resignation brownies were ok but didn't have the normal consistency of a brownie. The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies were crispy outside, chewy inside and had great texture, but were only average on taste. The Banana Chocolate Chip Bread was a good idea, but ended up being too sweet for me but easy to make.

The Dinner Party was one of the largest chapters in the book with a myriad of different food options. Most of them are pretty involved and while I would have liked to explore in this chapter more, to date I have only made one recipe, the Provencal Baked Chicken. Like the rest in this chapter it was very involved to make, but tasted wonderful. I can't wait to try more from this chapter of the book.

Leftovers sounds pretty self explanatory. But it's not. Not only do they give you good ideas to use left over foods, they also have recipes for basic condiments such as ketchup. I made the Pesto and it tasted like a standard basil pesto, which is not a bad thing. I also made the Chana Bateta out of several things that could be found in your pantry and was pretty impressed with it as well. It did take some time to make, but the steps were relatively easy.

One Year Closer to Thirty was kind of an odd array of comfort food. I regret to say I've tried nothing in this chapter yet although the White Cheddar Mac and Cheese sounds good as do the cupcakes.

The recipes overall were ok, to me a lot were bland and while I do like a healthy amount of spice in my food, I don't think my taste buds are that crazy. It seemed like almost every recipe I was adding something to it to give it a stronger flavor. The directions were easy to follow and produced what they should have. I guess I just don't really understand who this book is marketed to. Some of the recipes are so easy that it would lead you to believe it is for someone just starting out or learning to cook, but then the ingredients can actually be quite expensive (pesto anyone?) for a college budget or anyone on a limited income. I also don't see many people this age holding dinner parties either (and I am just out of this age). My next thought was that yeah its about their progress through life but to be honest, with the exception of a few classic cookbooks, there aren't many people who return to the same cookbook for a decade so it may not have the same effect on the audience.

This isn't my favorite cookbook but it's not one that I'd recycle either. There's a few good recipes that I would use again and there are a couple still that I look forward to trying out. I guess all I'm trying to say is that there are other books I'd choose before this one.

In the Small Kitchen