LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About Review

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(More customer reviews)I was taught how to cook by numerous relatives(from Georgia, Virginia and New Jersey) and I have had people to tell me that I could throw down with some cooking; but after trying some of Patti's recipes, people were telling me that I need to be a professional caterer! I own tons of recipe books, but this one lives up to Ms. Labelles' reputation as an excellent cook. I cooked for 18 people this christmas; not only did every one on her recipes I tried score a hit: (String beans a labelle, good and cheap pot roast, peach cobbler, over the rainbow macaroni and cheese); Patti enhanced my cooking, just by suggesting everyday ingredients rather than buying some outrageously exotic spices and seasonings. One word of caution, use only some of these recipes for special occasions, cause if you eat this on the regular, you will be on this website looking for a Tae-Bo tape afterwards (cause I'm looking for one now). Here's to REAL SOUL FOOD! THANKS PATTI! :)

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Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours Review

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(More customer reviews)First, what this book is NOT: an introduction to classical French cuisine. Or even modern French cuisine. As Greenspan herself points out in a post at the eGullet forums,
"Here's what the book isn't: It's not Escoffier. It's not Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's not a by-the-rules book. It's not a textbook. It's too personal to be any of those things."
This is a collection of recipes that feels like it comes straight out of Greenspan's kitchen: which means that if your cooking style and tastes run with hers, you will like this book. If they don't, you won't. So despite my four-star rating, that is purely a reflection of how well my cooking style agrees with Ms. Greenspan's. I strongly encourage you to check out the table of contents before clicking "Buy" on this one. There are a lot of braises, including three different recipes for what amount to roast chicken. There are two veal stews, and two beef daubes. If that's the food you like to eat, you would be hard-pressed to find clearer, better-written recipes. Naturally Greenspan is not breaking any new culinary ground here: if you have even a medium-sized cookbook collection, you probably already have most of the recipes she presents. What you probably don't have is the exquisite photography (by Alan Richardson), or the extremely well-written recipe instructions. The production values of this book are very high indeed: I am astonished at how low the price is all things considered.
A few favorite recipes of the dozen or so I've made so far: Chicken Breasts Diable, Veal Marengo, Lamb and Dried Apricot Tagine, and the Chard-Stuffed Pork Roast are all very good. In particular I think that the Lamb and Dried Apricot Tagine would be a wonderful dish for an evening with guests: just exotic enough on the US palate to be different, without being totally out of left field. But all of those dishes would go over very well on a typical US dinner table, and some, like the Chicken Diable, are quick-and-easy weeknight meals.
Pros:
* Exceptionally well-written recipes
* High percentage of excellent dishes
* Fantastic production qualities
Cons:
* Not a "learn to cook French Cuisine" book (it doesn't try to be, though)
* Three roast chickens? Really?

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The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food Review

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(More customer reviews)I've owned this book since it first came out in 1992, and it occupies a special place in my cooking library -- eye-level shelf for easy reach. The salad of tart greens with prosciutto and warm balsamic dressing has been my first course for many outstanding dinner parties, including several on New Year's Eve. Other particular favorites - the lamb, garlic & potato roast, maccheroni with baked grilled vegetables, torta barozzi, and chestnut ricotta cheesecake. Ms. Kasper's outstanding knowledge of this regional Italian cuisine is equally matched by her understanding of how a home chef times and assembles a multi-course meal. I'm now ordering her new book, The Italian Country Table, and hope to be just as impressed.

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Everyday Pasta Review

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(More customer reviews)Giada's third entry into the cookbook theater is as good as her first two, and there seems to be no end to her culinary offerings to us. This time, she immerses herself into the somewhat crazy world of pasta and the many "clothes" it wears. Delicious to say the least!
I have to admit that one of the first things that grabs my attention when looking at cookbooks is its presentation; does it make me want to look at because it invites me with with something comfortable and familiar? Or is it something that jazzes up that same familiar look? With it's sharp, fresh, and detailed photography and simple, yet inviting writing, Giada brings to you a compendium of sorts in her ode to pasta.
She begins her introduction with "The Origins of Pasta" then goes into her "Top 10 Pasta-Cooking Tips" which is followed by "Matching Pasta Shapes to Sauces" (I never really thought of how the shape of the pasta actually influences the flavor depending how it attaches to the shape). The book then breaks down into 3 sections: Pasta Go-Withs, Pasta for All Seasons, and Pasta Basics.(Pasta Go-Withs)
ANTIPASTI and APPETIZERS
Baked Caprese Salad (baguette slices w/ tomatoes, mozzarella)
Goat Cheese Toasts
Bruschetta w/ Frisee, Prosciutto, and Mozzarella
Toasted Ciabetta w/ Balsamic Syrup
Crostini w. Anchovy Butter and Cheese
Parmesan Popovers (definitely a big hit w/dinner)
Fried Ravioli (these were EXCELLENT!)
Zucchini and Carrot a Scapece (pickled veggies)
Fried Zucchini
Prosciutto-Wrapped Veggies w/ Parmesan
SOMETHING ON THE SIDE:
Cornbread Panzanella
Arugula Salad w/ Fried Gorgonzola
Spinach Salad w/ Citrus Vinaigrette and Frico (very light and healthy)
Insalata Mista w/ Basil Dressing
Hearty Winter Salad w/ Sherry Vinaigrette
Greens w/ Gorgonzola Dressing
Asparagus w/ Vin Santo Vinaigrette
Anytime Veggie Salad
Sauteed Spinach w/ Red Onion(Pasta for All Seasons)
SOUPS AND PASTA SALADS
Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortelini Soup
Pasta e Ceci (garbanzo beans)
*a small info section on "grating" types of cheese for the soup/pasta's
Italian Veggie Soup (perfect during winter!!)
Ribollita (soup)
Tuna, Green Bean, and Orzo Salad
Fusilli Salad w/ Seared Shrimp and Parsley Sauce
Neapolitan Calamari and Shrimp Salad
*tips for a perfect pasta salad
Mediterranean Salad
Antipasto Salad
Italian Chicken Salad in Lettuce Crisps
HEARTY PASTAS
Baked Penne w/ Roasted Veggies
Venetian "Mac and Cheese"
Crab and Ricotta Manicotti
Rigatoni w/ Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Roman-Style Fettucine w/ Chicken
Farfalle w/ Creamy Mushroom Gorgonzola Sauce
Pappardelle w/ Lamb Stew
Cinnamon-Scented Ricotta Raviolo w/ Beef Ragu (very different/tasty)
Proscuitto Raviolo
Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells (the artichokes add a nice twist)
Gnocchi with Thyme Butter Sauce
Ricotta Gnudi in Parmesan Broth
Tagliatelle w/ Short Rib Ragu
Penne w/ Swordfish and Eggplant
Baked Pastina Casserole
Baked Gnocchi (these are heavenly little dumplings)
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Linguine w/ Better, Pecorini, Arugula, & Black Pepper
*no-cook pasta sauces
Saffron Orzo w/ Shrimp
Penne w/ Spicy Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti w/ Sauteed Onions and Marjoram
Eggplant Mezzaluna Ravioli
*stuffed pastas
Orecchiette w/ Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese
Capellini Piedmontese
Spaghetti alla Pirata
Spaghetti w/ Red and Yellow Peppers
Swordfish and Spaghetti w/ Citrus Pesto
Conghilie w/ Clams, Mussels, and Broccoli
Rotini w/ Salmon and Roasted Garlic
Rigatoni w/ Red Pepper, Almonds, and Bread Crumbs
Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
QUICK AND EASY WEEKNIGHT PASTAS
Chicken in Lemon Cream w/ Penne
Little Stars w/ Butter and parmesan
Breakfast Scramble w/ Orzo, pancetta, and Asparagus
Creamy Orzo
Farfalle w/ Broccoli
Wagon Wheels w/ Artichoke Pesto
*flavored pastas
Spinach Fettuccine w/ a Quick Sugo or Salsa
Spicy Angel Hair Pasta
Rotelli w/ Walnut Sauce
Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Cinnamon Pancetta Carbonara
Rigatoni w/ Sausage, Artichokes, and Asparagus
Linguine w/ Turkey Meatballs and Quick Sauce
Ditalini w/ Mushrooms and Artichokes
Mini Penne w/ Parmesan Chicken (this is very tasty and very filling)
Farfalle w/ Spicy Sausage and Kale
Penne w/ Beef and Arugula
Capellini w/ Tomato and Peas
PASTA FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS:
Spicy Baked macaroni
Tagliatelle and Duck Ragu
Spaghetti w/ Eggplant, Butternut Squash, and hrimp
Crab Salad Napoleans w/ Fresh Pasta
Shrimp Lasagna Rolls w/ Creamy Marinara
Pork and Lemon Orzotto
Spaghetti w/ Pinot Grigio and Seafood (very romantic indeed)
Butternut Squash Tortelloni w/ Cranberry Walnut Sauce
Pappardelle w/ Seafood Cream Sauce
Champagne Risotto (light and flavorful)
*reimagining risotto
Linguine and Lobster Fra Diavolo
Corn Agnolotti w/ Tarragon Butter
Turkey and Cranberry Ravioli
*dried pasta versus fresh
Sweet Fresh Fettucine
PASTA BASICS (basic recipes):
Fresh Pasta
Basic Marinara Sauce
Bechamel Sauce
Arrabbiata Sauce
Chili Oil
Citrus Olive Oil
Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
Red Wine Vinaigreet
Parmesan Frico (for the Spinach & Citrus Salad; they're pretty & tasty)
Italian Wine Course by Christian Navarro
Topic Menu's
This was a delight to go through in my initial run of cooking; I plan on going through more as the list of requests continues from those who know Giada from TV. Funny how I never seem to run out of volunteer taste-testers with her recipes! Enjoy!


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For New York Times bestselling author Giada De Laurentiis, pasta has always been one of the great pleasures of the table: it’s healthy and delicious; it can be light and delicate or rich and hearty; it’s readily available and easy to prepare--everything you want in a meal. And nothing satisfies a craving for Italian food quite like it! In Everyday Pasta, Giada invites you to share her love of this versatile staple with more than a hundred brand-new recipes for pasta dishes, as well as for complementary sauces, salads, and sides tempting enough to bring the whole family to the dinner table.Without forgetting about the classics we all love, Giada makes the most of the many varieties of pasta available to create recipes that combine familiar flavors in exciting new ways.Although most of these dishes are all-in-one meals in themselves, Giada also supplies recipes for her favorite appetizers, side dishes, and salads to round them out.Whether you’re looking for a simple summer supper that makes the most of seasonal vegetables or seeking comfort in a pasta bowl on a cold winter’s night, Everyday Pasta offers just the thing. ? Tuna, Green Bean, and Orzo Salad? Crab Salad Napoleans with Fresh Pasta? Roman-Style Fettuccini with Chicken? Baked Pastina Casserole? Tagliatelle with Short Ribs Ragou? Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash, and ShrimpEasy to prepare and endlessly versatile, pasta makes a wonderful quick supper when time is short but easily becomes an elegant meal when the occasion requires. In Everyday Pasta, Giada shows you how, with a few basic ingredients from the fridge and the pantry, you’re never more than minutes away from a delicious pasta dinner.

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Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat Review

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(More customer reviews)Great book for teens who don't know how to make anything and love to eat or teens who think they know how to make it all. The books s just as it's sub-title, "how to cook what you want to eat." It has great recipe alternatives to eating in instead of dining out--and learning something new while you're at it!
Receipes include sections of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, desserts. Most food that you go out to eat, you can find the receipe in here!

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Written by two teens who know what teens do and don’t know about cooking, TEENS COOK is an instructional cookbook that teaches young adults how to make great meals-and be confident and independent in the kitchen. Authors Megan and Jill Carle are teenage sisters with nothing much in common when it comes to food-except that they both know how to cook really well. One buys ingredients she likes and figures out what to make when she gets home; the other follows every recipe to the letter. One is a vegetarian who’s drawn to ethnic food; the other prefers all-American comfort food. Together, they’re a dynamic duo who have created and mastered more than 75 recipes for breakfasts, snacks, sides, family meals, dinners for one, and desserts. In TEENS COOK, the Carle sisters also share their kitchen know-how on averting and fixing disasters, dealing with cookbook math (fractions and metrics-ugh!), deciphering culinary vocabulary (all those terms we kind of know, but not really), explaining chemistry (why and how stuff goes right and wrong in the kitchen), and avoiding accidents (can you say “grease fire”? oops!). For teens (and tweens) who are tired of eating what their parents decide to fix, TEENS COOK offers foolproof advice for whipping up some tasty home-cooked meals of their own.

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Dinner for Eight: 40 Great Dinner Party Menus for Friends and Family (New York Times Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)There is so much to like in this cookbook! The concept of entire seasonal menus put together for you, with notes on each recipe about what can be done ahead and when, plus wine suggestions is brilliant, right? Everything is laid out for you, and the recipes are fun and adventuresome. Unfortunately, however, too many of Landis' recipes end up being much more time-consuming than she would have you believe. I cooked three of the full menus for guests, and each time found myself really stressed out--exactly contrary to the main premise of the book! I would add that I am a very experienced home cook; I can't imagine how this would go for a novice. In addition, there are more than a few things that sound good but aren't: take the deviled eggs with guacamole, for instance. The avocado turns grayish-green in this combination. You can imagine how unappetizing this looks. In sum, this is a book that I really wanted to like and which contains some individual "keeper" recipes. It is quite flawed, however, and ultimately disappoints.

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Longtime recipe tester Denise Landis--who has tested Nigella Lawson's books and more than a decade's worth of recipes at The New York Times--is an accomplished and experienced home entertainer. Landis knows what makes a good dinner party and how to compose a menu that will impress guests while leaving the cook free to enjoy her own party. Featuring forty complete menus-appetizer, first course, main course, accompaniment and dessert--Dinner for Eight is organized by season, encourages mixing and matching, and guides any cook through a dinner party timeline of advance preparation and last-minute finishes.

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Help My Apartment Has a Dining Room: How to Have People Over for Dinner Without stressing Out Review

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(More customer reviews)My cooking experience includes making boxed macaroni and cheese and toast. I received this book as a gift last year but just recently put it to use. Over the last month, I have worn it out! I am a vegetarian but also wanted to cook for friends who are meat-eaters. The book includes many receipes for everyone. The receipes are easy to understand and fun to read. Kevin and Nancy Mills have a fabulous sense of humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start cooking but is intimidated and doesn't know where to begin.

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The dynamic mother-son team who wrote Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook now offers humorous advice and easy recipes for gen-Xers and other novice cooks who want to invite friends for dinner. When we last met Kevin Mills in the runaway, surprise bestseller Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook, he was a recent college graduate who took a cooking-by-phone class from his mom in order to survive in the kitchen, eventually winning over his vegetarian girlfriend with his culinary skills. Now he's married to her, she's a doctor, and he still does all the cooking in their tiny kitchen. And now they entertain. With the same combination of witty writing and clever illustrations that earned the authors' first book accolades in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and Seventeen, Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room dispenses straight advice and 150 easy recipes from a kitchen veteran, Mom, road-tested and written by her twentysomething son, who has taken out "all the fancy cookbook talk." With "Mom Tips" and "Mom Warnings," this book gives novices the benefit of Mom's experience without having her in the kitchen.

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Betty Crocker Ultimate Bisquick Cookbook: Hundreds of new recipes, plus back-of-the-box favorites Review

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(More customer reviews)If you own any of the other Bisquick books on the market than you have all the recipes in this one. It's called "Ultimate" I guess just because it combines the impossibly easy pie, bisquick I and bisquick II and the dessert one into one big book. It's a great cookbook regardless. But if you already own the others then you don't really need this one. There are few pictures in this cookbook.
The first chapter covers the Bisquick "classics" you know the ones we've eaten since childhood. The easy pizza pie, chicken fingers, peach cobbler, pancakes, milk biscuits, etc.
Chapter 2 covers favorite recipes for today. Examples are cheese garlic biscuits, banana nut bread, easy hamburger pot pie, strawberry shortcake, etc. if you have Bisquick I I think you have all these recipes.
Chapter 8 was the Impossibly Easy Pies all the same recipes as the little cookbook version by the same name.
The one recipe that was not included which for us is a Bisquick staple is the Sausage-Cheese Puffs. It's a biscuit that I have made and taken to many a potluck and everyone leaves asking for the recipe. You can change up the sausage to hot or italian or even chorizo and it's a perfect biscuit for whatever event you want. You can make them big or little and they're good for a breakfast biscuit or a dinner roll.
The recipe is:
1 pound bulk sausage (flavor is your choice).
3 c. bisquick
16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever flavor you choose)
3/4 c. water (I use a whole cup but original recipe calls for 3/4c.)
In a skillet, cook and crumble sausage until no longer pink; drain. In a bowl, combine bisquick and cheese; stir in sausage. Add water and mix with a fork until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Baked puffs may be frozen; reheat for 7-9 minutes and doesn't have to be thawed first.
I freeze a batch to use for breakfast throughout the week. If you make them smaller and use italian sausage, parmesan and add some chopped garlic you could use for a spaghetti dinner. If you make with chorizo and monterey jack cheese it would be mexican. So you can change it up how you feel.

Cookbook says there are hundreds of new recipes in this cookbook but to change a recipe from peach cobbler to cherry does that really qualify as a "new" recipe? So I'm not sure about the new recipes.
This is a great fall back to cookbook and would help the beginner cook learn as well. It's not necessarily healthy as you are using a prepackage biscuit mix. But nonetheless will make meals to remember (if not for your waistline). LOL.
This one is not necessary if you own the other 2-3 cookbooks that are on the market already.


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The Biggestand Best Bisquick Cookbook Ever!If you love the convenience and great taste of food made with Bisquick, you'll love this book! It's jam-packed with 300 delicious Bisquick recipes--280 that have never before appeared in a Bisquick book, plus some of the all-time favorites and back-of-the-box standbys. Inside, you'll find lots of terrific ideas for breakfasts, dinners, desserts and more, including:* Satisfying Breakfasts: from Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes to Banana-Nut Waffles and Cheesy Chile and Egg Bake* Comforting Casseroles: from Philly Beef Squares to Fajita Chicken Pot Pie and Louisiana-Style Shrimp Casserole* 30-Minute Dinners: from Barbecue Beef Cheese Melts to Buffalo-Style Chicken Nuggets and Turkey Cornbread Tostadas* Delightful Heart Smart Dinners for Two: from Curried Country Chicken to Fall Pork Dinner and Santa Fe Foldover* Impossibly Easy Pies and Pizzas: from Impossibly Easy Sloppy Joe Pie to Impossibly Easy Quesadilla Pie and Bewitched Double-Crust Cheese Pizza* Delicious Desserts: from Frosted Chocolate Malt Cupcakes to Impossibly Easy Toffee Bar Cheesecake and Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip BarsYou also get tips on perfecting Bisquick favorites like pancakes, muffins and biscuits as well as a brief history of Bisquick over the decades. With more than double the number of recipes found in any other Bisquick cookbook along with over 100 tempting colorphotographs, this is truly the Ultimate Bisquick Cookbook!

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The Nantucket Restaurants Cookbook: Menus and Recipes from the Faraway Isle Review

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(More customer reviews)Though I've never been to Nantucket, this book absolutely makes me want to go, the next time I'm on the East Coast. In the meantime, I can flip through this gorgeous book and dream. The photography is alluring and recipes so inventive and interesting. Some of them seem a little cheffy, but for the most part they look easy enough to make for a summer dinner party. Plus, the profiles of the restaurantuers make me want to try their recipes! It makes a great gift.

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