Dying for Dinner (A Cooking Class Mystery) Review

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(More customer reviews)Bank teller/restaurant manager/amateur sleuth Anne Capshaw has finally taken the plunge. She's given up her safe and secure job at the bank and traded it for a full time position at her boyfriend Jim's restaurant, Bellywasher's. Things are heating up nicely for Jim and Anne outside of the kitchen when in walks Anne's ex-husband, Peter. Anne used to dream that Peter would come back begging for a second chance but now she has Jim.
So not only does she have Peter to deal with, she's hip deep an investigation. There's been a murder at the chic gourmet shop Très Bonne Cuisine and its owner Monsieur Jacques Lavoie is missing. As Annie jumps into the investigation with the help of her best friend Eve, she learns some startling facts about Monsieur Lavoie that lead everyone to question who he claims to be. Getting to the bottom of it all just might mean more trouble than Anne bargained for.
Dying for Dinner is book four in the Cooking Class mystery series but also stands alone. There wasn't as much action and intrigue in this installment as there was in the previous three books but it was still pretty cute.
Anne is good at putting two and two together and along with Eve they make a great pair of investigators. What's especially refreshing is that the handsome Scotsman Jim is falling in love with the "cute" Anne instead of the "sexy" Eve. It makes her character that much more endearing. When you add in the fact that she absolutely can't cook yet works at a restaurant and dates a chef there's a lot of fun in reading this series.
Also included are nine delicious recipes. I recommend this one for all cozy lovers and I hope that another book in this series is in the works as there was a major cliff hanger at the end.

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When Annie leaves the safety of her old bank job to become the full-time manager of her boyfriend's restaurant, what's meant to be the first day of the rest of her life might be the last day of someone else's.

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Staff Meals from Chanterelle Review

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(More customer reviews)I think this is a very pleasant, accessible collection of recipes (with lots of chef-to-cook asides). David Waltuck focuses on his Chanterelle family -- his cooks, cleanup crew, and wait-staff -- for whom he makes meals that give new meaning to "employee benefits."
It struck me that his happy gang working behind the scenes at a stellar restaurant is at odds with that story that runs from Orwell's scullions in "Down and Out in Paris and London" to the desperados in "Kitchen Confidential." But, hey, Waltuck's proof is in his pudding - life must be fine if a night on the job includes "Roast Chicken Stuffed with Basil" or "Spaghetti with Mussels, Tomatoes, and Cream," and maybe a blackberry cobbler.
The recipes are eclectic like food markets in New York City - kind of French, kind of Hispanic, kind of Asian, kind of Middle European, kind of North African, kind of small-town American. Things the recipes have in common are keen, punchy flavors - the sautéed/baked Cornish hens call for garlic, tomatoes, wine, olives, thyme, and red pepper flakes - and quantities that feed 8 to 10 people (or can be upped for a crowd).
The hidden gems: roughly 30 pages of salad dressings that look like they can have many real-life uses and a run of breakfast and brunch items that might go over well enough to be worth the price of the book (I'm thinking of "Buttermilk Corn Muffins with Orange").

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Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes (Food Network) Review

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(More customer reviews)I really wanted to LOVE this book, I really did. I'm such a huge fan of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" television show, and I've been hoping he'd come out with a cookbook containing recipes featured on his shows.
I'm a sucker for great road food, and often go out of my way to try a "hole in the wall" diner. Guy has traveled the US highlighting exactly the kinds of places I love to visit. His show on Food Network is loads of fun. No one can describe food like Guy, with his blend of humor and killer adjectives.
The humor doesn't translate all that well in print, and the jokes just aren't that funny. But I didn't get this book for the jokes -- I got it for the recipes.
The recipes that are included are OK -- but if you're a fan of the show, don't expect to find very many of the dishes Guy spotlighted. There are a few (the Cap'n Crunch French Toast from the Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore, for example), but the bulk of the recipes are "new."
It was more than a little frustrating to read about the wonderful dishes in Guy's descriptions of the restaurant, only to find few recipes for any of them. While each establishment is represented by a recipe, almost none of the recipes are described in the narrative.
For example, Baby Blues Bar-B-Q in Venice, CA -- Guy waxes rhapsodic over the "killer mac and cheese made from four cheeses" and "grilled corn with chipotle-poblano butter and cotijo cheese sprinked on top." The featured recipe: sautéed okra. Huh?
That's not to say these are not GOOD recipes -- in fact, most of them look pretty darned tasty. And if your expectations don't include recipes for dishes featured on the show, these will be just fine.
As a travelogue, it's probably OK, too. And maybe that was its intended purpose, rather than a "cookbook." Or maybe it can't really decide what it wants to be.
But if you're like me, you might be a little disappointed that the dishes included in the book are NOT the ones that made your mouth water when you watched the show OR read about them here.

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Secret Suppers: Rogue Chefs and Underground Restaurants in Warehouses, Townhouses, Open Fields, and Everywhere in Between Review

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(More customer reviews)What a fun read....Jenn Garbee takes us to places I never knew existed until this book. Maybe I've lead a sheltered life but I had no idea, until now. Each chapter takes you to a new and different underground restaurant, each with its own cast of characters. The descriptions of the locations and the food make you want to go find one and get in on the mystery and intrigue unfolding with each new setting. Certainly, there are a few recipes with each new secret supper, but don't buy this to be a new cookbook. Buy the book for a glimpse of culinary life you may never have seen and maybe never will. But be careful...this book just might inspire you to create your own "Secret Supper".

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More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: A Drop-Top Culinary Cruise Through America's Finest and Funkiest Joints Review

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(More customer reviews)I love 'Triple D' which is why I ordered both books. I was hoping to see a laundry list of places Guy has gone so I can back track him. I was not too happy to see a selected review on a few places, and really not happy to see food etc, in B&W. I still watch every show with drooling anticipation, but I wouldn't order either of these books if you anticipate the slightest imitation of the show...

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