Category: Reviews-Andrews McMeel

Title: D’ Lish Deviled Eggs (a collection of recipes from creative classics)Author: Kathy Casey
Pub Date: February 2013
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
Pages: 160

Source: I received this cook book for review from the awesome people at Andrews McMeel Publishing.

About the book:

Deviled eggs are not just for summer picnics, now you can enjoy America”s beloved appetizer year round with Kathy Casey’s 50 fabulous recipes.
Deviled eggs are always a party favorite, and the first thing to fly off the table. D’Lish Deviled Eggs both pays homage to the classic deviled egg and dishes up creative, modern takes on tradition. And this isn’t just a recipe book; its pages are packed full with everything from how to make superb hard-cooked eggs every time, to filling and garnishing picture-perfect stuffed eggs.

Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Deviled Eggs are sure to bring back fond memories of family gatherings, while inspired offerings like “California Roll” Deviled Eggs andTwo-Bite “Carbonara” Deviled Duck Eggs add a delicious start to any dinner party. Kicky Devilish Green Eggs & Ham or Dirty Martini Deviled Eggs make perfect cocktail cohorts.

With recipe suggestions for tasty parties and seasonal and holiday pairings, D’Lish Deviled Eggs is the ultimate kitchen companion for dishing up America’s favorite appetizer. Chock-full of fab tips, from the history of deviled eggs to collecting vintage plateware, this book will definitely “egg you on” to head to the kitchen and get crackin’!

A classy little guide to a classy little dish, D’Lish Deviled Eggs will open up a whole new world of ways to jazz up these one-bite wonders!

I have to be up front and honest with this review. I got this cook book for review earlier this year and I was hoping that I would have found someone who could have reviewed this for me to be give an honest review.

I have never eaten a deviled egg before and sadly I can’t because of an allergy I have with eggs.

So there won’t be a what I made with the cookbook but rather my thoughts about the book.

There is 50 recipes included in this book. The recipes are all easy to follow and they are accompanied by a beautiful photograph. I love seeing photos what go with the recipes because you get an idea of what the product looks like.

In the beginning of the book they give you hints on what kind of deviled egg you can make for specific holidays. Which is nice if you like making deviled eggs and you can make them anytime of the year and not just at parties.

I thought the section called The hard Facts was really interesting because it talks about everything you need to know about eggs. Such as :

• to make eggs easy for peeling of hard cooked eggs you should let them refrigerate for seven to ten days because this will allow the eggs to take in some air which will seperate the membrane from the shell
• if you store your eggs with the small end up or on their sides over night you will get a yolk that is centered

Through out the book you will discover little tips that will aid with the recipe.

So if you love deviled eggs this would make a great cook book to add to your collection.

Do you like deviled eggs?

Title: Canal House Cooking Volume 7 La Dolce Vita
Authors: Melissa Hamilton & christopher Hirsheimer
Pub Date: January 2012
Publisher: Canal House
Pages: 128

Source: I received a copy of this from Andrews McMeel Publishing for a honest and sincere review. Thank You Andrews McMeel for sending this.

About the book:
Welcome to the Canal House—our studio, workshop, dining room, office, kitchen, lair, lab, and atelier devoted to good ideas and good work relating to the world of food. We write, photograph, design, and paint, but in our hearts we both think of ourselves as cooks first.
How did we get here? Neither of us set out to make careers in the food world. Actually there wasn’t much of a “foodie” world when we both started. But our deep interests led us down paths that unfolded in front of us.

We had worked with each other as food editors in the magazine world. We traveled the globe in search of essential and authentic recipes, sliding into banquettes in famous restaurants, meeting big deal chefs, and even cooking in far-flung home kitchens. It was great and exciting. But our work took us both away from our families, our homes, and our gardens, away from what really matters, after all.

We live in little towns across the river from each other, one in New Jersey, the other in Pennsylvania. So we decided to join forces. We share similar backgrounds, having grown up in big families where food came first. In a time that seems like a million years ago now, our aproned grandmothers nurtured us with wholesome, comforting food—buttermilk pancakes drenched in salty butter and maple syrup. Our mothers were glamorous. They loved parties and cocktails and restaurants and brunch with Bloody Marys—food was exciting. Last night’s Chinese “takeout” would show up at breakfast reheated with two poached eggs on top. Both of us have deep food memories and large legacies to uphold.

We found our loft studio in an old redbrick warehouse downriver from where we live. A beautiful lazy canal runs alongside the building. One hundred years ago, mules plodding along the tow path hauled provision-ladened barges up and down the state. In warm weather, we provision-ladened barges up and down the state. In warm weather, we throw open the French doors and the voices of the people walking or or fishing below float up to us. We plant herbs in our window boxes and grow tomatoes in pots on our wrought-iron balcony. In the winter we build fires in the Franklin wood stove to keep cozy when its snowy and gray outside.

The Canal House has a simple galley kitchen. Two small “apartment-size” stoves sit snugly side by side against a white tiled wall. An old wooden carpenter’s worktable with a little sink at one end is our long counter and pots hang from a rack suspended above it. We have a dishwasher, but we find ourselves preferring to hand wash the dishes so we can look out of the tall window next to the sink and see the ducks swimming in the canal or watch the raindrops splashing into the water.

The town around us is a small American river town. A noon whistle still blows and church bells chime—no kidding! There is a drug store around the corner. Across the street is an old hardware store, and the best bar in the world is right down the alley.

And every day we cook. Starting the morning with coffee or cups of sweet milky tea, we tell each other what we made for dinner the night before. In the middle of the day we stop our work, set the table simply with paper napkins, and have lunch. So it came naturally to write down what we cook.

The Canal House Cooking series is a seasonal collection of our favorite recipes—home cooking by home cooks for home cooks. With a few exceptions, we use ingredients that are readily available and found in most markets in most towns throughout the United States. All the recipes are easy to prepare, all completely doable for the novice and experienced cook alike. We want to share with you as fellow cooks, our love of food and all its rituals. The everyday practice of simple cooking and the enjoyment of eating are two of the greatest pleasures in life.

This volume celebrates the bounty of fall and the festive holiday season with delicious Italian dishes, some classic, some reinterpreted Canal House style.

I always love when I get a new cookbook in the mail to review because that means a whole bunch of new recipes to try. We love trying new foods and some are a hit and some are a miss but its nice to try something new.

I love the cover of the book because it looks like its a fancy looking journal.

This is the first time that I heard about Canal House cookbooks and now I am really cuirous about them because if they are anything like this one I am sure I would enjoy it. Who doesn’t like to try something new every now and then?

This is cookbook number seven in the series and its based on a recent month long journey that Melissa and Christopher took in Tuscany.

I got to make a few recipes from the cookbooks so far and our favorites have been the Simple Tomato Sauce (you can use this with pasta and lasagne), Ragu Bolognese (which I modified a bit because there was some ingredients we didn’t like and we enjoyed it) and finally a delicious Apple Cake.

I think if you like trying new things or Italian cooking then this is the book for you. Interested in buying the book but would like to see a sample first, well then click on this. After seeing the sample I am sure your mouth will be watering.

Title: The Brisket Book: A love story with recipes
Author: Stephanie Pierson
Pub Date: October 2011
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Source: I received this from the publisher for my honest review.

About the book:
Food writer, cookbook author, and brisket zealot Stephanie Pierson contends, “Some foods will improve your meal, your mood, your day, your buttered noodles. Brisket will improve your life.”

Brisket is so easy to warm up to, no wonder everyone loves it. Families pass brisket recipes down like heirlooms. Chat rooms are full of passionate foodies giving passionate opinions about their briskets–and each one claims to have the best brisket recipe ever! When Angel Stadium of Anaheim introduced a BBQ brisket sandwich, it promptly won a national contest for best ballpark cuisine. This lively book offers everything from brisket cooking tips to chef interviews to butcher wisdom. Color photographs, illustrations, and graphics ensure that brisket has never looked better. The recipes include something for everyone: Beef Brisket with Fresh Tangy Peaches, Scandinavian Aquavit Brisket, Sweet-and-Sour Brisket, Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches with Firecracker Sauce, a Seitan Brisket (even people who don’t like meat love brisket), and a 100% Foolproof Bride’s Brisket.

If brisket does indeed improve your life, then The Brisket Book promises to be the ultimate life-affirming resource for anyone who has savored–or should savor–this succulent comfort food.

I have to send out another huge thank you to Andrews McMeel for sending me The Brisket Book for review.

I absolutely love cookbooks. Personally for me growing up I had parents who never wanted to try anything so we never really had cookbooks. We always ate the basic stuff and I loved going to friends houses because they always had new and different things. So when I moved away I always swore that I would have cookbooks and that I would always be open to trying new foods.

Thankfully I have a family who loves trying new recipes/foods. So when a new cookbook comes in we are always excited to flip it open and devour the book.

I have to say that this is the first time I have seen a cookbook devoted solely to brisket and this cookbook doesn’t disappoint because there is a ton of brisket recipes in the book. The recipes range from braised to barbecued to oven cooked to slow cooked. You name it you can probably do it.

The Brisket Book covers everything a cook book should such as cooking advise, butcher insight, the history of the brisket, chef interviews, plus tons of photographs, illustrations, cartoons and graphics. The recipes are all easy to follow and come from all kinds of sources (Chefs, cook book authors, etc).

The one I decided to make was Texas Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket and it was really good and I have to say that it tasted much better the second day. The only thing is I adjusted the recipe a little bit because I can’t eat really spicy food.

Texas Oven Roasted Beef Brisket
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 1 (4lb) beef brisket trimmed
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a small bowl, make a dry rub by combining the chili powder, salt, garlic, onion, pepper, sugar, dry mustard and bay leaf. Season the brisket all over with the rub. Place the brisket in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered in the oven for an hour.
3. Add the beef stock and enough water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan and then tightly cover with aluminum foil. Lower the heat to 300 and continue to cook untils its fork tender about 3 hours.
4. Transfer to a cutting board and trim off any excess fat and then thinkly slice the meat against the grain. Serve with pan juices.

Thanks again Andrews McMeel for sending this to us. Bon appetite everyone.

Title: So Sweet! Cookies, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and more
Author: Sur La Table
Pud Date: October 2011
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Pages: 144

Source: I received a copy of the book for my honest and sincere thoughts on the book.

About the book:
Proving that life is indeed oh So Sweet! cooking authority Sur La Table offers 50 fabulously sweet recipes with intriguing flavor combinations. From cookies and cupcakes to doughnuts and whoopie pies, you’ll find them all in this attractive and giftable full-color package.

Gathered inside So Sweet! are 50 mouthwatering baking recipes presented alongside photographs of tasty treats such as Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars, Boston Cream Upside Down Cupcakes, and Strawberry with Lemonade Filling Whoopie Pies, as well as Blueberry Buttermilk Doughnuts with Orange Glaze, Cherry Oatmeal Cookies, and Chocolate-Mint Cupcakes. And just in case you’re uncertain what your sweet tooth is craving, a handy flavor profile reveals whether you’re in the mood for sweet, salty, chocolatey, fruity, or nutty. Remind yourself of the sweeter side of life with So Sweet!

One of my favorite genres books to review is cookbooks. Not only because they are pretty much a quick review but I am the kind of person who loves trying new things with food wither it be with food or desserts. So I am always thrilled when I get a cookbook to review.

So Sweet is no exception to the rule. I admit from the cover alone I was drooling. I admit I have a huge sweet tooth and pretty much everyone in the family does too. So when  I got this cookbook I couldn’t wait to try it out but the only problem was what do I want to try first because there is about 50 yummy recipes in this book.

The cookbook is broken down into four delicious sections labelled cookies, cupcakes, whoopie pies and doughnuts. Most of the recipes are accompanied with a photo, which I love because I like to see what the finished product is suppose to look like.

All the recipes include ingredients I could easily find and the instructions were easy to follow and didn’t require much which is another thing I love about the book. I have to say that I like straight forward recipes that include simple and easy steps. Anything complicated I always shy away from.

I realized that if I left the decision up to me I would probably back the whole book so I gave it to Michael and he picked out Smile Cookies. I think the thing that drew him in was the fact that the cookies are covered in icing sugar when they are cooked.

Thanks Andrews McMeel for sending me this great coobook and I can’t wait to try more of the recipes very soon.

Smile Cookies
(bakes about 45)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened (room temp) ( 2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour to finish
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Position 1 oven rack in the top third of the oven and the other rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat to 350 and then line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and using a mixer, beat for about 1 minute on low speed. Then beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes or until it looks very light (almost white). Turn of the mixer and using a spatula scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix for about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the bowl again.
3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until the flour is blended in and scrape down the bowl again to make sure there is no clumps of flour hiding.
4. To shape each cookie take a piece of dough that is about 1 tablespoon and roll it on your work surface back and forth with your fingers, shaping it into a log that is about 3 inches long. Make sure to add some pressure to the ends to give them a point. Place onto bakig sheet and form into a smile. Place one inch apart of the sheet.
5. Place each sheet on each rack and bake for about 7 minutes and then switch the sheets and bake for another 8 to 9 minutes (so what was on the top rack will go to the bottom) The cookies should appear to be a light  sand color and firm to the touch and golden brown on the bottom and edges. Let cool 10 minutes.
6. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl and while the cookies are still warm roll each into the sugar until completely coated and place back on the pan to let cool completely. When completely cool roll them back into the sugar mixture again.

These were so good and I will be making these again.

Title: Heartland The Cookbook
Author: Judith Fertig
Publisher: Andrews McMeel
Pub Date: April 2011
Pages: 304

Source: I received a copy of this book from an awesome rep at Andrews McMeel who knows I love cookbooks. Thanks so much.

About The Book:
Although much of the nation is only beginning to embrace the farm-to-table movement, residents of the Midwest have been living off the bounty of the land since the pioneer days. Judith Fertig’s Heartland melds contemporary cooking with an authentic and appreciative approach to the land, presenting 150 recipes for farm-bounty fare with a modern twist. With a focus on ethnic food traditions as well as seasonal and local flavors of artisan producers, heirloom ingredients, and heritage meats, Heartland embraces the spirit and flavors of the modern farmhouse. Inside, offerings such as Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blackberry Syrup, No-Knead Caraway Rye Bread, and Brew Pub Planked Cheeses comingle with recipes such as Wild Rice Soup with Flyover Duck Confit, Heartland Daube with White Cheddar Polenta, and Italian Fig Cookies.

In addition to the mouthwatering recipes and time-proven wisdom, Heartland includes an ample mix of humorous storytelling, literary and cooking references, and lush full-color landscape and food photography that showcases the heart of American cooking from the nation’s heartland.

I am always surprised when I opened a package from Andrews McMeel because I never know what they are going to send me. I love getting surprise packages from them especially when they involve cookbooks. I love cookbooks and trying new recipes.

This was no exception. When I first opened the cookbook I started to read the introduction and Judith discusses the history and geography of the midwest as well as the foods most commonly found in the region and what the kitchens are like.

There are a ton of great photographs that feature not only foods but of the animals, people and landscape found in the midwest. The only thing I wish was included in the photographs were more of the actually recipe foods. I love to see what the end product will be like.

Last summer I got to travel in some of the midwest and loved it and I have to say that eating the fruits and vegetables there was amazing. I always thought that we had fresh fruits and veggies here in Canada but wow I was blown away. Everything was crunchy and crisp. It tasted like it was all just fresh picked.

There are so many great recipes in the book that you almost don’t know where to start. In the first chapter gives you get to see what is in a Heartland pantry and offers recipes such as making your own Farmhouse Butter, Farmhouse Egg Pasta, Smoke Roasted Tomato Sauce, preserves, plus the basics for canning and making syrups such as blackberry-lavendar and fresh herb.

The second chapter is all about breakfast and brunch. Who doesn’t love making a haymaker’s hash along with some wholewheat pancakes? This is where I made my first recipe and its called Baked Eggs with Prosciutto and Asiago Cream. I couldn’t find any Asiago cheese so I ended up switching it for cheddar cheese and we all loved it.

The next recipe I made was the Heartland Scramble. Its basically scrambled eggs with cheese, onions and crumbled sausage. I thought Michael would have enjoyed this more but funny enough he doesn’t like scrambled eggs.

The other chapters in the book include the breadbasket (recipes for no knead breads, muffins, rolls and more), appetizers and drinks (making home made chips, assorted flatbreads, popcorn with gouda, farm girl cosmos and lemonade), salads and soups, main dishes and finally no cookbook is complete without desserts.

Looking through the recipes you will find them well written and easy to follow with a detailed list of ingredients.

I can’t wait to make more recipes from this fantastic cookbook.