Cookbook Review Day

Today I want to talk about some new cookbooks that I recently received.  I have become very particular about the cookbooks that grace my shelves these days, and that is for one reason really, room.  My coobook shelves are literally bursting, I have filled all the shelf space and have now started stacking them on top of the shelves. So when I really want a new cookbook, I really need to think about it and think about whether or not it is worthy of my precious space. I decided that both of these books today are worthy of my space, and I actually got rid of one little used book to make room.

This first one is simply one of the most beautiful cookbooks I have ever seen.  Spain And The World Table is a compilation of Spanish recipes from the most highly respected Spanish chefs. From the Culinary Institute of America, this book takes recipes created by such greats as Jose Andres and Norman Van Aken and presents them in a way which they can be recreated by the home cook.  Martha Rose Shulman, whose work I am very familiar with, provides the writing and commentary all throughout the book.  Yet it’s not just a cookbook. This is also a reference book.  Anything you ever wanted to know about Spanish cuisine is in this book.  After a recipe Mission Figs stuffed with blue cheese is a reference page full of details about Spanish cheeses, after a recipe for Consomme with Saffron, we get a tutorial on saffron and when and where we should use it- and is it worth its hefty price tag?  There are bits about the different regions of Spain, and I have to say, there is a lot of information in this book, but it’s presented in such an accessible way.  The book itself is beautiful enough- with a picture for almost every single recipe, that if I had a coffee table, this would be on it.

The caveat is that I haven’t cooked out of it yet, so I can’t attest to the nature of the specific recipes. However, reading through several of them that caught my eye, they don’t seem particularly difficult or too avant garde to give them a whirl in my home kitchen.  Every once in a while a recipe will mention a lengthy reduction or there is one recipe specifically that uses a foam- where did I put that foam-making device anyway?  But overall, they really seem geared toward the home cook, and give us an opportunity to try at home the dishes that the world is talking about.  Spanish cuisine is hot right now- but there are so few cookbooks devoted to the cuisine that this is a very welcome addition to my world parade of cookbooks.  With recipes like Hazelnut Passion Fruit Ice Cream, Lamb and Roasted Pepper Ragout, Sea Scallops with Green Raisin Salsa, and Mango, Scotch Bonnet, and Sesame Mojo, this is a book I could read through several times over and not get bored with it.  I can’t wait to give some of these recipes a whirl.

The second book I wanted to mention today is more fun and less intensive than the Spanish tome, but an equally wonderful addition to my cookbook collection.  Grilled Pizzas and Piadianas brings the art of grilled pizza back home where it belongs.  It wasn’t that long ago that Andy and I figured out just how to make a grilled pizza in the first place.  A careful ballet of flipping crust and adding toppings at just the right time elevates pizza to a whole new level.  This book shows us exactly what we could be doing to make it easier, as well as gives us a virtual parade of pizza topping ideas.  As an example, The New Orlean pizza has blackened crawfish, Andouille sausage, fontina cheese, and a spicy apricot sauce as it’s toppings.  I would have never thought of those toppings for pizza- but now that I’ve seen it, it sounds and looks amazing. The Moroccan pizza is topped with curried chicken, roasted garlic and kalamata olives, The Millenium is topped with ground lamb, feta and cucumber!  There are dozens of new pizza ideas here, and every turn of the page gives me a new mouth-watering picture, and the desire to make pizza!

Then there’s the piadinas. What exactly is a piadina? Well, it’s like a flatbread sandwich.  It’s sort of like making a pizza dough and then rolling it around toppings like a wrap, and apparently, they are very popular in Italy. These also look amazing!  Piadina Firenze is stuffed with grilled eggplant and peppers, and is one I’ll be trying when the eggplant comes up in the garden. There’s also a special chapter here for my husband, who is always wanting to make a dessert on the grill.  We have an Apple Tart- a pizza crust topped with cinnamon glazed apples and almonds, a Grilled Banana Split, and something called The S’more, a pizza topped with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows!  There are also tips on throwing the ultimate grilled pizza party as well as suggestions for beverages that accompany some of the pizzas.  I have to say, as much as I love this book, this would have made a fantastic Father’s Day gift for Andy, since he’s always wanting to make grilled pizzas.  We’ll be taking this book for a spin this weekend if the weather cooperates.

Uncategorized - by Erika

121,921 thoughts on “Cookbook Review Day”

  5. I blog quite often and I seriously appreciate your information. This great article has
    really peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your site and
    keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted
    in for your Feed as well.

  7. I’ve been browsing on-line more than 3 hours as of late, yet I never found any fascinating article like
    yours. It’s lovely worth sufficient for me. In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you probably did,
    the net will likely be a lot more useful than ever before.

  11. Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers?
    I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?

  13. Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!

  15. Thank you for the good writeup. It if truth be told was a leisure account it.
    Look complex to more introduced agreeable from you!
    By the way, how can we communicate?

  21. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure
    of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
    But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
    Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images.
    Maybe you could space it out better?

  25. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an email.

    I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested
    in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward
    to seeing it expand over time.

  28. Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to
    mention that I’ve really loved surfing around your weblog posts.
    After all I’ll be subscribing in your feed and I am hoping you write once more soon!

    Also visit my web blog – ???? ???

  29. Hey! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give
    a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading through
    your articles. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same
    topics? Thanks for your time!

  30. magnificent post, very informative. I ponder why the opposite specialists of this sector do
    not notice this. You must proceed your writing.
    I’m confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!

  36. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your blog.
    You have some really good posts and I believe I would be a good asset.
    If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love
    to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.

    Please shoot me an e-mail if interested. Regards!

    Here is my webpage … Dog harnesses

  38. Hi there, I found your site by the use of Google while looking for a related subject,
    your site got here up, it appears to be like great.

    I have bookmarked it in Doxycycline Ruined My Life
    google bookmarks.
    Hi there, just become aware of your blog through Google, and located that it is really informative.
    I’m going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you happen to proceed this in future.
    Many folks will be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *