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

117,884 thoughts on “Cookbook Review Day”

  5. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never understand.
    It seems too complicated and very broad
    for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will
    try to get the hang of it!

  23. Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of
    volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the
    same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!

  28. I have been surfing on-line more than three hours
    as of late, but I by no means found any attention-grabbing article like yours.
    It’s beautiful worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net
    will probably be much more helpful than ever before.

  29. Sklepy internetowe bazuj?ce na platformach open-source reprezentuj? doskona?e rozwi?zanie dla w?a?cicieli biznesów, którzy d??? do uzyskania ca?kowitej
    swobody systemem platformy sprzeda?owej. W wyniku otwarto?ród?owego charakteru, dost?pna jest szybka modyfikacja systemu w zale?no?ci od oczekiwa? rynku.

    W praktyce rozwi?zania open-source daj? mo?liwo?? ??czenie z ró?nymi modu?ami, co
    z kolei system e-commerce mo?e by? w pe?ni zintegrowany z rozwi?zaniami marketingowymi.
    Modu?owa budowa pozwala na szybkie skalowanie oferty wraz z rosn?cymi potrzebami.

    Dodatkowym zalet? systemów otwarto?ród?owych jest tak?e
    ekonomiczno??, dzi?ki dost?p do bezp?atnego kodu ?ród?owego.

    Przedsi?biorców, którzy kluczowe jest osi?gni?cie wysokiej jako?ci dzia?ania
    sklepu przy jednoczesnej optymalizacji kosztów.

    Warto mie? na uwadze, ?e mimo wszystko zastosowanie rozwi?za? open-source zwi?zane
    jest z odpowiedniej wiedzy technicznej oraz zazwyczaj pomocy ekspertów.
    Dlatego te? konsultacja z ekspertami odgrywa wa?n? rol? przy uruchamianiu platformy e-commerce.

    Na zako?czenie, sklepy internetowe na platformach open-source ??cz? mo?liwo?? dostosowania
    i optymalnym bud?etem, co sprawia, ?e s? atrakcyjn? alternatyw? w bran?y sprzeda?y online.

  30. My brother suggested I might like this web site. He was entirely right.
    This put up actually made my day. You can not imagine simply
    how a lot time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  38. Your style is so unique compared to other folks I’ve read stuff from.
    Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this web site.

  43. Definitely consider that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the internet
    the easiest thing to take note of. I say to you, I certainly
    get annoyed whilst people think about worries that they just
    do not recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top
    and also defined out the whole thing with no need side effect ,
    people can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more.
    Thank you

  49. Good day! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe
    guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa?

    My website discusses a lot of the same topics as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other.
    If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
    I look forward to hearing from you! Wonderful blog by the way!

  50. You actually make it seem so easy together with your presentation but
    I in finding this matter to be actually something that I feel I would by no means understand.

    It sort of feels too complex and extremely vast for me.
    I’m looking ahead on your subsequent publish, I will attempt to get the cling of
    it!

Leave a Reply

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