I Love Tasty by Catrine Kelty

One of our cooking teachers stopped by the library today and we had fun discussing new cookbooks, especially I LOVE TASTY by Catrine Kelty.  If you are not familiar with the Tasty website, have a look.  I was introduced to the delicious recipes there by my 20-something children and I think this cookbook is a great fit for that same group. I LOVE TASTY, the unofficial cookbook, is filled with images and easy to follow recipes perfect for the beginning cook – much like the website itself.  I really liked that the process is photographed as well as the final dish. Just a few favorites from the cookbook include “Good Morning Breakfasts” with Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Muffins, “All Kinds of Vegetable Dishes” with Zucchini Pancakes, and comfort foods like True Shepherd’s Pie or Flaky Chicken Potpie in the “Meat, Poultry and Fish for Dinner” section.  These 100 or so basic recipes are all relatively easy with a limited number of familiar ingredients and provide a wonderful opportunity to explore for new cooks.  Looking for other cookbook ideas? Don’t forget Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown – my colleague checked that one out, too.

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

It is always so exciting when a debut novel receives multiple starred reviews as was the case for RABBIT CAKE by Annie Hartnett (Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly).  And, almost exactly a year ago, I read and enthusiastically blogged about Relief Map by Rosalie Knecht which is also published by Tin House. 

Hence, I had high expectations for RABBIT CAKE, a story of coping with loss for the Babbitt family; 11 year-old Elvis, her older sister Lucy and their Dad all deal differently with the drowning of their mother/wife while sleep walking/swimming. I very much liked the precociousness and naïveté of Elvis as she tries to process the changes in her life and reactions by Lizzie (binge eating) and her Dad (wearing lipstick; adopting a pet).  It was clear that the Mom was a cohesive, if slightly eccentric, force for this family. The story, described as “darkly comic,” does get strange, though.   And overall it was a little too much for me.  Read RABBIT CAKE by Annie Hartnett if you like a somewhat absurd and unrealistic streak to novels you choose.  Let me know what you think of this well-written story - your favorite part and what was most original and moving for you.

New Cookbook Titles

Recently, Booklist featured cooking and cookbooks and I happened to receive pre-publication copies of several new ones so I thought I'd combine them in this review.  My personal favorite is 101 One Dish Dinners by Andrea Chesman (Oct. 4; Storey Publishing). Subtitled "Hearty Recipes for the Dutch Oven, Skillet & Casserole Pan," this collection provides numerous ideas for nutritious dinners.  In addition to various soups, I am looking forward to trying Lemony Chicken with Artichokes and Potatoes, or Chili Mac, or Moussaka as just a few examples. 101 One Dish Dinners has lovely photographs and most recipes involve relatively few, easily obtainable ingredients. An added plus, especially for busy cooks? That one dish cleanup.

Next, I had fun looking through Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked – and Fried, Too! by Raghavan Iyer (Nov.1, Workman Publishing). This book, written by a chef originally from India, focuses on the versatile potato. Again, the photographs are beautiful and Iyer demonstrates why he was named an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Teacher of the Year.  He takes the time to explain different types of tubers such as Russet, Yukon Gold, Purple Creamer, King Edward (and MANY more) while providing creative potato recipe ideas from many ethnicities (e.g., phyllo triangles, latkes, pot stickers) involving appetizers/munchies to entrees and side dishes to sweet desserts.

Food 52: A New Way to Dinner by Amanda Hesser, Merrill Stubbs (Oct. 18, Ten Speed Press) sounded promising as it advocates planning and cooking for the week and offers many seasonal recipes. For me, though, it was hard to get excited when I as not all that familiar with the ingredients (e.g., Orecchiette with Merguez and Ramps). Food 52 was praised by Nigella Lawson and The New York Times so it may appeal if you are more experienced in the kitchen. Another cookbook with a "numbers" theme was One to Five by Ryan Scott (Oct. 25, Oxmoor.). Ryan Scott is a radio host who features accessible and affordable recipes. His preface was written by Rachel Ray and the book featured the option for greater use of prepared ingredients (e.g., refrigerated dough and canned soups), although he frequently uses steamed and shocked fresh vegetables. One to Five does creatively stretch one food (such as roasted chicken) into five alternatives (like pot pie, sandwiches, salad, enchiladas and turnovers).

The Short Stack Cookbook by Nick Fauchald and Kaitlyn Goalen (Oct. 18, Abrams) takes yet another approach to helping harried chefs by focusing on 12 key ingredients (e.g., tomatoes, eggs, or honey). In addition to tempting pictures, this cookbook has a bit of a "retro-feel" with a series of color-coded recipes that features each of the items. Healthy and seasonal foods are stressed and the recipes tend to have relatively lengthy ingredient lists.  Finally, Refreshed by Jim Bailey, “The Yankee Chef” (Oct. 28, Schiffer Publishing) provides recipes for lighter, simpler, comfort food, accompanied by extensive notes and comments from the author. Pictures here, too, are appetizing and the 180 recipes (like Potato-Crusted Salmon Fillet) will appeal to those trying to gradually improve their diet.  

That's just a sprinkling of choices -- Booklist gave starred reviews to cookbooks from other celebrities like How to Bake Everything by Mark Bittman and Big American Cookbook by Mario Batali. And sellers like amazon offers over 200,000 books dealing with cooking, food and wine - you are sure to find something to help answer "What's for Dinner?"