I must say I found this book thought provoking. I know of many different people that have a variety of food allergies. I had not known that some people had allergies to soy products. For years I have read up on health and nutrition, and never once read that soy may cause issues for some people. If you do have food allergies or experience any food allergy related symptoms this book may be worth reading.

While Dianne Gregg may not be a medical authority she has real life experience, and was willing to investigate what caused her food allergy. Her issue was soy and soy products. I am certain she isn’t the only one. I think some of the most interesting topics she raised were the fact that soy is touted as being completely healthy without always having quantitative values on the health benefits. Another topic she brings up is that large industritial farming does not always keep the consumer in mind, it is about large business.

I liked that she did a good job of talking about where soy can be found. It seems much like salt, it can linger just about anywhere. I had never realized that soy was in things like breads, MSG, seasoned salt, frozen dinners, margarine, ice cream, and other baked goods. She gives many great ideas about being aggressive about what you put into your body.

While this book isn’t written by a medical authority it is written by someone who has experienced ill effects by eating soy products. You or someone you know may have the same problems. Many people are not bothered by peanuts, but those who are, can experience extreme problems with them. I think this book brings up many great suggestions in dealing with this, and I liked the added touch of including many recipes that you can make and not be worried about any allergic effect.

Posted by stephanie.manley as health at 7:35 PM MST

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First off if you love Brennan’s you are going to love this cookbook.  With that being said if you are looking for the recipe for their pralines, or the banana’s foster, you need to look at one of their other cookbooks because this book isn’t filled with the traditional recipes that we all know and love Brennan’s for. 

This book was lovingly created, and has many unique recipes.  Recipes contained in this book are those that you would expect to find in a finer dining establishment.  Satsuma orange jelly, warm spinach salad, Heirloom tomato salad, are just a few of the recipes in this book.  The book contains a good selection from all courses of dinner; meats, baked goods, vegetables, and additional items to make a meal complete. There are photos of each and every recipe, the photos make you want to go into the kitchen and start cooking immediately.

While many of these recipes are very good, I had personally expected this to have more items I would see on the menu.  One of the appeals of Brennan’s is its classic standards that you come to enjoy.  This book contains none of these recipe, but it does contain other good recipes that an adventuresome cook would enjoy making.

Posted by stephanie.manley as French, General Cooking at 5:42 PM MST

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A cooking bible can be so helpful when it comes to unusual ingredients, and cooking techniques. I have often been left wondering, and been forced to go through multiple sources to find out information on a particular ingredient. For example did you know Cilantro is also known as Chinese Parsley?

Jeni Wright makes a book that is made for the kitchen. The cover of the book can be wiped off from splashes and splatters, as the cover was designed for use in the kitchen. I like that with each entry, she will tell you how to choose the ingredient, what it will taste like, how to store it, its preparation, and what it can be used for. Often small recipes are given to have demonstrate the use of the ingredient.

The book also spends much time going over meat of many varieties and dairy products. When covering the meat, she tells you about the different cuts of meat, what they should be ideally, and then how to prepare these cuts. A few recipes are given as well so you can prepare food. When it comes to the poultry she gives all of the information about cuts, what they should look like ideally, and how to prepare, but she also spends time telling you how to cut up a chicken, duck, and even pheasant.

21st Century Cook is a wonderful book packed with all sorts of information. With this book, I can easily find information about techniques and ingredients. I like that she covers the common, and not so common techniques and ingredients. This book would be a great addition to anyone’s cooking library.

Click here for more info on this book.

Posted by stephanie.manley as General Cooking at 6:59 AM MST

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Tish Boyle writes a wonderful book on cake making. She gives many recipes, which is to be expected. What she does different is that she spends time speaking about the nature of different cakes, ingredients, and techniques. This makes this book so much more than a just a recipe book about cakes.

The book starts with a general discussion of ingredients. She carefully tells you the differences in flours, fats, sugars and other sweeteners, leaveners, nuts and dried fruits, and other flavor addities. The book then goes onto baking equipment. I like that she points out what is essential, and then what you should have ideally. Her chart on cake pan sizes is wonderful. So many times I have often wondered the volume that an odd ball cake pan would hold.

Before we get into the recipes, she carefully describes pan preparation for different cakes. I like that she describes the differences in greasing a pan, or adding grease and flour. She gives tips that work on softening butter, sepearting eggs, creaming butter and sugar, and folding in more ingredients. Ms. Boyle then spends a great deal of time on decorating a cake. She will guide you through trimming and dividing cake layers, filling and frosting the cake. Piped decorations are also covered. She also covers a variety of other cake covering ideas such as marizpan, fondant, chocolate, and so much more.

Now, finally she begins with cake recipes. What I think she does to make her recipes unique are several different things. She rates the recipes by difficulty level. This gives you a good idea if this is something you can simply throw together, or if it is something that is going to take longer. She suggests other recipes to go with a particular cake, or a few changes you an make to customize the recipe. She lets you know if any special equipment is needed before the recipe is listed in the book. The recipes are written clearly, and the directions come in concise numerical steps for you to follow. She finishes each recipe with how to best store the cake, and how long it will stay fresh.

As you can see, a lot of thought has been placed into this book. I really feel Tish Boyle does an excellent job of educating you about cakes, their ingredients, techniques used in baking, and covers a variety of cakes. I would highly recommend adding this book to your collection.

Click here for more information on this book.

Posted by stephanie.manley as Best in Class, Baking at 6:56 AM MST

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I must say that I really enjoy the Taste of Home magazines. They have quality recipes, that turn out well, which is something many cooking magazines can not manage. This book is well crafted with many terrific recipes inside. I have already received compliments with many of the recipes I have used in this book.

Usually when you buy these types of binder cookbooks you are left to essemble them yourself. Finally, comes one binder cookbook that I did not have to put together. I found that a nice treat. I like the way this book is organized into many different categories. I also like that there are many photos of most of the recipes.

I have found this book to be very handy as whenever I have wanted a particular recipe, it is in this book. What I like most about this book is that it is a collection of tried and true recipes, some cookbooks just put together recipes, without much care if the recipes even work or not. These recipes are easy to read, and easy to make. Another feature that I really like about this book is that it reminds me of community cookbook, but the community is really large.

I can honestly say I have received compliments, and been asked for the recipes that I have used from this book. This book recently got me through a holiday season. Maybe like you, I feel like I should bring something original and tasty to every holiday party. This book did not let me down. I would highly recommend adding this book to your collection

Here is an example of their great recipes, their Artichoke Dip was a hit at a recent party.

Posted by stephanie.manley as General Cooking, recipe, Special Occasion at 10:11 AM MST

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So many cookbooks claim to be the “Best of the best”, and so many of them fall so short. I picked up this book thinking it would be yet another one of the “Best of the best” cookbooks that had unimpressive recipes. I was really surprised when I picked up this book by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens. The recipes are truly unique, and are very tasty.

You may wonder what makes this book stand out from most cookbooks. They have wonderful photography. The photos make the food not only look tasty, but will have you going to your pantry ready to prepare the dish for yourself. Recipes are noted with notes from the kitchen, and their experiences with cooking the dish. I like that they offer suggestions of other variations, other ingredients you can add, and so much more. They also offer tips about cooking techniques, ingredients, and cooking equipment.

You take away that the editors of this book really care about cooking. You can see it in the way the recipes are presented. They add so much text to the recipe than just leaving you with the plain recipe. These are the cookbooks that I enjoy the most, as you can take away so much with these tips, insight, and general information. I feel by reading this book has made my overall cooking better.

Parsi Deviled Eggs

This recipe is from the best 150 American Recipes

6 large eggs, hard cooked
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice, or more to taste
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 C. mayonnaise

Shell the eggs, cut them in half lengthwise, and put the egg yolks in a small bowl. Set the whites aside. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the mayonnaise to the yolks, mashing well with a fork. Be sure the honey is well distributed. Stir in the mayonnaise and taste for lime and salt.

Spoon the mixture into the egg whites, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Posted by stephanie.manley as General Cooking, Best in Class, recipe at 8:17 PM MST

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Maybe like you I love to check out different cookbooks. This one seemed to be original in that it presented recipes that you may have not seen, or ones that you grew up with. Seeing nostaglic recipes always brings back memories. While I found this book a good read, the recipes aren’t the best for the particular dish.

In the books favor it does a great deal to set the theme of “Retro” recipes. Their are funny little blurbs in the text that relate you to the time in which the recipes were written. Pictures are taken that definately bring you back to your Mom’s or Grandmother’s cookbook. Actually the pictures are one of the best parts of this book, the pictures are quite good, and leave your mouth watering.

Complaints that I have about the recipes steam from using cornstarch in banana pudding, while it works, flour is used more traditionally, and seems to give a better flavor than cornstarch. The recipe for Banana’s Foster suggests bourbon, Banana’s Foster is never made with Bourbon. I also have yet to see an old recipe for Chow Mein Hay Stacks that uses coconut.

While I think the book was beautifully made. The pictures are delightful, and will take you back in time. The book has many little blurbs that are fascinating to read. The recipes aren’t the best thought out, and honestly do not always seem to be the ideal representations of the dish that is represented.

Posted by stephanie.manley as Dinning in general, Historical at 7:54 AM MST

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This is my ideal type of cake decorating book. I am not personally a cake decorator, but this book has techniques and designs that most people should be able to do easily. The instructions are clear, there are plenty of pictures to go by, and on many of the recipes there are pictures of how to decorate step-by-step. Peggy Porschen takes out the mystique of making gorgeous cakes.

Her book has many recipes of cakes, cookies, icings, and fillings to use inside the cakes. I like that she takes the time out to make sure the cake is not only going to look good, it is going to taste good as well. The begining of the book describes the decorating tools you will need. For many of the cakes in the book you will not need all of the tools, so this book is an excellent choice if you are just starting out.

Basic instructions are given on a variety of piping techniques, so when it comes time to employ what you have just learned, you will be able to decorate your cake. I like this book because it has designs that are “fresher” than many of the Wilton cake design books. She has you using piping techniques, marzipan, and fondant to help make your cakes look wonderful.

She has many different designs for decorting cookies, cakes, cup cakes, wedding cakes, and so much more. This book is extremely dense when it comes to presenting many different ideas in one book. This has to be one of the most inovative cake decorating books since Colette’s cake decorating books. While the cakes are as pretty as Colette’s are, I feel many of these decorating techniques makes the book more accessible by those of us who do not decorate cakes all of the time.

Posted by stephanie.manley as Best in Class, Special Occasion at 8:07 PM MST

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Rum, unlike other types of liquor stepped into the bars and in the drinking glasses rather late when compared to Scotch, Vodka, and its other cousins. Wayne Curtis takes you through the history of Rum, and its rise in popularity by exploring history through 10 different drinks. Rum is a wonderfully alive and flexible drink as it is perfectly acceptible for its preparation to vary greatly, unlike many of the other types of liquor that is drunk.

Orignally made from by products of the sugar manufactoring process, Rum was orignally drunk by the poor and the local people. Rum started off with no value and very little popularity. In time Rum manufactures would discover ways to made the drink better, and it rose in popularity.

Rum has gone from being a liquor made from a by-product of sugar manufactoring to where it is now a trendy drink in popular bars. Rum has done this through its flexible nature as it is the only type of liquor you can by in as many of varieties as you can. It can be found in light, dark, and spiced to name a few. Rum continues to evolve and change. Wayne Curtis does an excellent job of describing how an evolving drink continues to be popular today.

Posted by stephanie.manley as Historical, Beverage at 8:05 PM MST

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Sheryl Shade does a superior of job of putting together the essentials of table manners, setting of a table, descriptions of glassware, and descriptions of silverware, among many other important facts to know. This book would be ideal for anyone intending to brush up on their table manners. Shade covers informal dining, formal dining, and manners at cocktial parties.

I like that this book is guided towards women in business situations. As often it may be awkward when a woman is leading a business meeting over a meal. She gives clear and concise direction in guiding conversations, what to order to eat easily, and the handling of paying the bill. I feel all of these subjects really answer many of the uncertainties when dining in a business situation.

This book would be a good guide for a recent college graduate. Often job interviews can take place over a meal, and while good tabble manners may not have a job offer result from the, many people have excluded from being hired over their table manners. This is a well put together book that will refine most lady’s table manners and is well worth reading.

Posted by stephanie.manley as Best in Class at 8:05 PM MST

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