Love Soul Food

When I saw that I had the option to review "Soul Food Love" I jumped at it. Although my Southwestern upbringing had been adventurous, my mother's culinary tastes had never veered towards the South.

Soul Food Love is a cookbook of "Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family. Alice and Caroline run through a variety of recipes, nearly all of which they describe as "perfect". Each recipe includes a fun history piece which often includes a description of the original recipe (before the healthy makeover) and there were several times I wish they had included those as well.

Instructions are easy to read and follow without being overly complex. However Alice and Caroline do not include estimated cooking times; something I find immensely important.

My roommates and I tried the Cauliflower Crown (delicious, although I may try to replicate the original recipe the duo hints at that involves wine). It went nicely with our Tacu Tacu de Palta (Peruvian Avacdo and Rice Fritters--once we perfect them I'll include the recipe) and Meringues.

Cauliflower Crown:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 bay leave
1 large head cauliflower, any greens removed
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large pot, combine the vinegar, rosemary, and bay leaf with enough water to cover the cauliflower, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower and reduce the heat. Simmer the cauliflower until you can easily stick a knife through it, about 30 minutes.
3. Drain the cauliflower and transfer it to a baking dish. In a small owl, whisk the olive oil with salt and pepper to taste, and pour this evenly over the cauliflower. Bake, standing upright on its base, until well browned, about 3 minutes.

The Cauliflower Crown

Meringues 

My Sous-Chefs: Matt and Kevin sitting down to enjoy the meal

The Paleo Chef

Apologies for the long delay between recipes! I've been pretty sick and haven't had as much time to cook or blog.

The last cookbook; the Paleo Chef. In the latest craze that's been sweeping the nation. In a cooking frenzy Matt, Kevin and I made a feast:

Tyrokopita
Indian Chicken
Rice Patties
Salad
and Orange


Heres a modified recipe from The Paleo Chef, Pete Evans
Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

avocado ranch dressing
ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp each chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and dill
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder

salad
1 Granny Smith apples (cored and thinly sliced)
1 head lettuce (chopped)
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp walnuts

mix dressing ingredients
add to lettuce and mix thoroughly

This is one of the best salads I've had in a while! Enjoy!

Overall: the cookbooks good on meat dishes (although the dishes require some more exotic ingredients). Desserts: awful. We made the avocado mousse. I know avocado has become popular in dessert dishes recently, but they haven't turned out great for me. So, enjoy!

Relae: A Book of Ideas

As one might imagine, most cookbooks are similarly organized. In chef and restaurant owner Christian Puglisi's guide to cooking and eating the recipes are intricately linked. Instead of searching out specific ingredients to make a dish, the book strongly advocates using the ingredients you have on hand to find a recipe.

Relae delves into the history of Puglisi's restaurant of the same name. An interesting idea and an even more fascinating reality, the reality of Puglisi's dream restaurant in Copenhagen makes me want to simply wander on in (if only).

Relae's originality and unique format may be the start of a trend. We'll have to see if more writers take up this manner of addressing cooking.

However, I accidentally left this book at home over Winter Break, so I'll update my experiences with the recipes once I get it back.

Overall Recommendations: A very fun cookbook, abet a bit pricy.

In Her Kitchen:Stories and Recipes from Grandmothers around the world

An interesting idea for a cookbook, author Gabriele Galimberti's love of food and cooking was developed and encouraged by his grandmother. He decided to travel the world and try the various specialties of grandmothers everywhere.

The genesis of "In her Kitchen", Gabriele compiles 70 recipes from the far-reaches of the world. After all, who doesn't love some good home cooked comfort food? The cookbook has a picture of each grandmother, her dish, a small paragraph about her  and then the recipe on the next page. It was wonderful to see so many proud grandmothers. Gabriele also chose easier dishes, the comfort food of each grandmother so the dishes are also a little more accessible to those who don't cook was much.

I'm planning on trying the Thai omlette, a childhood classic. Although I am partial to my mother's (she's a fantastic cook) I'm excited to see how this one lines up.

Overall review: the perfect gift for a grandmother! (I mean, come on, does it get any better?). Also, if you want to try a variety of simple dishes from around the world, this is great way to start. 3.5/5 starts.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.

The Druknen Coobkook

Yes, you read that right. The Druknen Coobkook is my latest foray into the wild world of cooking.

This brilliant book pairs a hilarious sense of humor with a variety of mouth-watering recipes. The idea? That a slightly (or maybe more than slightly) tipsy version of yourself will one day find itself wanting to cook. However, kitchens are dangerous places, so the book helps you identify your level of inebriation (a downright fantastic read) and suggests you're cooking ability. The recipes range from simple burgers to extremely savvy curried monkfish and mussels.

I was impressed with the variety of recipes and the author's narrative flair.

Overall thoughts: GREAT GIFT idea for your friend who loves to cook (and drink). It's affordable ($10.00) and has a great variety of recipes.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.

A Kitchen in France

As I'm sure you've noticed from my last post I'm extremely fond of French cooking, so when "A Kitchen in France" popped on my list of cookbooks to review I jumped at the chance.

To review a bit about myself I'm a university student, which presents some limitations to my culinary budget, as well as to the amount of time I can spend cooking.

Whenever I review a cookbook there are several things I look for; commonly available ingredients, detailed-but-not -too-detailed instructions, pictures of the final product (I'm a visual person so I like having an idea of the end goal in mind) and a variety of dishes (especially when the cookbook represents a specific cuisine).

Mimi Thorrison's "A Kitchen in France" nailed them all. First off, the cookbook itself is a piece of art (indicative of the author's French heritage). All though the Mimi introduces herself and talks about her life, it's not the focus. She has a wide variety of dishes arranged by season, which varies from the haut cuisine of French socialite culture to the hearty peasant food typical of the French countryside. The melange of simple dishes and complex meals makes this cookbook something I know I'll be able to constantly use, not just the occasional reference to the offbeat-somewhat forgotten recipe.

Matt and I like to host supper for our friends, and we're looking to have a pie night this coming weekend, our last left something to be desired (although apparently no one else noticed our difficulties in the kitchen). For dessert we're planning to test out Mimi's Chocolate Torte, which looks absolutely decadent. I'll upload pictures and a review once we've made it.

My overall thoughts on "A Kitchen in France": If you've ever wanted a French cookbook THIS IS THE ONE. The variety of recipes is a phenomenal introduction to French cuisine for the newbie, as well as a great way to diversify you're repertoire if you've a bit more experience. I usually don't give raving reviews, but I'm doing one for this book. Again, the holidays are coming so if you have a francophile in your family, this IS the perfect gift. Or you've a relative that likes to cook, or...you get the point.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.

Tamales; Fast and Delicious Mexican Meals

I've always been a fan of Mexican and Hispanic food so I was super excited to try this cookbook. My cooking experience has primarily been limited to tacos and enchiladas, and this book seemed like a great way to branch out.

Alice Guadalupe Tapp's "Tamales:Fast and Delicious Mexican Meals" breaks down an intimidating food into a manageable process for the adventurous cook. Unlike some of the other cookbooks I've reviewed recentl, this was much more user friendly. Ingredients are pretty straightforward. Other than some of the chapter of "Nose-to-Tail Tamales" which uses everything, from nose to tail, you should be able to find all ingredients in your local grocery store.

I haven't had a chance to try anything yet with midterms and lab reports and whatnot, but I've picked out the Sirloin Beef tamales, a bit of a splurge for a college student with the sirloin, but looks extremely promising. The instructions are clear without being overly descriptive (like the Bahn Mi Book) and ingredients are all easy to find (unlike Cerviche, Peruvian Kitchen)

I'll write up and update once Matt and I get a chance to make these.

UPDATE: THEY WERE DELICIOUS. We made the pork tamales, and the dessert tamales with bananas and nutella. The ingredients were straightforward (other than finding the masa) and we used parchment paper instead of corn husks. Once assembled, the tamales steam and its very low intensity. Absolutely recommended :)

Overall thoughts on this cookbook: Very good if you like tamales. Straightforward instructions using accessible ingredients that shouldn't be too expensive. Definitely recommended for any Mexican food fan who doesn't mind trying something a bit more adventurous.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.