Cookbook Reviews, April 15, 2011
Apr 15, 2011Whether spring makes you think of fishing, fresh produce, or taking a trip, you’ll find plenty of cookbooks to get you in the mood for the new season. James O. Fraioli’s Wild Alaskan Seafood and Barton Seaver’s For Cod and Country take advantage of the latest catches; vegetarian cooks will appreciate Good Housekeeping Simple Vegan! and Nicola Graimes’s New Vegetarian Kitchen; and readers looking for travel inspiration can taste France (Hedda Gioia Dowd and others’ Rise to the Occasion) and the Northeast (Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier’s Maine Classics; Silvia Lehrer’s Savoring the Hamptons).
Berry, Vava. Soup! Pavilion, dist. by Trafalgar Square. May 2011. 192p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781862058972. $24.95. COOKING
An original soup cookbook is rare, but this one delivers—from quick to low-cost soups, both hot and cold. Leek, Red Lentil, Orange, & Spinach Soup is easy enough for the beginning cook. For experienced cooks looking to vary their soup repertoire, Cream of Sweetcorn with Tequila-Marinated Avocado & Puffed Corn provides an interesting combination of flavors and textures. In addition to distinctive, flavorful soups, French food stylist Berry includes such basics as Chicken Stock and Matzo Balls.
Boiardi, Anna & Stephanie Lyness (text) & Ellen Silverman (photogs.). Delicious Memories: Recipes and Stories from the Chef Boyardee Family. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. May 2011. 208p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781584799061. $27.50. COOKING
Part nostalgic background, part recipes, this cookbook offers new Italian recipes and presents the history behind Chef Boyardee, with photographs. Boiardi, the granddaughter and great-niece of the company’s founders, and Lyness (regional food critic, New York Times) include dishes like Tuna, Anchovies, Olives, and Artichokes; Fresh Egg Pasta; and Grilled Veal Chops. If you’ve never been excited by Chef Boyardee’s spaghetti and ravioli dinners, fear not—there’s much more to the Boiardi family’s recipes than what you’ve seen in the supermarket.
Dowd, Hedda Gioia & others (text) & Courtney Perry (photogs.). Rise to the Occasion: A French Food Experience. Pelican. 2011. c.192p. illus. index. ISBN 9781589808560. $35. COOKING
Dowd, Cherif Brahmi, and Celine Chick, owners of the Dallas French restaurant Rise, reveal the secrets of their famous soufflés and other French delicacies. Recipes include Violet Soufflés (made with candied violets), Escargots in Shells (which calls for snails, shallots, and garlic), and Dominique’s Berry Tarts (made with lemon zest, seasonal berries, and strawberry jam). Fans of Rise and French food are sure to enjoy this compilation of photographs and methodology, as the authors focus on healthy, enjoyable cooking.
Fraioli, James O. (text) & Jessica Nicosia-Nadler (photogs.). Wild Alaskan Seafood: Celebrated Recipes from America’s Top Chefs. Lyons: Globe Pequot. 2011. 288p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780762760473. $29.95. COOKING
Fraioli (Ocean Friendly Cuisine: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the World’s Finest Chefs) gathers recipes for cod, halibut, sole, rockfish, shellfish, and mollusks from 25 American chefs, including Bradley Ogden and Barton Seaver (see his For Cod and Country, reviewed on page opposite). Experienced cooks will relish Alaskan treats such as Smoked Coho Salmon Chowder, Grilled Black Cod with Blackberries and White Wine Butter Sauce, and Pink Shrimp and Watermelon Salad. Stunning photos of Alaskan fishermen, chefs, and recipes make this a rare treasure for seafood lovers.
Gaier, Mark & Clark Frasier with Rachel Forrest. Maine Classics: 150 Delicious Recipes from Down East. Running Pr. May 2011. c.320p. photogs. ISBN 9780762438709. $30. COOKING
If lobster is the only food that comes to mind when you think of Maine, this book will broaden your cooking horizons. Though cooks will find plenty of lobster and other seafood recipes here, ingredients also come from the farm, forest, and garden. James Beard award–winning chefs at Arrows in Ogunquit, ME, Gaier and Frasier serve up dishes like Lobster Shortcake with Rum Vanilla Sauce, Grilled Rabbit with Juniper and Bay Leaves, and Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms. Readers looking for an armchair trip to Maine won’t be disappointed—a plethora of scenic photos are also included.
Gayler, Paul with Gemma Heiser. Healthy Eating For Lower Blood Pressure. Kyle: Kyle Cathie, dist. by National Bk. Network. 2011. 160p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781906868284. pap. $16.95. COOKING
For those with high blood pressure, a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is essential for staying healthy, and chef Gayler (The Sauce Book) and Heiser, who has worked at the Food Standards Agency and the Blood Pressure Association, provide a good introduction for those recently diagnosed. They discuss causes of and treatment for high blood pressure, keys for a healthy diet, and the healthy kitchen pantry. The recipes range from Wild Berry Cranachan (which calls for rolled oats, low-fat yogurt, and raspberry jam) to Grilled Duck Breast with Herb Vinaigrette to Lemon Polenta Cake with Figs.
Good Housekeeping Simple Vegan!: Delicious Meat-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes Every Family Will Love. Hearst: Sterling. 2011. 160p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781588168689. $14.95. COOKING
Whether your family is vegan, you’re switching to a vegan diet, or you’re cooking vegan for a couple of nights each week, this is a great first stop for lots of recipes. The introduction includes nutritional guidelines as well as vegan dairy and egg substitutes. Vegan cooks will find a variety of recipes, including Bulgur Bean Burgers and Grilled Corn and Jack Quesadillas. Good Housekeeping takes the mystery out of vegan cooking—an excellent starter book for the new vegan.
Graimes, Nicola. New Vegetarian Kitchen: Raw, Broil, Fry, Steam, Simmer, Bake. Duncan Baird, dist. by Sterling. 2011. 240p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781844839261. $24.95. COOKING
Is your vegetarian cooking stuck in a rut? Graimes, award-winning food writer and former editor of Vegetarian Living magazine, provides recipes to freshen your routine. Recipes—e.g., Stuffed Tomatoes with Crushed Beans, Mozzarella, and Chimichurri and Watermelon Curry on Black Lentil Cakes—are written for the novice cook, making this a great cookbook for the beginning cook looking to impress dinner guests. While many ingredients may be readily available in large cities, a list of resources would have been helpful for hard-to-find ingredients such as fenugreek seeds and garam masala.
Lehrer, Silvia. Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island’s East End. Running Pr. May 2011. c.340p. photogs. ISBN 9780762440238. $30. COOKING
Lehrer (Cooking at Cooktique) provides a great variety of recipes for year-round pleasure, e.g., Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms, Wheat Berry Salad with Sugar Snap Peas and Cherry Tomatoes, and East End Clam Pie. Beautiful photographs illustrate why the Hamptons are a favorite vacation spot. Resources for artisans, farms, restaurants, and vineyards are listed. In a foreword, Alan Alda offers more than praise for this cookbook in an ode to the Hamptons and the people who live and cook there.
Seaver, Barton. For Cod and Country: Simple, Delicious, Sustainable Cooking. Sterling Epicure. May 2011. c.304p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781402777752. $30. COOKING
Seaver, a sustainable seafood advocate and Washington, DC, chef, here introduces pantry items, kitchen equipment, seafood substitutions (when you can’t find the fish called for in the recipes), and a glossary of fish. Recipes range from Pacific Cod with Ginger-Braised Asparagus to Bluefish with Creamed Corn and Herb Croutons (bluefish is found on the East and Gulf coasts—no substitutes are listed) to Smoked Catfish with Fig and Citrus Salsa. Website resources for sustainable organizations and seafood distributors are included. Fish lovers and beginning cooks will rejoice in this cookbook’s creative recipes and instructions for filleting fish and other seafood.
ADDITIONAL COOKBOOK
Rowe, Silvena. Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume: Cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean. Ecco: HarperCollins. Jun. 2011. c.256p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780062071590. $34.99. COOKING
Born in Bulgaria of Turkish descent, London chef and television personality Rowe (Feasts: Food for Sharing from Central and Eastern Europe) here offers up a set of mostly Turkish and Syrian recipes. The collection includes many dishes that will be relatively easy for the home cook to master. The flavors emphasized are intriguing without being unfamiliar. This approachable cookbook would have been more appealing had Rowe clearly identified when—if ever—recipes are drawn from other Mediterranean cultures. Moreover, she does not consistently frame each recipe with a story or insights. Readers might also wish that she had provided more detailed background about the two countries’ cuisines. VERDICT This is a good, pleasantly illustrated set of accessible recipes, but the level of personality and detail may disappoint. Recommended for collections needing cookbooks focused on this region.—Peter Hepburn, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
