Reviews

The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook

	Ever been to Chicago in January?  If the answer is yes, then you realize why comfort food is so popular in this city.  It's also easy to understand why restaurants such as the Meatloaf Bakery have become Second City favorites!  This Lincoln Park establishment was......[ read more ]

Kitchenability 101 - The College Student's Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food

	You have spent the last decade or more trying to save money and prepare your child for college.  You have taken them shopping for the basic things that they will need to survive during their first year away from home.  But if you think that you have all of the bases covered, you need to check......[ read more ]

Handwritten Recipes

	There is an old bookstore here in Cincinnati that has been in business since the 1940s.  The Ohio Book Store is like a museum with five floors of used books that could take you an entire weekend to explore!  The last time we visited this establishment, we picked up a couple of interesting old cookbooks from......[ read more ]

Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes

	Most of our favorite recipes have some kind of story attached to them.  They are outstanding recipes in their own right but there is usually something else that makes them extra special to us.  A sister who used to bake......[ read more ]

The Artisan Soda Workshop

	Ingredients in a can of Fresca: carbonated water, citric acid, concentrated grapefruit juice, potassium citrate, potassium sorbate, potassium bezoate, and EDTA, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, acacia, natural flavors, glycerol ester of rosin, brominated vegetable oil, carob bean gum, phenyl.........[ read more ]

Quinoa Cuisine

	There are not many foods that can provide nearly all of the nutrients essential for life.  Rich in protein, iron, calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamins B and E, quinoa can do just that.  This incredibly versatile food has inspired Jessica Harlan ......[ read more ]

Fire Island Cookbook

Here in the Midwest, the beginning of summer is always met with a lot of anticipation.  The foul weather is now behind us and we look forward to the hot, oppressive humidity that make the summer movie season (and the AC that goes with it) so special.  On the culinary front, summertime in the Midwest means cookouts - hot dogs, hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob and other veggies grilled over smoldering charcoal.  These, along with some friends and cold beverages are all that you really need......[ read more ]

Norwegian Cakes and Cookies

	A few months ago we had our first taste of the world of Norwegian Baking when we made Kransekake, a tall layer of lightly baked almond flour rings mortared together with sweet icing.  Since then we were on the lookout for  Norwegian cookbooks with more baking ideas.  As such, we recently......[ read more ]

Cook Wild

Reading the book, Cook Wild by Susanne Fischer-Rizzi (available in North America on April 15, 2012) brought back memories of a smelt fishing trip that some friends and I took some years back during one cold April night on Lake Michigan on Chicago's north side. We built an impromptu hobo oven from an old oil drum and some drift wood that we found along the lake (or was it a few smashed up packing crates that we found behind a Jewel-Osco supermarket)....I can't remember. Anyway, although......[ read more ]

Vegan Junk Food

	Ever thought about becoming a vegan but your love for junk food got in the way? Well, now you have no excuse. Vegan Junk Food by Lane Gold features 225 animal friendly, good to the planet recipes that will satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike......[ read more ]

Clean Start - Inspiring You To Eat Clean and Live Well

	We are barely into the new year and many of us have already ditched our New Year’s resolutions. Well don’t despair. Author Terry Walters gives us a second chance to improve our diets with her latest book, Clean Start: Inspiring You to Eat Clean and Live Well. This book features over 100 vegan and gluten free......[ read more ]

Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns

	"You should never judge a book by its cover." After reading the book, Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns by Sabra Ricci, I was reminded once again of the wisdom behind this age old advice. This book looks more like a paperback......[ read more ]

The Slow Cook Book

	There are a lot of slow cooker cookbooks available today but how many give you recipes for both the slow cooker version and the traditional version? The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney does just that and much more. Whinney is both food writer and home economist......[ read more ]

Blood Sugar - Inspiring Recipes For Anyone Facing the Challenge of Diabetes and Maintaining Good Health

	If you have diabetes or if you are just interested in eating good food while watching after your health, then Blood Sugar by Chef Michael Moore is for you. Moore has been a chef for 26 years and has owned and managed restaurants in both London and Sydney including The Bluebird London. He is currently the chef and owner of ......[ read more ]

The Bonne Femme Cookbook

It’s been said that the three nations with the deepest, richest culinary traditions are China, France, and Italy. The Bonne Femme Cookbook by Wini Moranville, provides a solid introduction to the French culinary tradition by introducing readers to the “bonne femme” style of cooking. Translated into English, bonne femme literally means “good wife” but this expression also refers to a culinary style that uses fresh, honest, simple, everyday ingredients and ......[ read more ]

Ciao Italia Family Classics

	When it comes to Italian cuisine, Mary Ann Esposito is an institution. She is the host and creator of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, the United States’ longest running cooking program which has been on the air since 1989. She is also the author of 12 Italian cookbooks and also has a......[ read more ]

150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes

It’s been 10 years since the first edition of 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes, by Judith Finlayson, was released. The second edition of this slow cooker “Bible” has been revised by the author to include new, healthier recipes and to upgrade many of the existing favorites. Finlayson has kept about 100 of the original recipes and added new dishes that include whole grains, fish and seafood, and ......[ read more ]

Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

	Do you like pizza? For most of us the answer is a resounding yes!! The third book by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoë François, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, provide a wealth of information on how to prepare this world famous dish in your own kitchen in minutes. The key to doing this, the authors contend, is by ......[ read more ]

Ice Cream Happy Hour

It’s never too early to get ready for summer. As the temperatures here begin to drop into the 50s and 60s, we’re already making preparations for next summer by trying a few recipes from the new cookbook, Ice Cream Happy Hour, by Valerie Lum and Jenise Addison. The book includes over 50 recipes for ice creams, sorbets, sundaes, and floats. The book is unique in that all of these desserts “merry” ice cream with alcohol to create a host of uniquely delicious desserts ......[ read more ]

Shucked

What did I know about oysters? In retrospect, next to nothing until I read Shucked, by Erin Byers Murray. In fact, my only experience with harvesting shellfish was limited to a couple of hours spent digging clams at a beach behind my sister’s apartment in Winthrop, Massachusetts. The only thing that I remember was the pain in my lower back and the relief that I felt when the tide finally rolled in and we had to call it quits for the day. It’s hard work! Yet the author of this book left her .....[ read more ]

Ramen to the Rescue

I have to admit, I haven’t cooked ramen noodles since my college days at Oregon State University when time and more importantly money were in short supply. I remember that when I was ready to graduate, I was completely sick and tired of eating ramen. So when I was asked to review the book, Ramen to the Rescue by Jessica Harlan, I approached the task with some trepidation. Anyway, the book begins with a brief history of ramen noodles and how the instant version is made. Harlan then draws upon her experience as a ....[ read more ]

300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes

If you’re like me, you think of rice cookers as somewhat one dimensional – they cook rice. After reading 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes, by Katie Chin, I realized that this is simply not the case. Rice cookers can be used for a wide range of culinary applications from cooking healthy grains and legumes, soups, steamed dishes, desserts, and one pot (slow cooker type) meals. Katie Chin draws upon her experience as a private chef and food consultant specializing in Pan-Asian cuisine, to create a diverse set of delicious recipes specifically....[ read more ]

The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Cookbook

The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Cookbook, by June Hersh, is an extensive collection of recipes using kosher meats. Additional recipes for soups, side dishes, sauces and chutneys are also included that use creative substitutions in order to keep kosher. Hersh has conferred with a cast of expert butchers from across the United States to create an insightful guide for all things involving the selection, preparation, and seasoning of kosher meats. Recip...[ read more ]

150 Best Tagine Recipes

A couple of weeks ago, we received a review copy of the book, 150 Best Tagine Recipes,by Pat Crocker. The book provides an interesting introduction to Maghreb cuisine – dishes with origins in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Crocker provides a detailed overview of the North African flavor footprint complete with profiles of trade-route spices and other Persian flavor agents. Each profile includes the origin of the flavor agent, a description of its taste, .....[ read more ]

Just Tell Me What To Eat!

Have you ever gone on a diet that forced you to eat foods that were less than appetizing and ultimately ended in frustration with no long-term weight loss? Dr. Timothy S. Harlan’s fifth book, Just Tell Me What to Eat!, provides a realistic, flexible six week weight loss plan complete with 80 recipes. Week by week, Dr. Harlan provides a shopping list of ingredients that you will need to prepare each of the recipes.  He also provides lists of comparable .........[ read more ]

The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Book

	The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Book, by Dinah Bucholz, features 35 easy to make recipes for candies and other sweets from the pages of the Harry Potter Anthology. Recipes for Crunchy Roaches, Triple Peppermint Humbugs, Sugar Mice, Chocolate Love Potions, Mincemeat Ice Cream and ..... [ read more ]

The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook

The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook contains over 340 recipes. These include both new and classic recipes that are well organized by course from breakfast and brunch to entrees, desserts, and beverages. This book also includes extensive selections on specialized gardening techniques including how to grow kitchen herb gardens, vegetable gardens, edible flower gardens, and berry .........[ read more ]

Green Market Baking Book

	The Green Market Baking Book not only includes 100 delicious, healthy recipes, it just may change the way that you cook. Author Laura C. Martin is a strong proponent of slow food cooking - the replacement of highly processed ingredients such as sugar with natural alternatives. Like most chefs today, Martin also advocates using locally grown ingredients...... [ read more ]

Other Reviews

Sonic Chicago Hot Dog

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to try the new Chicago Dog at Sonic. I love Sonic and the whole retro drive-in concept. They have an amazing drink selection and their hamburgers are outstanding. However, I have to admit that I was disappointed with their take on Chicago's most famous dish, the .......[ read more ]

Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer

A couple of months ago, we were asked if we would be interested in reviewing a folding proofer designed by Brød & Taylor. Until that point, we had never used a proofer before. We simply sought out the warmest location in the kitchen and hoped for the best. As you can imagine, consistency was.........[ read more ]