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Vegetarian Planet

carrie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:58 +0000

This cookbook is among my top 5 favorite cookbooks. The vegetarian dishes presented are bold, flavorful, and complete. A huge variety of foods, all presented originally, are covered – from Indian to American to Thai. And while you may hit a recipe gone bad, this book is invaluable for the ideas and resources it provides. For example, sidebars throughout the book provide instructions for making Mexican hot chocolate, reviews of vintage books, and other valuable information.

Cookies by Maida Heatter

carrie — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:00:51 +0000

When I want to make cookies, this is the book I reach for. It has a tremendous selection of cookies; well organized by type (drop cookies, bar cookies, icebox cookies, rolled cookies, hand-formed cookies and et cetera) so you can easily find just the cookie you’re looking for. All directions given are very explicit so it’s nearly impossible to get bad results. All the recipes I’ve tried have turned out excellent and I don’t bother looking for cookie recipes elsewhere.

The Way to Cook

carrie — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:48 +0000

This is a great instruction book for intermediate to advanced cooking techniques. There is a humongous amount of useful information presented and without cooking a single dish you can learn the subtleties of cooking. I like the fact that this book focuses on French techniques with an American flair due to Julia Child’s background. The wonderful pictures step you through difficult techniques like making meringue mushrooms for Bûche de Noël. Additionally, the book is set up so you have Master recipes/techniques with suggestions for variation. For example, Pâte à Génoise (aka Genoise cake batter) is a master recipe that sets the stage for a number of other cakes: The Santa Clara (a 3-layer cake with apricot filling and white mountain frosting), The Cambridge Cake (Genoise layer cake with mocha buttercream frosting, chocolate walls and bow), The Queen of Sheba (a chocolate almond cake), and of course roulades (including Bûche de Noël).

Going Solo in the Kitchen

carrie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:00:41 +0000

This cookbook is a great reference book for the solo cook. All the recipes are scaled for one and there is exceptional shopping advice and leftover suggestions specifically for single cooks. The recipes are what I would call “regular” – there’s nothing too fancy here but nothing gross (i.e. using lots of processed products) either. This book is kind of like the Joy of Cooking for single cooks. Highly recommended!

The pressure cooker

carrie — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:11:17 +0000

I recently got a pressure cooker and it is currently vying against my fuzzy-logic rice cooker as best kitchen equipment purchase. I know, can you believe it after my raving review of the rice cooker?? I still haven’t decided who has won yet – they both save me time and they both are getting lots of use. Here’s a short list of why I love my pressure cooker:

Chickpeas (yes, the longest cooking beans of all) in 13 minutes!!!
I can make pickled things (see the beets below).
It is a “new generation” pressure cooker without a jiggle top so I am not worried about it blowing up.
I don’t have to heat up my whole kitchen – just the stove top.. There’s limited numbers of things you can sauté… Add a pressure cooker and you’ve increased your choices by a bazillion. Seriously, I made cake in the thing today.
Saves energy. Things cook quicker so you use the stove less.

Anyhow, I thought I’d share two of the veggie recipes I’ve been enjoying. Both are adapted from Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen.

Eggplant Caponata

Quick Pickled Beets & Carrots