The Cookbook Junkies

This will be one of those books that I pull out to read like a novel, that I will use for inspiration and achieve greatness. 

It is full of seafood recipes along with other typical Icelandic fare.  Photos of beautiful Iceland, beautiful food and encyclopedic information about the food and people of this beautiful area.

Each section is broken down as follows:

Bacalao Producer
Arctic Char Smoker
Rugbraud Baker
Fisherman
Seabird Egg Collector
Barley Farmer
Dairy Farmer
Birch and Mushroom Forager
Sheep Farmer
Hardfiskur Producer
Salt Maker
Goat Farmer
Blue Mussel and Dulse Harvester

Will I cook from this book – yes — there are things I can recreate easily (butters, mustards, potato and veggie dishes and some seafood)- will I cook from it everyday – no.  Will I read and learn about the people and food of Iceland – yes.

This book is beautiful and will earn a spot on my bookshelf for inspiration.

My friends at Kyle Books sent a few of their newer releases for me to review. 

First up:

Olives, Lemons & Za’atar

Olives, Lemons & Za’atar is a gorgeous book – I fell in love with when it was first released.  I have tagged many recipes to try out.   The first recipe I made was the shrimp in garlic sauce and it was outstanding, served with some toasted sourdough bread — perfection.

Some of the other recipes that caught my attention are:

Red pepper and onion flatbread
Za’atar bread
Date cookies, because I love all things date
Macaroni cookies — sesame seeds and anise seeds
Knafese – shredded phyllo with walnut or cheese filling
Scrambled eggs with halloumi
and

THE WHOLE BOOK.

Sweet Mandarin Cookbook

Sweet Mandarin is a nicely done cookbook with great instructions and pictures.  I have a few standouts tabbed for trying.

Peninsula style chicken with cashew nuts
Asian style hamburger
Firecracker chicken
Dad’s chicken Fried Rice (love that it looks light and lovely and not dark and greasy)
Lemon chicken deluxe
Pear and ginger cupcakes
Chile, chocolate macaroons
and, of course, Fortune cookies

I made the Peninsula style chicken with cashew nuts but changed it up a little – it was really delicious.  The instructions are written clearly and the ingredients were not difficult for me to find here in Denver.  Most ingredients, if not accessible easily in your Asian section at the market, can be ordered online. 

One of the things that I loved about this book is that it does have a small dessert and cocktail section.  Many Asian cookbooks have very limited recipes on the sweet side. 

Caribbean Potluck

Caribbean Potluck is comfort food meets Caribbean vibe.  I haven’t had a chance to cook from it soon but I’m thinking the Baked ham for Christmas and the risotto will be in the next week or so.  I’ve never been to the Caribbean but this book will at least give me a glimpse into the flavor of this beautiful paradise.

Marmalade glazed leg of lamb
Baked ham with ortanique ginger glaze
Suzie’s Sunday roast pork chops
Wickedest rigatoni alla vodka
Ginger thyme risotto
Jerked chicken and cashew spring rolls with peanut coconut dipping sauce

Jewish Traditional Cooking

I love Jewish Traditional Cooking – it is jammed packed with recipes for typical Jewish standards as well as some surprises.  There are recipes for challah, bagels (thank goodness), pretzels, pitas and a few others I have tabbed are:

Vanilla and almond kipferi
Easy carrot orange and olive oil cake
Shabbat almond peach and apple kuchen
Potato kugel (best kugel photo I have ever seen with crispy, thin potatoes layered on top)
Meatballs in tomato sauce with cinnamon and allspice flavors
Knishes
Perfect boureka

My goal is to attempt the bagels in the next month or so.  The thought of making bagels intimidates me a bit – I’m from New York — the home of the best bagels ever.  Denver does not provide a great deal of palatable bagels so I will need to conquer my fear!

Smashing Plates

Smashing Plates is a gorgeous book that is worth it’s price for the dessert section alone.  That being said the savory section is outstanding. 

Some of the dishes I have tabbed to make are:

Carrot keftedes
Tomato and string bean baklava (yes, you read that correctly)
Honeyed fried feta (so simple but looks delectable)
Wild greens macaroni and cheese
Dried fig leaf pasta rags — (stunning)
Coffee custard doughnuts with fennel seed sugar
Tahini chocolate cakes with crème fraiche
Chocolate orange and anise tart
Almond rose water and chocolate Mallomar chimneys
Plum and lavender baklava
Apple and Greek yogurt cake with metaxa brandy syrup

Tonight I made roast spatchcock chicken with potatoes, lemon, wild greens and capers and the wild greens macaroni and cheese.   The details and instructions were wonderful and both dishes were delicious.  Andrew, my son, raved repeatedly about the macaroni and cheese.  Now that I know I can sneak in some greens — I will continue to do that in future dishes. 

Even the greens in the roasted chicken dish were tasty and I’ll use that technique in the future when roasting meats. 

Five great books from Kyle this time around – looking forward to their Fall releases – Nick Malgieri’s Pastry — and Farm, Fork and Food by Eric Skokan for starters.

In the world we live in today, I love how I can travel to different lands with a meal.   These cookbooks are sure to send you on  your way  to international flavors and delicious bites.

Another Kyle Books title to check out — The Italian Table – Eating Together for Every Occasion – I just ordered from Amazon — it sounded amazing from the description and I will edit this post once I have it in my hands.

French Comfort Food by Hillary Davis is a beautiful book overflowing with French inspiration and comfort food.  

The recipes that I have marked to try include, but are not limited to (that phrase is leftover from my legal days), Caramelized Onion and Roquefort Clafoutis, Savory Tomato Basil Cake, Wicked Chocolate Omelet Flamed with Rum, Perigord Garlic and Chicken Soup, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Candied Chestnuts, Endives and Ham Gratin, Potato, Cheese and Wine Casserole, Very Lemon Tart in a Butter Cookie Crust, Rum Soaked Almond Cake from Nantes and Walnut Tart in Walnut Pastry

Last night I made Heavenly Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Melted Cheese and Succulent Roast Chicken with Oranges and Black Olives.  To say the chicken was flavorful would be like stating Las Vegas is warm in July.  The chicken was moist, tender and orangey perfection and the potatoes were creamy heaven (and I forgot that heaven was actually in the name of the recipe). 

My husband appreciates my cooking and there are some meals that earn the “thank you, that was so delicious” statement and last night was one of them (and my husband does not like mashed potatoes) – so score! I had doubled the recipes to share with my neighbor who is running herself ragged with her teenaged daughter who is undergoing some serious medical issues.  I got several Fox stars from the Fox family – not as noteworthy as the Michelin stars but still meaningful to me.

Hillary writes great instructive details — a novice or experienced cook could recreate any of the recipes in this beautiful book.  The ingredients should be easy to procure in any large supermarket.