HO HO HO — More Holiday Cookbooks to Prepare You for a Festive Holiday Season
by Larry Cox on Nov. 12, 2009, under UncategorizedNothing is more appreciated than a good cookbook, especially during the holidays. Even though Thanksgiving is still a couple of weeks away, it isn’t too early to start thinking of sugar plums and Chirstmas cookies. These cookbooks will help you make your festive foods even more so.
The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts: Decadent and Delicious Recipes Perfect for People With Diabetes by Jackie Mills (American Diabetes Association, $18.95)
Whether someone in the family is watching calories or living with diabetes, they can still enjoy incredible desserts, all guaranteed to be lower in carbohydrates, calories, and fat. From Chocolate-Drizzled Peanut Butter Cake to almost sinful Maple-Glazed Pumpkin-Walnut muffins, most are made by using a combination of granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, or molasses along with no-calorie sweetener sucralose (Splenda). Dietitian and former Redbook food editor Jackie Mills includes advice for making the most of small servings of nuts and chocolate and for using spices to add wonderful flavors and aromas to desserts.
Seriously Simple Holidays: Recipes and Ideas to Celebrate the Season by Diane Rossen Worthington (Chronicle Books, $24.95)
Diane Worthington, food writer, consultant, and James Beard Award-winning broadcaster who trained at the London Cordon Bleu, provides all of the game-plans, the organization, the equipment, the menus, the wine suggestions, the smart shortcuts, and a wide-ranging number of delicious recipes that focus on big and bold flavors while reducing prep time and ensuring the high quality of the finished dishes. Whether it’s a Panettone Breakfast Pudding with Eggnog Custard for brunch or a savory Rack of Lamb with Mustard-Date Crust, this book has a recipe for every essential holiday occasion.
The Culinary Institute of America Vegetables: Recipes and Techniques from the World’s Premier Culinary College, editorial project manager Mary Donovan (Lebhar-Friedman Books, $40)
Without a doubt, this is one of the most innovative and exciting books ever written about vegetables. The collection of 170 recipes lets you make the most out of the vegetables that you already love, as well as those you are just getting to know. Divided into sections that include Soups, Appetizers, Salads, Entrees, Side Dishes, and Sauces & Relishes, this wonderfully illustrated book also includes essential information about what to look for at the market, how to store vegetables, and even techniques that reveal the best way to prepare them. This should be in every Christmas stocking.
Cookies by Jill Snider (Robert Rose, $22.95)
What are the holidays without at least two or three platters of cookies? Jill Snyder serves up more than 200 easy-to-follow recipes, just waiting to be enjoyed from the oven. It will be difficult, indeed, to resist sampling such delights as Lacy Pecan Thins, Butterscotch Cashew Cookies, Peanut Fudgies, and Key Lime Coconut Macaroons. In a hurry? No problem. Some of the recipes begin with a cake mix. In addition to the recipes there are tips and techniques for foolproof baking, storage information, ingredients equivalents, and emergency substitutions. This is a must-have reference not just fort cookie lovers but for just about every kitchen bookshelf.
Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times by Mark Bittman (Broadway Books, $18.95)
Mark Bittman, the bestselling cookbook author and food writer, presents 350 of his favorite recipes in one single comprehensive paperback. Bittman maintains that you don’t have to be a professional chef to cook interesting and unusual meals and sets out to prove it. He offers fresh twists on traditional recipes as his zesty Chicken Thighs with Mexican Flavors, an unusual Chipotle-Peach Salsa, a succulent Braised Pork with Turnips, and a New Year’s favorite, Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Ham and Greens. Bittman’s weekly column, “The Minimalist,” is read by more two million readers in The New York Times.
A Love Affair with Southern Cooking: Recipes and Recollections by Jean Anderson (William Morrow, $32.50)
On my short list for best cookbooks of 2007, this wonderful collection features more than 200 of Jean Anderson’s favorite recipes which she has collected both at home and on the road. The author’s approach is more like a folksy front porch chat with a cherished friend than a mere cookbook. In addition the 150-year-old directions on how to make a Molasses Pie, there is a traditional Egg Custard, an almost no fail Peanut Brittle, a delicious Okra-Tomato Tart, and a whole passel of dishes that feature turnip and mustard greens. Interwoven throughout the book, there are snapshot biographies of the people who have most influenced Southern cooking, a time line that begins in 1513 with Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida, and an assortment of facts about such regional essentials as MoonPies, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Tabasco Sauce, and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. This book is as satisfying as a plate of black-eyed peas with a side of hot, fresh buttered corn bread.
Roland Mesnier’s Basic to Beautiful Cakes by Roland Mesnier and Lauren Chattman (Simon & Schuster, $30)
Mesier, the Executive Pastry Chef at the White House for more than twenty-five years, shows home cooks how to create desserts that can be beautifully embellished to serve on any occasion by using a small set of foolproof cake recipes. Recipes include a Hazelnut Ring Cake, which he served at White House teas during the Ronald Reagan administration, a Chocolate Dome Cake, a Jimmy Carter favorite, and a Carrot Cake made with Spelt, a Bill Clinton downfall.
