July 2023 MBR The Cookbook Shelf

The Cookbook Shelf

Cookbook Passion: Exploring a Culinary History
Pamela Kure Grogan
Gaudium Publishing
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592112029, $39.99, PB, 276pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cookbook-passion-pamela-kure-grogan/1142517712

Synopsis: A cookbook with a historic recipe anthology does not easily define the wonder of tracking the evolution of the cookbook and the modernization of the kitchen.

"Cookbook Passion: Exploring a Culinary History" by Pamela Kure Grogan draws upon a vintage selection from her 3,000 volume cookbook collection showcasing the changing palates of those at-home and at-travel epicureans. In it, she visualizes the impact of various world wars, financial depressions, expanding transcontinental auto usage, and the technological advancement of utensils and ingredients used in the kitchen on the public's taste.

"My Cookbook Passion" is a color panorama of historic cookbooks and recipes with the stories of how such books came into being. The chapters comprising this unique and extraordnary volume include: "Entertaining is Fun"; "Reach for the Stars" on celebrities; "Inns & Farms"; books on food publishers like Barrows & Co; and a list of famous chefs and their restaurants, most now gone from the scene. There are even hints about becoming a discerning cookbook collector.

Critique: Unique, impressively informative and inherently fascinating, "Cookbook Passion: Exploring a Culinary History" will have an enormous appeal for: chefs, food lovers, cookbook collectors, and any family chef who wants to try the heirloom recipes that are showcased in its pages. More than just another cookbook, "Cookbook Passion: Exploring a Culinary History" a distinctively original cooking resource guide. It is a culinary history where 'nostalgia becomes refreshed and relevant' with recipe selections of the timely and the timeless. Simply stated, "Cookbook Passion: Exploring a Culinary History" is unreservedly recommended as a treasured addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections, and to academic library supplemental Culinary History curriculum studies lists as well.

Editorial Note: Pamela Kure Grogan (www.cookbookpassion.com) worked for twenty years as Store Manager at Williams Sonoma and at Sur La Table kitchen stores. She also served as Food Editor for an online food company. Today, Pamela is an active 'passionate baker' with her fan-followed social media sites.

The Great American Recipe Cookbook: Season Two Edition
The Great American Recipe, author
Pati Jinich, foreword
BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637743645, $39.95, PB, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Great-American-Recipe-Cookbook-Season/dp/1637743645

Synopsis: In the second season of The Great American Recipe, a new set of the country's most talented home cooks shared the stories of their lives, backgrounds, communities, and cultures -- all told through food.

Living up to its subtitle of '100 Memorable Recipes to Celebrate the Diversity and Flavors of American Food', This new edition of "The Great American Recipe Cookbook draws from the cast, host, and judges of the acclaimed PBS television sow. The recipes for meals that made their big moments memorable, family treasures handed down through generations, iconic regional foods and twists on everyday classics, and even the weeknight standbys they turn to for quick, family-friendly dinners are illustrated and presented..

"The Great American Recipe Cookbook: 100 Memorable Recipes to Celebrate the Diversity and Flavors of American Food" offers culinary offerings from the East Coast to the islands of Hawai'i, and from indigenous to immigrant families. Accompanied by gorgeous food photography as well as captivating images from on-set, this outstanding collection of recipes are fully accessible for home cooks and certain to become personal and family favorites at the kitchen or dining room table.

Also of special note is getting to know more about your favorite contestants while learning how to make the standout recipes featured on the series, including: Instant Pot Lasagna Soup with Garlic Knots; Grab and Go Breakfast Burritos; Traditional Southern Shrimp & Grits; Rocky Mountain Trout with Stuffed Poblanos; BBQ Glazed Pork Ribs with KC Cheesy Corn; Dan Dan Sliders; Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cups -- and so much more!

Critique: Profusely illustrated, clear and kitchen cook friendly instructions, this Season Two edition of "The Great American Recipe Cookbook: 100 Memorable Recipes to Celebrate the Diversity and Flavors of American Food" is a unique and especially recommended addition to personal, family, professional, and community library Cookbook Collections. It should be noted that it is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: The Great American Recipe (a PBS 8-part television series), is a fun, feel-good show that celebrates amazing home cooks while capturing the rich culinary history of America. (https://www.pbs.org/show/great-american-recipe)

No Dig Cookbook
Charles Dowding, author
Catherine Balaam, author
No Dig Garden
c/o Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120, White River Junction, VT 05001
www.chelseagreen.com
9781916092075, $22.95, HC, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/No-Dig-Cookbook-homegrown-vegetables/dp/1916092071

Synopsis: With the publication of "No Dig Cookbook: Seasonal feasts from homegrown vegetables", co-authors Catherine Balaam and Charles Dowding explains and develops the strong links you can achieve between garden and kitchen, which keep changing according to the season. Basically their messages is that you should allow the garden decides your menu!

The recipes comprising the "No Dig Cookbook" are by Catherine Balaam, who cooks for day and weekend courses at Charles' Homeacres no dig garden. Catherine has created and tested over 60 delicious plant-based recipes, inspired by those lunches which see the participants salivating, after an intense morning of learning in the garden. They are simple dishes bursting with flavor, from seasonal vegetables and herbs.

To complement them, Charles Dowding has written 'Advice on growing your own' sections to be found throughout the "No Dig Cookbook". He outlines some key growing tips for many of the vegetables in the recipes. He has also includes his own recipe for no-knead bread, another great timesaver.

There are ideas on how to adapt recipes to your own harvests, using different vegetables which are similar to cook with. While some of the information is on how to ferment and store vegetables so that you can use any gluts and enjoy them later.

The recipes are categorized as follows: Pestos, dips and sauces; Ferments and vinegars; Salads; Cooked salads; Roasties; Stews and hot dishes; Sweet treats. There are a profusion of beautiful photos of the cooked dishes, a few including preparation, and of Charles Dowding's garden at Homeacres.

Critique: Offering a beautifully illustrated compendium of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying recipes with informative gardening tips, the "No Dig Cookbook" is a particularly 'kitchen cook friendly' and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. Although "No Dig Cookbook" is especially welcoming to gardeners, the seasonal vegetable and herb dishes will appeal to anyone who enjoys savory plant-based meals!

Editorial Note #1: Charles Dowding develops and explains time- and labour-saving methods of high-yielding nature-friendly gardening. He has written ten books and an annual calendar of sowing dates, runs a YouTube channel with 36 million views, writes for national gardening magazines, and gives talks and courses at home and abroad. He has created three online courses: No Dig Gardening, Course 1; Growing Success Course 2. His third online course appeared in 2021.

Editorial Note #2: The recipes are by Catherine Balaam, who cooks for day and weekend courses at Charles' Homeacres no dig garden. Catherine has created and tested over 60 delicious plant-based recipes, inspired by those lunches which see the participants salivating, after an intense morning of learning in the garden. They are simple dishes bursting with flavor!

Taste of Home All-American Cookbook
Taste of Home
Trusted Media Brands
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781621459279, $24.99, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-All-American-Cookbook-Flavors/dp/1621459276

Synopsis: The United States is famous for being a melting pot of flavors, but there are distinct dishes and culinary traditions that have influenced the American table. After all, we love our burgers, fried chicken, and good ol' apple pie!

With the publication of "Taste of Home All-American Cookbook: 370 Ways to Savor the Flavors of the USA", it is easier than ever to sample our nation's most iconic foods at the family dinner table. With an impressive lineup of iconinc recipes that celebrate everything from the South's love of barbecue to the Midwest's enthusiasm for casseroles, here are to be found athentic and nostalgic classics (as well as modern twists) recipes for memorable dishes.

With "Taste of Home All-American Cookbook" the family chef can provide hot and hearty American dinnertime favorites such meatloaf and pot roast, complete with a scoop of mashed potatoes swimming in gravy. The savor Mom's chocolate cake, lattice-crowned pies and other sweet indulgences that make you look forward to dessert.

There are holiday and party standbys, steaming soups, hearty sandwiches, grilled greats, a fresh array of veggies and sides, heartwarming breads, and other time-tested than just a collection of recipes. "Taste of Home All-American Cookbook" is packed from cover to cover with hundreds of gorgeous full-color photos, pro cooking tips and regional featurettes celebrating unique twists and fun facts on America's favorite dishes.

Of special note is the inclusion of 'Cooking Featurettes' such as an Intermittent sections featuring food facts, folklore, regional specialties, ethnic twists and other fun factoids. Chapter: County Fair Classics which is a fun bonus chapter filled with classic fair food including blue prize winners and other contest-worthy nibbles and bites. As well as Complete Nutrition Facts and Diabetic Exchanges. There is even a diabetic exchanges with applicable recipes.

Critique: Whether you are a beginner or an experienced cook, "Taste of Home's All-American Cookbook" takes the guesswork out of preparing traditional down-home meals with sure-bet classics and ingenious tips and tricks to enable you to prepare the meals that grace the tables of families from coast to coast. Beautifully and profuse illustrated throughout with full color photos of finished dishes, "Taste of Home All-American Cookbook: 370 Ways to Savor the Flavors of the USA" is especially recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Taste of Home All-American Cookbook: 370 Ways to Savor the Flavors of the USA" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: For more than 25 years, Taste of Home (https://www.tasteofhome.com) has been one of the world's most popular cooking publications. Through the pages of the flagship magazine, popular cookbooks and online community, Taste of Home offers a friendly exchange of family-favorite recipes, cooking tips and personal stories from genuine home cooks. Because professional food staff test and evaluate every recipe in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, readers are guaranteed success every time.

Chetna's Indian Feasts
Chetna Makan
Hamlyn
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9780600637677, $32.99, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Chetnas-Indian-Feasts-Everyday-entertaining/dp/0600637670

Synopsis: Chetna Makan is the queen of Indian home cooking. First introduced to us on The Great British Bake Off, Chetna has since authored several bestselling cookbooks that combine her inventive flavors with a love of simple Indian recipes.

"Chetna's Indian Feasts: Everyday meals and easy entertaining" is her newest collection. In this compendium of recipes Chetna provides us with flavor-packed feasts designed to please a crowd. Chetna's accessible style and supermarket-friendly ingredients prove that you don't need to be an expert to entertain. "Chetna's Indian Feasts" provides a varied array of delicious dishes, grouped together by theme so you know exactly how to pair your platters. Whether this is a big celebration or a quick-fix family dinner, there are enticing yet easy recipes for every occasion.

"Chetna's Indian Feasts" is deftly organized in sections dedicated to: Breakfast Feasts; Everyday Feasts; Festive Feasts; Sunday Lunch Feasts; Barbecue Feasts; Friday Night Feasts.

Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated with full color photos of finished dishes, "Chetna's Indian Feasts: Everyday meals and easy entertaining" is delightful to simply browse through and make up menus with. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, "Chetna's Indian Feasts" will become an immediately welcome, enduringly appreciated, and highly valued pick for personal, professional, and community library ethnic cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Chenta's Indian Feasts" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note: Chetna Makan (https://chetnamakan.co.uk) was born in Jabalpur, an ancient city in Central India. Chetna reached the semi-final of The Great British Bake Off in 2014, and her first book, The Cardamom Trail, is a celebration of baking with Indian flavours. She is the author of six other titles: Chai, Chaat & Chutney (2017), Chetna's Healthy Indian (2019), Chetna's Healthy Indian Vegetarian (2020), Chetna's 30 Minute Indian (2021) and Chetna's Easy Baking (2022). She has a very popular YouTube channel 'Food with Chetna' where she shares her creative flair for food. She can be followed on: Youtube.com/FoodwithChetna; Instagram.com/chetnamakan; and Twitter.com/chetnamakan.

Noods
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781922754226, $19.95, HC, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/Noods-slurpable-noodle-recipes-Asia/dp/1922754226

Synopsis: Comprised of 80 authentic noodle recipes from Asia, "Noods" features the best of the noodle world ranging from ramen, to pho, lo mein, to pad see ew. With fifty 'slurpable' recipes embellished with truly beautiful photography of the finished dishs, each of which are as simple as they are packed with flavor. Paging through "Noods is (almost) as good as a culinary trip across Asia.

"Noods" can be considered as a culinary snapshot of the wide world of noodles, captured in four distinctive chapters: Stir-fried, Soups, Cold, and Instant. From the staples loved for years to contemporary creations that will have the family chef cooking them again and again, "Noods" recipes include: Pad thai; Dan dan noodles; Japchae; Vietnamese Hotpot; Zha Jianc Mian; Yum Woonsen, and so many more!

Critique: of particular interest to amateur, family, and professional cooks alike, "Noods" is a DIY compendium featuring the recipes for homemade noodles and basics, and along with plenty of vegetarian options -- making it a unique and prized addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Noods" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.69).

Editorial Note: A premier publisher, Smith Street Books has an online website showcasing there complete title list at https://www.smithstreetbooks.com

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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Midwest Book Review