General Books - Page 2

The Silver Palate Cookbook

Julee Rosso, Sheila Lukins

List Price: $25.95 By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $5.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With over 2.2 million copies in print, the widely acclaimed The Silver Palate Cookbook is firmly established as a contemporary classic. Originally published in 1982, the book's elegant, innovative recipes and emphasis on pure, fresh, ingredients ushered a new passion for food and hospitality into the American consciousness.

The lively collection of clear, step-by-step recipes ranges from sublimely refined traditions-Pesto, Manhattan Clam Chowder, and Stuffed Artichokes-to original creations certain to become the topic of conversation at any dinner party. There's PatS de Campagne with Walnuts and Juniper Berries. Fruit-Stuffed Cornish Hens. Caviar Eclairs. Blueberry Bisque. Plus over 300 more recipes for hors d'oeuvres, dips and sauces, picnic fare, entrSes, salads, soups, breads, desserts. Throughout the book are valuable menu and serving suggestions, literary quotes, food guides, food lore, and whimsical illustrations. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, Quality Paperback Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club's HomeStyle Books, Better Homes & Gardens Family Book Service, and the ABA Basic Booklist. A James Beard Book Awards inductee into the cookbook Hall of Fame.

Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run

Alton Brown

Amazon Price: $11.00 List Price: $27.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Stewart, Tabori & Chang Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $7.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

He’s on the road again. This time, Alton Brown and his motorcycle-mounted crew are off on a thousand-mile, south-to-north journey that follows America’s first “superhighway”—the Mississippi. Starting at the great river’s delta on the Gulf of Mexico and ending up near its headwaters in Minnesota, Alton and buddies travel the heartland’s byways to scout out the very best of roadside food—and to get to know the people who spend their lives preparing and serving it.

A companion to the six-part Food Network series airing in fall 2007, Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run is a travel diary, photo journal, and, of course, cookbook. Alton’s itinerary includes big-city eateries and small-town chat ’n’ chews, as well as markets, inns, ice cream parlors, museums, barbecue joints—and even an alligator farm.

Louisiana-style Grilled Alligator Tail (served simply, with lemon and butter) is one of the book’s forty original road-food recipes. Others include Pecan-Coconut Pie from an Arkansan roadside restaurant; BBQ Pork Ribs in Mississippi that Brown eats over pancakes; Vegetable Borscht from St. Paul’s Russian Tea House; and Fried Catfish from a riverside burg in Illinois. When it comes to America’s foodways and folkways, there’s no better tour guide than Alton Brown.

Confetti Cakes For Kids: Delightful Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery

Elisa Strauss, Christie Matheson

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $15.52

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

For a book called Confetti Cakes for Kids, not that many cakes 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I love Elisa's design aesthetic, but was disappointed to see that a large portion of this book is dedicated to cookies, cupcakes and minicakes. There are only 6 cake projects in the book.

A Must Have for any Baker's library!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Elisa Strauss' book has wonderful recipes, awesome photos and great "hot tips". Her cake and cookie recipes all taste great and her designs are clean, crisp and original. It is a great second book for her (her first book Confetti Cakes was a wonderful book too!) and I highly recommend it - even if you don't want to decorate a cake or cookie, her recipes are worth the purchase. If I could only keep two books in my baking library, they would be Ms. Strauss' books. I hope she comes out with a holiday book!

Editorial Review:

Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes has created confections as elaborate as a platter of sushi, a wine bottle in a crate, and a designer handbag. Now she focuses her talents on her younger fans with this enchanting collection of cakes, cookies, and cupcakes for kids. Strauss starts readers off with 20 delicious recipes and all the basic techniques needed to complete any project in the book. Then she offers step-by-step instructions for 24 jaw-dropping designs that can become the centerpiece of any celebration. Projects span the imagination--from a charming sock monkey, to an MP3 player, to playful hula gingerbread girls and boys--and will appeal to anyone looking for the perfect way to thrill a child with a delectable, spectacular creation.

The Best Make-Ahead Recipe

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: America's Test Kitchen Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $17.65

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In its many publications and on TV, Cook's Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen offers exhaustively tested "best" recipes, tips, and product evaluations. Among its cookbooks, The Best Make-Ahead Recipe offers over 300 formulas that can be prepared in advance, held, and finished later. The recipes range widely from pre-prepared oven-ready dishes like Baked Fish Provençal; "double-duty" recipes, such as Mexican-Style Pork and Chorizo Stew, that use leftovers imaginatively; slow-cooker items like Tuscan white bean soup; and desserts, such as a chocolate soufflé that can go from freezer to oven successfully. In addition, the fully illustrated book offers helpful charts like How to Reheat, which provides advice according to portion size and heating method; special-occasion menus that can be started up to a month ahead; and discerning product and equipment advice.

As with other Cook's Illustrated projects, Make-Ahead includes recipes that have appeared previously in its other works, though a majority of these have been amended with make-ahead or scaling-up data. Almost all the recipes are prefaced with their trademark testing "diaries," exhaustively detailed accounts of the recipe-making process ("With the onion shells figured out, we focused next on the filling...," gives the flavor), which some readers will find enlightening, but others will think excessive. Of course, certain recipes, or recipe classes, like that for desserts, are necessarily made wholly or partially in advance--but the book's point is to provide formulas designed to yield superior results even when the uncompleted dishes are held, as most can be, in the refrigerator or freezer. Mission accomplished. Readers will find the book a consistently reliable resource for superior make-ahead dishes for everyday and special-occasion cooking. --Arthur Boehm

Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style

Paula Deen

Amazon Price: $17.16 List Price: $26.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Amazon Marketplace: 85 new & used starting at $6.47

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sharing a delicious meal is everyone's favorite way of bringing together friends and loved ones. In her new cookbook, Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style, Paula Deen -- author, restaurateur, and Food Network star -- turns to her friends to share their stories, ideas for entertaining Southern style, and, most important, more than 150 of the prized recipes they serve to their family and friends.

With the trademark Southern charm that has made her beloved by fans everywhere, Paula's new book features delicious, down-home entertaining menus, with recipes that are guaranteed to be instant crowd-pleasers. Whether you're planning an intimate family dinner, hosting an elegant cocktail party, or feeding a hungry crowd for lunch, these mouthwatering meals are the perfect way to share any occasion with good friends -- and have fun doing it! From a tailgate picnic to a bridge supper, a christening to a camping trip, and a family dinner to an ice cream social, there are recipes to delight any gathering.

Throw a down-home Birthday Bash with Beer-in-the-Rear Chicken, Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Buttermilk Pound Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Or host a casual Cookie Swap with friends and watch those Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes and Rolled Oatmeal Cookies disappear! An outdoor lunch wouldn't be complete without real Southern Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Corn Bread. And comfort foods like Quick Crab Stew, Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole, and Black Bottom Pie are soul-satisfying dishes that warm the heart and soothe the spirit. There are also recipes for refreshing cocktails and beverages, from the Southern traditional favorites, like Plantation Iced Tea and Mint Juleps, to Lemonade and Hot Cranberry Cider.

Entertaining Southern style is about much more than the food; it's about spending time with the people you care about. Paula and her friends are the experts when it comes to creating delightful meals that are easy to prepare, so you, too, can relax and enjoy the fun with your guests. Each chapter is filled with helpful tips and time-saving techniques, as well as the memorable cooking stories that inspired Paula and her friends to create these recipes. You'll be inspired to share memorable meals and occasions with family and friends, as Paula Deen & Friends invites you to live it up, Southern style.

Y'all Come Eat

Jamie Deen, Bobby Deen

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Meredith Books Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $10.30

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sentimental Journey Back Home 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I was born in Savannah right after Pearl Harbor. Growing up there in the 40s and 50s I remember a garden in almost every back yard. Fresh produce, meat, eggs. There was a childhood memory on every page of this wonderful cookbook.

These are recipes I hope to find every time I buy a Southern cookbook and, till now, couldn't find. And then along comes Ya'll Come Eat! I must admit I did find a tear dropping on the pages more than once, but they were happy tears. My grandmother's Red Potato & Green Bean Saute was there. Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad. We always took that to Tybee Beach to eat with our sandwiches. They have wonderful recipes for Three Cheese Potato Gratin, Zesty Caesar Salad, Corn Bread Caserole. As yummy looking as Bobby! Oh, to be 25 again! I'd be following him all over the restaurant!

Unfortunately, as my life progressed, my career took me to other places. NYC is where I live now and have for some time. Can't find a meatloaf like the one in the book or the way mom used to cook it. Pot roast with sweet potatoes? Maybe there is still one, lone restaurant in Harlem that hasn't been gentrified to the point they don't have Southern cooking any longer. Mom and Pop restaurants are disappearing here in the city as quickly as the glaciers in the Arctic.

So it was a delight for me to open this wonderful cookbook today and see page after page of easy to make, stick to your tummy, make you happy all day recipes that I remember from the 40s and 50s in Savannah. Can't wait to make that Southern pound cake and Lemonade cake this weekend! Wonderful photos of the boys and their mom from their childhood, and recent photos of Jamie, his beautiful wife and adorable son. Just love, love, love this book! A lot of my NYC Yankee friends are getting copies for the holiday season this year!

I really need to come back home and meet this fabulous family! I just retired and now have the time. If I win the NY Lottery, I'll move back for good! Then I can eat with the Deen family every day!

You are going to love this cookbook. It is something really special.

Editorial Review:

Get ready for amazing recipes that will entice anyone to clear off the kitchen table and have a few people over. Bobby and Jamie Deen's newest one-of-a-kind cookbook is bursting with flavorful recipes for good eats around the dinner table with family, a pre-game cookout, or a potluck rich with food for half the neighborhood.

Lidia's Family Table: More Than 200 Fabulous Recipes to Enjoy Every Day-With Wonderful Ideas for Variations and Improvisations

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House - Model: 1400040353 Amazon Marketplace: 68 new & used starting at $19.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The best-loved and most-admired of all America’s television cooks today, Lidia Bastianich, now gives us her most generous, instructive, and creative cookbook. The emphasis here is on cooking for the family, and her book is filled with unusually delicious basic recipes for everyday eating Italian-style, as well as imaginative ideas for variations and improvisations.

Here are more than 200 fabulous new dishes that will appeal both to Lidia’s loyal following, who have come to rely on her wonderfully detailed recipes, and to the more adventurous cook ready to experiment.

• She welcomes us to the table with tasty bites from the sea (including home-cured tuna and mackerel), seasonal salads, and vegetable surprises (Egg-Battered Zucchini Roll-Ups, Sweet Onion Gratinate).

• She reveals the secret of simple make-ahead soup bases, delicious on their own and easy to embellish for a scrumptious soup that can make a meal.

• She opens up the wonderful world of pasta, playing with different shapes, mixing and matching, and creating sauces while the pasta boils; she teaches us to make fresh egg pastas, experimenting with healthful ingredients–whole wheat, chestnut, buckwheat, and barley. And she makes us understand the subtle arts of polenta- and risotto-making as never before.

• She shares her love of vegetables, skillet-cooking some to intensify their flavor, layering some with yesterday’s bread for a lasagna-like gratin, blanketing a scallop of meat with sautéed vegetables, and finishing seasonal greens with the perfect little sauce.

• She introduces us to some lesser-known cuts of meats for main courses (shoulders, butts, and tongue) and underused, delicious fish (skate and monkfish), as well as to her family’s favorite recipes for chicken and a beautiful balsamic-glazed roast turkey.

• And she explores with us the many ways fruits and crusts (pie, strudel, cake, and toasted bread) marry and produce delectable homey desserts to end the meal.

Lidia’s warm presence is felt on every page of this book, explaining the whys and wherefores of what she is doing, and the brilliant photographs take us right into her home, showing her rolling out pasta with her grandchildren, bringing in the summer harvest, and sitting around the food-laden family table. As she makes every meal a celebration, she invites us to do the same, giving us confidence and joy in the act of cooking.

The Simple Art of Napkin Folding: 94 Fancy Folds for Every Tabletop Occasion

Linda Hetzer

Amazon Price: $9.80 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: William Morrow Cookbooks Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $5.67

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Simple Art of Napkin Folding 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Helpful book has many ideas for those who still like to set a nice table and actually use cloth napkins.

Editorial Review:

Use The Simple Art of Napkin Folding to duplicate those beautiful napkin folds you've admired at elegant restaurants and memorable events. It's easy with Linda Hetzer's detailed step-by-step directions and illustrations.  Using cloth or paper napkins, create standing triangular-shaped folds (the "Tavern") for dinner parties.  A few accordion pleats transforms a piece of cloth into the "Poinsettia." Need festive ideas for a children's birthday party?  Make "Sailboats" or "Paper Airplanes." Graduate to more intricate designs that combine napkins with silverware, flowers, and wineglasses.

Special features include

• A stain removal guide for heirloom linens and synthetic fabrics
• Easy-to-follow instructions for making napkin rings
• Graphs for embroidering initials on napkins
• Instructions for stenciling your own napkins

Filled with inspired ideas, The Simple Art of Napkin Folding turns any square of fabric into a work of art.

Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide To Hosting the Perfect Funeral

Gayden Metcalfe

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Miramax Amazon Marketplace: 79 new & used starting at $5.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Being Dead Is No Excuse 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I did not know what to expect but I laughed all through the book. The recipes look promising although I have not had the opportunity to try one. I have given this book as a gift and recommended it to several friends. You might find it more relevent if you are from the South and are Episcopalian.

Just the recipes alone ... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

are enough to justify this purchase! They're outstanding, and so traditional down south that most folk don't even bother to write them down. But the writing - especially ias it relates to being Methodist or Episcopal, and whether your family falls on one side or the other of the politics in your hometown ... it's all good. Just hilarious! If you grew up in the South, you recognize these people described herein - and if you didn't grown up in the South, well, you'll wish that you had!

Buy it - it's all good!

Love,
granny nita

Wonderful 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Being from Alabama I know that what she says is absolutely true!

Nostalgia for plantation life?!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Apparently I am the only reader who found parts of this book DEEPLY offensive. The author practically swoons over those fabulously fortunate [white] folks who owned plantations. I think we all know who provided the labor force on said plantations. Thus nostalgia for slavery is pretty much undisguised. I quit reading and returned the book to the library at this point. I'm white, but I hate to think what an African-American would experience reading portions of this "humor" book. I'd give it zero stars or, if it were possible, negative stars.

Baking Illustrated

Cook's Illustrated Magazine Editors

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: America's Test Kitchen Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $15.97

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must have for the home baker 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book has probably the most recipes that I use over and over again. I know that many true "pastry chefs" cringe at the thought of America's Test Kitchen because of their non-traditional methods and/or ingredients, but it always ends up coming down to one thing for me - their recipes work. They are reproducible and have been lab tested for a taste and texture that mostly I agree with. I don't need a 3 star Michelin chef telling me what's good - good pastry is what tastes good to me.

I admit though that some of the recipes go against the grain of traditional baking. Example, they insist that key lime pie tastes better when made from regular limes and not key limes - something considered sacrilege. I also have to agree that their tasting panel's determination as to what tastes good can be skewed at times and not necessarily accurate to what you may think is good. I have always been able to tweak the recipes to adjust for my tastes, so I didn't find this too much of a problem.

Editorial Review:

The practical kitchen companion for the home baker with 350 recipes you can trust. Drawing from more than 10 years baking experience and exhaustive equipment and ingredient testing Baking Illustrated is packed with over 500 pages of sweet and savoury recipes including breads, pizza, cookies, cakes, pies and tarts. There are home classics, contemporary favourites and European baked goods.