Cooking the Books - Southern Living's Cooking For Christmas

Okay, so this is last year's copy and I'm pretty sure they put this bad boy out yearly. But! There are some really awesome recipes in this particular edition.  I'm going to stray a little from my typical review format, since it goes without saying that Southern Living is going to put out a fantastic product.  Since Holiday meal planning can be a little... chaotic, I thought I'd highlight some recipes that are just plain fantastic. Allow me to direct your attention, if you will.

The Basics
Southern Living. Cooking for Christmas. New York: Oxmoor House, 2011. Print

What do you need to know? Southern Living + holidays + recipes = awesome. The end.

The (Cook)book
First, let me direct you to the eye candy that is the front section of this book, which focuses on table settings. Yes, I could look at this stuff for a ridiculously long period of time (seriously, don't take me anywhere near a home store). Even if you don't go all out, this section is great place to get some ideas and inspiration.

And don't pass up the menu section.  Do I follow the menus in books? Ever? No. But this section is a great place to start thinking about putting together your own menu. Plus, it's got recipes. (I'll admit, I mostly come for the recipes).

But let's get to the good stuff: recipes!  This book is stuffed with them, but let me highlight a few of my favorites. (I've tried all of these, so I already know they're tasty and delicious).

Cherry Pecan Brie: This recipe is great. If you get the ingredients together in advance you can churn this sucker out in no time. Mix, pour, serve. And, voila! You've got an elegant appetizer to serve your holiday guests. It looks and tastes wonderful, and no one will guess how little effort it took. And believe me, if you're prepping a huge Christmas (or holiday) Feast, having a few simple dishes on the menu will save you a lot of stress (and sanity; sanity is good). See page 47.

Two-Cheese-and-Honey Fondue: Can you say "nom"? Admittedly, that probably has a lot to due with the heavy cream and the cheese. (Cheeeeeeeese). See page 71.

Grandma Erma's Spirited Cranberry Sauce: Sound familiar? That's because this recipe turned out to be so wonderfully tasty that I had to share it with y'all. It's one of the few test recipes I've done from a cookbook on this blog. I can tell you that I will never serve another cranberry sauce other than this ever again. (You think I exaggerate, but this was my favorite part of last years holidays). And heaven help you if you've been eating the stuff from the can. Stop it. Now. And make this! See page 173.

Recipes I haven't tried but plan to because they look freaking delicious:

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake - the name really says it all on this one, and if you look at the picture that snowflake is way too pretty. (likelihood that I can pull this off: excellent for the cheesecake, slim to none for the snowflake. Curses!). See page 50.

Classic Bake Macaroni and Cheese - sadly, I'm still searching for the perfect Mac'n'cheese recipe. Martha failed me last year, so perhaps I'll go for this on holiday season. If nothing else the sheer amount of butter, cheese and milk should make several family members squirm nicely as they calculate fat content. Heh heh heh. See page 191.

The entire section on breads - What can I say? I like carbs. See pages 201-211.

I hope you pick up the book and give some of these a whirl. There's plenty of recipe to choose from. Needless to say, I'll be first in line for this year's copy. And before you go, let me direct you to one last recipe not in the book: Southern Living's Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake. I made this bad boy last Thanksgiving. Perfection.

   

Cooking the Books - Quick-Fix Southern

It's time for another cookbook review.  I was at work digitally wondering the cookbook section of the catalog the other day, and wound up putting far too many cookbooks on hold. What can I say? They're my kryptonite.  Amongst my finds was Quick-Fix Southern, by Rebecca Lang, which claims to offer up "homemade hospitality in 30 minutes or less."

The Basics
Lang, Rebecca. Quick-Fix Southern. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel, 2011. Print.

Rebecca Lang is a contributing editor to Southern Living, so I'm assuming she knows her stuff when it comes to Southern cuisine.  Combine that with the promise of speedy cooking, and you've got me hooked. Quick-Fix Southern promises over 100 thematically grouped, Southern recipes that can make it to table in under 30 minutes.

The (Cook)book

Let's talk practicalities for a bit.  There's a lot to like about the set up of this book (and a couple teensy gripes). Firstly, it's light and well proportioned; there's nothing quite so awkward as lugging an enormous cookbook around the kitchen that weighs more than my largest cast iron skillet. This book is light and it's size is perfect, easily allowing for propping or flopping, and stays opened to your recipe easily. I also like the overall layout of the book. You get one recipe per page in an easy-to-read, simple font; the orange of the title stands out without being obnoxious and the orange background for the ingredients set them off nicely.  The pictures, on the other hand, are black and white with orange tint and leave me feeling more than a little meh. I know, I know color photos are expensive to print, but they just don't quite live up to the nicely modern feel of the rest of the book.  Overall the cookbook is highly user friendly.

I love the content of the book and the way it's organized. For starters, the section of basics Lang provides at the start of the book is supper handy. I like her list of pantry and refrigerated staples, which is pretty darn close to my own and always something that's nice to keep in mind. She also provides a quick run-down on what she means when she calls for certain ingredients; I like that she doesn't keep readers in the dark. I also like her section on cast iron care, definitely a must read if you're less familiar with it. But my favorite part of this section is her basic recipes!  These include recipes for southern all-purpose flour, buttermilk, sugar syrup, and barbeque sauce. Simple, but essential!

What about the recipes, you ask? They sure look tasty to me! Here are a few of the one I'm especially looking forward to trying out (or already have): Sweet Potato Biscuits (p20), Drop Biscuits (23), Soft Buttermilk Waffles (15), Classic Sweet Tea (33), Tarragon Chicken Tea Sandwiches (85), Pecan-crusted Racks of Lamb (99), Mozzarella Corn Spoon Bread (130). I know how to make a lot of this, but it never hurts to try something new, and they sound delicious. Many of her recipes also have a little blurb containing some interesting fact about the dish or its history.  I particularly like the one about beaten biscuits.

I really enjoyed flipping through this cookbook and cannot wait to try out some more of its recipes. Maybe I'll do a few test recipe posts, which I've not done in a while.  The author has a great blog, which showcases many of the recipes from the book, with some truly delicious looking photography. It's a fairly affordable choice, too, retailing at 16.99, but as low as 6.80 on Amazon. I'd say this is a book definitely worth adding to a cookbook collection. Although, I'll admit, I was probably a goner as soon as I saw those biscuits on the front cover!

   

Cooking the Books: The Great Chicken Cookbook

Well, I try not to cook my books most of the time, but that doesn't save them from splatters and stains. For a blog that mixes cooking and books, I've been truly remiss for not including any cookbooks in my weekly books reviews.  I know, cookbooks aren't usually something you sit down and read (or so I've been told, but I already knew I was weird).  Nevertheless, knowing which cookbooks are worth having around is valuable information, especially given the hefty price tags some cookbooks carry.

The Basics
The Great Chicken Cookbook. Ultimo, Australia: Reader's Digest, 2010. Print.

Gosh, what to say? This is a book about chicken.  Chicken is a tasty, tasty bird. This cookbook promises over 230 recipes that will appeal to a wide variety of tastes.  It claims to have easy-to-follow cooking instructions, as well as indicating cooking and prep times and labeling low fat and quick meals.  So, does it live up to the hype and achieve true greatness?

The (Cook)book
Yes, to make a long story short, it does.  But, let me give you some specifics.

Pick this book up and give it a quick flip through, and you'll soon realize that it has excellent photographs and lots of them.  This is a must have in a cookbook for me. I want to see what I'm making before I go to the trouble of cooking it.  I don't need a photo for every single recipe, but I do want an abundance. I mean, what if you get super-excited and cook a nifty looking recipe only to discover that it both looks and taste like... well, something not so pleasant.  Admittedly, pictures only assure me of the looks side of things, but for me that's part of the joy of preparing and consuming food.

While usually, I'm kind of meh on the introductory section to cookbooks, this one has a great one.  It details how to skin and bone the various parts of a chicken as well as how to cut a whole chicken into parts. This is super-useful and very cost effective, since buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts, etc, costs much, much more than doing it yourself. Even better? The book provides clear photos for each step of the process with detailed directions.  This section also contains some very useful and important information on the safe storage, handling and disposal of raw chicken (Salmonella is not your friend, even if it offers you candy).

Now, let's get down to the recipes.  The cookbook does indeed offer a huge variety, with various ethnic influences.  I like the Curried Chicken Turnovers (p30), Quick Chicken Laksa (69), Chicken with Orange Sauce (100), Chicken Braised in Red Wine (124), Mustard-Tarragon Chicken Saute (139), and Lemon-Basil Chicken with Pita Pockets (306).  And those are just the ones I've gotten to so far. Each recipe indicates number of servings (the only time that gets confusing is on some of the appetizers), and nutrition information. I especially like the latter, since I want to know if what I'm putting in my mouth is a day's worth of calories.  While most of the recipes were fairly light, some weren't, so pay attention. Most were middle of the road, and you wouldn't want to pair them with any heavily caloric sides (but you were going to eat green stuff, anyway, right?).

While most cookbooks I recommend borrowing from your local library (they'll be in the 641's in Nonfiction), this one is actually worth owning.  If chicken is a routine protein in your household, this cookbook will help you get some variety and extra mileage.  None of the recipes seem overly complex, which makes the book ideal for the savvy and not-so-savvy cook alike.  Best of all, it's not particularly expensive.  The original hardcover was $24.95 and I recently saw it online for as little as $6.99.  It's well-worth the money.