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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

FAMILY-STYLE COOKBOOKS –

 
 
This is a roundup of cookbooks meant for family enjoyment, whether
 
workday eating or family participation, or just plain eating together....
 
 
MASTER THE ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER (Skyhorse Publishing,
 
2017, 258 pages, $25.99 CAD hard covers) is by Marci Buttars and Cami
 
Graham, both family specialists and bloggers at TIDBITS. As the publisher
 
says, this is NOT your grandma's pressure cooker. Here are more than 100
 
preps, with tips, for grains and yogurt and tender veggies, soft meats, and
 
so forth, with a range from breakfast to dessert. My kind of tool with large
 
type (including the index) and metric conversion charts. Quality/price rating:
 
87
 
SECOND HELPINGS, PLEASE! (Whitecap, 2017, 292 pages, $29.95
 
CAD paperbound) is a fundraiser project from the Mount Sinai Chapter of
 
Act to End Violence Against Women. It was originally published in 1968;
 
this is its 17th printing with some new material on quick and easy, low-
 
calorie, microwave recipes, and new tips. The last edition was previously in
 
2008. It's a basic community cookbook touching all the bases, perfect as a
 
gift for showers, weddings, anyone moving and setting up a kitchen, or a
 
holiday like Hanukkah (Dec 12 – 20 in 2017).  Of particular value are the
 
chapters with a lot of recipes for appetizers, party treats, soups and
 
veggies, and Jewish Festivals. Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
THE BEST OF AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN 2018 (America's Test Kitchen,
 
2017, 320 pages, $45 CAD hardbound) features the best recipes,
 
equipment reviews and tastings from the 2017 episodes of the popular
 
PBS television series (and some of their magazines and books too). Out of
 
1000 preps developed for their media, more than 150 are here as "best of
 
the best". It comes with the usual step-by-step photos and opinionated
 
equipment/ingredient thoughts. Newish topics for the 2017 year include
 
porchetta, panettone, sausage ragu, and frozen yogurt. Quality/price rating:
 
89
 
 
 
GRAVITY CAKES! (Robert Rose, 2017, 272 pages, $27.95 CAD
 
paperbound) is by Jakki Friedman and Francesca Librae, and utilizing
 
Jakki's business as a Manchester UK baker of gravity cakes (they create an
 
illusion of something pouring mid-air into the cake). These 45 projects can
 
be worked on by the whole family. The book has 650 step-by-step colour
 
photos to guide you. The preps are simple and the ingredients are
 
accessible. The designs  (Christmas, Valentine. Easter, Halloween, etc.)
 
are easy to construct; gluten-free preps are also available. Neat-o.
 
Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
 
BAKING CLASS (Storey Publishing, 2017, 144 pages plus stickers, $28.95
 
spiralbound) is by Deanna F. Cook who has written dozens of award-
 
winning books for kids. Here she builds on an earlier title, "Cooking Class", 
 
to present a way to get kids back into the kitchen and learn baking skills.
 
There are 50 recipes with step-by-step instructions so kids can follow on
 
their own. Classics include chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes,
 
pizza, cheese crackers: all made from scratch with wholesome ingredients.
 
At the back are stickers for colourful gift tag, labels, bake sale signs, and
 
cutout stencils for decorating cookies and cupcakes.
 
 
THE COMPLETE SOUS VIDE COOKBOOK (Robert Rose, 2017, 416
 
pages, $29.95 CAD paperbound) is by the world renowned chef, Chris
 
MacDonald (Avalon and Cava in Toronto). It's another in a long line of
 
"single-equipment" cookbooks (e.g.,food processor, crockpot, toaster),
 
here concentrating on using sous vide equipment and techniques to achieve
 
restaurant-quality results at home. Low temperature controlled food is
 
sealed in containers immersed in water. It works well if you have a lot to do,
 
and can be prepared in advance. But of course you do need the equipment.
 
A nicely done book that indeed can replicate restaurant food, with you
 
controlling the seasoning. The 175 recipes embrace the globe. Quality/price
 
rating: 87
 
 
 
 
A GRANDFATHER'S LESSONS (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
 
2017, 196 pages, $42 CAD hardbound) is by Jacques Pepin – and what
 
could be more family than Pepin cooking with his granddaughter Shorey.
 
He's been doing this since she was six; she is now 12 and capable of
 
cooking on her own. So here are meals that she enjoys as a young person,
 
and meals that are not always French-inspired. These are important life
 
skills, and they are illustrated with his renowned drawings. They open with
 
setting the table and good table manners – nice appreciations. Then they
 
move on to hors d'oeuvres [SIC from a Frenchman!] soups and salads,
 
eggs, sandwiches, pizza, fish, poultry, light meat, pasta, quinoa, veggies,
 
followed by 40 pages of desserts (hey, kids like to eat these things). Large
 
type in both the text and the index is a great bonus. Quality/price rating: 89
 
 
 
BUTTERCREAM BASICS (Robert Rose, 2017, 256 pages,  $27.95 CAD
 
paperbound) is by Carey Madden, whose cakes and cupcakes have been
 
featured in Vogue. She operates Violet, a custom cake bakery in
 
Philadelphia. This is buttercream decorating, and is the best gift for the
 
cake baker in your life. It's topically illustrated with step-by-step techniques
 
and loaded with tips, covering the major aspects of  cake and icing recipes,
 
borders and inscriptions, embellishment, blossoms, concluding with  a final
 
chapter on cupcakes. Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
NO EXCUSES DETOX (Ten Speed Press, 2017, 208p, $25.99 CAD
 
paperbound) is by nutritionist Megan Gilmore who specializes in detox at
 
www.detoxinista.com. She's got 100 preps for a more healthy eating plan –
 
gluten-free, quick and easy, relatively inexpensive, and meant for families.
 
Of course there's a plan, followed by courses: shakes, salads, soups, sides,
 
snacks, stir-fries, sweets, and staples. Ah yes, the "S" word dominates.
Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
EVERYDAY DIABETES MEALS (Robert Rose, 2017, 288 pages, $27.95
 
CAD papercovers) is by  Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD, CDN and Lisa
 
Mikus, RD, CNSC, CDN. Together they have three decades of clinical
 
experience. The 150 preps are for meals  with 45 to 60 grams of carbos.
 
The arrangement has easy consistent carbo dietary planning by choosing
 
from breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes, and then adding sweet or savoury
 
snacks within preset carb ranges. There's a 14 day meal plan. It's a lifestyle
 
change. Quality/price rating: 88
 
 
 
THE 7 WONDERS OF OLIVE OIL (Familius, 2017, 200 pages, $23.95
 
CAD paperbound) is by Alice Alech and Cecile La Galliard. It comes loaded
 
with lots of references, some quizzes, a handful of recipes, but no index.
 
Still, it is a useful read. Olive oil is discussed in a healthy sense: stronger
 
bones, some cancer prevention, higher brain function, some stroke and
 
heart attack prevention, reduction in diabetes risk, Alzheimer's disease
 
prevention, skin rejuvenation, and the Mediterranean diet. Each chapter is
 
succinctly titled. Quality/price rating: 88
 
 
 
THE LOW-FODMAP SOLUTION (Robert Rose, 2017, 268 pages, $27.95
 
CAD paperbound) is by Montrealer Cinzia Cuneo and others at
 
SOSCuisine, a group which designs specialized meal plans. Here they
 
concentrate on IBS. Research has shown that a low-FODMAP diet is
 
effective in three-quarters of IBS cases. You could be able to avoid intestinal
 
cramps, bloating, diarrhea and gas through the elimination of FODMAPs:
 
fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and
 
polyols – carbohydrates that are poorly digested in the intestine. Here she
 
has meal plans, shopping lists,  and 130 preps (many vegan). There are
 
also comprehensive lists of allowable foods and avoidable foods.
 
Quality/price rating: 89
 
 
 
THE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DIABETES
 
COOKBOOK (CICO Books, 2017, 160 pages, $29.95 CAD paperbound)
 
is by Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD., who is well-versed in diabetes care. It's
 
a guidebook for those who are pre-diabetic, diabetic, and  support groups.
 
She covers the challenges of living with diabetes, eating in  and dining out,
 
living on one's own, and travelling. She's got 70 preps tailored to those with
 
diabetes, including vegan and vegetarian options. It may not be everything
 
you'll need to know but it is a good beginning. Quality/price rating: 86
 
 
 
HOW TO HYGGE; the Nordic secrets to a happy life (St. Martin's Griffin,
 
2016, 2017, 208 pages, $27.99 USD hardbound) is by food writer Signe
 
Johansen; it was originally published in 2016 by Bluebird in the UK. "Hoo-
 
ga" (pronounced) usually translates as "comfort" or "coziness" implying
 
warmth, conviviality, and kinship. Nature sets the pace and provides health
 
benefits; the outdoors is better than the indoors. Try to be active at all ages;
 
try "fika" (collective restoration, eg, teas). Be minimalistic. There are more
 
principles scattered about the book. And there are more than a handful of
recipes.
Quality/price rating: 89
 
Chimo! www.deantudor.com

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