Show us your latest cookbook acquisitions!

[blue_dolphin]

15 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

A Kindle version of this. It has a forward by Steve Sando (Rancho Gordo). I am never going to attempt a cassoulet nor even hope for an invitation to share one. But while searching for something else, I accidentally ran across this book and could not resist. 

Thanks for the reminder!  I have that book because....well, of course I do! When I bought it, I had good intentions to figure out a scaled-down recipe but apparently lost momentum.  I think the closest I got were some cassoulet toasts. This is the perfect time of year to revisit that project.  Or maybe just make those toasts again 🙃

[Anna N]

58 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Thanks for the reminder!  I have that book because....well, of course I do! When I bought it, I had good intentions to figure out a scaled-down recipe but apparently lost momentum.  I think the closest I got were some cassoulet toasts. This is the perfect time of year to revisit that project.  Or maybe just make those toasts again 🙃

David’s adapted recipe for the toasts was a great read. Thanks. 

[BetD]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Thanks for the reminder!  I have that book because....well, of course I do! When I bought it, I had good intentions to figure out a scaled-down recipe but apparently lost momentum.  I think the closest I got were some cassoulet toasts. This is the perfect time of year to revisit that project.  Or maybe just make those toasts again 🙃

 

The toasts look so good, I am definitely going to try them!  Thank you for the link.

[ElsieD]

Picked these up yesterday:

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

According to the author, speaking from her temporary home in the Southwest of France, you can either make everything from scratch or traipse from supplier to supplier and collect everything from the vessel you need to cook it in all the way through to the plates to serve it on.  If you choose the already prepared method, then the most strenuous thing seems to be soaking the beans and sticking  cloves into an onion. Or you can simply pop in to almost any restaurant and do take-out by putting a small deposit on the cassole. 
(The book was published in 2015 but the author is writing about the way things were in the late 80s!)

I just wanted the opportunity to correct something here. There was nothing temporary about Kate Hill’s home in Southwestern France. She is still there!  

This was a great little read. There are a number of things she does differently from others that I have read. Her duck confit is seasoned with nothing but salt. The crust on her cassoulet contains no bread crumbs. She dismisses them as unnecessary. The crust she stirs back into the stew is created by the beans and pork. 

[AAQuesada]

On 1/6/2023 at 3:22 PM, heidih said:

Yes that was a greaat food section in its heyday. Including our @russ parsons and so many like the late J Gold (Counter Intelligence) and some great focus on local home cooks. My favorite issue which is tucked away somewhere includes the female cook at Cirque de Soleil. Super interesting. Love those bargain finds. Enjoy. 

 

That was the heyday of the LAT food section. They were stacked with great writers and cooks besides Russ Parsons; Clifford Wright (who wrote the tome 'A Mediterranean Feast') Also Marion Cunningham was a regular. 

[Kerry Beal]

20 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Thanks for the reminder!  I have that book because....well, of course I do! When I bought it, I had good intentions to figure out a scaled-down recipe but apparently lost momentum.  I think the closest I got were some cassoulet toasts. This is the perfect time of year to revisit that project.  Or maybe just make those toasts again 🙃

Just looking at the instagram recipe share between David and Susan on those cassoulet toasts - he said in his recipe that she told him that she used some Goya white beans. It looks like a can of Goya butter beans. Do you recall which ones you used?

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Just looking at the instagram recipe share between David and Susan on those cassoulet toasts - he said in his recipe that she told him that she used some Goya white beans. It looks like a can of Goya butter beans. Do you recall which ones you used?

I used Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans.

[ElsieD]

The purchase of the book below is @blue_dolphin's fault.  She cannot, however, be blamed for my purchase of Simple Small-Batch Baking, Kindle edition, by  Mike Johnson.  That one's on me.  I'm done buying cookbooks for the year.  (Yeah, right!)

[chromedome]

I'd declared a moratorium on cookbook purchases for a while, but yesterday in Dollarama I found Vivian Howard's This Will Make it Taste Good in hardcover for $4. Any of my fellow Canadians who don't have a copy, or would like another for gifting purposes, might want to check out their nearby Dollarama locations.

[Katie Meadow]

On 1/8/2023 at 12:31 PM, ElsieD said:

The purchase of the book below is @blue_dolphin's fault.  She cannot, however, be blamed for my purchase of Simple Small-Batch Baking, Kindle edition, by  Mike Johnson.  That one's on me.  I'm done buying cookbooks for the year.  (Yeah, right!)

Same here. My first purchase of a cookbook in many months. Hasn't been delivered yet but I can't wait!  It appears that now I am a cake person and I prefer it as a snack rather than a dessert after a filling meal. 

[ElsieD]

54 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Same here. My first purchase of a cookbook in many months. Hasn't been delivered yet but I can't wait!  It appears that now I am a cake person and I prefer it as a snack rather than a dessert after a filling meal. 

 

This is the first recipe I made from this book, back when @blue_dolphinposted the link.  It's what got me all gung ho on making small batches of stuff.  It is a Swirled Jam Cake and I cut the recipe in half.  We liked it a lot and have made it since.

[BetD]

40 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

This is the first recipe I made from this book, back when @blue_dolphinposted the link.  It's what got me all gung ho on making small batches of stuff.  It is a Swirled Jam Cake and I cut the recipe in half.  We liked it a lot and have made it since.

 

Well, I can see what is on my docket for this afternoon!  How much did you alter the time/temp?

[ElsieD]

3 minutes ago, BetD said:

 

Well, I can see what is on my docket for this afternoon!  How much did you alter the time/temp?

 

I did not change the temperature.  I did not write down the time but I think it was 30 minutes.  Might want to check it at the 25 minute mark.

[ElsieD]

9 hours ago, chromedome said:

I'd declared a moratorium on cookbook purchases for a while, but yesterday in Dollarama I found Vivian Howard's This Will Make it Taste Good in hardcover for $4. Any of my fellow Canadians who don't have a copy, or would like another for gifting purposes, might want to check out their nearby Dollarama locations.

 

@chromedome See what you made me do?  Until your post, I never knew Dollarama sold cookbooks.  I figured I should look to see what else they had, and two more fell into my cart.

[chromedome]

It's a real mixed bag. Mostly undistinguished generic stuff, or a museum of the last few years' trendy cookbooks ("Keto Vegan Gluten-Free Desserts Your Family Will Love!") but occasionally there'll be a gem or two.

[ElsieD]

52 minutes ago, chromedome said:

It's a real mixed bag. Mostly undistinguished generic stuff, or a museum of the last few years' trendy cookbooks ("Keto Vegan Gluten-Free Desserts Your Family Will Love!") but occasionally there'll be a gem or two.

 

I don't go to Dollarama all that often, but I'll keep the book section in mind.   Funny thing is, I read your post then went to physio.  On the way out  I spied the Dollarama in the same complex so of course I had to go in......

[Katie Meadow]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:52 AM, Katie Meadow said:

Same here. My first purchase of a cookbook in many months. Hasn't been delivered yet but I can't wait!  It appears that now I am a cake person and I prefer it as a snack rather than a dessert after a filling meal. 

Update and some comments on Yossy Arefi's Snacking Cakes. Last week I found the recipe for the Simple Sesame Loaf from the book somewhere on line. It was delicious; good warmed, good toasted. At first I was amazed at how strong the tahini/sesame flavor was, but the more I ate the more I loved it.  That was additional incentive to order the book.

 

I just received my copy. So many of the recipes sound great, but I have one big criticism: the book is poorly designed. The type is tiny and pale,  in addition to being a thin font. The remarks preceding the recipes are even paler. Right away I noticed some repeated paragraphs. Also the binding could have been upgraded to something that was more likely to stay flat, although that's a common problem with cookbooks, as it cost money to make a well-bound book.

 

I admit my eyesight isn't what it used to be, but good grief, cookbooks should be easily readable when sitting open on a counter. The design is also space-wasting, so there is room to have upped the size of the type. Okay, hopefully this won't frustrate me so much that I can't make some of the recipes, but doing so will be a chore that could have been predicted by the publisher.

[ElsieD]

@Katie Meadow.  I don't have any issues with the book except for one, and that is it would be nice if the font size, especially for the recipe itself, could be both darker and larger.  I make just half of any one recipe and it can be difficult read measurements like 3/4 teaspoon.  I think if anyone has a problem with their eyesight, the type could be hard to read.  I have  not yet run into repeated paragraphs.

[Katie Meadow]

6 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@Katie Meadow.  I don't have any issues with the book except for one, and that is it would be nice if the font size, especially for the recipe itself, could be both darker and larger.  I make just half of any one recipe and it can be difficult read measurements like 3/4 teaspoon.  I think if anyone has a problem with their eyesight, the type could be hard to read.  I have  not yet run into repeated paragraphs.

My husband, who has great eyesight for teeny things, spent his working life as a book designer and newspaper designer. He looked at it and agreed that the type for the recipes seemed to be black, but not a true black. I don't know what that means, but he agreed that for a cookbook the design lacked common sense.

[blue_dolphin]

7 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@Katie Meadow.  I don't have any issues with the book except for one, and that is it would be nice if the font size, especially for the recipe itself, could be both darker and larger.  I make just half of any one recipe and it can be difficult read measurements like 3/4 teaspoon.  I think if anyone has a problem with their eyesight, the type could be hard to read.  I have  not yet run into repeated paragraphs.

Tiny fractions are a cookbook pet peeve of mine. In this particular book, I find them readable but close to problem territory. I still prefer cooking from paper books but easy zooming is certainly an ebook advantage!

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Tiny fractions are a cookbook pet peeve of mine. In this particular book, I find them readable but close to problem territory. I still prefer cooking from paper books but easy zooming is certainly an ebook advantage!

 

Argggh. I hate having to cook with fractions, even when they are easy to read, ha. Give me grams and milliliters, please. Pretty sure you are on the same wavelength. 🙂

 

I prefer paper books for cooking also. Even though I read lots of stuff on my Kindle reader or my phone or laptop, when I am in the kitchen cooking, I want a print-out or a book these days. I have over 200 cookbooks on Kindle or Epub and I almost never use them. 

[RWood]

I tend to stick to my Kindle for the majority of books. I'm not into having to find a place to put books anymore, especially after that move.

My newest are these:

 

[hotsaucerman]

does anyone have the frantzen cookbook? any thoughts/feelings?

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I've been on the hunt for this cookbook for over twenty years after first reading 'Kitchen Confidential'. 

Originally published in 1975 and reprinted in 2018 (as I recently discovered).

 

 

It's a good read as well as a good cookbook written by someone who loves seafood. Lots of local history and descriptions of a place that has changed a lot in some forty odd years.

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)