Cookbooks published in 2022

[blue_dolphin]

32 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I noticed that neither The Cookie Bible nor Rose's Christmas Cookies includes a recipe for refrigerator cookies.  Am I missing something?  (Or is @Anna N right?)

 

What are refrigerator cookies?  Are they chilled rather than baked?

…or maybe they need to be served cold?

Edited to add that the dough for her caramel surprise snickerdoodles from the new book is to be refrigerated for 1 to 3 days. Does that count?

 

The dough for the chocolate truffle cookies (also in the new book) gets formed into a log and refrigerated for up to 24 hrs before being sliced. I’m guessing that doesn’t count either?

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

54 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I don’t know. I know I’m mouthy, but what did I say about these two books because I don’t own them and I don’t ever remember seeing them. 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/147371-i-hate-slice-and-bake-cookies-any-hints-for-avoiding-fissures-in-the-logs-of-dough/?do=findComment&comment=2236017

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

57 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

What are refrigerator cookies?  Are they chilled rather than baked?

…or maybe they need to be served cold?

Edited to add that the dough for her caramel surprise snickerdoodles from the new book is to be refrigerated for 1 to 3 days. Does that count?

 

The dough for the chocolate truffle cookies (also in the new book) gets formed into a log and refrigerated for up to 24 hrs before being sliced. I’m guessing that doesn’t count either?

 

 

 

Technically I must grant those examples count, at least the chocolate truffle cookies, although I should have been more clear.  I was asking about the type of cookie in which the dough is rolled into a log and chilled, then sliced and baked without further manipulation.

 

[Anna N]

17 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/147371-i-hate-slice-and-bake-cookies-any-hints-for-avoiding-fissures-in-the-logs-of-dough/?do=findComment&comment=2236017

 

I need to update my de-encryption algorithms I think!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

I need to update my de-encryption algorithms I think!

 

Sorry, Anna, I didn't mean to make my cookie terminology confusing.

 

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Sorry, Anna, I didn't mean to make my cookie terminology confusing.

 

Oh hell don’t apologize. I was amused more than confused.  

[weinoo]

On 12/17/2022 at 12:18 PM, weinoo said:

I’d have to move to Rome, and buy the artichokes already prepped.

 

On 12/17/2022 at 5:29 PM, Katie Meadow said:

Do they really? That would solve so many of my problems.

Absolutely! Puntarelle, too.

[JeanneCake]

13 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Technically I must grant those examples count, at least the chocolate truffle cookies, although I should have been more clear.  I was asking about the type of cookie in which the dough is rolled into a log and chilled, then sliced and baked without further manipulation.

 

 

I'm wishing this "bible" was organized that way - similar to her other books, where there are categories of recipes as opposed to just random collections in a chapter.  Yes, there are recipes for roll/chill/slice but they aren't all together in a single chapter.  Maida Heatter's cookie books are organized that way and there's a chapter devoted to refrigerator cookies in her first cookie book.....

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On 10/22/2022 at 7:28 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Not in our library system but I requested it.

 

 

The library came through.  I now have Don't Worry, Just Cook at home but I haven't started reading.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have been reading Don't Worry, Just Cook.  As almost promised there is a section "Things Not Worth Worrying About".  These include 15 year old ketchup, the 5-second rule, and salted butter.

 

However Stern adds there are still things about which she worries:  "...worst of all, cooking naked."  My feeling is a lovely apron can be ruined forever, whereas skin eventually grows back.

 

[rotuts]

or can be grafted.

[Smithy]

I suspect that I'm not the only one to be reading at least some of the 'Best cookbooks of 2022' articles that pop up in our online newsfeeds. I don't remember now which particular article of 'Top 10 favorites' led me to these choices, but I simply had to take a look at them. I put in a request at our library, expecting to have to wait weeks. Nope! They all came at once, within days of my asking!

 

 

 

@blue_dolphin has been doing a wonderful job of discussing and showing off I Dream of Dinner (so you don't have to) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) but if she ever talked about the charming chapter names I missed that part. Here are some examples: 

 

Under the Pasta section, the contents listing says

Quote

114  Butter (verb)

126 Olive oil (also a verb)

 

Many recipe titles and dscriptions are equally charming:

"Godmother's Egg Salad" is described as "Egg salad meets the Godmother, the mother of all Italian subs from Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica, California."

 

Near the back she has a section titled "Recipes by cravings, mood & realities" -- a very pragmatic approach!

 

I very much like the layout of the book, although I haven't cooked from it yet. Heck, I haven't cooked from any of them yet but thought they were worth mentioning here -- with a shout-out to efficient libraries!

 

The other books have barely been touched, too: opened, yes, cooked from, no.

 

On the Himalayan Trail (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) promises to be as much travelogue as cookbook for me. At a quick glance it has many ingredients I'm not likely to source without a lot of effort -- and these days, I have other priorities. Still, it's a beautiful book and will teach me about Kashmiri cuisine and a part of the world I've never seen.

 

Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) is written by the USA's first Puerto Rican food columnist, according to the writeup, and it in many ways is a love story to her family. The fact that there's an entire chapter devoted to fritters makes me think I need to delve into this one when the weather gets warmer (for outside frying) and before I return the cookbook.

 

I am a sucker for Arabic food, and Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) is calling out to me. I haven't been baking bread much, but it has recipes for various kinds of Arab breads. Just now when I opened the book I spotted "Roasted Whole Chile-Spiced Fish with Citrus-Tahini Sauce" and "Winter Tabbouli with Orange and Fennel." Both of those are on my must-try list, along with their version of toum: a garlic dip that's the Lebanese answer to aioli. This also is a sort of family cookbook, although not nearly as personal as Diasporican or as Linda Dalal Sawaya's Alice's Kitchen: a Lebanese Cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), one of my all-time favorite cookbooks both for its recipes and its family stories and pictures.

 

How much I'll get around to posting about cooking from these books is anyone's guess, but I'm certainly enjoying looking through them!

[heidih]

Thanks @Smithy for the line-up amd always kudos and thanks to @blue_dolphin for the new cookbook peeks and the actual cooking and evaluating from them. I am not a recipe perspn amd enjoy narrative cookbooks and ones with a look into other cultures as inspiration. 

[AAQuesada]

Anyone have the newish  Gabriel Kreuther cookbook The spirit of Alsace? I  was thinking of picking it up!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, AAQuesada said:

Anyone have the newish  Gabriel Kreuther cookbook The spirit of Alsace? I  was thinking of picking it up!

 

I have it.  Beautiful book.  Recipes divided into home cooking and restaurant cuisine.  However I confess I have not cooked from it.

 

[Smithy]

I tried my first recipe from Ali Slagle's I Dream of Dinner (so You Don't Have To) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), and now that I've been charmed by the book I'm finding a few drawbacks as well as advantages.

 

An advantage, which @blue_dolphin mentioned above, is that each recipe offers a number of variations and substitutes and ways to further develop an idea. Another advantage is the creative organization: vegetables lightly (or not) cooked, vegetables braised, vegetables cooked on high heat, and so on. The writing is great fun.

 

It turns out those are also disadvantages. I had green beans. I wanted to find a recipe for green beans. I looked in vain for something that didn't involve grains or other beans (chickpeas, for instance) with the green beans. Nada. Except that in the index it listed "Ideas for green beans". A dozen different pages? 2 dozen? scattered throughout the book. I looked through them all and finally found one that could work on beans alone and would be compatible with the rest of dinner. It was a good-looking dressing. Then it called for mashing those beans until they split and cracked, using a rolling pin or other heavy object. I had visions of green bean chunks all over the floor unless I bagged them first, and I simply wasn't willing to do it. I cooked them instead and tossed them into the dressing. It was quite good (you can see the resulting dinner here) but I'm not sure I'd care to go to that level of violent effort on any of the vegetables she named for this dish. Maybe if I were listening to the news while I worked.

 

So: many points for charm and creativity, but my first effort at using it is a mixed success.

[blue_dolphin]

Good warning about that book, @Smithy!  I have not yet approached it with an ingredient in mind.  It's usually been, "Should I have cheese & crackers or is there anything easy here that I can feed myself..."  

I suppose if I were not particularly in the mood for cooking but wanted to smack someone something, this might be a good option!  Is it by any chance the Smacked Vegetables with Feta & Dill?

[Anna N]

59 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Then it called for mashing those beans until they split

Smacked cucumbers show up in various Asian cuisines. I have enjoyed a couple of versions, and they are great. But I must admit, smashed raw green beans don’t call out to me in the least. Of all the vegetables that I despise, raw green beans are near the top of the list.  

Edited December 26, 2022 by Anna N
No matter how careful I think I am re-reading before posting I always manage to miss something. (log)

[Smithy]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Smacked cucumbers show up in various Asian cuisines. I have enjoyed a couple of versions, and they are great. But I must admit, smashed raw green beans don’t call out to me in the least. Of all the vegetables that I despise, raw green beans are near the top of the list.  

 

Oh yes, I like smacked cucumbers and have done it often. But yes to the raw green beans: not something that appeals to me either. 

[Smithy]

34 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Good warning about that book, @Smithy!  I have not yet approached it with an ingredient in mind.  It's usually been, "Should I have cheese & crackers or is there anything easy here that I can feed myself..."  

I suppose if I were not particularly in the mood for cooking but wanted to smack someone something, this might be a good option!  Is it by any chance the Smacked Vegetables with Feta & Dill?

 

Yes, that's the recipe. And I can certainly remember times in my life when, oh, cauliflower pounded into submission would have been grand fun relief!

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

Oh yes, I like smacked cucumbers and have done it often. But yes to the raw green beans: not something that appeals to me either. 

I would think it depending so so much on the beans. Tender young ones that smell sweet green  like fresh picked on a sumer day from the garden might do as raw but that it not Joe Average Green Bean from grocery store. Do wonder what author intended!