Posted in Book Reviews

Betty Crocker: 20 Best Brazilian Recipes

A Collection of Brazilian Favorites from Betty! Photo of Every Recipe Celebrate the glorious cuisine of Brazil with this delectable collection of recipes from Betty Crocker! Try full-flavored, traditional favorites like Fresh Seafood Stew (Sopón Marinero) and Brazilian Cheese Buns (Pao de Queijo), or whip up a batch of Caipirinha cocktails and Banana Flans for your next party. From mouthwatering mains to snacks and sides, these recipes will bring the taste of Brazil to your kitchen.

The Reviews

Kay Marie Wagner
5.0 out of 5 stars Summer Cocktails
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
Yummy refreshing new summer beverages!!! A great way to start your next social gatherings for all family members, alcohol optional. You get to choose something new BE it brunch or late night relaxing alone. I love all the fresh ingredients , easy to follow instructions, and most ingredients you probably already have on hand. This is going to make my summer cocktails a real hit and so simple to prepare. I'll be a master come fall!!! I can't wait to serve up some new summer traditions.
ALTEREDSTATE16
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy and delicious
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
The recipes in this book are very easy to make and the ingredients are readily available, most of which are inexpensive. I have not tried them all but the chosen few were quite delicious and refreshing. Although most of the recipes are alcohol free there is no reason vodka, gin or rum can' be added and used as a cocktail at your summer bar - b - ques ! The nutritional data is also included for each recipe which is an added benefit.
Posted in Book Reviews

The Italian Slow Cooker: 125 Easy Recipes for the Electric Slow Cooker

The award-winning, bestselling author of The Sopranos Family Cookbook “presents unintimidating recipes that serve up hearty dishes with a minimum of fuss” (Publishers Weekly).

Finally a book that combines the fresh, exuberant flavors of great Italian food with the ease and comfort of a slow cooker. Michele Scicolone, a bestselling author and an authority on Italian cooking, shows how good ingredients and simple techniques can lift the usual “crockpot” fare into the dimension of fine food.


Pasta with Meat and Mushroom Ragu, Osso Buco with Red Wine, Chicken with Peppers and Mushrooms: These are dishes that even the most discriminating cook can proudly serve to company, yet all are so carefree that anyone with just five or ten minutes of prep time can make them on a weekday and return to perfection.


Simmered in the slow cooker, soups, stews, beans, grains, pasta sauces, and fish are as healthy as they are delicious. Polenta and risotto, “stir-crazy” dishes that ordinarily need careful timing, are effortless. Meat loaves come out perfectly moist, tough cuts of meat turn succulent, and cheesecakes emerge flawless.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Product Description
Finally a book that combines the fresh, exuberant flavors of great Italian food with the ease and comfort of a slow cooker. Michele Scicolone, a best-selling author and an authority on Italian cooking, shows how good ingredients and simple techniques can lift the usual “crockpot” fare into the dimension of fine food. Pasta with Meat and Mushroom Ragu, Osso Buco with Red Wine, Chicken with Peppers and Mushrooms: These are dishes that even the most discriminating cook can proudly serve to company, yet all are so carefree that anyone with just five or ten minutes of prep time can make them on a weekday and return to perfection.

Simmered in the slow cooker, soups, stews, beans, grains, pasta sauces, and fish are as healthy as they are delicious. Polenta and risotto, “stir-crazy” dishes that ordinarily need careful timing, are effortless. Meat loaves come out perfectly moist, tough cuts of meat turn succulent, and cheesecakes emerge flawless.

Recipe Excerpts from The Italian Slow Cooker
Chicken Parmesan Heroes
The Butcher’s Sauce
Chocolate Truffle Cake

From Publishers Weekly

Scicolone (The Sopranos Family Cookbook) turns her attention to the slow cooker (or crockpot) for preparing homey Italian dishes. In this accessible cookbook, she presents unintimidating recipes (which often suggest the ingredients simmer around 165 degrees for six to eight hours) that serve up hearty dishes with a minimum of fuss. The wide variety of main dishes—seafood, meats, veggies and legumes—and corresponding soups and sauces, capitalize on the flavor that only slow-cooked food can deliver. The sauces are the book’s standouts, with recipes for ragus made with chunky pork shoulder or spicy Tuscan sausage, for example. She also includes recipes for a creamy polenta with gorgonzola and mascarpone; risotto-style farro with parmesan; seafood couscous made with halibut, shrimp and scallops; and braised beef with anchovies and rosemary. While her approach is certainly inventive and appealing, some recipes make one wonder whether a slow cooker is actually necessary (the stuffed peppers might be baked just as easily). That said, this cookbook will certainly relieve the time pressure on busy family cooks. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Posted in Book Reviews

Meat Illustrated

MEAT EATERS, REJOICE: Increase your meat counter confidence with this award-winning meat cookbook that shows you how to cook 72 cuts of meat in 300+ kitchen-tested recipes!

With chapters organized by animal and its primal cuts, Meat Illustrated is the meat eater’s go-to meat cookbook and handbook! Discover essential information and techniques that will empower you to make steakhouse-worthy meals and explore everything your butcher shop has to offer. Inside you’ll find:
 
• 300+ recipes covering 72 cuts of meat—including beef, pork, lamb, and veal
• Cut-specific guidance on buying, prepping, storing, cooking, and more
• Step-by-step photos, break-out tutorials, and hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations
• Need-to-know techniques, from smoking and grilling to braising and curing
 
Learn the best methods for center-of-the-plate meats like Butter-Basted Rib Steaks (spooning hot butter cooks the steaks from both sides so they come to temperature as they acquire a deep crust), and meltingly tender Chinese Barbecued Roast Pork Shoulder (cook for 6 hours so the collagen melts to lubricate the meat). And get ideas on how to complete your meals with delicious sides like Fried Brown Rice with Pork and Shrimp or Libyan-style chickpea and orzo soup!
 
So, don’t just go to the butcher—become the butcher. Full of comprehensive, hands-on guidance, this ultimate meat cookbook takes the mystery out of buying and cooking meat like a pro.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners: 75 Recipes to Kick-Start Your Healthy Lifestyle

“Full of inspiration and approachable recipes to make the transition to a fish-based lifestyle full of health and flavor.” —Christy Olsen Field, Taste of Norway Editor for The Norwegian American newspaper

Make sure you’re starting your journey as a pescatarian off right. Filled with essential starter advice and plenty of delicious fish- and plant-based recipes, The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners will help you get the most of your new diet—and love every bite of it.

Designed for new pescatarians, this pescatarian cookbook provides a comprehensive overview of the diet—including the health benefits for your brain, heart, and more. Not only will you find answers to all your questions and plenty of practical cooking advice, but you’ll also get dozens of flavorful and healthy dishes that are perfect for chefs of all levels and sure to satisfy your cravings at every meal.

The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners includes:

  • Seventy-five tasty recipes—From Spiced Sweet Potato Hash with Cilantro-Lime Cream to a Seattle Salmon Dinner, this pescatarian cookbook shows you just how great-tasting and versatile pescatarianism can be.
  • For beginners—Whether you’re just getting started as a pescatarian or this is your first time thinking seriously about cooking, discover tons of helpful guides, FAQs, and more that make it easy inside this pescatarian cookbook.
  • Kitchen stocking—Make sure you’re ready to cook whatever you need with advice for selecting fish, veggies, spices, tools, and more.

Switching to a fish- and plant-based diet has never been easier than with The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daytona Strong is a journalist-turned-food-writer who specializes in Nordic cooking and the connection between food and heritage. Her writing has appeared in a number of regional and national publications, including The Oregonian and Edible Seattle. Visit her online at Outside-Oslo.com. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“If you are looking to add more seafood to your diet, just glance at Chapter 7 on Seafood Entrees. Ivar, our founder, would have been drooling reading these recipes. After reading this book, you’ll want to rush to the Pike Market and pick up fresh chinook salmon or Dungeness crab or Penn Cove mussels and start cooking tonight.” —Bob Donegan, Ivar’s Restaurants, Seattle

“I’ve been a fan of Daytona Strong’s thoughtfully crafted recipes for years. The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners is full of inspiration and approachable recipes to make the transition to a fish-based lifestyle full of health and flavor.” —Christy Olsen Field, Taste of Norway Editor for The Norwegian American newspaper

“This book takes away all the mystery that surrounds seafood. As someone who grew up close to the sea, I love how this book explains, shows, and helps you create the most delicious food. It’s easy, fresh, and oh so doable, even for a beginner.” —Paul Lowe, EIC of Sweet Paul Magazine

“This book is your essential guide to adopting a healthy pescatarian lifestyle. Filled with useful tips, how-tos, reliable recipes and the encouraging voice of Daytona Strong, The Pescatarian Cookbook for Beginners has everything you need to start preparing and enjoying delicious fish and plant-based dishes in your kitchen every day of the week.” —Kristi Bissell, creator of the True North Kitchen blog –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Posted in Book Reviews

Delish Insanely Easy Casseroles – 80+ Amazing Comfort Food Recipes

Amazing recipes for dinner, appetizers, brunch, even dessert!

  • The 184-page spiral-bound cookbook lays flat so you can keep both hands on cooking without losing your page.
  • Each recipe includes a full-page color photo of the finished dish so you know what to expect.
  • It’s loaded with easy-to-make crowd-pleasers, comfort classics, over-the-top spins on familiar favorites — and it can go from the oven to the table all in one dish.
Mr. Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars.
Beautiful Photos with every recipe - innovative recipes.
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a great cookbook! It’s not like any other you have seen. It’s unique, stylish and trendy recipes. It’s a change of pace and great inspiration to typical cookbooks! It’s not entirely outlandish with the recipes, either. They are pretty basic recipes using ingredients that most people have on hand, with a few exceptions. It definitely will inspire you to make some newer recipes and the photos are just so clear and tantalizing! I love the format that they do in their cookbooks! The only drawback to this item is that it is spiral bound. That is good when you want to have a recipe open, but I don’t like flipping through this as much because you have to be careful not to rip the pages, if it came a little warped like mine did. Also, I wish Delish used weight scales in their recipes. Some of the recipes are just cup measures, which can be inaccurate.

Amazon

Posted in Book Reviews

Instantly French!: Classic French Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker

The first electric pressure cooker book devoted to French food brings French cuisine to your table without the hassle.

“Ann Mah has figured out how we can master the soul of French cooking and do it in less time than maman did.” —Dorie Greenspan, author of Everyday Dorie


Author of Mastering the Art of French Eating, Ann Mah is undoubtedly an expert on all things relating to French food. But when she discovered the electric pressure cooker, she realized that it was the secret weapon the French have used for years to speedily prepare the complex dishes of la cuisine de grandmère. In her first cookbook, Ann celebrates everything gastronomically French that an electric pressure cooker can do with over seventy different recipes that cut cooking times in more than half.

The delights of Instantly French! range from appetizers like eggplant caviar, pâté de campagne, and savory mini blue cheese cakes to soups like traditional French onion or an autumnal purée of butternut squash and chestnut. For main courses, there are classics like boeuf bourguignon, cassoulet, chicken tagine with preserved lemons, and blanquette de veau. Desserts feature poached pears, flourless chocolate cake, and crème brulée. And, all of these dishes can be made in a fraction of the time they usually take. Illustrated throughout with full color photos, Instantly French! is the essential guide to fast, delicious French cooking with your electric pressure cooker.

“Ann Mah takes a very classic—and extremely personal—look at the popular electric pressure cooker. Here is how I describe her studied approach: inquisitive, detailed, precise, adventurous, accurate. Bravo!” —Patricia Wells, journalist, author, and multiple James Beard Award winner, living in Paris and Provence

“Instantly French! Proves that you don’t need fancy techniques, finesse . . . or a lot of time to make delicious French cuisine. Ann Mah’s collection of authentic yet up-to-date French fare will free you up to sip and savor a glass of wine (preferably French!) until dinner is served.” —David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and L’Appart

Amazon

Posted in Book Reviews

The Clean Eating Slow Cooker: A Healthy Cookbook of Wholesome Meals that Prep Fast and Cook Slow

Slow cooking. Clean eating.

Discover how simple clean eating can be when you have a slow cooker. Filled with easy and delicious recipes, The Clean Eating Slow Cooker is your essential guide to healthy masterpieces. Baked Berry Oatmeal, Mushroom Risotto, Butter Chicken, Beef Brisket BBQ…sample 130 clean dishes your taste buds will love—and your body will too.

Want to learn more about clean eating? Never used a slow cooker? The Clean Eating Slow Cooker features guides that help you learn the benefits of eating clean, picking the right foods, and mastering your slow cooker.

The Clean Eating Slow Cooker includes:

  • 130 sumptuous recipes—Make clean eating easy with recipes that are perfect for your slow cooker—and take 20 minutes or less to prep.
  • Slow cooking for clean eating—Learn why the slow cooker is perfect for clean eating, plus the best ways to use your slow cooker.
  • Information at a glance—Pick your perfect dishes thanks to key nutrition information, plus clear labels for specific diets and dietary restrictions.

Healthy living and clean eating is now convenient thanks to The Clean Eating Slow Cooker.

Amazon

Posted in Book Reviews

No-Churn Ice Cream: Over 100 Simply Delicious No-Machine Frozen Treats 

“Bilderback (Mug Cakes) brings homemade ice cream to specialty-appliance-free kitchens with this accessible collection of frozen desserts.” —Library Journal (starred review)

In every country you’ll find people eating ice cream on street corners, in markets, and in fancy restaurants. But the number of people who make it at home is much smaller. The reason? Making this sweet treat yourself is kind of a pain. Ice cream machines can be expensive, bulky and hard to store, or cheap and inefficient. But what if you could make your own ice cream at home without all of the fuss, for a fraction of the cost of buying it, and without any special equipment? No-Churn Ice Cream is a mouthwatering collection of shortcuts and classic culinary techniques that help you achieve delicious, artisanal results.

All you need to make your quick and easy no-churn ice cream are the following simple tools:

  • A freezer
  • A whisk or electric mixer
  • A can opener
  • A bowl and a freezable container, such as a loaf pan
  • A sweet tooth!

Inside you’ll find recipes for all the basic flavors, plus more complex and exciting flavors such as Pineapple-Peppercorn and Sweet Potato Marshmallow Swirl. Treat yourself with a decadent Stracciatella gelato or Bananas Foster sorbet, or cool off with some Lavender-Almond sherbet. Your flavor variations are limited only by your imagination. Why not add some bacon to that batch of chocolate-caramel ice cream? Leslie Bilderback, author of Mug Cakes, is here to show you how.

Posted in Book Reviews

Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies 

The James Beard Award Nominee for Best Cookbook: Baking and Desserts serves up the delicious new food trend of slab pies—sweet or savory.

For those of you who aren’t up on your Pinterest and TikTok food trends, slab pie is just like regular pie—only better (and bigger)! Instead of crimping and meticulously rolling out a round crust, slab pies are an unfussy twist that are perfect for a potluck or dinner party or just a family dinner. Baked on sheet pans, slab pies can easily serve a crowd of people dinner or dessert. Pie Squared includes seventy-five foolproof recipes, along with inventive decoration tips that will appeal to baking nerds and occasional bakers alike. And this fresh, uncomplicated take on pie will surely pique the interest of those who have previously been reluctant to take out their rolling pin.

Barrow didn’t invent slab pie, but she definitely thinks outside of the crust. In addition to traditional pie dough, she offers more than a dozen crust recipes—from cracker crusts and cornbread crusts to cookie crusts and cheddar cheese crusts. Using these as a base, Barrow then entices readers with both savory and sweet slab pie creations, with recipes like Spinach, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Slab Pie and Curried Chicken Slab Pie to Sour Cream Peach Melba Slab Pie and Grande Mocha Cappuccino Slab Pie. The first book of its kind, this will appeal to lovers of easy food trends like sheet pan suppers and dump cakes. Don’t be surprised when you start spying slab pies at your next potluck!

“A collection of creative and ambitious-yet-approachable recipes.” ―The Austin Chronicle

Posted in Book Reviews

Lunchbox Salads: More than 100 Fast, Fresh, Filling Salads for Every Weekday

Easy recipes for satisfying make-ahead salads, dressings, and veggie-packed meals, each 30 minutes or less to prepare, with 10 ingredients or fewer

Eating lunch “al desko” doesn’t have to mean frozen burritos or pricey takeout. Lunchbox Salads shares easy, affordable, substantial, and vibrant salad inspiration for every workday (and for dinner and weekends, too!). These creative recipes use 10 or fewer easy-to-buy ingredients and take no more than 30 minutes to make; those that contain meat can be made vegetarian and always keep the focus on healthy veggie-strong eating. Each recipe yields 2 substantial portions to support energy throughout the afternoon, and everything will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge (with specific packing instructions to avoid soggy leaves at lunchtime). Each chapter focuses on a different hero vegetable (like squash, carrot, red pepper, beet, cabbage, and zucchini); the recipes are easy to customize for different dietary preferences and are suitable for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.

Amazon