In The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister, she takes you into the back-story of each member of a cooking class at a local restaurant.  In each chapter, you learn about one character and what brought them to the class.  As the story unfolds, you see how these people take what they learn from the class and how it adds more to their lives.

The author describes the cooking process and flavors so perfectly that you can imagine being in the class and tasting the various dinners with them.  With Lillian, the cooking teacher and restaurant chef, we see how she became the chef she is in the story.  With one simple dish, she was able to touch her distant mother and from that moment on she saw the power of creating food that can fill the soul.  She uses this knowledge when teaching the class and as we meet each of the students and find out more about them.  Through Lillian we begin further understand how a confused young woman can see that she’s made some poor choices and can finally find her way after taking these classes.  There is also the young man who has fought against his mother’s creativity so strongly that he didn’t realize that he had it within him as well.  Then there is the elderly couple who is so affectionate, but has had their share of ups-and-downs in their relationship. 

I found this novel hard to put down as I was drawn into each character and wanted to know what brought them to the class and see what relationships and friendships would develop.  The power of ingredients is greater than many realize and through this story we can see what certain flavors, scents and textures can do to bring back old memories and create new ones.

This book would be a wonderful addition to your summer reading list!

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

That’s where Sandra Lee Semi-HomemadeDesserts 2 (Sandra Lee Semi Homemade) comes in; love her or hate her, she does have some good ideas.   When you are in a pinch, using convenience products can come in handy and with a few extra ingredients you can take a ho-hum dessert and turn it into so fabulous that everyone will ask you for the recipe. 

In this latest cookbook on desserts, Sandra Lee has put together a book filled with recipes from cakes to pies, to embellished desserts.  She has even shared some completely from scratch recipes, which is a deviation from her 70%-30% guideline for most of her recipes. 

The recipes are nicely photographed so that you can envision what your creation should look like when completed.  For new home cooks, this is very helpful as they will know quickly when they have missed something.  The recipes include brand names of ingredients so that you can easily find them when grocery shopping. 

Two recipes jumped right out at me immediately.  The first were the Banana Chip Cupcakes because they are decorated to look like monkeys.  I thought they would make a fun treat for a school party or birthday party.  The second recipe were the White Chocolate Tartlets.  They are so adorable, and just the right portion size to enjoy. 

I made the White Chocolate Tartlets as dessert one evening recently.  They went together in less than 10 minutes.  Using pre-made mini graham cracker crusts, instant pudding and cream cheese, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this recipe.  They were the perfect sweet ending without going overboard, and can be dressed up even more by using chocolate curls.  I opted to grate some chocolate over the top of each tartlet as it was just as easy to do that.

This cookbook would be a great resource for the new cook and even for an experienced home cook who just needs some quick and simple recipes for those surprise events.

White Chocolate Tartlets
Source:  Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Desserts 2

1¾ cups milk
1 package (4 serving size) instant white chocolate pudding and pie filling
½ cup whipped cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 (4 oz) package miniature graham cracker pie crusts
White baking bar and milk chocolate bar, shaved into curls (optional)

In a large bowl, combine milk and pudding mix; whisk together for 2 minutes, then let stand for 3 minutes or until thick.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth.  Add pudding and beat until smooth.

Scoop 5 tablespoons of the cream cheese-pudding mixture into each pie crust.  If desired, garnish with chocolate shavings.

This cookbook is written to be used with the Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, which are made by a family run business.  They have been producing high quality vanilla products since 1907.  This cookbook shares some unique ways of using not only vanilla extract but other extracts as well.  The recipes begin with side dishes, then dinner followed by baked goods. 

I was intrigued by the possibility of using vanilla in soups such as Fresh Basil-Tomato Soup with Vanilla and Golden Squash Bisque.  The weather has warmed up for us right now, so I have bookmarked these recipes for when fall returns.  Some dishes that scream summer to me include the Apricot Mango BBQ Ribs and Salmon with Vanilla Balsamic Marinade.  The salmon dish uses a product called Pure Vanilla Bean Paste, which is not something I have found in my local stores.  Fortunately, I won’t have to forget about this dish because the authors say that the equivalent for 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste is 1 whole vanilla bean.  Tips like this make this cookbook easy to use and the ingredients relatively simple to find.

Each recipe is accompanied by a full color photo and they are simply gorgeous.  It was very difficult to decide which recipe to try first.  The Berry Almond Tart jumped off the page at me, while the Vanilla Caramel Corn Crunch cried out to be made for movie night.  I decided to go with the Spa Salad with Almond Vinaigrette.

This simple salad is taken to the next level of greatness by the Almond Vinaigrette.  The ingredients include both vanilla extract and almond extract.  The two marry together nicely with the Dijon mustard and the maple syrup.  It is not overly sweet, but rather well-balanced.  I found the flavor to be more interesting than any other vinaigrette I’ve made at home, and would serve this to guests without a second thought.

If this recipe is any indication as to the quality of the recipes in this cookbook, then it will quickly become a “go-to” cookbook not only for my family but also for entertaining.

Spa Salad with Almond Vinaigrette
Source: The Century of Flavor

10 ounces baby spinach leaves torn into bite-size pieces
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced
½ cup sliced almonds

Toss the spinach, onion, 1 cup of strawberries and ½ cup almonds gently in a large bowl.  Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine.  Garnish with additional strawberries and almonds.

Serves 2

Almond Vinaigrette

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Nielson-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
½ cup canola oil
¼  cup natural rice vinegar

Whisk the Dijon mustard, syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt and pepper in a bowl .  Add the canola oil in a fine stream, whisking constantly until incorporated.  This will emulsify your salad dressing and it will not separate.  Add the vinegar slowly, whisking constantly. 

Makes ¾ cup.

Book photo courtesy of Amazon.

Rather than put together a traditional cookbook of recipes with the occasional story to go along with it, she chose to tell her own story in A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table.  Her writing draws you in and you want to keep coming back to see what happens next.  Each story she shares is accompanied by one or two recipes that tie into what was happening at that time, as food was an integral part of her childhood and continues to be as an adult.

This book reads more like a novel than a cookbook.  The recipes are an added bonus at the end of each essay.  If you have read her blog, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.  It’s kind of like having the chance to continue chatting with a friend you’ve known for awhile already.

When you read a book that makes you feel so connected to the author it is very hard to put down.  Molly’s writing invites you in to her kitchen to share a cappuccino while she tells you about her experiences.   When she began to talk about her father and his battle with cancer, I felt I was right there with her.  Even as she was there with him at that difficult time, food was something that continued to bring them together.   

I plan to dive into the recipes soon, but having just finished the book last night I am still running bits and pieces of the book through my head.  I find that any book that keeps me thinking about it beyond when it’s finished accomplished what a good book should.

Reaching the end of this book was like having to say a sad good-bye to a dear friend.  For now, I will have to settle for checking into Molly’s blog to enjoy more of her writing.  Perhaps another book will be on the way once they get through the opening of their restaurant, Delancey.  I’ll be waiting patiently for another book, Molly!

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

This cookbook is a compilation of family recipes with short ingredient lists, which is ideal for the busy home cook who wants to put a nice dinner on the table each night.  Or perhaps for someone like me who volunteered to bring a treat for Teacher Appreciation Week and couldn’t decide what to make!  Each recipe contains ingredients that most people will have in their kitchens already.  You may have to pick up one or two ingredients for a couple of the recipes, but that shouldn’t deter anyone.  In fact, the photos are so appetizing you’ll be willing to make that extra trip to the store so you can complete the recipe.

Gina von Esmarch is a mom blogger who writes Bowl Licker and decided that she’d like to put together her favorite recipes for others to enjoy.  She says, “This book is a collection of recent family and urban recipes with subtle tweaks and twists. May it be a guide to inspire your inner cook and bring fun to meals with your family and friends. Many recipes can be made in advance, which will allow the flavors to become enhanced so that when it comes time to visit with your guests, you can move the focus from your kitchen to your dining room.”

If you want a non-nonsense cookbook with gorgeous photos, this one is for you. It is very straight-forward with the recipes taking up residence on one page and the photos on the opposite page.  The recipes range from from appetizers to desserts and everything in between.  As I mentioned, I decided to use one of her recipes for Teacher Appreciation Week since I volunteered a bit late to bring something.  The O’Henry Bars seemed like the perfect treat to bring in, and only required the use of a microwave for cooking.  Really can’t beat that.

The only problem I had was that I underestimated how much 7 cups of cereal would be and didn’t use a big enough bowl.  Next time I’ll know better, as it was a bit of a challenge to get the sugar, syrup and peanut butter mixture to cover each cereal bit.  I managed and they came out perfectly!  There were simple to make and taste like they took a bit of time to put together.  I tasted one after I cut them and they are definitely a sweet treat!

O’Henry Bars

Source:  Taste This! by Gina von Esmarch

7 cups Special K Cereal
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1-1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. milk chocolate chips
almonds, chopped (optional)

Grease a large size bowl.  Add syrup and sugar.  Microwave for 30-40 seconds.  Stir in peanut butter.

Pour mixture over cereal and mix well.

Grease a 9×13 baking pan.

Press mixture into pan.

Melt both chips together in microwave, and frost with mixture.  Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.

Cut into squares and serve.  (I chilled mine overnight before cutting and that worked out very well.)

As I sat down to dig into this cookbook, I found so many tidbits of information going all the way back to the American Revolution.  There are excerpts from letters and journals of the women who have been the support of our troops from the beginning.  The stories throughout really share what the women behind the soldiers did to support them.  If you like to sit down and read a cookbook, this one is sure to keep you turning pages as you get a glimpse into the lives of these military wives.

The cookbook is organized by menus, and each one has a story that relates to the recipes that are included.  There are no photos of the recipes, which is a disappointment to me as I get inspired by the visual look of some dishes and will then be drawn into the recipe.  The recipes range from the Liberty Tea (red raspberry tea) to Beef Fajitas.  There is something for every taste and occasion that you can imagine.

I was drawn to the recipe for Old Fashioned Banana Pudding because of my fond memories of that dessert from my childhood.  I haven’t made pudding from scratch since a home economics class back in high school.  The recipe has several steps, but for homemade pudding, it’s worth it.  There was one flaw in the recipe, in my opinion, in that the size of casserole dish is not stated.  I used an 8×8 glass dish and that worked out fine.

The pudding came out thick and creamy and exactly as I remembered banana pudding from years ago.  It is not too sweet, and the vanilla wafers soften up just enough to melt in your mouth.  You’ll want to make the recipe so that it has time to chill after baking it, I thought it tasted heavenly after it had been in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding
From the  Military Wives Cookbook

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 cups half and half
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 (12-oz) box vanilla wafers
2 cups sliced ripe bananas

Meringue Topping (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In the top of a double boiler combine the sugar, flour and salt over boiling water.  Add the half and half and stir for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens; remove from the heat.  Stirring constantly, pour half of the hot cream into the egg yolks.  Return the egg yolks to the rest of the cream mixture and cook over the simmering water until thickened.  Remove from the heat; stir in the butter and vanilla.  Cool slightly.  While the mixture is cooling, place a layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Alternate wafers with layers of banana slices and cooled pudding mixture, ending with the pudding on top.  Make the meringue topping.  Spread over the pudding top and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Meringue Topping

2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the hold a peak without being dry.  By hand, beat in the vanilla extract and sugar.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

The book is set up exactly as their restaurant review guides are, and each source is rated based on the surveyor’s submissions.  Everything from bagels and bialys to those hard to find ingredients, this book will help you find them in NYC.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

With her newest cookbook, Camilla has lightened up over 130 soup recipes from around the world.  The book is nicely organized by types of soup, such as Pureed Vegetable Soups, Seafood Soups and Legume and Grain Soups, to name a few.  She has taken the guesswork out of the nightly time crunch by including an index organized by the amount of time it takes to prepare.  While there are no pictures throughout the cookbook of the completed soups, you’ll find a few pages of photos of the soups in the beginning of the book to entice you into adding them to your list of “to try” recipes.

I went through the cookbook a few times before settling on the first recipe I wanted to test.  I have always loved tomato soup and have fond memories of eating it with a grilled cheese sandwich.  Didn’t everyone’s mom make that same combo for lunch every once in awhile?  So, it was settled, I would make her Classic Tomato Soup.

The ingredients are things I actually had in my pantry already, which is the case with many of the recipes in this cookbook.  It was so simple to make and had more flavor than that canned soup that I had growing up.  The cayenne pepper really makes this soup “pop” and for a low-calorie soup, only 108 calories per serving, it is rather filling. 

I’ll be returning to this book throughout the year as there are not only soups for those cold winter nights, but also several chilled soups that will be perfect for summer.  Camilla has shared a nice collection of soups that will inspire you to get in the kitchen and whip up a pot of soup no matter what night of the week it is.

Classic Tomato Soup

Source: Enlightened Soups: More Than 135 Light, Healthy, Delicious and Beautiful Soups in 60 Minutes or Less, Camilla Saulsbury

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 (14.5 oz) cans whole tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2/3 cup canned fat-free evaporated milk (from a 12 oz. can)
2 tablespoons Sherry or Marsala

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, then season with salt and pepper.  Cook and stir 5 minutes.  Add the garlic.  Cook and stir 1 minute longer.

Add the tomatoes and their juices, water, sugar, cayenne, celery seed, and oregano to the pan.  Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth.  Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in the milk and sherry.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Rewarm for 2 minutes to blend flavors. 

Makes 6 servings.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

This latest cookbook from Betty Crocker is filled with photos and easy to follow recipes.  The focus is on how to incorporate more whole grains into your daily diet.  The first few sections of the book explain the differences between different whole grains and what the health benefits are to eating them.  The recipes range from breakfast ideas to easy main dishes to desserts to please anyone in your family.  There are tips on each recipe to explain more about the ingredients or how to add flavor to the whole grains.

I decided to try 2 different recipes from this book so that I could sample one familiar recipe, Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins, and a new grain (to me), Creamy Quinoa Primavera.  Both recipes were simple to make and full of good-for-you ingredients. 

The Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins were a dense muffin and tasted very hearty.  I felt they could use a bit of lemon zest to punch up the overall flavor.  I will make them again with some flavor adjustments.  They were best right out of the oven, but if you have some leftover toast them up and they are a great breakfast or mid-day snack.

Quinoa is something I’ve wanted to try for awhile, and when I saw the Creamy Qunioa Primavera recipe I thought this might be a good way to taste it for the first time.  The recipe calls for 5 cups of bite-size vegetables and I used a combination of zucchini, broccoli and carrots.  This recipe doesn’t call for a lot of seasoning beyond garlic and basil.  I found the quinoa to be a nutty grain and I liked it.  However, the combination of the cream cheese and the vegetables in this recipe resulted in an “ok” result.  It tasted fine, but needs some tweaking.

This cookbook has potential, and I have a few other recipes marked to try:  S’more Swirl Bread, On-the-Go Apple Breakfast Bars, and Crunchy Garlic Chicken Dinner.

Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins
Source:  Betty Crocker, Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozn (thawed and drained) blueberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup.  In a small bowl, pour buttermilk over oats.

In large bowl, mix oil, brown sugar and egg with spoon.  Stir in flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt just until flours are moistened.  Stir in oat mixture; fold in blueberries.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Serve warm.

Everyday Food is that cute little magazine you often see at the checkout counter that is produced by Martha Stewart.  In March, they are sharing “10 New Ways to Love Pasta.”  I didn’t know I needed 10 new ways, but I’m always interested in new flavors to add to my favorite food.  With the official start of Spring only a few weeks away, Linguine with Spring Vegetables sounds like a nice light and healthy weeknight meal.  There are also the pasta dishes that are the ultimate in comfort food for those last remnants of Winter, Southern Mac and Cheese and Slow Cooker Lasagna.

Cooking Light is focusing on making homemade pasta in the Cooking Class feature in March.  They share step-by-step instructions, with photos, on how to do this at home.  I think I could even make the Ravioli with Herbed Ricotta Filling on a weeknight using this magazine as a guide.  One pasta dough can do so much that you’ll be able to impress your family with Bucatini alla Carbonara or Fettuccine with Olive Oil, Garlic and Red Pepper.  Once you learn this technique, the possibilities are endless. 

Both magazines are available right now, so grab them and you’ll be creating some incredible meals for your family and friends.

Photo by Patsy Kreitman.