This month’s review is by Catherine Addé
Books for Cooks: Several Reviews for Your Reading and Cooking Pleasure
It’s summer and my mind turns to two things: recipes for summer and the delights of vacation travel and/or recipes from abroad. First up is this one:
Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes By Jeanne Kelley
Recipes from a modern kitchen garden
When a former librarian turned me on to this cookbook, I just HAD to test some of the recipes in it. Then others chimed in and admitted using it as well so I thought – why not review it? After all, we’ve reviewed novels, non-fiction, do it yourself books and memoirs, books for guys, girls and everyone else. Just look at the photo cover of this book, celebrating summer and all things bright. This cookbook is impressive, and it is as beautiful as it is practical.
Jeanne Kelley lives on the outskirts of Los Angeles and raises her own chickens, grows her own herbs, cooks ‘from scratch,’ and believes in using the freshest and organic (if possible) ingredients. Her introduction includes advice on stocking your pantry as well as the best types of equipment. She offers practical, modern suggestions on items as basic as salt and complex as pomegranate molasses, not to mention appliance pros and cons (do I use a blender or a food processor for the finest puree)?
It is the recipes and photographs themselves that are the stars of this cookbook -YUM! – a cornucopia of color and taste, delighting the eyes, tempting the taste buds. For summer I suggest her Eggplant and Herb Salad with Sumac dressing or the Mexican Fruit ‘Gazpacho’ Salad. She has an array of pizzas like the Wild Mushroom Pizza with Fontina and Chives. And for dessert, nothing beats her Lime Pie with Blueberry Compote or Bittersweet ‘One Pot’ Brownies that are guaranteed to excite the most jaded of chocoholics. Every recipe seems to be a winner in this book – I highly recommend checking it out.
A Thousand Days in Venice By Marlena de Blasi
Then there is A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi. This romantic memoir is an account of Marlena’s adventure, i.e., packing up her life in the states to marry a Venetian. She and her man move from Venice to Tuscany, finally settling in Umbria. She was an editor of Bon Appetit, is a serious chef, and sprinkles her passionate memoirs with favorite Italian recipes. Her husband loves the fried Zucchini Flowers best. YUM! Checkout the companion volume AThousand Days in Tuscany and hopefully the Library will buy her latest The Lady in the Palazzo.
It’s hard to decide which ones I like best, so I recommend checking them ALL out. Wishing you a happy summer whether you are traveling, cooking or both and ENJOY!
CALL # STATUS: 641.563 KELLEY ONSITE STORAGE DEBLASI NONFICTION NEW BOOKS