March 2nd, 2008 Cookbooks

Whatever happened to celery sticks with Cheez Whiz? When I was growing up this was something you would serve company. Today’'s appetizers and dishes are much more elaborate, probably due to the influence of cooking shows. I actually don’t enjoy cooking but my Mom was a good cook. I remember the smell of bread baking. I can almost taste it, hot from the oven. If you’re looking for ideas here’s just a little taste of the cookbooks we carry.

A Man, A Can, A Plan, A Second Helping: 50 Fast Meals To Satisfy Your Healthy Appetite by David Joachim. This is the cookbook for the man in a hurry, featuring simple recipes with few ingredients. You’'d be surprised what you can make. For example chicken plus cans of mushrooms, chicken broth and a can of sour cream and onion chip dip can be turned in chicken stroganoff. There’s also a cold salad using canned mandarin oranges and water chestnuts, sesame ginger salad dressing, Ramen noodles plus a few other ingredients. This book is designed with hard cardboard pages so it can stand up and be easily be wiped off should you splatter on it. It’s even shaped like a can and
was the inspiration for this column.

Cooking For 1 Or 2 by Barbara Kyte and Katherine Greenberg. Cooking for one or two people may not feel as gratifying as cooking for a crowd. Some people may even think why bother I’ll just pick up a frozen dinner. This book has recipes for single servings of soups such as Manhattan Clam Chowder. For an entrée try Summer Squash Casserole or Cornish Game Hens With Orange Nut Stuffing. Just find something delicious to make, then take the good dishes out of the china cabinet and enjoy.

Ken Kostick’s 3 Easy Steps To Great Meals by Ken Kostick is written by one of the co-hosts of the CBC television show What’s For Dinner? Each recipe has only 3 simple steps to follow. You’ll be making things like Poached Pear & Apple Salad With Gorgonzola Cheese. If you like to make your own salad dressings, the Exotic Mango Dressing , featuring
peppers, honey and orange juice sounds delicious. For your main course there’s a recipe for Turkey & Apple Saute With Cinnamon.

Dinner & A Movie Cookbook by Claud Mann. Dinner & A Movie airs on Friday nights. While watching a movie, you cook a themed dinner. The cookbook features 100 favourite recipes from past shows, along with trivia about each movie. While watching When Harry Met Sally, you can dine on What Am I, Chopped Liver? a dish made with chicken livers. I prefer what I call the When Harry Met Sally salad at our local Cronos restaurant, it’s delicious. That’s not the real name, but you can ask for it by that. If you’re curious it’s a rotini pasta salad with pesto vinaigrette. While watching Star Wars, try the Obi-Wan Cannoli. Did you know that Sissy Spacek was originally considered to play Princess Leia? If you ever played hooky, you can watch Ferris Beuller’s Day Off while dining on Can’t Go To School, I Falafel. Last year I had my first falafel and was hooked from the first bite. Life doesn’t get much better than chickpeas and garlic.

Church Suppers: 722 Favorite Recipes From Our Church Communities edited by Barbara Greeman. Are you looking for something to bring to your next church supper, or a potluck dinner with friends? This book features recipes solicited from churches across the United States. The recipes serve an average family, but you can increase the amount for large gatherings. There’s a big selection of salads including a potluck standard the dreaded molded salad. There’'s a Christmas Cranberry Salad that’s molded and one especially for children – the pretzel salad. If you’re searching for a new dessert try the Earthquake Cake or the Impossible Pie, it makes its own crust.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found something you’d like to sink your teeth into. Have fun cooking.

Karen Craib Library Technician