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Ree Drummond recommended Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland in Books (curated)
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Candy is Magic: Real Ingredients, Modern Recipes in Books
Jun 14, 2018
Candy Is Magic by Jami Curl is a very thorough book about making candy! It's quite amazing and goes through equipment, ingredients, and recipes. From lollipops to caramels, ice cream, marshmallows, gum drops, and even chews. The pictures are mouthwatering and I highly recommend you don't read this while hungry! The recipes are made using real ingredients, including fruit.
The book reviews methods, ingredients, tools and flavors required for candy making. I appreciated the author including such an educational foundational chapter in advance of the recipes. The author breaks down the ingredients for candy making into four main components: sugar, crystal blockers, fat, and salt.
The recipes in the book are divided into six chapters: core ingredients, lollipops, caramels, chewy candies, marshmallows, and gumdrops. Immediately after the Table of Contents is a convenient Recipe List that is categorized by type of recipe so the reader very quickly gets to see the variety of different recipes and flavors that are offered.
The lollipop chapter began with a terrific primer on working with hard candy that broke the process down into simple steps and that described all the required tools. Having this section before the lollipop recipes allowed the recipes to be streamlined with references back to the master instructions for setting up a lollipop station and for pouring the lollipops. The caramel chapter began with a similar primer on caramel technique. The recipes in the Dreams Come Chew chapter referenced the set up, cutting, and wrapping instructions in the caramel chapter. The marshmallow chapter also begins with a review of the ingredients, equipment, and basic steps of marshmallow making. Finally, the gumdrops chapter begins with a discussion of the three basic steps of making gummy candies.
The photography at the beginning of the book is very artistic and doesn’t necessarily depict a particular recipe. It is mostly gorgeous transparent hard candies. In the core recipes chapter, the photographs are still artistic, but have more of a relationship to the recipe. However, there is a particular instance where there is a full-page photograph of luscious peach slices next to a recipe for a roasted peach puree, and the recipe specifically says not to prepare the peaches as in the photograph. All of the fun projects in the book were accompanied by illustrations rather than by photographs.
I received an advanced reader's copy from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book reviews methods, ingredients, tools and flavors required for candy making. I appreciated the author including such an educational foundational chapter in advance of the recipes. The author breaks down the ingredients for candy making into four main components: sugar, crystal blockers, fat, and salt.
The recipes in the book are divided into six chapters: core ingredients, lollipops, caramels, chewy candies, marshmallows, and gumdrops. Immediately after the Table of Contents is a convenient Recipe List that is categorized by type of recipe so the reader very quickly gets to see the variety of different recipes and flavors that are offered.
The lollipop chapter began with a terrific primer on working with hard candy that broke the process down into simple steps and that described all the required tools. Having this section before the lollipop recipes allowed the recipes to be streamlined with references back to the master instructions for setting up a lollipop station and for pouring the lollipops. The caramel chapter began with a similar primer on caramel technique. The recipes in the Dreams Come Chew chapter referenced the set up, cutting, and wrapping instructions in the caramel chapter. The marshmallow chapter also begins with a review of the ingredients, equipment, and basic steps of marshmallow making. Finally, the gumdrops chapter begins with a discussion of the three basic steps of making gummy candies.
The photography at the beginning of the book is very artistic and doesn’t necessarily depict a particular recipe. It is mostly gorgeous transparent hard candies. In the core recipes chapter, the photographs are still artistic, but have more of a relationship to the recipe. However, there is a particular instance where there is a full-page photograph of luscious peach slices next to a recipe for a roasted peach puree, and the recipe specifically says not to prepare the peaches as in the photograph. All of the fun projects in the book were accompanied by illustrations rather than by photographs.
I received an advanced reader's copy from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alicia S (193 KP) rated The Natural Baker: Real and Delicious Wholefood Baking in Books
Sep 28, 2018
The photography throughout this book was art in itself!
The photography throughout this book was art in itself! The recipes were not only well-laid out with full-detail but all were healthy and work with fresh ingredients. Having never cooked with many of the alternative ingredients shared in this book, I can't wait to try some of the 80 or so recipes! Always dealing with digestive issues, I believe I've stumbled onto an incredible resource in this book.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated My Kitchen Table: 100 Cakes and Bakes in Books
Jun 16, 2017
Meg Dean (138 KP) rated Sunday Casseroles: Complete Comfort in One Dish in Books
Jun 20, 2018
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Beginners Cookbook in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Beginners Cookbook by K. Mortimer is a book full of fairly quick and easy recipes. While the cooking time on some of these can be a bit long, none of the recipes. in this book take very long to put together. Some readers that are not from the United Kingdom may not recognize some of the names of some ingredients but a quick google search should fix that.
This cookbook walks beginner cooks through common breakfast foods, main meal dishes, and even snacks. It has recipes. for common foods such as macaroni and cheese to things a little more uncommon (yet still simple) like prawn cocktails. The dessert selection offers some delicious recipes such as rice pudding or an apple and blackberry crumble. The cookbook also ends on a sweet note with the cakes and pastries section containing items such as fruit scones and jam jars.
One of the best things about this book is how simple all the recipes are. The chocolate brownies probably have one of the largest ingredient lists in the entire book. Also, many of the meat-based recipes gives a vegetarian option in the instructions as well. What I did not really care for was that some of the recipes seem to be in the wrong chapter. Flapjacks, for example, are labeled as a cake and not a breakfast food (this may be a UK vs. US thing I am not sure). There were also ingredients such as sultanas and salad cream that I have never heard of, along with a few unknown !!br0ken!!
This book was created directly for those who have never cooked before or who have just started cooking. It is perfect for (supervised) children who are gaining confidence in the kitchen. Adults and teens who find themselves suddenly on their own for food will also benefit from this book. It would make a good gift for a new college student as well. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4. The recipes themselves are very beginner-friendly although there are a few things that would make it even more so. It would have been nice to see examples of less common items such as flan pans in an index-like area. Also, a list of common substitutions for things like eggs and butter would have been nice along with a conversions chart.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
This cookbook walks beginner cooks through common breakfast foods, main meal dishes, and even snacks. It has recipes. for common foods such as macaroni and cheese to things a little more uncommon (yet still simple) like prawn cocktails. The dessert selection offers some delicious recipes such as rice pudding or an apple and blackberry crumble. The cookbook also ends on a sweet note with the cakes and pastries section containing items such as fruit scones and jam jars.
One of the best things about this book is how simple all the recipes are. The chocolate brownies probably have one of the largest ingredient lists in the entire book. Also, many of the meat-based recipes gives a vegetarian option in the instructions as well. What I did not really care for was that some of the recipes seem to be in the wrong chapter. Flapjacks, for example, are labeled as a cake and not a breakfast food (this may be a UK vs. US thing I am not sure). There were also ingredients such as sultanas and salad cream that I have never heard of, along with a few unknown !!br0ken!!
This book was created directly for those who have never cooked before or who have just started cooking. It is perfect for (supervised) children who are gaining confidence in the kitchen. Adults and teens who find themselves suddenly on their own for food will also benefit from this book. It would make a good gift for a new college student as well. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4. The recipes themselves are very beginner-friendly although there are a few things that would make it even more so. It would have been nice to see examples of less common items such as flan pans in an index-like area. Also, a list of common substitutions for things like eggs and butter would have been nice along with a conversions chart.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings --with 75 recipes everyone will love by Katie Sullivan Morford is a great book on how to make breakfast a little easier in the morning. It is the cookbook everyone needs. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, this is not new knowledge. However, with busy lives and rushing around in the morning sometimes breakfast gets overlooked. This collection of 75 recipes are easy to make and healthy, but delicious at the time time.
Besides making delicious food that is throughout this book it is about substituting our go to foods and making them better and less processed. I wish there were more pictures of the finished recipes. This book is great for providing a lot of variations on old classics as well as creating new and interesting meals that everyone can enjoy. I especially loved the Boost It, Adapt It and Make Ahead tips at the bottom of the recipes. A great book that focuses solely on breakfast.
I received this book Roost Book via Netgalley in exchange from an honest review.
Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings --with 75 recipes everyone will love by Katie Sullivan Morford is a great book on how to make breakfast a little easier in the morning. It is the cookbook everyone needs. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, this is not new knowledge. However, with busy lives and rushing around in the morning sometimes breakfast gets overlooked. This collection of 75 recipes are easy to make and healthy, but delicious at the time time.
Besides making delicious food that is throughout this book it is about substituting our go to foods and making them better and less processed. I wish there were more pictures of the finished recipes. This book is great for providing a lot of variations on old classics as well as creating new and interesting meals that everyone can enjoy. I especially loved the Boost It, Adapt It and Make Ahead tips at the bottom of the recipes. A great book that focuses solely on breakfast.
I received this book Roost Book via Netgalley in exchange from an honest review.
Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season in Books
Jan 13, 2018
Received a free copy of this book through NetGalley for an unbiased opinion.
Every single recipe in this cookbook looked so awesome...but it's cookies, so that's hard not to be the case.
My five star review is actually based more on content and layout. The author broke the recipes down into six sections, and explained how and why she divided the recipes as she did. She also included a very useful list of 10 cookie tips and tricks.
I think my favorite part of the cookbook, though, was that each recipe was simple even though some looked more complicated. There were very few of the 50 cookie recipes that required ingredients that weren't relatively standard in a household. And she included an icing recipe and tips on how to best store cookies so that they are preserved well for a later time.
Every single recipe in this cookbook looked so awesome...but it's cookies, so that's hard not to be the case.
My five star review is actually based more on content and layout. The author broke the recipes down into six sections, and explained how and why she divided the recipes as she did. She also included a very useful list of 10 cookie tips and tricks.
I think my favorite part of the cookbook, though, was that each recipe was simple even though some looked more complicated. There were very few of the 50 cookie recipes that required ingredients that weren't relatively standard in a household. And she included an icing recipe and tips on how to best store cookies so that they are preserved well for a later time.