It’s time for another book bouquet! Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library! You can use this flyer: Now We’re Cooking, to get started, or another one you build for your library!
Summer cooking is fun. The emphasis is on lighter food, things that don’t heat up the kitchen, things that can travel as you go to the lake or other fun spot. It’s also a great time to try out some new things that may turn into your new favorites!
Food is a great way to learn about people. You can see the food that has been prepared for generations by different people, and enjoy different flavors and spices than you may usually use in your food. A pro tip: food from grandmothers seems to always be tasty, no matter what the culture or flavor profile!
I am not a great cook, but I like to try things in the kitchen; and I like to share food with people (because obviously feeding people is love!). So I love to browse cookbooks, to see what kinds of things I might want to try. And it’s always fun to see the recipes that are probably too complicated for me, but look so pretty or so tasty! (You gotta dream, and some of my dreams involve lovely, complex food.)
If you have interest in history, geography, chemistry, or anthropology – test out some cooking for yourself! Try some of these different cookbooks, and test out a couple of recipes for yourself. And if you want to drop some of your experiments by the CMLE HQ, we would be delighted to test them for you!! (We are really good eaters here!)
(You can find more info and books by clicking on these links to Amazon.com! In theory, we might get a small percentage of Amazon’s profits from your purchase; in practice, it doesn’t seem to work – so feel free to shop or not as you wish!)
Menus can create very different moods; they can take you places, from an afternoon at the seaside in Brittany to a sultry evening eating mezze in Istanbul. They also have to work as a meal that flows and as a group of dishes that the cook can manage without becoming totally stressed. The 24 menus and 100 recipes in this book reflect places Diana loves, and dishes that are real favorites.
The menus are introduced with personal essays in Diana’s now well-known voice- about places or journeys or particular times and explain the choice of dishes. Each menu is a story in itself, but the recipes can also stand alone.
The title of the book refers to how Italians end a meal in the summer, when it’s too hot to cook. The host or hostess just puts a bowl of peaches on the table and offers glasses of chilled moscato (or even Marsala). Guests then slice their peach into the glass, before eating the slices and drinking the wine.
That says something very important about eating – simplicity and generosity and sometimes not cooking are what it’s about.”
Breakfast may be, as some say, the most important meal—but not unless it’s the best tasting. With the help of James Beard Cookbook Hall of Famer Beatrice Ojakangas, that is precisely what breakfast will be. With recipes drawn from her storied career and honed in her home kitchen, Breakfast with Beatrice prepares the cook—seasoned veteran or novice—to make breakfast the perfect start to every day.
Sweet or savory, classic or surprising, fancy or short order, these are breakfasts for every occasion, with simple ingredients, straightforward instructions, and the occasional anecdote (Veterinarian’s Breakfast, anyone?). Whip up a smoothie on the go. Chill a parfait overnight for a readymade morning treat. Dress up good, old-fashioned porridge for a hot and hearty start to the day. Make a meal of the smorrebrod, a breakfast sandwich favored in Denmark, with anything from cheese and fruit to smoked fish and meat piled on a slice of crusty bread. Whether you favor a grain-rich loaf or a handy quick bread, or a sweet treat like Cardamom Coffee Braid or an elaborate Danish pastry, these recipes will satisfy your morning palate. For more leisurely breakfasts (or for dinner when it’s kids’ choice), there are pancakes and mouth-watering cream waffles to warm the heart. From quiches and casseroles to waffles with berries, Breakfast with Beatrice is a treasury of recipes worth waking up for.”
Cooking the saladish way has been Ilene Rosen’s genius since she unveiled the first kale salad at New York’s City Bakery almost two decades ago, and now she shares 100 fresh and creative recipes, organized seasonally, from the intoxicatingly aromatic (Toasty Broccoli with Curry Leaves and Coconut) to the colorfully hearty (Red Potatoes with Chorizo and Roasted Grapes). Each chapter includes a fun party menu, a timeline of preparation, and an illustrated tablescape to turn a saladish meal into an impressive dinner party spread.”
Realizing how quickly traditions can change in a culture on the move, Somali American students set out to preserve their culinary legacy by interviewing family members, researching available and alternative ingredients, and testing kitchen techniques. In Soo Fariista / Come Sit Down, seventy recipes for everything from saabuuse (stuffed pastry) to suqaar (sauteed meat) to canjeelo (flatbread) to shushumow (fried sweet dough) honor memories and flavors from East Africa with adjustments for American realities. An introduction explores Somali foodways and their transitions in the United States, and each contributor is highlighted with his or her story. Notes on the recipes share the students’ journey from “a little of this and a little of that” to methods that will bring success in Somali American cooking to novices and practiced hands alike.”
