Archive for the ‘Special Occasion’ Category

“Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations,” King, Stott & Gunst

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Pros: Delightful!
Cons: None
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review book (published 2009) courtesy of Chronicle Books.

 

This is the second Stonewall Kitchen cookbook I’ve tried, and I’m definitely hooked. They’re small cookbooks, that focus on providing a smaller number of very good, adaptable recipes to work with rather than a huge, definitive listing. The photos are gorgeous, the paper is high-quality, the layout is clean & easy to read, and the recipes…. well, they’re fantastic!

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“How to Cook a Turkey,” eds. of Fine Cooking

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Pros: Delightful range of wonderful recipes; incredible feast of tips and tricks
Cons: None that we could find
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review copy courtesy of The Taunton Press.

 

Thanksgiving dinner is a tradition for my husband and I. Normally we don’t worry that much about holidays, but when we lived in Boston it was fun to collect up those friends who couldn’t make it home for “turkey day” and feed them at our apartment. We tended to bring together about 5-10 people and made waaay too much food, but that was kind of the point. Now we might not have the huge numbers of people to feed, but we still enjoy finding creative ways to enjoy turkey and the trimmings. Only this year, we’re trying out the latest book to cross our field of vision a bit early, so you’ll be able to pick it up in time for your own feasting if you like the sound of it. It’s a great sacrifice, dear readers, but we’re prepared to make it—for your sakes.

I’m totally failing at sounding serious, aren’t I? Ah well, I never did have a good poker face! Read on for the details of our pre-Thanksgiving experiment with How to Cook a Turkey: And All the Other Trimmings from the editors & contributors of Fine Cooking.

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“The Big Book of Backyard Cooking,” Betty Rosbottom

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Pros: Delicious!
Cons: A few photos might be nice
Rating: 5 out of 5

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“The Pastry Queen Christmas,” Rebecca Rather

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Pros: Delightful range of fit-for-the-holidays recipes
Cons: Be ready to pack on the holiday pounds!
Rating: 5 out of 5

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“Jewish Holiday Feasts,” by Louise Fiszer & Jeannette Ferrary

Friday, February 16th, 2007

Pros: wonderful food, short and easy recipes
Cons: none that I could find
Rating: 5 out of 5

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“Everyday Celebrations” by Donata Maggipinto

Friday, December 8th, 2006

Pros: Simple menus; delicious recipes; easy instructions; attractive layout and design
Cons: I wish the ingredients were presented in list form
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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“The Christmas Cookie Book,” by Lou Seibert Pappas

Monday, November 27th, 2006

Pros: Delicious; plenty of old favorites; lovely photos
Cons: Slightly confusing layout; some mildly sub-optimal directions
Rating: 4 out of 5

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“The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook,” Elaine Robinson

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006

Pros: Delicious flavors; more than 500 recipes; useful information
Cons: Recipe inconsistencies; missing details; recipe problems
Rating: 3 out of 5

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“The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook,” Rosso and Lukins

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006

Pros: Great flavors; lots of recipes; a range of stuff from easy to elaborate
Cons: Recipes somewhat crammed in; weird organizational scheme makes recipes tough to find
Rating: 4 out of 5

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“Williams-Sonoma Collection: Christmas,” Carolyn Miller

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Pros: Delicious flavors; easy recipes; no problems; beautiful results
Cons: None
Rating: 5 out of 5

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