Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

I can't remember when I "discovered" Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. It was probably on Foodtv, but she's been one of my best friends ever since. Via, The Barefoot Contessa and Barefoot Contessa at Home plus Barefoot Contessa Family Style, Ina frequently cooks at my house.

I fell in love with her style of cooking and her simple philosophy...keep it uncomplicated and use really good ingredients, so imagine how delighted I am with her latest book Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients. The title says it all and truly...I've already dog-eared most of the pages.

Tomorrow night we're having friends for dinner and most of the menu will be from the new book...

Italian Wedding Soup

Parmesan & Thyme Crackers

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Roasted Salmon Fillets with Thyme & Maple Syrup

(my own, but in keeping with the BC "keep it simple" philosophy)

And perhaps I'll just follow her "no cook" ideas for dessert, like vanilla ice cream drizzled with saba (or Grand Marnier) or mixed with chopped crystallized ginger and store bought biscotti.

The book is fantastic, no surprise...the photos by Quentin Bacon will have you drooling, so wear a bib! And it's not just the recipes and gorgeous photos that make this book so special, it's the little side notes for each recipe and interesting tips to mark the beginning of each section: How to arrange flowers like a pro; 10 no-cook things to serve with drinks; and how to bake like a pro (something I desperately need to know) are just a few.

So as much as I love all the books on my shelves for one reason or another....Ina's books always stand out as the best of the best and this time is no exception.

Here's another great dish to try Tuscan Lemon Chicken...easy and glorious and on her website with lots of others just for you.

Oh...and if anyone wants to buy me a present...I'm still missing Barefoot Contessa in Paris and Barefoot Contessa Parties!

300 Sensational Soups

It's cold, it's rainy (some of us are even experiencing snow)...so what could be more timely than this cookbook filled with every kind of soup imaginable. The title says it all ... 300 Sensational Soups by Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds

I must admit that I don't relish soup when it's hot, but if you do, there are even some wonderful recipes like Cold Avocado Soup, Chilled Curried Pear Soup (which I just might have to try anyway), Shrimp Cocktail Soup with Horseradish Sauce, Gazpacho, Bloody Mary Soup...in fact 18 chilled soups for those of you experiencing summer weather, or like me, saving them for next summer.

There are even 22 dessert soups. Seriously, who could resist dishes like Gingered Creme Anglaise Soup, Blueberry Soup with Yoghurt Swirl, Raspberry & White Chocolate Swirl Soup with Brownie Croutons...I mean...come on...how cool is that!

There are soups for every taste...sweet or spicy, brothy (14 stocks!) or thick and hearty. Here are a couple that I'll be making more than once!

Lamb & Lentil Soup
We really couldn't get enough of this one with it's subtle curry flavor.

Pappa al Pomodoro

This was a perfect use of the wine focaccia I over baked.

I'm not sure which wonderful soup I'll try next, but you can be sure that this book will be well worn by winter's end.

The Seven Sins of Chocolate

The Seven Sins of Chocolate is one of those beautiful coffee table books, you have close at hand to impress your friends. The stunning photos by Thomas Dhellemmes and over-the-top recipes by Laurent Schott, will have everyone drooling.

I must admit, if you're planning on making the recipes yourself...most of them are for the more experienced pastry chef. I stuck to a couple of very simple recipes, myself...

Chocolate Spice Loaf

Chocolate Nut Cookies

...neither of which look nearly as good as the book and ....the rest I leave to those with more skills than I.

According to the book, the Seven Sins of Chocolate are....

Sloth (laziness) ...which includes tart a l'antillaise...comprised of a sweet pastry, chocolate ganache and flambeed bananas...a little too energetic for a lazybones like me, but...the chocolate crepes look like I could possibly manage;

Anger...frankly how can fresh berry chocolate tarts or Viennese chocolate cake make a person angry...unless there's no one around to make them for you, I suppose;

Lust...well, frankly I lust after each and every recipe in the book, so....what can I say, but the opera cakes and chocolate savarins with vanilla ice cream are definitely up there;

Pride...I know they say "Pride goes before a fall", but I'd love to be able to make profiteroles or mille-feuille that match those here and totally floor all my friends and family;

Envy...for me it's simply the ability to make my versions look only half as good as theirs - especially the chocolate and salted caramel tart which looks stunning;

Avarice...well, frankly, with a list like chocolate goblets, chocolate and poached pear tart, chocolate and pistachio financiers, who wouldn't want them all; and lastly...

Gluttony ...Dictionary.com defines it as excessive eating and drinking but I simply call it "pigging out" and we definitely did with the chocolate nut cookies. Five dozen didn't last very long.

I'm off to wolf down the last of the cookies and drool over all the other chocolate delights the book has to offer.

A Spoonful of Ginger

A Spoonful of Ginger : Irresistible Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens has been a wonderful resource in my kitchen for years. I first came across it years ago on my first trip to Seattle and...more importantly...my first trip to Sur La Table. The book is a winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award. I've mentioned it many times over at Once Upon a Feast and shared a number of recipes (I'll link to some of them at the bottom of this post), but I realized today that I haven't ever really explained why I love it so much.

First, the photos are stunning...beautiful presentations of the dishes and lovely snapshots to accompany the stories that are peppered throughout the book. The photos and, frankly the word "Ginger" on the cover captured my attention. Ginger is one of my favorite seasonings. I never realized how good it was for me until the book. I just lived blindly enjoying it in every form. Best chocolate gift anyone can get me...dark chocolate covered candied ginger!

But I digress. The book is filled with healthful Asian recipes. In fact, the subtitle is "Irresistible, health-giving recipes from Asian kitchens". Apparently the inspiration for the book came when on a trip to Taipei. Nina had a stomachache and consulted a doctor who was trained in both Chinese and Western medicines. His diagnosis...her diet was out of balance...but she tells the story better than I. There's actually a short section that helps you figure out whether you're Yin or Yang. Suffice to say she needed more "Yang" foods...food with heat...and the rest is ...frankly...magic and one of my very favorite books.

There is a very helpful guide for those not familiar with Asian cooking...equipment, preparation, presentation and menu ideas, plus a chapter called "The Kitchen Clinic and Herbal Tonics".

But for me...it's all about the glorious dishes and her comments...an example:

Scallion Ginger Rice (I love it with the Chile Chicken with Cashews)
Intro remarks:

"Drawing inspiration from Cantonese cooks, who make a famous scallion-ginger noodle dish, I do the same with rice. This is delicious as an accompaniment to grilled, steamed, or stir-fried seafood. The rice is stir-fried until it's just heated through. Add a simple stir fried or steamed green vegetable and you have a veritable feast"

And after every recipe there's a little yin/yang symbol to let you know where the dish lies on the cool/hot spectrum. This dish...

"Rice is normally a neutral food, but with the addition of scallions and fresh ginger, the overall effect is warming."

The chapters are traditional in presentation...soups, seafood, poultry, meat, vegetables, soybeans & tofu, sweet flavors and a more unusual chapter that combines rice, breads and noodles. But every recipe has some interesting notation. It is an exceptional book that's filled with easy to make and easy to adapt recipes. Here's a couple of my favorite takes:

Ginger & Black Mushroom Soup

(check out her absolutely fabulous chicken broth at the bottom of the post)

Ginger Beef with Crispy Noodles

and my latest adaptation: Shrimp, Chinese Sausages & Shitake Stir Fry

If you want a taste of how awesome Nina Simonds is...check out her website
. It's a wonderful resource.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I only recently started baby steps when it comes to baking bread. I suppose because my first experience was traumatic to say the least. And since then, the thought of kneading for hours (at least in my mind, it's HOURS), well....then we moved to Halifax and my daughter is a fan of the bread machine. She even gave me her old one when she got a new one and I was hooked. But the real thrill was when one of my readers told me I HAD to buy this book....

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

And since then...well, I've become quite the master if I do say so myself....which means you can too - seriously. The book is filled with fantastic bakery style breads that will wow you and your guests. In fact, the very first bread I made...I'm not one for gently getting wet...I just jump in the deep end ...

Pain d'Epi

True, it didn't look exactly like the ones in French bakeries,, but it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside like a real baguette.

Real Rye Bread

This one really reminded me of the rye breads we found everywhere in Montreal, in a few places in Toronto and...well, nowhere here in Halifax. What a thrill to be able to easily make it myself.

Fancy Challah with Raisins

Another bread that's hard to come by in Halifax is "real" challah, or at least the challah I remember growing up. It wowed everyone at the table, I'm pleased to say.

So what delightful bread should I do next? The Pecan Caramel Rolls look awesome...so do all the different focaccias....

If you're fearful about making bread...think it will come out badly or take too long to make or be too much work...run out and get a copy of the book. And check out their website for more recipes, ideas and tips. You'll thank me, honest!

The Healthiest Meals on Earth

I do try to eat healthy...to balance our meals and include natural goodness rather than have to take vitamins and other additives to keep us well. But the truth is...I really don't know which foods are good for what. Oh sure, I've heard the terms...antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and how important it is to have fibre, good fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals in my diet...but where do I find them...other than in a bottle of pills!?

The Healthiest Meals on Earth by Jonny Bowden, not only has great recipes, but explains that elusive "WHY?" and even better...HOW these healthy elements work in our bodies. All in an easy to follow manner that doesn't hurt my brain.

The book is not presented like most cookbooks...don't worry there are tons of great dishes created by Jeannette Bessinger. One term you'll hear often is "polymeal" which basically is a "perfect" meal, containing all the elements I mentioned above and the book is laid out to highlight that theory. I'll leave the explaining to Dr Bowden, he does it so well.

Section One - Four course polymeals, has 10 chapters , each one focusing on one specific ...fabulous fibre, hunter-gatherer's delight, omega star...and so on. Let me give you an example....Omega Star chapter focuses on salmon and other healthy fats from the sea. True, I knew about omega 3 fatty acids, but I didn't know there were two types...DHA & EPA or that it benefits the heart and brain AND improves mood and behavior. There are actually four pages of information before we get to the recipe.

Salmon with Tamari-Orange Marinade

There are also two other sections in the book...the One Pot Polymeal with simple sides, (especially wonderful for those who love the idea of one dish to prepare and serve with a simple side and dessert - not in the one pot, naturally), and Delicious Drinks: the liquid polymeal...each section has more valuable information and delicious recipes for everything from sangria to detox drinks and super juices.

Truth-be-told, I probably won't follow all the rules or stick to individual menus, but I certainly will be eating better. I served my salmon with ....

Yellow Beans with Pomegranate Mint Dressing (pomegranate juice protects against heart disease and cancer, and for the guys out there...a natural viagra, apparently).

Lunch today was Raw Spinach Soup that doesn't just taste wonderful, it will defend against cholesterol, cancer and diabetes...pretty awesome and if I don't tell anyone, they'll just enjoy the flavors.

Oh...and did I mention two superstar ingredients to keep us all healthy? Wine and chocolate and there are lots of delicious ideas for those in the book too.