Thursday Cookbook Series -- The Joys of Jell-o

This week I have a treasure for you. Joys of Jell-o was published by General Foods a long time ago. Seriously, there's no date. I'm guessing mid-60's to 70's. My copy is in excellent shape, having come (potentially unused) from my husband's grandmother's kitchen.

The booklet has ninety-five pages of Jello recipes. The first section includes desserts, as in the photo at left. Note that the "cake" in that picture is really stacked layers of jello. At the end of the book are addresses to send away for some of the fancy jello moulds used throughout the book. Somehow I don' think those offers are still valid though.

I think the best part is the large and varied selection of non-dessert recipes. Shrimp, vegetables, chicken, tuna, etc., feature in many of these. In the last page that I scanned, the two towering jello salads are filled with veggies. One recipe that I didn't scan involved making barbeque sauce flavored jello cubes that you could add to salads or sandwiches.

Now, we make jello Easter eggs every year, but that's about as fancy as my gelatin creativity goes. I don't know about you, but I'm quite happy that the trend of putting everything and anything into a jello mold is long past. I can't imagine eating, let alone serving, tuna salad that involves a box of artifically green sweet gel....

Thursday Cookbook Series -- The Betty Crocker Cookbook

Raise your hand if you DON'T own a Betty Crocker Cookbook. Really? I didn't know that was possible. You're missing something, you know.

This cookbook was the first one I acquired. I have no idea from where. Actually, it might have been my husband's cookbook first. And the photo is not representative of our book. They are constantly updating and improving it, and ours is at least 15 years old now.

My mom had a much older (probably mid-late 70's) version that we loved to pieces growing up. You could find the recipe to our family's favorite coffee cake (which might have actually been named Favorite Coffee Cake, come to think of it) just by opening the book--it was the stickiest, grittiest page in the book. Second to that was probably the chocolate chip cookie page.

My book has permanent creases on the basic white bread recipe (very yummy and no fancy ingredients--flour, yeast, water, salt, sugar), and several of the cake recipes. This is one of the first books I grab for inspiration for dinner, or for any common recipe.

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Finger Food

Today is a double bonus: a New Thing and a Cookbook. Last weekend, for the first time since beginning my Thursday Cookbook Series, I bought a book specifically to talk about on my blog. That is not to say that I have run out of cookbooks at home. But, I was at Barnes and Noble, and they have such a nice Bargain Books section, and I was just itching to buy something...

I did not yet own a book dedicated to appetizers, and Finger Food looked like a wonderful little candidate. Its not big, as in tall or wide (its about 5x7), but it has around 200 recipes all with full-color photos of appetizers, snacks, and tiny desserts. I was drawn in part to the variety of foods. Many have Asian or Middle Eastern influences--spring roll or wonton varieties, hummus variations, etc.

Unfortunately, I'm a poor reviewer in that I have no had time to actually make any of the recipes from the book. Yet. I should probably have waited to post it until I have had a chance to actually cook from it. I've spent a bit of time drooling over all the lovely photos....On this blog of this caliber, you get what you pay for :)

Upcoming programming note: It has been my intention, for a month or two now, to showcase a few of my old, out-of-print, or local cookbooks. I still intend to work on that. I just need to spend a little quality time with the digital camera and my laptop. Uninterrupted quality time :)

Thursday Cookbook Series: Online Resources

The web is not a cookbook, but I consult it as often as some of my paper versions for recipes. There are probably hundreds of online recipe databases and food websites. I have a few that I look to most often.

FoodNetwork.com has a massive database of recipes, both from their shows and from other contributors. Its nice to be able to search for a specific episode of a show and pull up the recipes. Their recipes print out nicely for inclusion into the binder that I use for my own personal cookbook.

CookingLight.com A great resource for healthier meal options, including many of the same features the show in their magazine (which I highly recommend as well).

AllRecipes.com A huge all-around useful recipe database. They also have a new feature that I’m tempted to try. You can build your own cookbook online, and have it printed in either paperback or hardcover. The prints are expensive-- $24.95 for paperback and $34.95 for hardbound—so this would not be a good choice for creating a cookbook for a fundraiser. But if you were only printing one or two—for a gift for a child heading to college, or a wedding, or just a nice copy of your favorite recipes for your own collection—it might be nice. I’d love to see a review from someone who has actually bought one.

I also have a handful of Food Blogs that I subscribe to. Baking Bites, Joy the Baker, and Baking and Books are some of my favorites for the inspiring recipes and lovely photos.

Thursday Cookbook Series -- The Best Recipe

It is entirely possible that I've mentioned Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen before. Now, I shall do so again.

I have an excellent cookbook of theirs called The Best Recipe. This is a large, heavy, comprehensive cookbook. Unlike their America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, the pages are black and white, with hand-drawn diagrams and tightly packed text. Like that other book, they include large article-like discussions of each recipe, giving the cook the background of *why* they consider each recipe to be the best.

I can't help making the comparisons to the Family Cookbook, I guess. There is some overlap between recipes--probably because many recipes & articles were originally published in the Cook's Illustrated magazine. This cookbook has more recipes overall, and is skewed toward fancier foods rather than the "family" ones. Also, it is a bound book and not a binder.

Overall, I love the book, and consult it frequently.

Thursday Cookbook Series -- A Basic

I was tempted to call this week's cookbook "boring." Basic is probably a better word. I use my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook weekly. I know off the top of my head that it's got the basic (non-buttermilk) pancake recipe that I prefer to make, and a white chocolate cake recipe that is divine for birthday cakes (better than a plain ol' white cake..the white chocolate makes it moist). The book has everything from soup to nuts (Why do we say "soup to nuts"? Wouldn't "apple to zuccini" or "appperitif to coffe" make more sense? Just my 2cents...)

Usually I end here with some witty comment. Sorry. All out.
The book is a binder, and though I'm starting to lose the outermost pages, its standing up to a lot of wear. Binders are nice because they lay flat on the counter while you're cooking. And, if you happen to subscribe to the Better Homes & Gardens magazine, their "prize-winning recipes" every month fit into the binder. (I do get their magazine, but don't save the recipes that often. Just pointing the feature out)

Thursday Cookbook Series -- I'm Just Here For the Food

Alton Brown is probably my favorite all-time food/cooking/chef-like TV personality. He's a cross between Emeril Lagasse and Mr Wizard (remember him? The science guy?). He has an explanation for every cooking technique, involving molecules, chemistry, and neat-o models made of anything from foam packing peanuts to bubble wrap. He also has a personality and a voice (I'm talking the style of his writing and speaking, not just the sounds he produces) that are catchy and quirky with a wry sense of humor that I enjoy.

His book, I'm Just Here For the Food, reads more like a science text book than a traditional cookbook. He has divided the recipes up by cooking technique--grilling, braising, roasting, frying, etc--instead of the traditional groupings by ingredient (beef, chicken, vegetable) or meal (apetizer, soup, etc). He includes tons of information that helps educate the home cook to enable us to understand the recipes that we're reading and be able to apply those techniques to other foods. And he does it all with his signature sense of science and fun.

The book is, as far as I'm concerned, Good Reads :)

The Triumphant Return of the Thursday Cookbook Series

This week, its even posted on Thursday (I think. I checked before I started typing this time instead of accidentally publishing when I should be scheduling).

Today, in honor of the wonderfully winterish St. Louis weather, I'm featuring my Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook. Everyone needs a crock pot. Maybe even more than one. We have a nice, programmable 6-quart one that we use a couple of times a month (sometimes more), and a tiny 1-quart one that is perfect for chocolate fondue, hot cheese dips, and the occaisional overnight oatmeal.

This cookbook has a nice variety of recipes including everything from appetizers to soups, meat dishes, and even dessert. I don't know if I've ever tried their desserts though (I sense a New Thing coming on).

Some of the recipes that I know we've tried include Jamaica-me-Crazzy Chicken Tripicale, Thai Chicken, and Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus.

Other uses for our crockpot have included: chuck roast, chili, mulled cider, barbequed ribs, and bulk-cooking barley.

Don't look at me like that for the barley comment. Cooked whole barley makes an excellent substitute for rice, especially when you have family members whose digestive systems don't handle the, ahem, thickening power of rice. Barley takes a while to cook, so I occaisionally do a whole crockpot full, then portion it into ziploc bags and freeze. Nuking frozen cooked barley is much faster than steaming rice, btw.

Also on the slow-cooker-whole-grain topic, I mentioned the overnight oatmeal. If you have a small crock pot (or a large guest list), you can cook steel cut oats overnight for an early morning, super-soft cooked breakfast (it's excellent with some chopped apples and cinnamon). Just add oats and water according to the package directions, add seasonings, and turn on low overnight. Do be prepared to scrub (or use a disposable liner) because the oatmeal sticks like the devil :)

Thursday Cookbook Series -- New Year's Edition

I have always found that drinking is best enjoyed at home or at a friends' house. No tipping. No smoking. No loud music or migraine-inducing strobe lights. And, when we're the hosts, no driving! Oh yeah, and for the cost of two bar-drinks, you can buy an entire bottle of liquor (and sometimes mixers as well).

We have enjoyed this book for years. We keep it in the wet bar in our basement (you know, that row of countertops where we store all the accumulated junk to dangerous to leave in toddler reach...). Ok, so for most of the last 5ish years my husband has enjoyed this book--I was too busy gestating and lactating to partake. Tonight, the sky's the limit! (er, well, my liver's the limit...and did I mention that all that pregnancy and breastfeeding pretty much killed what little tolerance I had? One, maybe two drinks for me and I'll be passed out cold....)

Happy New Year's everyone! Drink responsibly. (yes, I had to say it. I'm a parent, darnit!)

Thursday Cookbook Series--Christmas Cookies

This week, in lieu of another printed cookbook, I am sharing my two favorite Christmas cookies (that share a single icing recipe).

The first are called Cookie Monster Cookies. The recipe orginated in a Sesame Street activity book when I was a very very small child. Our family has been making and decorating these every Christmas (and many Easters and other cookie-worthy occasions) for nearly 30 years now. We always mix up several colors of icing and cover these with sprinkles or redhots. Note that the batter is quite heavy and well-suited to a stand mixer (or else, to strong biceps!)

Cookie Monster Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time until well blended. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated.

Chill at least one hour.

Roll dough out 1/4" thick on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Cool and decorate.

Icing (also used for Gingerbread Cookies, below)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
(optional) few drops food coloring

Use less milk or more sugar for thicker icing.

The next recipe is a rich, spicy gingerbread cookie recipe. It's not quite as traditional in my family, but Charlotte and I have been making these together for several years now. She especially likes the step where you add the baking soda. It reacts with the molasses to produce bubbles, like a sticky, spicy homemade volcano :)

Gingerbread Cookies
2/3 cup full flavor molasses (not black strap)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 2 tbsp pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 3/4-4 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

In a large (at least 4-5 quart) sauce pan, bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (this will puff up, so make sure your pan has extra space!).

Stir in butter 3 pieces at a time until melted. Add egg

Add 3 3/4 cup of flour and salt.

Preheat the oven to 325 and butter cookie sheets.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough, adding enough remaining flour until it is soft (30 sec to 1 minute).

Roll half the dough at a time 1/8-1/4" thick. Keep the other half wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. Note you may want to wait until the dough cools to almost room temperature before cutting your first batch, or they will be very hard to move to the cookie sheets.

Cut out cookies and bake on buttered sheets 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool on rack and ice with the recipe above (I like to leave the icing white on such a dark colored cookie).

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Kristi's Own

Instead of my regularly scheduled Cookbook, this week I'm offering up a recipe. I made these cookies for a cookie exchange at work, and am quite happy with how they turned out. The recipe was adapted from an Almond Biscotti recipe (which I also made) in the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Enjoy!

Mocha Biscotti
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, or 2oz by weight) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp Kahlua
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Oven to 350. Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to line a sheet pan.


2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and instant coffee. Set aside.


3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and then the Kahlua.


4. Slowly mix in flour mixture until well combined. Add chocolate chips.


5. Split the dough in half. Using floured hands, press each half into a 2x13 inch loaf, and place side by side on the sheet pan, allowing a few inches in between.


6. Bake 35 minutes or until golden and just beginning to crack on top.


7. Cool 10 minutes on the pan on a wire rack. Turn the oven down to 325.


8. Transfer the cookie-loaves to a cutting board and slice each on the diagonal into ½ inch wide slices. Lay the slices, cut side up, close together back on the baking pan (you can re-use the parchment)


9. Bake at 325 about 15 minutes until crisp on both sides. Turn once while baking. Let cool completely.

Today’s cookbook is a yearly series, of which I own three. My older sister bought me my first subscription to Cooking Light magazine several years ago as a gift, and I just keep renewing it. The magazine is wonderful, full of articles on fitness and travel, and of course, food. They have lots and lots of recipes using interesting ingredients, complete with the nutritional breakdown. And, as the magazine name implies, all recipes are designed with healthly living in mind. If you think it’s all dry salads and crunchy granola, you’re dead wrong. Cakes, pies, breads, rich meats. They do everything. But, they try to make the ingredient lists sensible, and they offer reasonable portion sizes, and advice on how to choose ingredients.

The Cooking Light yearly cookbooks are a collection of every recipe from every issue of the magazine during the whole year. It typically comes out around late November, about the same time as the December issue of the magazine. Their indexes are great, by recipe or ingredient. They compile a years worth of menu suggestions into one section, which makes planning easy. While they don’t include the articles on exercise techniques or beauty, they do include some of the cooking features.

I have three of these now, 2007, 2008, and 2009 which just arrived a week ago (they’re numbered a year ahead…2009 has recipes from the 2008 magazines). Yes, it’s doubling-up as I also have all of the magazine issues for the year, but the books are a bit more compact than 12 magazines, and made to last. Last night, we had a chicken pot pie out of the 2007 book, and I have the ingredients for a turkey sausage pasta bake to make in the next couple of days.

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Chocolate

I'm not sure that this cookbook needs a lot of explanation. I will, however, post the link. For once, I'm linking Barnes & Noble, not Amazon. I'm a big B&N fan for brick & mortar, but always hit Amazon online. However, I think this is part of a series that I bought at B&N.

In case you're not convinced by the title and photo alone of the delicious utility of this cookbook, let me list a few recipe titles:

Magic Chocolate Mud Pudding
Pears in Chocolate Fudge Blankets
Chocolate Tiramisu Tart
Black Bottom Pie
Mango and Chocolate Creme Brulee
Chocolate Mint-Filled Cupcakes
Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
Chocolate Cinnamon Doughnuts

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Canning and Preserving

Every spring I have grand dreams of planting a beautiful garden and reaping a bountiful harvest that I can store away to feed my family for the winter. It's a silly dream, for someone who gardens in a 3x10 patch in a tiny suburban backyard. I chalk it up to some latent pioneering gene. It is rumored that my family has an ancestor who arrived on the Mayflower, and others who lived in the wild west (or at least the wild midwest of Nebraska).

In any case, most of my canning produce comes from the supermarket after my garden falters (or becomes a bunny buffet). Canning, at least the "water-bath" method is really pretty easy--you put hot food into jars, put on lids, and then boil the jars. Follow the times on the recipes, and that's really it. So far, I've done apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie filling, pickles, a variety of fruit jams, and some really yummy roasted red pepper spread.

If you're not up for all the boiling, then both the Ball Blue Book of Preserving and the Canning & Preserving for Dummies books have sections about drying and freezing foods, as well as pressure canning. I haven't gotten into the pressure canning yet, mostly because it involves buying a pressure cooker, and I"m already out of room for storing kitchen gadgets. But, it's on my list of things to try. Right after I find the secret to producing a bumper crop of tomatoes in a veggie patch the size of a postage stamp....

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Coffee Drinks & Desserts

This week I have a fun cookbook to share. For someone who avoids most caffeine, I'm strangely obsessed by coffee. I love the smell of it brewing. I love a good Starbucks mocha (decaf). And I love to cook with it.

I found the Maxwell House Coffee Drinks & Desserts Cookbook several months ago at a bookstore. The photo on the front cover--chocolate toffee bars, p.190--always makes my mouth water. And there are plenty more. The book contains background sections about the history of coffee, Maxwell house, and brewing tips.

And then there are the recipes. They are divided by time of day: Breakfast and Brunch, Coffee Break, Lunch, Afternoon Coffee Time, Dinner, After the Show, and Midnight Snack. They cover hot coffee drinks, muffins, scones (one of my favorites), cakes, pies, ice creams, cold treats, cakes and frostings....

Hmm..Cappuccino white chocolate chunk muffins...sounds like a yummy breakfast to me.

Thursday Cookbook Series -- Cooking for Two

My apologies for the poor photo. I've mentioned that I'm not much of a photographer, haven't I?

This week I am featuring two books that I use frequently (or used to), but that you'd be hard pressed to find on a bookstore shelf. The first is Betty Crocker's Dinner for Two Cookbook, Copyright 1973. My mother gave it to me when I moved into an apartment back in college. It was probably a wedding gift or early-marriage purchase for her and my father. Given the vintage, it should be no surprise that it doesn't reference a microwave, or chipotle, or "low-carb", or any other modern cooking terms. And yet, before needing to feed two voracious toddlers, I used it constantly. The book has hundreds of recipes in categories like Everyday Favorites, More Dimes than Dollars, Planning Ahead (with main meals and leftover meals paired up), and When Minutes Matter (with few pre-packaged ingredients!).

Sometime in college or just after, I bought an updated book, called Betty Crocker's New Choices for Two (copyright 1995). This book has a lot fewer recipes, but all have much healthier profiles than many in the 1973 book. The newer diet fads--trans fats, and low-carb, etc,--are obviously not covered. But there are heart-healthy options, and low-fat options in every category. Some of my favorites have been the Oven Crisp Chicken (using wheat cracker crumbs in the topping), Easy Pepper-Jelly Chicken, and Cinnamon-Orange Breakfast Puffs (whichs makes 4-5 muffins...perfect for 2).

Flipping through these books is making me a little bit nostalgic this morning. Now that we're feeding four at every meal, I don't often reach for these for inspiration. The recipes and ideas remind me of the early years of my marriage, when it was a struggle to put decent meals on the table for 2 without wasting tons of food or resorting to restaurants.

And now, I feel old for using the phrase "early years of my marriage"...

Thursday Cookbook Series-- The Joy of Cooking

There is a theme to my favorite cookbooks so far. If you've read the last two posts in this series, you may have noticed how much I love not only reading recipes, but reading the background information that leads to understanding. I prefer to learn from my cookbooks, not just cook from them.

To continue the theme, for at least another week, I present The Joy of Cooking. There have been many versions of this book, published over many years. The one that I own, as well as the Amazon link above (as far as I can tell) refer to the copyright 1975 version of the text. My book was printed much more recently, but contains the 30-year old text, and is happily absent of microwaves, Splenda, and other more modern ingredients and techniques.

This book is not pretty. There is no full-color glossy food porn. There are no color or glossy pages at all, outside of the rather plain (and photo-less) cover. Instead, each section of the book starts with several pages of expository introduction. If you skipped the recipes and just read the introductory sections, you would improve your cooking skills and knowledge.

And then, there are the recipes. Unlike the America's Test Kitchen book I reviewed a couple of weeks ago, the ingredient lists and instructions are spartan. But there are SO MANY of them. Nearly 5000 of them, according to Amazon's site. There are variations on variations on everything. And so many classics and old-style recipes, the kind our mothers might have made. Waldorf salad, terrines, nary a chipotle or EVOO reference anywhere.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love modern twists on food. But sometimes, you want something tried and true. Or you're tired of Asian fusion, 4-ingredients or less or the cake-mix fix-ups. Or just need inspiration (there must be 30 kinds of frosting alone).

Thursday Cookbook Series -- The Cake Bible

Last week, I introduced my favorite all-around general cookbook. This week, one of my favorite specialty ones.

I bought my copy of The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum from a used bookstore, sans dustjacket. Lucky for me, there's another full-color photo of that yummy chocolate cake inside the book.

This book has dozens of wonderfully detailed recipes for baking and decorating all types of cakes. Beranbaum lists all ingredients by weight as well as by volume, a technique that I have found produces superior results (especially weighing flour...). She covers every type of cake, filling and icing that you could imagine, often with several variations. She also details how to size up several basic cake flavors for large or multi-tier cakes (wedding cakes). Not that I've ever had the opportunity to make a wedding cake, but it's nice to know how it works (no, just doubling or tripling a recipe doesn't work!)

But better than the recipes are all of the Understanding sections. The author gives good information on the chemistry of baking, explaining how ingredients work in different recipes (e.g. all-purpose vs cake flour, baking soda vs baking powder, etc), and how she came up with the techniques for some of the cakes. There is a rhyme and reason to the order of opertions in recipes, and I love learning the "why" behind them.

I think my favorite part is flipping through the photo section in the middle, drooling over the chocolate cakes, and the golden cage (made of hard caramel!). And of course, it helps that she has a recipe for a Charlotte! (It's a cake, as well as a princess....)

Thursday Cookbook Series -- America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

This is the first post of what I hope will be a new series.

I've mentioned before that I love to read, and that I love to cook. Who would have guessed that I own a lot of cookbooks? Smartypants.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite cookbooks, ones in my own collection at home.

This week: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

The book is a spiral notebook bound edition with a little of everything. If you're a fan of Cooks Illustrated Magazine (as I am, and will probably mention that again), or the America's Test Kitchen PBS show, then you may recognize many of the recipes.

Their recipes are explicit and detailed, and easy to follow. The ingredient lists are in order of use (a huge pet peeve of mine), and their instructions are clear and detailed. The biggest complaint might be that they're too long! Almost every recipe is a full page long, with helpful photos where necessary. Best of all, everything I've ever made from the cookbook has turned out perfectly the first time.

We regularly browse their lists of pan sauces for chicken, steak, or pork; last weekend we had their rosemary and sea salt focacia with our dinner; the cinnamon rolls are to die for. They cover all major categories, from appetizers to grilling to cakes and steaks. Most of the food isn't frou-frou, just good family favorites.

Honestly, if I could only own one cookbook, this would be the one.