Book Review: The Cookiepedia

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have all those classic cookie recipes - shortbreads, snickerdoodles, macaroons (and macarons!), and more - in one place? It sure would be, and, now, it is, with Stacy Adimando's new cookbook, The Cookiepedia. With dozens of cookie recipes loaded with helpful tips, this book is a must-have for every cookie lover. We received a review copy of the book from publisher Quirk Books about a month ago, but found ourselves with little time on our hands until last weekend, when, at our five-year-old niece's request, we used the book to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies while Louie the Cat looked on.

First of all, we love the cute cardboard-cut-out look of the cover, and the practical and convenient lie-flat binding. The recipe was straight-forward and easy-to-follow. The cookies had a wonderful molasses flavor that came from adding brown sugar as well as white sugar, and a deep, rich chocolate flavor from using bittersweet chips.

They didn't come out looking like the beautiful picture in the book, that's true. We have baking issues, as you've probably read before. However, they tasted so good that we were inspired to browse the rest of the book.

It is categorized by "type" of cookie (e.g. Chocolaty, Buttery, Fancy, etc.), so you can easily find a recipe to suit your needs, wants, desires and/or cravings. Each and every recipe is accompanied by baking tips, helpful hints, fun anecdotes, cheer-inducing hand-drawn illustrations and even a place for baker's notes. Did we mention the gorgeous photographs that make you want to grab a cookie right from the pages and pour a glass of milk to go along with it?

If you love cookies (and really, who doesn't?), this book full of reinvented-from-the-classics cookie recipes ought to be your next cookbook purchase. We'll be mixing up a batch of the Molasses Spice Cookies this weekend...just in time for fall. Why don't you join us?

The Cookiepedia came out September 6th and can be purchased here, at Amazon.com.

Book Review: On A Stick!

Kabobs. Skewers. Cocktail picks. Toothpicks. Pops. Food On A Stick! is fun to make, fun to share and fun to eat, and that is what Matt Armendariz's new book, On A Stick! is all about. Matt is a photographer and author of Matt Bites, a popular food blog, and when he (and his publisher, Quirk Books) offered us a review copy of his book, we bought some bamboo skewers and jumped* at the opportunity.

After a brief introduction consisting of descriptions of various stick-ware, dips and sauce ideas, the book is organized into two parts: "Savory Foods on a Stick" and "Sweet Foods on a Stick." The total recipe count is 80, and they are, as promised, "party perfect." There are a few we've seen before (think beef teriyaki, chicken satay and frozen bananas), but these are vastly outnumbered by unique and creative ideas one could barely imagine possible (spaghetti and meatballs, fish and chips, chocolate-covered cheesecake...all On A Stick!). The past weekend brought with it a toddler's birthday party, to which we brought our own version of Matt's "fruit salad skewers with sweet and fluffy sauce;" they were gone in about 10 minutes.

The author's straightforward and personal writing style, easy-to-read recipes, and fun tips and tricks all make this book a must-have for every cook who loves to entertain. The photographs are excellent - eye-catching, mouth-watering, and reminiscent of all things summer. There are great ideas for kid-friendly foods and even a few adult-only recipes (red and white sangria pops you say? We say heck yeah!). Suffice it to say, if you love to throw parties, or your favorite thing to eat at the fair is a corn dog, this book is for you.

*Okay, we jumped a little slowly... the book is available now at Amazon.com (luckier for you, dear reader, as you won't have to wait!).

Foodie Book Friday: The Various Flavors of Coffee

If one could sum up how a typical foodie feels about food and wine, I think a good word would be “passion,” and passion is what Anthony Capella’s novel The Various Flavors of Coffee is about. This, and the fact that coffee is at the center of everything that occurs in the story, is what makes this novel our choice for today’s Foodie Book Friday.

The central character is Robert Wallis, a struggling poet and man-about-town in turn-of-the-century London. A chance encounter at a café brings him much needed employment but also changes the entire course of his life. His new employer is Samuel Pinker - coffee distributor, entrepreneur, visionarynd father. Pinker’s passion is his business, and he wants to create a tasting guide for coffee that will help him buy and sell it more effectively. He thinks Wallis’s writing skills and distinguished tastes make him the man for the job.

But this is only the beginning. A hesitant yet loyal relationship between Wallis and Pinker’s eldest, Emily, develops as they work on the tasting guide together. When Wallis is sent to Africa to oversee the development of a coffee plantation for Pinker, he is seduced into a passionate love affair by a defiant slave who changes his outlook on life and love. Upon his return to England, he finds it is not only he who has changed – Emily is in a dispassionate marriage to a government official, Pinker’s business ambitions have become much more grandiose, and the suffragist movement (Emily’s true passion) is in full swing.

Although it is tempting to focus only on the intriguing characters of this novel, the historical events happening behind the scenes are also enthralling. Capella offers up the tale of coffee – from plant to pour – which is interesting in itself. Yet he also teaches lessons in the economics of the industrial revolution, the abolitionist and early feminist movements, and the colonization of Africa, all the while showing how each of these affects not only those very characters but also the society at large.

Now, to the foodie part. This is the third of Capella’s novels to feature food, making him an appealing author for lovers of fiction and flavor alike. His descriptions of “the various flavors of coffee” and other foods are skillful and mouth-watering. As if brewing a cup of the title’s elixir, the author craftily blends story with history, violence with romance, sweetness with bitterness, all of which only serve to make the reader thirst for another. Grind some freshly roasted beans, make a big pot, and dig into this passion-filled novel.