"The Good Housekeeping Cookbook — 125th Anniversary: 1,275 Recipes From America's Favorite Test Kitchen" (Hearst Books/Sterling, $35): In addition to 240 recipes new to this edition, this revised and expanded cookbook provides new chapters devoted to canning and freezing, as well as advice on cooking techniques and kitchen utensils, and safe food handling. Recipes include all the standbys, as well as dishes such as Seafood Fra Diavolo, Mojito-Rubbed Chicken with Grilled Pineapple and Root Vegetable Gratin. Every recipe is tested "at least three times for ease, reliability and great taste" in the Good Housekeeping test kitchens, all from a magazine founded in 1885.
"Food & Wine's Reinventing the Classics: Simple & Creative Ways to Rethink the Recipes America Loves Best, With Wines to Match" (Food & Wine Books, $29.95): The collection of recipes by Food & Wine magazine editor Dana Cowin takes the simple and classic recipes we know and love — mac and cheese, hamburgers, pie — and puts a little twist on them. Among the highlights: a recipe by chef Daniel Boulud of Red Snapper with Citrus & Fennel Salad, which pairs the broiled fish with a salad of grapefruit, orange sections, thinly sliced radishes and diced jalapeno. Suggested wine: Albarino from Spain.
"Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart," by Maya Angelou (Random House, $30): This book, scheduled to go on sale to the public today, Dec. 14, is Angelou's second cookbook, following up "Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories With Recipes." There's a little bit of everything in the newest book, from the carnivores' Bacchanalia that Angelou calls "Mixed London Grill" consisting of lamb kidney, bratwurst, lamb chops, pork loin, beef sirloin, calves' livers, veal cutlets and bacon, to two full chapters of recipes titled "Cooking Vegetarian With Courage" with dishes such as "Pressed Leek, Asparagus and Zucchini Terrine with Mustard-Lemon Dressing." Angelou also describes how she has used portion control to lose weight and improve her health.
"Cincinnati & Soup: Recipes From the Queen City and Great Soup" by Cheri Brinkman (Mac Guffin Productions, $18.50): This book is filled with "nostalgia recipes" that include Coffee Cake and Cranberry-Cherry Gelatin Salad from the Ruth Lyons Show and for items such as "Quick" Goetta, Cincinnati-style Chili, Cincinnati Sliders and Shillito's Seven Hills BBQ Sandwich. Brinkman, who served on the communications faculty at Miami University, said the book is available at all Dorothy Lane Market stores and can be purchased online at www.vintagecincinnati. etsy.com.
"1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes," by Dave DeWitt (Surrey Books, $19.95): This is a stripped-down but extensive paperback — not a single photograph or image adorns any of its 866 pages — and a few of the recipes suggest that the author was stretching a bit to get to the four-figure finish line. But there's no denying the credentials of the author, whose previous books include "The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia" and "The Spicy Food Lover's Bible." The recipes come from all over the world, from Nicaraguan Tamales to Cambodian Hot Cucumber Salad, and include libations such as Chile-infused Cranberry Cider and desserts such as Tart, Hot Apple Pie that calls for a half-cup of chopped, roasted green chile.
"Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs and Voices" (Andrew McMeel Publishing, $19.99): The internet is teeming with food blogs, and more are jumping into the blogosphere every day to write about what they eat and how they made it. This is touted as "the first grass-roots cookbook to emerge from social media, in this case Foodista.com, an online cooking encyclopedia that anyone can edit. The website solicited food bloggers to submit their favorite recipes and photos, and eight months later, announced the "winners" whose recipes would appear in the book. Recipes include Chanterelle Mushrooms with Blue Cheese Pie, from a food blogger located in The Netherlands, and Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder with Caramelized Onion and Apple Confit, from a California blogger.
"Falling Off the Bone," by Jean Anderson (Wiley Hardcover, $29.95): The emphasis here is on cheaper cuts of meat and how to unlock their full potential — and Jean Anderson excels at it. The author may not be a household name, but she has authored more than 20 cookbooks, has written for "Bon Appetit" and "Food & Wine" and is a member of the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. Recipes range from Flavors of the East Sicilian Lamb Bake, to Pork Hot Pot with Parslied Apple and Carrot Gravy, and to Swiss Steak Braised with Portabella and Beer.
"Rachael Ray's Look + Cook: 100 Can't-Miss Main Courses in Pictures" (Clarkson Potter, $24.99): After covering Rachael Ray's appearance at The Greene two years ago, I will never underestimate the celebrity chef's rock-star popularity in the Miami Valley. Her newest cookbook takes a slightly different approach: the first 100 new recipes are each accompanied by four to seven photographs to lead the home cook through each step of the process visually, and the entire final chapter entitled "30-Minute Meals" has accompanying videos that can be found at www.rachaelray.com, where readers can "cook along with Rachael" in real time. Recipes include Chinese Orange-Barbecue Cashew Chicken, Individual Vegetable Potpies, and Florentine Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken. "Yum-o," indeed.
"Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Seasonal, Cooking Fresh," by Emeril Lagasse (HarperStudio Paperback, $24.99): Emeril is perhaps the king of celebrity chefs, having hosted more than 1,500 episodes of his cooking shows on the Food Network. His most recent cookbook will appeal equally to environmentally conscientious eaters and to those who just love fresh, local food. Recipes include Baby Limas, Green and Yellow Beans and Teardrop Tomatoes with Mint Vinaigrette; Honey-Brined Pork Chops with Nectarine Chutney; and Braised Kohlrabi with Fennel and Leeks. Resolve to eat more locally produced fruits and vegetables from farmers markets and other local sources in 2011; this book will make it easier and more delicious.
"Nigella Kitchen: Recipes From the Heart of the Home," by Nigella Lawson (Hyperion, $35): Another celebrity chef entry, this from the London-based author whose books such as "Nigella Bites" and "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" have sold a nifty 6 million copies worldwide. Lawson's eighth book offers up 190 recipes, about one-third of which can be prepared "express-style" in 30 minutes or less. Some of the recipes use leftovers from other recipes in the cookbook — a creative, and thrifty, touch. Recipes include Lemony Salmon with Cherry Tomato Couscous, Indian Roasted Potatoes, and Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.
"The Essential Diabetes Cookbook: Good Healthy Eating From Around the World," by Antony Worrall Thompson (Kyle Books, $35): Billed as "A Diabetic Cookbook for Food Lovers," the book features more than 200 recipes, influenced by cuisines and countries as diverse as Morocco, Turkey, Latin America, South America and the Middle East. Dishes include Lemongrass Chicken and Peanut Salad, Pork Chops with Lentils and Cider and Tunisian Fish Stew. Thompson is a celebrity chef of sorts in Great Britain and suffers from a prediabetic condition himself, and each recipe was vetted by a registered dietician.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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