The Official Disney Parks Cookbook by Pam Brandon

The Official Disney Parks Cookbook by Pam Brandon -- 193 pages

I picked this up after flipping through it and seeing a few recipes that looked interesting.  While I did find a couple I might try overall I wasn't that impressed with this cookbook.  It seemed as if at least two thirds of the recipes were drinks instead of food.  Maybe I would have liked it better if I'd visited more Disney parks before.  I would only suggest this for major Disney fans.
 

Hack Your Cupboard: Make Great Food with What You've Got by Alyssa Wiegand & Carla Carreon

Hack Your Cupboard: Make Great Food with What You've Got by Alyssa Wiegand & Carla Carreon - 168 pages

I picked up this cookbook to read when I saw a patron left it out on a table.  It looked interesting so I checked it out.  I think this was one of the better cookbook primers that I've seen.  The recipes truly used items that you would have in your cupboard or pantry.  They also gave great advice for beginner and intermediate cooks.  I would definitely recommend this cookbook.
 

My Perfect Pantry by Geoffrey Zakarian

 

My Perfect Pantry by Geoffrey Zakarian -- 304 pages

This cookbook gives recipes based on common pantry items.  I was a little disappointed with this cookbook as what the author considers common is not what I consider common ingredients.  I don't have many of the items that he is basing his recipes on.

Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert

Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert - 295 pages

I really liked this cookbook.  The author wrote in a very conversational tone and had a lot of great tips included with the recipes.  I found several that I definitely want to try out.
 

Just Cook It! by Justin Chapple

 Just Cook It! by Justin Chapple - 288 pages

I was thinking I would like this cookbook more than I did.  The subtitle mentions they are easy recipes but I didn't necessarily think so.  Most of the recipes were easier versions classic or ethnic recipes.  However, I wouldn't necessarily say they were easy.  Still, I found a couple recipes to try.

101 Epic Dishes by Jet Tila & Ali Tila

101 Epic Dishes by Jet Tila & Ali Tila - 208 pages

This cook book isn't just a collection a recipes.  It is also a cooking manual that gives tips and techniques on how to tweak the recipes to make nearly anything.  While I thought the book was good, I thought the design was bad.  The font was poorly chosen.  It was different to read and had very tiny print (maybe a 6-font).  Most of the recipes took up half a page so the font could have easily have been bigger to make it easier to read.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime - Ree Drummond

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime - Ree Drummond - 400 pages

So, I don't usually read cookbooks cover to cover, but I like Ree's blogger style; that's were she started, so this isn't a book that's just page after page of recipe with no explanation or context.  She tells the story of each recipe with humor, levity, and humility, plus a huge side of gorgeously rich photography.  I only buy cookbooks with lots of pictures, but this one blew the holy cheddar cheese wheel out of pretty much everything else on my shelf.  It is, in a trite and overused word: GORGEOUS!  The layouts are fantastic and feature step-by-step photos, the recipes are doable for a home cook but rich and relatable, and mingled in between those recipes is the story of her family and their lives on the ranch.  Little details make the relevant content pop: scrollwork borders, floral accents, nature photos and silly captions.  The recipes are great, and the delivery is just as engaging as the food.

Included here are strategies for maximizing your pantry potential, plan-ahead components and meals that freeze for emergencies and sharing, side and main dishes offering a wide variety of culinary tastes (Asian to all-American), soups, salads, and suggestions at the end of each recipe for what recipes play nicely with it from the rest of the book.  Between the authoring and editing, this book was really well thought out, and it's organized in a way that's simple and accessible.  Yee haw, Ree!

Fix-It And Forget-It New Cookbook by Phyllis Good

Fix-It And Forget-It New Cookbook: 250 New Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes!  by Phyllis Good, 381 pages

What could be better than fix-it and forget-it?  This book contains 250 recipes for your slow cooker.  From the quick and easy to the more challenging, this cookbook offers it all.  The beginning of the book has some helpful tips and myths of crock pot cooking.  If you are looking for a delicious main dish, a soup, stew or casserole, you will find it in this cookbook.  The book also contains desserts and bread recipes (I did not know you could cook bread in a slow cooker).  What I love about this cookbook is that the recipes are simple.  The pictures are a great part about this cookbook.  Every dish is this book makes you want to dive right in! Also, in the back of the book is a handy substitution guide.

Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi --- 314 pages.

This is a combined cookbook and affectionate look at Jerusalem, the original "melting pot" of diverse cultures and culinary traditions as well as religions.

Ottolenghi and Tamimi were born on the same day, December 14, 1968, in Jerusalem; Ottolenghi in the western, Jewish part of the city, and Tamimi in the eastern, Muslim part of the city. They share a love of food and cooking, but did not actually meet until years later in London, where they eventually became business partners and now operate a number of well known and very popular restaurants. They are known for using the freshest ingredients, flavored with herbs and spices, and showcasing the natural flavors and textures of vegetables.

This book pays mouth-watering tribute to their culinary and cultural roots, and looks back to a time still within living memory, when Jews, Muslims and Christians of many sects and ethnicities inhabited Jerusalem and managed to co-exist, if not in peace, at least in something less than the current Armageddon.

Click HERE for a quick interview with the authors from the Huffington Post.

Click HERE to listen to an interview with the authors on NPR (National Public Radio).

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat by Naomi Moriyama

Part memoir, part health study, part recipe book, this is definitely a good way to introduce yourself to Japanese style food and cooking. The book was published in 2003, so don't quite trust the numbers she gives you about food, as they have probably changed; but overall, you can tell she did her research pretty thoroughly on the health benefits of Japanese food.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, by Jennifer Reese

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, by Jennifer Reese, 296 pages

The premise of this book is that you can make alot of the things that you would normally buy from the grocery store- often times it will taste better, and similarly it will probably be cheaper.  But just because you technically can raise turkeys and slaughter them and make your own Thanksgiving turkey, doesn't mean that you should (or that it will be easier, taste better, or cheaper than something from the store).  Reese took it upon herself to try to make tons of food like ketchup, mayonnaise, macaroni and cheese, and more, and determine which you are better off making for yourself and what you should just buy from the store.  This is not a cookbook- it's a book about food, filled with lots of recipes.  The writing is very entertaining, and has certainly given me food for thought (PUN!!)

Hot Drinks: Cider, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Spiced Punch, Spirits, by Mary Lou Heiss

Hot Drinks: Cider, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Spiced Punch, Spirits, by Mary Lou Heiss, 112 pages

I found this book fascinating- another one of those cases where it's a cookbook, yes, but there is so much background information in the text that you end up reading the whole thing.  This is a perfect book for this time of year- the drinks really run the range.  Favorites I'm going to try include Mayan Hot Chocolate with Chile and Orange (decadent!) and a bloody mary with wasabi- served warm (crazy!).  One I am definitely not going to try is Wassail Ale (did you know that toast is an ingredient in this punch? weird!)

Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine & Beer, by Krystina Castella & Terry Lee Stone

Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine & Beer, by Krystina Castella & Terry Lee Stone, 144 pages

This is one of those cookbooks that have such good writing that you end up reading the whole thing.  Fun fact: Cocktails really only came to prominence during Prohibition- sweet mixers were required to choke down the rotgut that was typically available.  There are some really good-sounding recipes in here, and while they include alcohol, none of them sound overly alcoholic.  Recipes I am going to try as soon as I have butter include blue hawaiian cupcakes (imagine cupcake sized pineapple upside down cakes! egads!) and a rosemary limoncello cake when I need to impress someone.