cookbooks, cookbook reviews

I LOVE cookbooks! I read them like novels and the best ones are written that way. I have a serious cookbook addiction. Here are some of my favorites!

Sean Brock is one of the most important chefs in the US today and his book Heritage is one of the most important books. His restaurant, Husk, in Charleston, South Carolina allows him to teach us about the heritage of our food, the difference in flavor that heirloom ingredients have, terroir and every other important thing we should know about what we are eating.

This book is the perfect way to travel to France in your kitchen. Its rustic style of cooking with the best ingredients is what I am all about. The recipes are classic and perfect for making the most of the ingredients we have here in Bucks County. My favorite cookbooks read like novels and A Kitchen in France is definitely written that way. It’s the story of Mimi Thorrison; her unique heritage, the perscpective that brings and her delicious life in Le Verdon on the Medoc peninsula. It is also evident in the subtitle – A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse that this book takes you through the seasons, starting with Spring, and each recipe has a story.

One of the 2015 Food Trends is peel-to-stem cooking and Chef Steven Satterfield of the award winning restaurant, Miller Union, in Atlanta has answered with his new cookbook. Root To Leaf, A Southern Chef Cooks Through The Seasons, is a virtual bible on the subject. “Root to Leaf is not a vegetarian cookbook - it’s a cookbook that celebrates vegetables.” - (from the inside cover).

This book causes you to leave your comfort zone with vegetables and offers so many new and fun options. For example: Chard Stem Relish, Beet Red Velvet Cake, Celery Cream, Celery Salsa Verde, Rosemary Pear and Parsnip Muffins, English Pea Hummus, Cold Brine-Pickled Blackberries, Blueberry Mostarda, Sweet Corncobb Broth and Pickled Plums to name a few. I really love this book and highly recommend it to you. It’s a very modern while still rustic farm to table lifestyle enhancer. I promise, you will not be bored.

I love onions and I love this book! From local authors Kate Winslow and Guy Ambrosino, Onions Etcetera, The Essential Allium Cookbook, is a wonderful celebration of a much taken for granted ingredient. It's about time onions had their own book!

I met Kate and Guy at their book signing at the Stockton Market in the Spring of 2017 while sampling their Leek Tart with Feta and Dill - a delicious recipe that I highly recommend making for Easter (or anytime during leek season). I have enjoyed making their Onion Bialys - amazing, Sfincione - a new family favorite and Fried Water - unexpected and yet deeply connecting to my grandparents. On my agenda to make are Scallion Nigella Flatbreads and Scallion Sesame Pancakes.

Like all of my favorite cookbooks, this one is written with wonderful stories and accentuated with gorgeous pictures. I think it is always fun to get to know people through the food they eat, and here, create. You will want to add this cookbook to your kitchen.