Waffles
Fun recipes for every meal
By: Tara Duggan
Publisher: Weldon Owen
Published: March 13, 2012
Genre: Cookbook
Rating:
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
A collection of 40
recipes that show waffles can be part of any meal. With classic as well
as creative options, such as chicken & waffles, waffle sandwiches,
and waffle sundaes, this new, beautifully designed and deliciously
photographed title proves that waffles aren’t just for breakfast
anymore.Who can resist the aroma of freshly baked waffles in the
morning? Watching with anticipation as thick pats of butter melt into
the indentations, before pouring sticky-sweet maple syrup over the top?
Or the moment your fork sinks into a stack of waffles, dripping with
goodness, and you taste the first bite? With this book, you can
re-create these delicious moments and dozens more.
Breakfast
isn’t the only time to make good use of your waffle iron. With the
recipes to prove it, this book shows just how easy it is to serve
waffles for brunch, lunch, dinner—even dessert. Savory waffle sandwiches
for a midday meal are a unique spin on classics like PB&J and BLTs.
Or, try waffles studded with cheese and spinach or sweet corn and
roasted red peppers for dinner. And for dessert, satisfy your sweet
tooth with decadent chocolate or fruit-filled waffles topped with scoops
of ice cream, toasted nuts, and more. The possibilities are endless.
Each
recipe includes easy instructions for standard or Belgian waffle
makers; some can even be made in a stove top Hong Kong–style waffle
maker with delicious results. Filled with tempting full-color
photography and lots of batters and toppings to mix and match, you’ll
have plenty of inspiration for every occasion.
I'm a huge waffle fan. There's just something about those pockets that hold your syrup perfectly that I just love. I would even make brownies in my waffle maker. So when I saw this book was available on NetGalley for review I was quick to jump on it. I mean, I hadn't really tried a lot of waffle combinations and I was really looking forward to trying a bunch of new recipes.
Unfortunetly this book didn't have the crazy combinations that I was hoping for. For instance the Smore's recipe was just a plain waffle with chocolate chips and marshmallows on top. I was thinking something different. There were a few interesting recipes that had lettuce on top, so it did have a few creative recipes.
I liked that there were full size pictures to go along with some of the recipes. I'm a very visual person, so whenever a cookbook has pictures, it gets two thumbs up from me.
I did get a chance to try a couple of the recipes. One of which was the cranberry ginger orange waffle. That one was really good. You got the sweet orange taste when you bit into a cranberry and the ginger really helped balance everything out. I think this was my favorite recipe from the book.
I also tried the lemon poppy seed which tasted like the muffins but in waffle form. I wasn't overly sure if maple syrup would go with it so instead I spread some butter on it and sprinkled it with powdered sugar.
The recipes that I tried turned out delicious and I wish I had had more time to try more. If you are looking for recipes for your waffle iron this is a good book to get since it goes over the basic waffle recipe and then adds some variations to it. However, if you're like me and are looking for some whacky waffle recipes that aren't your usual maple syrup and fork variety, then this may not be the book for you. Like I said, it's got a lot of good recipes but I was looking for something a bit more out there.
Soup of the Day
(Williams-Sonoma): 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year
By: Kate McMillan
Publisher: Weldon Owen
Published: Jan 31, 2012
Genre: Cookbook
Rating:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A colorful, calendar-style cookbook, Soup
presents 365 recipes—and daily culinary inspiration— for soups and
stews to match any season, occasion, or mood. Lavish photographs and a
colorful graphic design add visual appeal to these fresh and fabulous
recipes celebrating a favorite dish.ENDLESSLY VERSATILE, soup is perfect
for any season and every occasion. What better way to capture the
essence of spring than by simmering freshly shelled peas and fava beans
in a fragrant broth accented by bracing mint and refreshing lemon zest?
In summer, a cool gazpacho made by whirling perfectly ripe tomatoes,
juicy cucumbers, and vibrant red peppers is fitting for a hot and humid
day—no pot necessary! When the air turns brisk, soup nourishes and
satisfies like no other dish. In autumn, white beans mingle with sturdy
greens in satisfying, peasant-style pots, and starchy squashes and root
vegetables blend into silky purées. Winter brings even more soul-warming
fare, such as chilis and stews featuring sausages and other hearty
meats and thick vegetable soups scented with woodsy herbs.
My thoughts...
[*click on the pictures to see the recipe*]
I love this cookbook. It is very rare that I enjoy every recipe that I make from a cookbook. Usually I find a few that I don't care for. Not to mention... I'm not a soup person! Pretty much, the only time that I eat soup is when I'm sick. However, there are a ton of unique recipes in here that kept me interested for more soup after 3 straight days of making recipes from this book. There's your classic soup recipes, your classics with a twist and then soup that was so strange to me that I just had to make it.
There are some pictures in this book that highlight a few of the recipes but not every recipe has a photo and for me that was a major let down. I love looking at the recipes before I make them. But even though it didn't have pictures for all the recipes, the names of the soups still caught my eye. When you have soups like Soba Noodles & Seared Salmon in Ginger-Green Onion Broth and Spinach & Vermicelli Soup with Fried Egg, the names alone drew me in.
This is a great cookbook, especially if you love soup. The book is formatted like a calendar and it gives you a recipe for each day of the year. I tried about 5 recipes and I only made it to May. I will definitely be buying this book and making my way through the rest of the recipes.
Favorite recipe...
I loved the sweet onion soup with blue cheese toasts. The sweet onion soup paired with the pungent salty cheese, it was amazing! The entire time I was eating I kept telling the Mr. that this would be a great soup to impress people with. It's so much fancier than the onion soup that I was raised with but it was super easy to make.
The New Green Smoothie Diet
By: Hilary Greenleaf
Publisher: Self-published
Published: Feb 12, 2012
Genre: Cookbook
Source: Author
Format: Ebook
Rating:
The New Green Smoothie Diet by Hilary Greenleaf talks about the benefits of green smoothies and gives recipes and tips on making them. It goes over detoxifying the body, how to achieve increased energy levels, and how to incorporate green smoothies into a weight loss plan.
The chapters include recipes for
*Weight loss
*Detoxifying the body
*Increase energy
*Fight heart disease
*Prevent certain cancers
*Boost immune system
*Protect against diabetes
*Healthy skin and hair
My thoughts...
I've tried juicing before and have found that I like it. I am not a huge vegetable person and this is a great way to get more vegetables in my body than I normally would. But, I wasn't a huge fan of all the cleanup and prep work that you have to do for the juicer. So when Hilary sent me an email asking to review her new book I decided to jump on the offer. I have tried a few recipes from this book so far and I can't wait to try more.
I have tried one smoothies that I wasn't at all thrilled with that called for a small head of lettuce. Maybe I added too much lettuce but all you could taste what the lettuce and I wound up dumping the entire thing out.
This book is a starter for green smoothies. Hilary gives you tips for making your own smoothies that are geared towards your needs with the ingredients that you love. So I like that you don't have to follow the recipe to the T. I might try the lettuce smoothie again but use spinach instead. Either way I look forward to trying more recipes.
Favorite part or um, smoothie...
So far my favorite smoothie is the Morning Zing that has spinach, avocado, lime, blueberries, banana and an orange in it. When I saw the energizing smoothie in the book, I decided it would be my first test victim. I tend to drink coffee in the mornings before work because if I don't, I don't usually get my motor running until about 2 hours in and even then I am scolding myself for skipping my caffeine fix. So I was pretty surprised when I skipped the coffee and brought a smoothie to work instead and found myself wide awake and peppy... and I am never peppy in the morning. It reminded me of the smoothies I would get at a local smoothie bar here called "Juice it up!". You can't taste the vegetables in this smoothie and with the avocado and banana it is a really thick and filling smoothie.
Giveaway alert!!
If you would like a chance to win a copy of this book, I am hosting a giveaway on my food blog. No following required to enter. There are 5 copies to win and there are very low entries so far. So your chances of winning are pretty good.
***GIVEAWAY***
By: Robin Miller
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published: Nov 1, 2o11
Genre: Cookbook
Source: NetGalley
Format: eBook
Pages: 372
Rating:
Imagine quickly preparing delicious meals for yourself, your friends, and your family with just 5 fabulous ingredients. The book features 500 recipes and each dish is a mouthwatering 500 calories or less. Two-color recipe text complements full-color photography inserts. 500 recipes highlight at least 10 different ethnic cuisines, and dishes range from soups, pizzas, and pastas, to chicken, beef, pork, seafood, side dishes, and desserts. Consider yourself armed for mealtime.
My thoughts...
500 recipes with 5 ingredients or less and 500 calories or less.... where do I sign up?!? You might think "how can you get a delicious meal when it has so few ingredients?" Well let me tell you... out of the recipes that I have made, I LOVED them! I have made the Pepper Jack Chicken w/ Chipotle Potato Chips (357 calories), Seared Steaks w/ Chipotle Butter (373 calories), Balsamic Glazed Burgers w/ Sauteed Onions & Peppers (428 calories) and my personal favorite Red Potato Salad w/Honey-Basil Vinaigrette (237 calories).
Robin Miller has done a fantastic job with this book. Very rarely do I love every recipe that I try from one cookbook. The directions are easy to follow and the ingredients are so simple that they are available at all grocery stores. It is perfect for weeknight meals in that the recipes are all around 30 minutes to an hour to make from start to finish. Honestly, what more would you want in a cookbook?
