Book picks similar to
My Year in Meals by Rachael Ray


cookbooks
cooking
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non-fiction

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life


Ruth Reichl - 2015
    No one was more stunned by this unexpected turn of events than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future. As she struggled to process what had seemed unthinkable, Reichl turned to the one place that had always provided sanctuary. “I did what I always do when I’m confused, lonely, or frightened,” she writes. “I disappeared into the kitchen.”My Kitchen Year follows the change of seasons—and Reichl’s emotions—as she slowly heals through the simple pleasures of cooking. While working 24/7, Reichl would “throw quick meals together” for her family and friends. Now she has the time to rediscover what cooking meant to her. Imagine kale, leaves dark and inviting, sautéed with chiles and garlic; summer peaches baked into a simple cobbler; fresh oysters chilling in a box of snow; plump chickens and earthy mushrooms, fricasseed with cream. Over the course of this challenging year, each dish Reichl prepares becomes a kind of stepping stone to finding joy again in ordinary things. The 136 recipes collected here represent a life’s passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; a decadent grilled cheese sandwich that accompanies a rare sighting in the woods around her home; a rhubarb sundae that signals the arrival of spring. Here, too, is Reichl’s enlivening dialogue with her Twitter followers, who become her culinary supporters and lively confidants. Part cookbook, part memoir, part paean to the household gods, My Kitchen Year may be Ruth Reichl’s most stirring book yet—one that reveals a refreshingly vulnerable side of the world's most famous food editor as she shares treasured recipes to be returned to again and again and again.

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains


Todd Wilbur - 1993
    Wilbur's knock-offs, absolutely indiscernible from the originals, are selected from national and regional chains, many drawn from a list of the top ten full-service restaurant chains, including Houlihan's, Red Lobster, and Pizza Hut. Also included in this savory cookbook is a special section devoted to dishes from hot theme restaurants such as Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, and Dive! Recipes include: Applebee's Quesadillas; Denny's Moons Over My Hammy; Bennigan's Cookie Mountain Sundae; The Olive Garden Toscana Soup; The Cheesecake Factory Bruschetta; T.G.I.Friday's Nine-Layer Dip; Pizza Hut Original Stuffed Crust Pizza; Chi-Chi's Nachos Grande, and many more!

The Laws of Cooking: And How to Break Them


Justin Warner - 2015
    . . and How to Break Them encourages improvisation and play, while explaining Justin Warner's unique ideas about "flavor theory"-like color theory, but for your tongue. By introducing eleven laws based on familiar foods (e.g., "The Law of Peanut Butter and Jelly"; "The Law of Coffee, Cream, and Sugar"), the book will teach you why certain flavors combine brilliantly, and then show how these combinations work in 110 more complex and inventive recipes (Tomato Soup with "Grilled Cheese" Ravioli; Scallops with Black Sesame and Cherry). At the end of every recipe, Justin "breaks the law" by adding a seemingly discordant flavor that takes the combination to a new level.

Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook


Yotam Ottolenghi - 2018
    Each dish can be made in 30 minutes or less, with 10 or fewer ingredients, in a single pot, using pantry staples, or prepared ahead of time for brilliantly, deliciously simple meals. Brunch gets a make-over with Braised Eggs with Leeks and Za'atar; Cauliflower, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Salad refreshes the side-dish rotation; Lamb and Feta Meatballs bring ease to the weeknight table; and every sweet tooth is sure to be satisfied by the spectacular Fig and Thyme Clafoutis. With more than 130 photographs, this is elemental Ottolenghi for everyone.

Curtis Stone's What's For Dinner? Simple Recipes for Every Night of the Week


Curtis Stone - 2013
    Curtis Stone, host of Top Chef Masters and Around the World in 80 Plates, provides a culinary road map of time-saving kitchen solutions and delicious dishes for every day of the week.

The Cake Bible


Rose Levy Beranbaum - 1988
    As a writer for food magazines, women's magazines, and newspapers, including The New York Times, Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark is her ability to reduce the most complex techniques to easy-to-follow recipes. Rose makes baking a joy. This is the definitive work on cakes by the country's top cake baker.The Cake Bible shows how to:Mix a buttery, tender layer cake in under five minutes with perfect results every timeMake the most fabulous chocolate cake you ever imagined with just three ingredientsFind recipes for every major type of cake, from pancakes to four-tiered wedding cakesMake cakes with less sugar but maximum flavor and textureMake many low- to no- cholesterol, low-saturated-fat recipes

Ten Dollar Dinners: 140 Recipes and Tips for Delicious, Budget-Friendly Meals the Whole Family Can Enjoy


Melissa d'Arabian - 2012
    For home cooks who care about what they feed their families and want to stretch their dollars, Melissa is the best guide for putting delicious meals on the table. With four young girls ages six and under, and a hit show on Food Network, Melissa d'Arabian focuses on savvy budgeting, efficient shopping, and full-flavored cooking. "Ten Dollar Dinners" has 140 recipes and more than 100 creative, practical tips on great money-savers ("Clear-Your-Pantry Week"); inventive takes on old standby dinners (try her Moroccan Meatloaf); and how to get ingredients to last longer (keep your green onions in a glass of water and they will regrow several times over ). And with a coding system to help you create your own $10 menu, "Ten Dollar Dinners" celebrates spending with purpose, cooking with love, minimizing time spent in front of the stove, and savoring your homemade meal.Melissa is a pro at creating satisfying meals that adults and kids alike will enjoy, using everyday ingredients and transforming them into delicious dinners. Her Potato-Bacon Torte (which, at 50 cents a serving, was one of her winning recipes on "The Next Food Network Star") shows how basic and inexpensive supermarket ingredients can be turned into an amazingly satisfying dish. Her Roasted Vegetable Tian is a great way to take advantage of deals in the produce aisle. The Four-Step Chicken Piccata offers a plan for getting food on the table in just minutes, using almost anything in the pantry. Anyone can use this book--especially those who want to save money--and feel great about cooking sensibly for elevated, simple meals that are healthy family-pleasers.

Appetites: A Cookbook


Anthony Bourdain - 2016
    And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown, he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking, it’s for family and friends.Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down forty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a tight repertoire of personal favorites—dishes that everyone should (at least in Mr. Bourdain’s opinion) know how to cook. Once the supposed "bad boy" of cooking, Mr. Bourdain has, in recent years, become the father of a little girl—a role he has embraced with enthusiasm. After years of traveling more than 200 days a year, he now enjoys entertaining at home. Years of prep lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen, however, have caused him, in his words, to have "morphed into a psychotic, anally retentive, bad-tempered Ina Garten."The result is a home-cooking, home-entertaining cookbook like no other, with personal favorites from his own kitchen and from his travels, translated into an effective battle plan that will help you terrify your guests with your breathtaking efficiency.

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist


Tim Federle - 2013
    You fought through War and Peace, burned through Fahrenheit 451, and sailed through Moby-Dick. All right, you nearly drowned in Moby-Dick, but you made it to shore—and you deserve a drink!A fun gift for barflies and a terrific treat for book clubs, Tequila Mockingbird is the ultimate cocktail book for the literary obsessed. Featuring 65 delicious drink recipes—paired with wry commentary on history's most beloved novels—the book also includes bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout.Even if you don't have a B.A. in English, tonight you're gonna drink like you do. Drinks include:- The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose- The Last of the Mojitos- Love in the Time of Kahlua- Romeo and Julep- A Rum of One’s Own- Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margarita- Vermouth the Bell Tollsand more!

The Deen Bros. Take It Easy: Quick and Affordable Meals the Whole Family Will Love


Jamie Deen - 2009
    Imagine getting dinner on the table for your family in forty-five minutes or less. In this inspired and indispensable new cookbook, Paula Deen’s sons show you how to whip up 125 delicious Southern-style recipes quicker than you can say, “Come and get it!”The Deen brothers know a lot about cooking good food fast. They hosted the Food Network hit Road Tasted, appear regularly on Good Morning America, and are co-owners (with their mom) of Savannah’s famous The Lady & Sons Restaurant. Their fast-paced lifestyles require no-fuss meals without a lot of prep. Jamie’s a family man who’s got to work, serve supper, and still chase after his three-year-old son. Bobby, one of People magazine’s most eligible bachelors, appreciates a good meal before heading out to work at his restaurant or for a night on the town. They’re the perfect guys to write a guide to swift dishes that don’t stint on taste or Southern authenticity.This mouthwatering collection offers dishes that really deliver on flavor yet can be prepared within a budget. There are no hard-to-find ingredients or tricky techniques to follow, just the tasty, irresistible cooking that the Deens have come to be known for. For lunch, dinner, or late-night snacks, if you’ve got meat in mind, how about Speedy Mini-Meat Loaves with Baked Sweet Potato Wedges? If chicken’s your choice, Broiled Pesto Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes is a satisfying possibility. And if you’re really on the go, there are whole chapters devoted to simple grilling and crockpot cooking.Lighter fare includes Turkey and Black Bean Burgers with Corny Salsa and Jerk Shrimp Kebabs with Tomatoes, Onions, and Peppers, and main-course salads such as Jamie’s Nutty Orange Chicken Salad. If you have kids, they will love Yummy Orange Beef Fingers. In fact, in honor of Jamie’s son, there’s a whole chapter devoted to kids’ food called “Jack’s Favorites” (which might become your kids’ favorites too!). And what’s a meal without dessert? Jamie and Bobby offer their favorite temptations, ranging from Chocolate Peanut-Butter Malteds to Quick Blackberry Cream Pie.Seasoned with wonderful never-before-seen color photos of the entire Deen family and sprinkled liberally with Jamie’s and Bobby’s down-home charm, and including signature dishes from The Lady & Sons Restaurant, The Deen Bros. Take It Easy is a treat in itself for anyone with a full life and an empty stomach.

America's Best Lost Recipes


Cook's Country Magazine - 2007
    The result is this collection of more than 120 old-fashioned recipes that deserve a place in home kitchens today.Americas Test Kitchen

The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: 101 Easy, Flavorful Recipes for Lifelong Health


Deanna Segrave-Daly - 2018
    The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes it easier than ever to get your fill of the Mediterranean diet and all of its health benefits with quick, satisfying recipes for health and longevity.Table-ready in 30 minutes or less, these classic Mediterranean diet meals combine easy-to-find ingredients with quick prep and cook times, so that you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your food. From Breakfast Bruschetta to Baked Chicken Caprese to Chilled Dark Chocolate Fruit, The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook makes the Mediterranean diet a staple for everyday schedules.The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook allows you to slow down and savor classic Mediterranean flavors with: An introduction to the Mediterranean diet that explains health benefits, and offers essential guidance on foods to stock up on and foods to avoid. 30 minute meals that use easy-to-find ingredients and simple prep for fresh and wholesome meals. 101 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and sides, so that you can eat the Mediterranean way all day, every day. The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook allows you to spend the time you save in the kitchen with friends and family, enjoying every minute of every meal, and living the Mediterranean lifestyle to the fullest.

The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen


Cook's Illustrated - 2012
    Unlike other food science books, we make a direct and practical connection between the science and the cooking. We divide the book into 50 core principles, support them through detailed yet friendly explanations, bring them alive with color illustrations and inventive experiments, and reinforce them through recipes that put the principle to work. At Cook's Illustrated, we've been asking why in the kitchen for over 20 years and often find our answers in science. We believe good science makes great food and that understanding basic science will make you a great cook.

The Looneyspoons Collection: Good Food, Good Health, Good Fun!


Janet Podleski - 1996
    Jam-packed with “the best of the best” Janet & Greta recipes . . . made even BETTER!• Better carbs• Better fats• More fiber• Less sugar• Less salt• Same great taste that won’t go to your waist! TLC features outrageously delicious, reader-favorite recipes from Janet & Greta’s incredibly popular cookbooks Looneyspoons, one of Canada’s all-time bestsellers; Crazy Plates, a James Beard Foundation Award finalist; and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!, voted “Cookbook of the Decade 2000–2009” by Chapters/Indigo Books. . . . Plus TONS OF NEW, MUST-TRY RECIPES, including:Greta’s Gluten-Free Miracle BrowniesChewy, moist, double-chocolate fudge brownies.Honey, I Shrunk My Thighs!Mouthwatering, honey-garlic baked chicken thighs that will leave everyone begging for more.Moroccan and Rollin’ Quinoa SaladThe super-grain becomes super-scrumptious when paired with rockin’ spices Pimped-Out Pumpkin Pie PancakesOne taste and you’ll say, “Thanks (for) giving me this fabulous recipe!”Diabetic? Looking for gluten-free or vegetarian options? Counting points? Cooking for finicky kids? The Looneyspoons Collection makes healthy eating delicious and fun for everyone! A feast for your eyes and your taste buds, TLC is overflowing with gorgeous, full-color food photos; hundreds of practical weight-loss, anti-aging and healthy-living tips; and, of course, a heaping helping of Janet & Greta’s trademark corny jokes and punny recipe titles.

Bigger Bolder Baking: A Fearless Approach to Baking Anytime, Anywhere


Gemma Stafford - 2019
    Gemma hopes to restore baking as an everyday art, and this dessert cookbook is your guide.BAKE WITH CONFIDENCE100+ sweet and simple dessert recipes for maximum deliciousness with minimal effortUse just a few common ingredients and basic kitchen tools for bold twists on cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream, and moreEvery recipe has gorgeous color photography and step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow with easeANYTIME BAKINGAn approach unique among baking cookbooks, the chapters are organized by the basic tools you’ll need—such as Wooden Spoon & Bowl, Rolling Pin, or No Oven Needed—so you can choose the recipes that are most convenient for you during any spur-of-the-moment cravingBOLD NEW RECIPES & CLASSICSSurefire hits include Chocolate Lava Pie, Baked Cinnamon-Sugar Churros, Gemma’s Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies, “In Case of Emergency” One-Minute Mug Brownie, Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Ice Cream, and many moreBONUS: A chapter on Bold Baking Basics includes essential techniques, tips, and in-a-pinch substitutions so you can whip up Gemma’s irresistible desserts with confidence