Why spend time sorting through the millions of cookie recipes available in books, magazines, and on the Internet? Isn’t it easier just to remember 1-2-3? That’s the ratio of ingredients that always make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want—chocolate, lemon and orange zest, nuts, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite additions. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture. Ratios are the starting point from which a thousand variations begin. Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor. Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes. As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists, Michael Ruhlman blasts through the surplus of information and delivers this innovative, straightforward book that cuts to the core of cooking. Ratio provides one of the greatest kitchen lessons there is—and it makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

    Preserving Summer's BountySurefire techniques and great recipes for keeping the harvest!

    Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliant photos is at least half the fun.  America's favorite food photography team shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticated masterpieces using a ziplock bag and common candies and snack items. With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can:• raise a big-top circus cupcake tier for a kid's birthday• plant candy vegetables on Oreo earth cupcakes for a garden party• trot out a line of confectionery "pup cakes" for a dog fancier• serve spaghetti and meatball cupcakes for April Fool's Day• bewitch trick-or-treaters with eerie alien cupcakes• create holidays on icing with a white Christmas cupcake wreath, turkey cupcake place cards, and Easter egg cupcakes

    To make the final cut for The Best of Cooking Light, each recipe had to meet one or more of the following criteria: • Earned a high rating in the Cooking Light Test Kitchens • Has a surprising and satisfying “no-way-this-can-be-light” flavor • Named a “reader favorite recipe” based on calls, letters, e-mails, and comments on cookinglight.com • Voted “most popular” among the Cooking Light Foods staff—these are the recipes they cook for their families and friends You’re guaranteed success with every recipe! Each recipe has been tested at least twice, often three or four times, in the Cooking Light Test Kitchens to ensure that not only are they supremely healthy, tasty, and easy to prepare, but that they also have the all-important “yum factor.”  “Our Test Kitchens’ staff does the hard work every day so the rest of us can take Cooking Light accuracy for granted.” Mary Kay Culpepper Editor, Cooking Light  Over 250 color photographs make this all-star collection come alive. A virtual feast for the eyes, this book is as beautiful to read and display, as it is practical to use. Look for serving suggestions and artful food presentations throughout to show you how to turn an ordinary dish into an extraordinary meal. This healthy cookbook is for all cooks and for all occasions. While some recipes take very little time, others require a bit more commitment. Eitherway, you’ll have your choice of great food that adjusts to your schedule, your grocery list, and your mood. Plus, • Step-by-step instructions and complete nutritional analysis with each recipe • Preparation and make-ahead tips • Menu suggestions• Ingredient substitutions and purchasing information Whatever your definition of “best” is, there are recipes here for you. Just step into your kitchen and make them your own.

    

    Author and burger expert George Motz covers traditional grilling techniques as well as how to smoke, steam, poach, and deep-fry burgers based on signature recipes from around the country. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific regional burger, from the tortilla burger of New Mexico to the classic New York–style pub burger, and from the fried onion burger of Oklahoma to Hawaii’s Loco Moco. Motz provides expert instruction, tantalizing recipes, and vibrant color photography to help you create unique variations on America’s favorite dish in your own home. Recipes feature regional burgers from: California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.

    Everyone knows they should eat more vegetables and grains, but that prospect can be intimidating with recipes that are often too complicated for everyday meals or lacking in fresh appeal or flavor. For the first time ever, the test kitchen has devoted its considerable resources to creating a vegetarian cookbook for the way we want to eat today. The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook is a wide-ranging collection of boldly flavorful vegetarian recipes covering hearty vegetable mains, rice and grains, beans and soy as well as soups, appetizers, snacks, and salads. More than 300 recipes are fast (start to finish in 45 minutes or less), 500 are gluten-free, and 250 are vegan and are all highlighted with icons on the pages. The book contains stunning color photography throughout that shows the appeal of these veggie-packed dishes. In addition, almost 500 color photos illustrate vegetable prep and tricky techniques as well as key steps within recipes.

    Fragrant vanilla, toasted nuts, and spices. Heavy cream and bright liqueurs. Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Every luscious flavor imaginable is grist for the chill in The Perfect Scoop, pastry chef David Lebovitz’s gorgeous guide to the pleasures of homemade ice creams, sorbets, granitas, and more. With an emphasis on intense and sophisticated flavors and a bountiful helping of the author’s expert techniques, this collection of frozen treats ranges from classic (Chocolate Sorbet) to comforting (Tin Roof Ice Cream), contemporary (Mojito Granita) to cutting edge (Pear-Pecorino Ice Cream), and features an arsenal of sauces, toppings, mix-ins, and accompaniments (such as Lemon Caramel Sauce, Peanut Brittle, and Profiteroles) capable of turning simple ice cream into perfect scoops of pure delight.

    Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of their internationally acclaimed Ithaca restaurant, The Moosewood Collective presents their first-ever collection of menus for memorable occasions, with vegetarian specialties for every season.Holidays and celebratory gatherings can present a challenge for vegetarian cooks who want to serve festive meals that will satisfy all of their guests. The Moosewood Collective has met this challenge brilliantly, with more than thirty-five ingenious menus that can transform even casual get-togethers into a party. Covering a diverse array of holidays and occasions both traditional and spur-of-the-moment, Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates provides the perfect excuse to get to-gether with friends and family more often. You’ll find inspiring food ideas for all these and more:• Traditional holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Ramadan, Kwanza, Passover, Diwali, and Christmas • Family gatherings, from a casual Rainy Day Picnic on the Porch to an outdoor Labor Day Get-Together to a fully orchestrated Wedding or Commitment Celebration• Just-for-fun events, perfect any time of year, including a Tapas Party, a Birthday Breakfast in Bed, and a Sports Night SupperThere is even an additional section on versatile party nibbles and celebration cakes to choose from, plus a chapter of delectable foods you can make to give (or mail) as gifts. Filled with practical advice on preparing holiday feasts with the minimum amount of fuss, and incorporating the rich flavors and ethnic influences that the Collective is renowned for, Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates is an indispensable assortment of lively vegetarian menus spanning a dazzling array of cultures and occasions.

    Spontaneous meals at home with friends form the foundation of this dazzling collection of recipes that are easy enough for novices yet so inspired they could be restaurant-worthy. The result of a rare sabbatical from this famed chef's 4-star kitchen, "A Return to Cooking" is "an unprecedented look at the creative process of one of the world s best chefs" (Anthony Bourdain) as Eric Ripert prepares simple meals for friends in different locations, using ingredients at hand. Expect to be enchanted by Eric's lack of pretense and his irrepressible joie a chef who likes American mayonnaise and alphabet pasta, but can also lecture on subjects as diverse as the power of vinaigrette and the merits of Tabasco, shallots, and coconut milk. And every bit as fascinating is the bird's-eye view of the magic that occurs when decades of cooking experience coalesce with the forces of a chef's intuition."

    But times have changed, and knowledge about the foods we eat and their nutritional value has increased. So, after many inquiries and requests, the author has revised many of her recipes to be lighter and healthier. Illustrated.

    And this cookbook is her best one yet! Absolutely no one will complain when you serve them delicious dishes like Breakfast Tacos, Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slow Cooker Short Rib Tostadas, Pistachio Rosemary Lamb Chops, and Layered Flourless Chocolate Cake. For most people, the Paleo or “caveman” diet seems unrealistic. “You expect me not to eat cake anymore?” was Juli’s first reaction. (There may have been a few curse words thrown in there, too.) For Juli, that just wasn’t going to work. We all understand that cavemen didn’t eat cake back in the day, but we’re here in the future, and we can create Paleo-friendly cakes. So Juli ventured out to put a new spin on eating like a caveman. After two weeks of eating Paleo, she knew she was in it for the long haul. She has been eating Paleo for five years now, and she consistently gives her readers Paleo recipes that bring back childhood meal memories or just bring back the foods they love the most. There’s no need to be a true, pretentious caveman if you don’t have to be! We see you using Instagram over there, you modern caveman, you. Paleo is about so much more than just food. To Juli, Paleo is what gave her the freedom to feel healthy, energetic, and enthusiastic about life. And that’s exactly what she is trying to bring to you in this cookbook. She hopes not only to help you revamp your kitchen and excite your taste buds, but also to help you feel confident with the new lifestyle you’ve taken on.

      Author Lukas Volger, who has been making and eating veggie burgers since he was a teenager, has assembled more than thirty unique, delicious veggie burger recipes, including:  Red Lentil and Celery Root BurgersTofu and Chard BurgersBaked Falafel BurgersThai Carrot BurgersSweet Potato Burgers with Lentils and KaleCorn Burgers with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese  More than half the burger recipes are vegan and/or gluten-free, as are many of the extras, which include buns, sides, toppings, and condiments. Everyday ingredients ensure that all the burgers and extras are a breeze to assemble. The wide variety of tastes and flavors will excite every palate and suit every craving and occasion. And dozens of mouthwatering photographs leave no doubt that great-tasting veggie burgers can look spectacular, too!

    For less than the cost of a dinner out, this new cookbook from Food Network star and best-selling author Sandra Lee will inspire you to re-think the way you cook. Her unique Semi-Homemade(r) cooking formula combines 70 percent ready-made and 30 percent fresh ingredients for fast, delicious results. Learn how to make the most of heart-healthy foods and smart ingredients like lean turkey, salmon, whole grain couscous, vitamin-packed sweet potatoes, and other "power foods." Includes more than 140 quick, easy and healthful recipes, plus gorgeous color photos of every recipe.

    You simply prep the ingredients then pop them in the oven to roast while you get on with your life. From quick after-work suppers and light veggie meals to more substantial feasts to feed friends, these recipes are packed with full-on flavor.Diana includes recipes such as Spatchcock Chicken with Chilie, Garlic and Oregano Aioli, Cod with Chorizo, Tomatoes, Olives and Saffron and Sherry-roast Jerusalem Artichokes, Chestnuts and Mushrooms, proving that impressive meals are achievable in every home - no matter how limited your time, resources or energy.