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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was wanting a dehydrator for quite some time, and so I bit the bullet last year. My father-in-law sent me some money for my birthday and so I bought a nice, 6 tray electric dehydrator. That’s where this cookbook comes in. I LOVE this book!!

The book is laid out in an easy to use format.

• Chapter 1 – Drying Foods at Home
• Chapter 2 – Basic Methods
• Chapter 3 – Equipment
• Chapter 4 – Fruits & Vegetables A to Z
• Chapter 5 – Herbs & Spices
• Chapter 6 – Meat & Poultry
• Chapter 7 – Leather, Candied Fruits & More
• Chapter 8 – Recipes Using Your Dehydrated Foods.

I love that the fruits & veggies chapter is A-Z. It makes it quick and easy to find what you’re wanting to dehydrate. I’ve done apples, strawberries, blueberries, carrots and mushrooms so far. They have all turned out fantastic. I love having the mushrooms and carrots for soups and stews. Fried, dried apple pies are a classic from the South where I’m from, and dried blueberries and strawberries are great for granolas, adding to baked goods and more.

There is a wealth of information in this book. I had no idea that you could dry tomato paste! Use 1 tablespoon droplets and when you have a recipe that calls for it, just add one dried droplet! I haven’t done this yet, but I certainly plan to!!

This book is wonderful for anyone wanting to get into drying foods. It’s a great method of preservation and you can find all you need between the covers of this book. I highly recommend it!!

I received a copy of ths book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was attracted by the tongue in cheek title and the fact that I like the main ingredients listed. I enjoyed reading the book. It has a fun, casual tone that makes it an enjoyable read. When I got to the recipes, however, I struggled finding many recipes that I really wanted to make. However, there were a few.

The Parsley and Walnut Pesto with Pecorino Toscano is good, and Tapenade is quick and easy to make and makes a marvelous spread on sandwiches. If you want to mix it up in your side dishes, Give the Green Beans with Pancetta, Garlic and Sage a try.

This is a cute little book with some interesting recipes. If you like quirky recipes with odd pairings, this book is for you.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love pesto! I love the simplicity of it all while packed with amazing flavor. Imagine my delight to receive this book to review that is PACKED with recipes for pesto and recipes using pesto!

There is every kind of pesto you can imagine in this delightful little book. From the classic Genovese Pesto to Ricotta and Garden Greens, Goat Cheese, Yogurt and Lemon Pesto and even Peanut Cilantro Pesto, it moves to Fresh Green Harissa, Red Pepper and Walnut Puree, Fennel Chive Butter and more. Mayonnaises, herbed oils, vinaigrettes come next with recipes using these culinary delights rounding out the book.

If you like pesto in any way, shape or form–this book is for you!! It is nearly an encyclopedia of pesto and pesto laced recipes and a true delight to cook from!

I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Authentic Italian cooking–this is right up my alley!! My favorite cuisine packaged in a quality book with gorgeous photographs! It is classic Italian as in a few quality ingredients prepared well. I love the basic brodo recipes, pestos, etc. The soffrito, in my humble opinion, uses way too much olive oil. We made the Tuscan Ragu which uses the soffrito. I kept looking at the recipe for the soffrito and finally decided to cut the oil in half. Honestly, we could have cut it down to 1/4 and it would probably have been perfect. While it was a little oily from too much oil in the soffrito, the flavor of the ragu was out of this world!! It was a huge hit in our family. Let’s just say there weren’t leftovers!

The beginning of this book is fascinating with information, history, tips and more. I love the “Pantry” section! It then moves on to “Ready to Use” which is where you find the recipes for those basic items you would use a lot such as broths, pestos and more. NOW you get to the bones of the book–the recipes!

If you like simple, well cooked food, this is a great cookbook. The reason I dropped it to one star is the heavy over use of oil in the soffrito, and the fact that there are several hard to find ingredients called for. Otherwise, this is a great cookbook.

I received a copy of this cookbook from St. Martin’s Griffin for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My daughter loves to bake. She just turned 17, and is fascinated with cakes, pastries and all things baking. She was teaching herself French, so I thought this would be a great book for her. I was so right! She fell absolutely in love with it!

This book is set up brilliantly in that it builds upon itself. It starts with some essentials, 3 basic batters and moves onto pastry decorating. From there you learn Entrements, then Tarts, Choux, Puff Pastry and Viennoiseries. There are notes, pictures, drawings and more scattered all throughout the book making it a great tool for learning French baking. My daughter was able to easily turn out quality products without any help, just by using this book.

I like to give my highest recommendations to books like this–well written, illustrated and easily followed. This is a great cookbook that I am very happy to highly recommend!

I received a copy of this book from Countryman Press for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I grew up on the Anne of Green Gables books and have raised my girls on the books and the movies. This evocative book takes you on a journey, not just to the island made popular through the Anne books, but a journey that celebrates the relationship between the character and her creator and the unbreakable link to this beautiful place called Prince Edward Island.

From gorgeous photos, to delightful prose, you are sure to enjoy your journey through the land that we first got to know while reading about that Anne-girl. Kindred spirits unite, and delve into a beautiful book of landscapes and stories. Grab a cup of tea (or raspberry cordial!!) and curl up to enjoy the adventure into Maud and Anne’s world.

I received a copy of this book from Timber Press for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love good Mexican food, and this book delivers!! From simple to complex, the recipes are sure to delight and transport you to Mexico.

Pork with Black Beans is so simple, yet so easy! I don’t use the habanero pepper as I have a ridiculous sensitivity to pepper oils, but I’ve found I can substitute cayenne. It may not taste exactly the same, but it’s still good and I’m not in pain for hours. For simplicity, you can’t beat the Courgette Salad on pg 128!

From standards such as Guacamole, Refried Beans, Slow Cooked Pork Tacos with Coriander and Salsa Roja or Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde to the unexpected such as Rhubarb Galette Chez Panisse or Macaroni Cheese with Smoky Bacon or even Persian Frittata, this book is an adventure. You never know what might be around the next corner!!

Each page of this book is a delight to read and/or to cook from. The recipes are well laid out and easy to follow and the photography is a dream! Whether you’re an armchair traveler or an adventurous cook, you’re sure to enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Caldesi’s have done it again–another fantastic cookbook, this time celebrating that classic Italian food, PASTA!! From making your own fresh pasta, to delicious pasta dishes, you can find it all here.

I love, love, LOVE a simple pasta dish. Cacio e Pep (Cheese and Pepper Pasta) is a favorite of mine, and is so easy to make. Four ingredients (not counting the water or salt for cooking the pasta in) come together to form a delightful dish. Another quick, easy dish is the Pasta with Raw Sauce. Cooked pasta is tossed with halved cherry tomatoes, capers, olives, chilli, mozzarella and oil to form a dish that just screams summer!

This book is full of flavor packed sauces from a simple passata to pestos, butters and rich ragus. Everything from rich, warming dishes for winter to light, fresh flavors for summer, it is all captured in this book. Once again, the Caldesi’s have produced a cookbook that I plan to cook from for years to come.

I received a copy of this book from Chronicle Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New Zealand is top of my list of places I’d love to go, so I was so excited to get this book!! First off, it’s gorgeous!! The photography is beautiful and just makes me want to go even more! I’ve found the recipes themselves to be easy and delicious.

Shortly after I got this book, I had a craving for chocolate and my 16-year-old daughter was wanting to bake something. Perfect! I asked her to make the Choco Block Biscuits. Oh, my!! They are amazing!! I took some to work the next day and my co-worker fell in love with them as well. Rich and delectable, they are also very easy to make.

Pavlova is a quintessential New Zealand dish (not to jump into the Australian/New Zealand pav fight!) and not as hard to make as you might think. I definitely recommend you giving this one a try!

From Cheese Scones to classic Roast Lamb, Lamingtons and amazing seafood, this book captures New Zealand food in a delightful way. I can’t make everything in this book–I don’t exactly have access to Paua, whitebait, hapuka or other New Zealand ingredients–but there is so much to love and enjoy in this book. I’m sure I’ll be cooking out of it for years to come.

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What always comes to mind when I think of really good Italian food is “simple”. Good ingredients treated simply, but well. Yes, there are more complex, harder dishes in Italian cuisine, but I love the simplicity of much of their food. Ciao Italia embodies that. When I first got the book, I was flipping through it with my daughters and a friend. It was non stop exclamations, oohs and aahs and “when are you making that?!” Expectations were high, so I dove in.

This brings me back to simplicity. I started with Gratin di Pomodoro (Tomato Gratin). Three main ingredients (seasonings and oil take it to 9) come together to form a culinary delight. I’ve made it twice already and am sure to make it again. I will say, don’t fudge on the bread. I didn’t have ciabatta bread the second time, so just used a basic “Italian” bread from the store. Nope. It soaks up too much juice and gets soggy, so you lose the nice crunchiness from the bread. Stick with ciabatta. It’s great!!

Speaking of bread, I love it. Just about any kind you can come up with I will love. Because of this, I went with Focaccia al Rosmarino, Pepe Nero e Aglio (Focaccia with Rosemary, Black Pepper and Garlic) next. Delicious! I messed it up a little as I got distracted and forgot that I had a THIN focaccia in the oven (I had been making a thicker version), so I overcooked it a bit. It was still delicious.

You can find a multitude of recipes, simple to complex, in this book sure to delight Italian food lovers everywhere. From Arancine Siciliana, a personal favorite, to Beef Stew with Polenta, Tuscan Bean Salad with Soppressata and even a Deconstructed Cannoli, this book is a passport to Italy. Dive in and experience the wonders of this lovely cuisine.

I received a copy of this book from Peter E. Randall Publishers through the Lisa Ekus Group for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.