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My rating: 3 of 5 spoons
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I love the idea of this cookbook; information about honey and bees along with recipes celebrating all the different kinds of honey. There’s just one problem–I was really surprised at the number of recipes that didn’t use honey! (Though, the Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic are REALLY good!) There’s only 84 recipes in the whole book, so for around a dozen or so recipes to not include honey really brought this book down for me. I kind of felt cheated. That being said, most of the recipes that DO include honey look luscious. Definitely try the Wild Salmon with a Smoky Onion Crust! There is a nice selection of photos showing some of the finished dishes, though it would have been nice to have more photos of finished dishes and less of flowers, honeycombs and things like that.

Each of the 12 chapters is for one month of the year and features a certain flavor honey, though that doesn’t mean you have to use that particular flavor in those recipes. The beginning of each chapter tells you about that particular honey–where it’s made and flavor notes including color, smell, taste and aftertaste. There are also a few pages scattered throughout the book telling about the bee colonies.

All-in-all, this is a very interesting book with great recipes.

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 spoons
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I had to call my sister when I got this cookbook as she spent a couple of years in the Philippines and fell in love with their food. She still cooks their food often even though it’s been years since she lived there, and many of the recipes in this book are ones she makes often. The Green Beans With Shallots and Garlic as well as the Fast and Simple Garlic Fried Rice are delicious (and very authentic, according to her!). I first had adobo when she made it for us on a visit home and, while I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it, these are great recipes for times I want that flavor. I do love Lumpia and Spring Rolls, so I’m delighted to find the recipes here. The Leche Flan is definitely on my “to make” list as well.

Most of the recipes here are fairly simple to make, but some of the ingredients will be very hard to find unless you live in an area with a large Filipino population that has specialized stores that carry products such as cassava, fresh pig’s ears, fresh taro root and so on. There is a listing in the back of the book for a few online sources, but this can get pricey. That dropped my rating a bit. Other than that, this is a great book for lovers of Filipino food or food explorers looking to try something new.

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

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons
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This is an incredible cookbook! A friend was over for a visit when this book came in and we oohed and aahed and salivated over the entire thing!! My “to make” list is a mile long with “Capricci with Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Cream” at the top of the list. My husband saw the picture and all of us immediately said, “Ooooh! I want to try that!!”. The only reason I haven’t made it yet is that I haven’t found the capricci pasta yet. I know I can make it with something else, but I’d really like to make it exactly as it’s listed first. The “Slow-Roasted Tomatoes” are incredible as are the “Baked Delicata Squash with Cream and Parmigiano”. Some of these dishes look incredible, but I’m waiting on the autumn veggies to come into season before I dip into those recipes.

The “Gallery of Vegetables” in this book is wonderful. Each vegetable is listed with “Season”, “To Clean” and “To Prepare” with all the basic information needed. That alone is great, especially for the vegetables I don’t prepare often. Also included is a short section on different herbs, basic ingredients and basic equipment. This is especially helpful for more beginner cooks.

This is a wonderful cookbook that is definitely going on my “favorites” shelf to be used for a long, long time.

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

My rating: 3 of 5 spoons
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This is a nice book for those who don’t know much about cooking. There’s some great information in here and loads of tips. I cooked for years with many failures as I had not learned the basic philosphy of “Mise en place”–“Everything in its place”. Cooking is so much easier (and more fun!) if you prepare properly. That and other good, basic cooking philosophies are covered nicely in this book.

There are some issues, however. When discussing sauteing and stir-frying, on the chart is says garlic can be sauted at any time, but never mentions that garlic burns easily when sauteing and how to combat that. The author clearly states that she likes and eats meat, but gives no information on actually cooking meat. That seems kind of weird as this is not a “vegetarian” cookbook per se. There are lots of “Top Ten” lists that just seem to take up space and not be very helpful.

Like I said, there’s some great information in here, but you have to dig to find it. I don’t know that I would recommend this to a friend trying to learn how to cook.

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

I had a nice surprise waiting for me this morning!  I checked my email as normal and found an email from Amazon stating that my review of “The Silver Spoon Cookbook” had helped someone, and a second email with a comment on my review.  It stated, “SandrasBookNook–You’re making me so hungry, I’m ordering this book right NOW thanks to your wonderfully well-written review!”  Definitely started my day with a smile!

I love reviewing cookbooks, and have no plans to stop whether I know people are enjoying them or not (much of the time there is no feedback, so it can make you start to wonder if people are that interested), but it was such an encouragement that I actually influenced someone with my passion for cooking and cookbooks!! 

Happy Cooking!!

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I am much more of a salty/carbs type of girl, but sometimes you just want something SWEET!! I don’t like to make big cakes and desserts very often as we usually don’t end up finishing them (I hate throwing half a cake away!), and we don’t like for any of us–including our kids–to have a lot of sugar. These are perfect. Super quick and easy, and just the right amount to give everyone a little something sweet. Lots of great combinations. I tried the yellow cake first as I figured if the very basic of basics didn’t come out right, it probably wasn’t going to go well on the fancier ones! The whole family loved it! Most recipes make enough for two mug cakes which split nicely between the 6 of us. The cake was moist and had a great flavor. It’s probably a tad heavier than a regular cake, but not by much. The chocolate mayonnaise cake was everything it should have been. I’m ready to branch out now. I just made the Nutella Cake. Oh my, my my!! A MUST for anyone that likes Nutella! I’m thinking of trying the lemon thyme cake next.

This is such a fun book! Lots of lovely flavors with something for everyone. Many recipes for toppings and garnishes, and a section of “not exactly cakes” that includes Lindy’s-Style Mug Cheesecake (can’t wait to try that one!), Pumpkin Mug Pie, Lemon Bar Mug and more. Definitely a sweet little book to add to my favorites shelf!

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

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My rating: 3 of 5 spoons
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I love bread. So many people are addicted to sweets, chocolate (ok, I do love chocolate), etc, but give me a nice, crusty loaf of bread and I am one happy lady!! I think the favorite meal I’ve ever had was the first evening of my first trip to Sicily when I was given a couple of thick slices of good Italian bread, three kinds of cheese and a big glass of ice water. I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven! My love for bread actually borders on addiction, so I couldn’t WAIT to dive into this cookbook. I’ve been making bread for years, so I’m no novice, but I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an expert, either.

I started with the Olive Oil Rolls. I love, love, LOVE Italian breads, so this was an easy choice. Oh, my! These were so easy to make, and a huge hit with my family. Next I went for the Bridge Rolls. Eh. Not so great. They were okay, but definitely not on my “Make these again!” list. I just made the Biovette. Yes, back to Italian breads. Unfortunately, they were another “Eh”. I thought I might have made a mistake with the Bridge Rolls and accidentally added too much salt, but these were too salty as well. I did NOT like the method of looking at the dough like a clock and pulling pieces out until they were thin and gently lay them back on the main portion of dough. It seemed more work than necessary, and I didn’t like they way the Biovette turned out doing that (I didn’t bother with it on the first two breads). I’ve never heard of doing the dough that way, and don’t plan on doing it that way ever again as I certainly didn’t like the results.

I love the information given in the first part of the book; really breaking down all the ingredients and aspects of bread making. Unfortunately two of the first three recipes I made, I really wasn’t impressed with the results. That coupled with so many of the breads needing special ingredients dropped my rating for it. This is not a book to go on my favorites shelf.

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

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I love cooking from scratch. As a stay-at-home-mom, you could say it’s my normal. Yes, it’s nice to be able to grab a mix or something sometimes when you’re in a hurry or something unexpected happens, but I love making a good home-cooked meal. This book is right up my alley as it’s not only about cooking from scratch, but cooking healthy as well. This is not a vegetarian cookbook as some have stated, but there are great notations at the bottom of each recipe for 30 minutes or less, egg-free, vegetarian, vegan friendly, make ahead, dairy free, gluten free, under 1 hour, etc. I love the fact that it uses fresh, healthy ingredients, whole grains and more. I am trying to cook healthier for my family as my husband and I try to lose weight–not so easy when you review cookbooks!! He is doing great, I am slowly moving along. Cookbooks like this are so much fun for me, though. There’s some great, healthy ideas for vegetables to go so nicely with the light, healthy proteins I’ve been cooking. You MUST try the slow-roasted tomatoes and easy roasted vegetables. I would never have thought of “Rosemary & Pecorino Popcorn”, but it was quite yummy! I’m dying to make the Roasted Tomato Soup and Beef Spezzatino as well as many, many others. I’ll be going back to this cookbook time and again!

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

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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What a beautiful, intriguing book! Filled with photos, sketches, and paintings to go along with history and some recipes scattered throughout. This is much more about the beauty and history of the Cape than about the food, but there is a nice scattering of recipes to tempt you. As a history and art book, this would be five stars easily–as a cookbook, not so much. There isn’t an index or anything to help you find what you want recipe-wise. You just have to flip through the book to find them. This book is well worth it, though, for everything else that is included. This is a thoroughly fascinating book!!

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