February 2016 Cookbooks

The New Slow Cooker Cookbook by Adams Media

I love using my slow cooker because you only have 1 main pot to clean at the end and dinner can be ready when you get home. I liked how this cookbook was organized with types of recipes together - soups, stews, and chili, then sauces/condiments, chicken recipes, pork recipes, etc. There were also quite a few recipes I'd like to try. My only complaint was that some of the recipes only used the slow cooker for an hour - you basically cooked everything and "finished it" in the slow cooker. To me that didn't really seem like a slow cooker recipe because you could "finish" something like that on the stove or in the oven too. Overall, a good cookbook especially if you want to expand your slow cooker horizons.

America Farm to Table by Mario Batali

Mario Batali talks about how in the 1980's chefs started coming into the spotlight and now famous chefs are like rock stars in our society with TV shows, cookware lines, cookbooks, etc. He counters that the REAL rock stars are the farmers who provide the high quality food that chefs cook with. In this book he explores some of the best restaurants and chefs across America and the farmers who grow and/or raise their food. Each section has information about the chef/farmer relationship and about what that farmer is known for and then Batali creates recipes using those best-of-the-best ingredients. It is a unique concept for a cookbook and I really liked it. There were also quite a few recipes I'd like to try myself. Overall, I would recommend this one for anyone who loves their local farmers and farmers market or anyone interested in growing your own food.

It's All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow

My friend gave me this cookbook last year for Christmas because when we were in college I was a huge Gwyneth Paltrow fan. I'm not as much of a fan, but I figured since she gave me the book I would read it. It's more a cookbook for someone who's vegan or trying to do a detox diet (neither of which is me), but there are some recipes that could be adapted to not be gluten free or you could use regular sugar instead of a substitute. I do appreciate Paltrow's introduction where she talks about some of the health issues she was having and how changed her diet fixed them. I'm a big believer in that what you eat can definitely help or hurt your health in huge ways, but I'm also a big believer in eating REAL food. I don't like all the vegan substitutes like fake mayo, cheese, etc. Fake stuff is just created food and I'm not into that. But, whether you're going vegan or not there are some good recipes in here that I'm planning to try out.

The Year of Cozy by Adrianna Adarme

I really like the concept of this book - it's not just a cookbook, it's more of a homemade book. The author gives lots of recipes, but also homemade decor and gift ideas, and just ideas of better ways to enjoy your home. I really like a lot of her lifestyle type tips - Do Nothing, Write Handwritten Notes, Start a Good Habit, etc. While there weren't many recipes I really wanted to try, I did like her ideas for a Meal in a Box gifts. This is just a nice, cozy book to read and look through.

The Culinary Herbal by Susan Belsinger, Arthur O. Tucker, and Shawn Linehan

This book is more of a gardening book than a cookbook. The majority of the book is an alphabetical listing of dozens of herbs - some I'd never even heard of. There is a very small section at the end of the book that talks about growing and preserving herbs and then a few recipes. While I do grow some herbs in my garden, I was hoping for more about best ways to preserve and use herbs while they're fresh. It's great if you want to find out about all kinds of herbs, but not much of a cookbook.