Holiday Gifts: Books For Cooks

Barefoot Contessa: Foolproof by Ina Garten

Ina Garten, Food Network star, takes easy a step further, sharing her secrets for pulling off deeply satisfying meals that will appeal to almost anyone. Recipes include: Dukes Cosmopolitans, hot smoked salmon, lobster & potato salad, elegant slow-roasted filet of beef with basil parmesan mayonnaise and show-stopping seared scallops & potato celery root puree, sticky toffee date cake with bourbon glaze and salted caramel brownies.

Seamus Mullen’s Hero Food: How Cooking With Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better with photographs by Colin Clark

A noted chef examines eighteen foods which he considers “heroes” because of their positive effects on health, from olive oil to high quality meat, and shares healthy seasonal recipes–many from Spanish cuisine–and cooking techniques.

Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food: More Than 100 Delicious, Super-fast and Easy Recipes with Mark Sargeant and Emily Quah ; photographs by Jill Mead

Presents more than one hundred accessible recipes that are organized in accordance with everyday needs and special occasions, in a volume that places an emphasis on fast preparation and features tips on stocking a pantry.

Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel; with Susie Heller, et al and photographs by Deborah Jones

Collects recipes from the famed Bouchon Bakery, including chocolate eclairs, cherry-whipped cream doughnuts, poached pears, and sourdough boule.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond

A mouthwatering collection of the simple-but-scrumptious recipes that rotate through Ree’s kitchen on a regular basis, from perfect pancakes to honey-plum-soy chicken, from cowgirl quiche to blackberry chip ice cream.

Secrets of the Best Chefs: Recipes, Techniques, and Tricks from America’s Greatest Cooks by Adam Roberts

Some people say you can only learn to cook by doing. So Adam Roberts, creator of the award-winning blog The Amateur Gourmet, set out to cook in 50 of America’s best kitchens to figure out how any average Joe or Jane can cook like a seasoned pro.

- posted by Sharon, Reference Services

A Baker’s Dilemma

Cupcakes or pies?  Reports from food trend watchers suggest that pies will take over the spotlight from cupcakes this year.

Yes, pies can be sweet or savory, filled with seasonal fruit or custard, or be ‘baked’ in the refrigerator as an homey ice box pie.  But what about the sweet little cupcake?  It is that perfect single -serve size that reminds us of childhood.  Cupcake devotees have opened restaurants and bakeries featuring the paper-clad treat.  But The New York Times reported that similar establishments are now featuring  pies.  Perhaps the cupcake is relinquishing its place of honor.  If you feel that you must have the ‘best’ pie selection, take a look at these restaurants reputed to serve the finest.

Syosset Public Library’s cookbook collection can satisfy your cravings whichever way you choose: cupcakes or pies.  And you can find plenty of recipes and decorating ideas online for cupcakes.  You might have missed National Pie Day (January 28) but you can still try a new recipe.

I am not taking sides on this issue! I love to fill a pretty plate with a selection of decorated little cakes. And I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin and pecan pies, nor would a summer BBQ be complete without a chocolate pudding pie. So…I will make some red velvet cupcakes with snowy white frosting  and a Hershey kiss on top  for Valentine’s Day. And then I will make a sour cherry pie to celebrate George Washington’s birthday.

- posted by Brenda, Reference Services

New on the Bookshelves…

Winston’s War: Churchill 1940-1945 by Max Hastings “In 1938 Churchill seemed a man bypassed by history. By 1945 he had become the greatest war leader Britain ever knew and has since achieved mythic status, standing higher than any other single human being at the head of the forces of light. …Churchill’s strength of will, rhetoric, and personality enabled the British to understand the reasons for their sacrifices and made Britain’s end as a great power a heroic one.” (Publisher’s Weekly)

Paula Deen’s Savannah Style by Paula Deen and Brandon Branch “In this gorgeous, richly illustrated book, Paula Deen shares a full year of Southern living. Whether it’s time to put out your best china and make a real fuss, or you’re just gathering for some sweet tea on the porch at dusk, Savannah style is about making folks feel welcome in your home. With the help of decorator and stylist Brandon Branch, you’ll learn how to bring a bit of Southern charm into homes from Minnesota to Mississippi. (Product Description)

Savor the Moment (The Bride Quartet, Book 3) by Nora Roberts “Happily-ever-afters continue to bloom in book three of Roberts’s sugary Bride Quartet (after Bed of Roses) as the spotlight shines on pastry chef extraordinaire Laurel McBane. Vows, the Greenwich, Conn., wedding business run by the four BFFs, is also a hotbed for romance, as two of the friends have already found true love and dream of their upcoming nuptials. Laurel, meanwhile, sets her sights on Del, the older brother of Vows partner Parker, a handsome lawyer she’s secretly loved since they were teens. Passion erupts, but will they be able to make it last?” (Publisher’s Weekly)

What’s New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion by Karen Tack “The endlessly imaginative duo who turned cupcaking into a national pastime is back, with utterly new, eye-popping creations anyone can make. Create a race-car cupcake, a robot cupcake, or ravishing jewelry cupcakes for a birthday party.  Captivate Mom with a bouquet of long-stemmed rose cupcakes and build sand castle cupcakes with the kids. All you need are candies from the corner store and cake mix and canned frosting.”  (Product Description)

The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King “…this latest Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mystery, is a thriller of ingenious surprises and unrelenting suspense—as the famous husband and wife sleuths are pursued by a killer immune from the sting of justice.  It began as a problem in one of Holmes’ beloved beehives, led to a murderous cult, and ended—or so they’d hoped—with a daring escape from a sacrificial altar. Instead, Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, have stirred the wrath and the limitless resources of those they’ve thwarted. Now they are separated and on the run, wanted by the police, and pursued across the Continent by a ruthless enemy with powerful connections.” (Product Description)

-posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

The books just keep on coming…

This week’s new releases include…

The Humbling by Philip Roth At 65, Simon Axler, a formerly celebrated stage actor, is undergoing a crisis: he can no longer act, his wife leaves him and, suicidal, he checks himself into a psych ward. Then he retires to his upstate New York farm to wait for… something, which arrives in the form of Pegeen… (Amazon.com)

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs  a loving, moving, laugh-out-loud celebration of special times with friends and family. The story begins a year after the end of Knit Two, with Dakota Walker’s trip to spend the Christmas holidays with her Gran in Scotland… (from the publisher)

Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast by Emeril Lagasse   Long day at the office? In a hurry to get the kids to soccer practice? Hungry for more than just a sandwich? With Emeril 20-40-60, even if you’re short on time, you don’t have to sacrifice getting a freshly prepared, satisfying meal on the table.

Place a reserve today!

-posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Gourmet Magazine is Closing

Gourmet Magazine’s  initial issue was January 1941.  Its final issue will be November 2009.  In its almost 70 years of publication, it has become a staple in many households.  It has accumulated an unprecedented number of cookbooks and typewritten recipes in its library, which editor Ruth Reichl has recommended be donated to the New York Public Library or a university.

But just because the magazine will cease publication does not mean that its recipes will not be accessible.  The Syosset Public Library has several excellent recipe websites in its Recommended Websites-Food and Entertainment section  The Epicurious website includes recipes that have appeared in Gourmet Magazine.

The Syosset Public Library has the following books published by Gourmet in its collection:  The Best of Gourmet, Gourmet Today published in 2009,  Gourmet’s America, The Gourmet Cookbook, and Remembrance of Things Paris. 

Finally, for those of you who just like cookbooks, Cooked Books:  All Things Culinary at the New York Public Library is a unique blog.  Check it out.  At least we’ll have the Gourmet Thanksgiving issue to get us through the holidays.

- posted by Ed, Reference Services

My roses are still blooming…

… but I think these flowers might be the last for the summer.  I had to wear a jacket this morning and I brought my hibiscus indoors today.  I think the lazy, hazy days of summer are being replaced by crisp fall days and nights.  This change came fast-last week I was walking along the beach!

I guess it is time to change what I cook for dinner.  My thoughts go to warm, comfy foods. Nothing makes it easier to cook these than a crockpot. Grab some tasty ingredients, put them in the pot, turn it on and, when I come home from work, dinner is ready.

If this has made you hungry, try some of our cookbooks for slow cooking. Better Homes and Gardens has Crockery Cooking, Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman update recipes for the crockpot in Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, and Fix it and Forget It Big Cookbook by Phyllis Good are just some sample titles from our collection. These and other titles can be found in our cookbook section on the main floor.

I think I will make a chili tomorrow…..

- posted by Brenda, Reference Services

Oct 1 is World Vegetarian Day

Ever want to try being a vegetarian?  Maybe today’s the day! Whether you want to try it for a meal, a day or even longer, you’ll need some recipe or menu suggestions and  Syosset Public Library has many books on the subject.   Here are just a few:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.  “If I could have only one book on the subject of vegetables, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone would be it. Deborah Madison has produced an impressive collection of information, instruction, and recipes.”
–Marion Cunningham, author of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian : Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman “How do you make an avid meat eater (like me) fall in love with vegetarian cooking? Make Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian part of your culinary library.”
—Bobby Flay, chef/owner of Mesa Grill and Bar Americain

Totally Vegetarian: Easy, Fast, Comforting Food for Every Kind of Vegetarian by Toni Fiore “There are recipes for vegans in the book, but there are also a lot of options for folks who are trying to wean themselves from meat, or who just like having a few meatless meals every week.”  Portland Press Herald

Besides vegetarian cookbooks which can be found on the main floor, the library carries the magazine “Vegetarian Times”, also on the main floor.

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services