Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Cooking Light Holiday Cookbook Review

Cooking Light Holiday Cookbook
Average Reviews:

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Lushly photographed and filled with stunning winter holiday recipes from breakfast and cocktail parties to the Big Events themselves, this cookbook features lighter versions of many old favorites and some great ideas for reducing the fat in your own recipes. Ingredient substitutions, decorating tips, make ahead meals, and even wine and food pairings are included, as the editors make the holidays a joyful time, foodwise, even for those on special diets. Clearly printed nutritional information appears with each recipe so that those on special diets, such as cardiac patients, can choose among the many selections.
Many appetizer recipes feature veggie-based dips and salsas--Tomato Crostini, Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip, and Warm Mushroom Spread all feature less than 1 g. of saturated fat per serving. "Creamy" dips use lower fat cream cheese to keep these appetizers at about 1 g. of fat per serving. One appetizer made with phyllo dough, usually a no-no for those on diets, uses butter-flavored cooking spray between the layers, instead of butter, to save fat and calories. Vietnamese spring rolls and Chicken/Lemon Pot-Stickers, use rice paper and won ton wrappers, lighter than pastry.
"Light" does not mean "dull" here. Pistachio-Crusted Rack of Lamb, Individual Beef Wellingtons (using phyllo sprayed with cooking spray, instead of puff pastry), or Ultimate Roasted Turkey, with gravy, are all on the menu. A wide assortment of side dishes--soufflés, Caramelized Onions, Potato-Gorgonzola Gratin, Pumpkin-Sage Polenta, and even Leek, Potato, and Caraway Latkes with Spiced Sour Cream--perk up the plate and the palate. The Salad section is outstanding, with unusual combinations of ingredients--Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is a knockout. Fruit relishes, chutneys, salsas, and even candied cranberries are used as garnishes.
The editors have gone "all out" in the dessert section. The traditional pecan pie is here--regular pecan filling inside a lowfat, cookie-like crust--along with Vanilla or Pumpkin Cheesecake (made with 2 ½ pounds of reduced fat and non-fat cream cheese), gorgeous cakes made with less fat and fewer egg yolks, and pies with lowfat gingersnap, graham cracker, or vanilla wafer crusts. Over forty recipes are included for use as gifts--Apricot Amaretto Bread, Cranberry-Hazelnut Coffee Cake, Orange-Pistachio Baklava.
With over 500 tasty recipes offering a huge selection of elegant and even exotic recipes, this is a cookbook useful to everyone who is health-conscious, including vegetarians. Twenty pages of meatless main dishes and a vegetarian Hanukkah menu are included. A terrific compilation of healthier preparations for traditional holiday foods, this is a cookbook that has it all--and that will be used long past the holidays. n Mary Whipple


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This is one present you'll definitely want to open early—the first-ever holiday cookbook from Cooking Light magazine, the world's most widely read food magazine. No one likes to scrimp around the holidays—now you can stay on track and still dazzle friends and family with memorable holiday feasts and delectable treats. Share the joy with everything you need for seasonal cooking—and less—from Cooking Light.Features:*Brighten—and lighten!—with this first-ever holiday cookbook from Cooking Light*More than 350 seasonal recipes*Beat holiday stress and save time with super-quick menus and make-ahead meals*Holiday Helpers special section: serving tips, table settings, decorations, and more*50 clever gifts from your kitchen with festive packaging ideas*Beyond the Bird: Top 10 ways to transform leftover turkey

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Friday, April 20, 2012

The Secret of Challah Review

The Secret of Challah
Average Reviews:

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First the good news:
The information in this book is excellent. The author does a good job describing the cultural and religious importance of challah along with various rituals, customs, and prayers associated with the bread. This information is worth the price of the book if you really want to learn a lot about the importance and uses of challah.
Bad News:
The recipes are not reliable. First, 15 cups of whole wheat flour with out any added white flour (for the Whole Wheat Challah recipe) does not yield a 'light, airy' challah. Other recipes only call for 1 hour and 40 minutes TOTAL rising time (between the first and second rises). Generally bread that rises that fast has a rather insipid taste. Furthermore, for bakers interested in accurate, consitent results, it would have been helpful for the author to include the weight of the ingredients instead of just the volume. There is a lot of room for inaccurate results when you are measuring out 15 cups of flour.
Summary:
Good info, bad recipes. Maggie Glezer's a Blessing of Bread has many reliable, delicious challah recipes for novice and advanced bakers alike. If you are new to challah-making (or bread-making in general), it would be a good idea to invest in a book with more reliable recipes so you can experience success in the kitchen.

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Ah, the sweet taste of Shabbat challah... There s something about the smell of freshly baked challah and its wonderful flavor that brings joy to the Shabbat atmosphere. Baking your own challah seems like a difficult and complex process that requires great effort, experience, and special talent. In The Secret of Challah, with its clear, step-by-step instructions to making beautiful, delicious challah, you'll find that challah baking is both accessible and fun. In The Secret of Challah, you will find: Proven and tested challah and bread recipes- The Art of Braiding a section devoted to teaching you how to shape your own challah and bread, including the traditional six-strand braided challah and the festive rose-shaped challah The deep meaning behind the mitzvah of hafrashat challah, which will give your challah baking a new dimension of holiness * A clear explanation of the practical laws of this mitzvah the unique domain of the Jewish woman Experience the sweet taste of Shabbat with The Secret of Challah the taste of Shabbat challah. Feed your mind, soul, and family with a cookbook devoted entirely to the mitzvah of baking challah. A chapter on the spiritual side of this essential mitzvah and a step-by-step guide to the details and devotions of separating dough make this beautiful book much more than a collection of recipes. Gorgeous photographs complement the wealth of baking tips, explanation of challah customs, techniques for fancy braiding, and how-to`s for unusual shapes for holidays and special occasions. Recipes cover basics like healthy whole wheat, sweet Shabbat, and everyday bread to exotics like egg-free, date-studded and zatar-spiced varieties. The Secret of Challah brings both grandeur and practicality to the mitzvah of challah.

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Light and Healthy Holidays (First Place 4 Health Bible Study Series) Review

Light and Healthy Holidays (First Place 4 Health Bible Study Series)
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Now is a great time to order your "Light and Healthy Holidays" devotional to either do on your own, or with your FP4H group. The group that I lead is going to meet six times: the three Wednesdays before Thanksgiving and the three Wednesdays before Christmas. The six weeks of devotionals in this book fit into that time frame perfectly.
This is not a standard FP4H study. Each "day" in the book includes a short devotional reading, then a section for personal reflection and application, almost like a journal. There is not a series of questions and Bible verses to be looked up as in the regular Bible studies. There are memory verses and Live-It Trackers for each week, as usual. In the back of the book are menu & recipe helps for the season, including plans for your Thanksgiving and Christmas Day meals.
Here are the themes and memory verses for each week:
1. Giving Thanks (I Thessalonians 5:18)
2. Goodness and Love (I Chronicles 16:34)
3. Great Joy (Luke 2:10-11)
4. Come to Worship (Matthew 2:1-2)
5. Be Made New (Ephesians 4:22-24)
6. A New Heart (Ezekiel 36:26)
This year, let's have a healthy AND celebratory holiday season!

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Light & Healthy Holidays provides staying power during the tempting holiday season and encouragement to reflect on the true reason for the holidays. This complete resource includes devotions, holiday helps, holiday menus and recipes, and a small group guide. Topics Included: Devotions on giving thanks and God's gift of love, Read about replacing fear with joy, Holiday menus and recipes, How can you achieve your holiday goals?, Holiday survival tips.

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Friday, August 26, 2011

Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season Review

Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season
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Although the author says in the introduction that Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season is for new as well as experienced cooks, many of the recipes are traditional and likely to be in multiple other sources on the bookshelf of any home baker. Only few of the 50 cookies were new to me.
This book would be a good choice for a new baker as it covers what I consider to be the most popular Christmas cookies (sugar cookies, gingerbread men, peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses, linzer cookies, and rum balls to name a few). A new baker would be the most likely to benefit from the chapters on the Basics of Cookie Making, Key Ingredients for the Cookie Baker and Key Tools for the Cookie Baker which contain good basic tips that an experienced baker probably already knows.
I have listed the cookie recipes below so you can determine whether they would be new to you or not. Each chapter includes tips for making that type of cookie.
The chapter on Drop Cookies includes recipes for:
-Maple Walnut Cookies
-Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
-Lace Cookies
-Almond Macaroons
-Iced Lemon Rounds
-Coconut Macaroons
-Cocoa Meringue Kisses
-Mexican Chocolate Snowballs
The chapter on Rolled Cookies includes recipes for:
-Cornmeal Currant Cookies
-Dutch Spice Cookies
-Sugar Cookies
-Sugar Cookies with Stained Glass
-Walnut Stars
-Gingerbread People
The chapter on Slice and Bake Cookies includes recipes for:
-Ginger Coins
-Eggnog Cookies
-Pinwheel Cookies
-Chocolate Espresso Wafers
-Pecan Sandies
-Toasted Coconut Sables
The chapter on Hand-Shaped Cookies includes recipes for:
-Pecan Butterballs
-Hazelnut Biscotti
-Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
-Orange Poppy Seed Drops
-Molasses Ginger Cookies
-Chocolate Crinkles
-Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
-Swedish Dreams
-Viennese Crescents
-Peanut Butter Chocolate Kisses
-Italian Wine Cookies
The chapter on Filled and Sandwich Cookies includes recipes for:
-Baby Butter and Jam Sandwiches
-Chocolate Almond Macaroon Sandwiches
-Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints
-Linzer Cookies
-Fig Half-Moons
The chapter on Bar Cookies includes recipes for:
-Apricot Almond Bars
-Baci Brownies
-Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Squares
-Almond Thins
-Peanut Brittle Bars
-Chocolate Shortbread Wedges
-Sachertorte Bars
-Lemon Squares
-Toffee Bars
-Turtle Bars
The chapter on No-Bake Treats includes recipes for:
-Rocky Road Bites
-Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares
-Chocolate Hearts
-Rum Balls
Each recipe includes the projected yield (usually between 35-55 cookies) but not nutritional information.
There are two helpful lists at the back of the book (in addition to the index). The first lists recipes by flavor (chocolate, vanilla, citrus, coconut, spice, nut, butter/sugar, fruit/jam, caramel/toffee and rum). The second list has three categories: cookies without nuts, quick and easy, and make-ahead and freeze cookie dough. There is also a list of the best cookies for mailing on page 9.
Since there seem to be conflicting opinions among other reviewers regarding the photos, I counted them (twice). 25 of the 50 cookie recipes include a color photo, and the majority of the photos are larger than half a page and give the reader a clear idea of what the finished cookie should look like.
This would be a good gift for a college student or perhaps as a housewarming gift (particularly if you add a few cookie cutters and cookie sheets).

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Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie? Is it made of chocolate or spice? Is it an iced and decorated sugar cookie or a molasses ginger round? Or maybe it's a crisp, chocolate-covered toffee bar or a jam-filled Linzer sandwich cookie. There are so many choices!

Christmas cookies are loved for their special shapes, cheery colors, and seasonal flavors. They bring joy to our gatherings, help preserve the magic and tradition of the holiday season, and make heart-warming gifts. Christmas Cookies offers fifty wonderful recipes for holiday treats, such as light-as-air Cocoa Meringue Kisses, Chocolate Peppermint Cookies that perfectly complement a mug of hot chocolate, sweet-tart Iced Lemon Rounds, the much-beloved classic Pecan Sandies, Ginger Coins with the right amount of snap, and many, many more.

Avid holiday baker Lisa Zwirn baked hundreds of cookies to come up with these fabulous fifty recipes. There is something for everyone: treats for chocoholics, hol­iday shapes that children will love (that can be baked and decorated by the little ones, too), luxurious sandwich cookies, and plenty of spiced rounds, buttery wafers, and decadent bars.

Christmas Cookies will also show you how to make the most of your time in the kitchen with these useful tips and ideas:

Cookie baking guidelines for successful baking
Options for freezing dough so you can bake cookies when the mood strikes
Storage suggestions to help keep treats fresh for as long as possible
Child-friendly recipes, such as Peanut Butter Chocolate Kisses, Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints, Gingerbread People, and Molasses Ginger Cookies, which are easy and fun for beginners
The best cookies to mail and how to wrap them
How to host a holiday cookie swap and cookie-decorating party

Whether you've baked Christmas cookies for years or are just starting a tradition of holiday baking, you'll find all the recipes you need right here. Christmas Cookies is an essential collection for the cookie baker, featuring color photographs, clear, detailed recipes, and irrepressible Christmas spirit.


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