Teetering Pile of Guilty Pleasure #2
From the library:
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson (because it was well reviewed and had a long wait at the library, I thought for sure whenever it came in I’d have time to read it. And have read her book of short stories that’s been on my shelves for years. YEARS. Sigh.)
Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff (because in the last month I’ve strained my trapezius muscle, something in the middle back, and something in the leg area. I grow old, I grow old and I thought I’d try to figure out what’s going on where.)
Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce (because I want to try the chocolate chip cookie recipe again, and didn’t get enough time with it when I got it out of the library the last time.)
Perfect One-Dish Dinners by Pamela Anderson. (I’ve been a fan of Anderson’s since way back when she wrote for Cook’s Illustrated, and her chocolate chip cookie recipe is the one I turn to. I was hoping for inspiration for fall dinners, but this is more geared to a group and is very meat heavy, though it does have many good-looking recipes and alternatives.)
Flour by Joyce Chang (because I didn’t get to spend enough time with it when I got it out last time. Both this and Good to the Grain were recommended by Jennifer Reese on Tipsy Baker.)
Links to come.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:31 am
So, yeah, I’m a cookbook junkie, but also very picky (I HATE when there isn’t a table of contents in a book like this one). I didn’t love One-Dish Dinners, but the Salsa Verde Chicken is fantastic for weeknights (you can easily substitute whole milk for evaporated without any problem in the final result). We also liked the Tamale Pie, though I added a little vegetable oil to brown the turkey (no fat at all??). The quick desserts have been great for me, including the lemon curd in good vanilla ice cream and the Warm Bananas Foster Tart (I actually made that whole meal on the grill when the weather changed suddenly after I already made plans to make it).
I’ve been looking at buying World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey. Have you tried that one? The day after I got a side of pork, I’m still looking to increase our veggie intake.
October 21st, 2011 at 9:50 am
Kate, YES, it drives me bats that the One Dish Dinners has no ToC! And I subbed whole milk for evaporated in the chicken pot pie recipe, and used my usual mix of 2 AP/1 whole wheat flour instead of the bleached (wtf?) AP she calls for. Haven’t ever read the Jaffrey, but it’s supposed to be a classic.
October 21st, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Ok, so I”m trying to incorporate more whole wheat flour too–I’m not really a baker at all, but I do like dumplings. Do you just always sub that way, and it works? I have a bag of WW, but I have no idea how to use it.
October 21st, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Kate, once upon a time, I read in Cook’s Illustrated then saw on the TV show that they found you could sub 1/3 the total amount of AP flour in a recipe with whole wheat pastry flour with good results. Now I always do that, unless the math doesn’t make sense, like if I’m using 1/2 cup flour for brownies I”m not going to divide it into sixths. And for things like rouxs and dusting kneading surface, I use straight whole wheat as well.
Useful math tip from Pamela Anderson’s chocolate chip cookie recipe: 2 1/4 cups = 3 x 3/4 cups
October 21st, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Excellent. Thank you. I think I’ll finally pull that bag out of the freezer.
October 22nd, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Steph, I started Downton Abbey, but was behind in watching it, and liked it but didn’t love it. Then my friend Amy R told me the season ended on a cliffhanger/without resolution, so I decided to give it a miss. I’m not ruling it out, but it felt rather like Cranford did–good, but not so good that it deserves to jump the queue.