Mom's Red Kitchen—Cookbook Review Archives

Mom's Red Kitchen
Cookbook Review Archive

Cookbook Review: Cookbooking: the Delicious New Way to Scrapbook

When I saw this book at the bookstore, I just had to pick it up. For crafty people, this is more than the perfect cookbook, it is a delight. With recipes and lots of great pictures to spark ideas, this cookbook is a treasure trove of how-to's to get you started. The instructions recommend using a 12"x12" scrapbook to create your cookbooking project, but it also shows ways you can jazz up recipe boxes and other cookbooking projects, such as designing and creating recipe themed greeting cards. My favorite ideas are the divider pages with pockets where straying recipe cards can be stashed. This is a great way to use up bits of ribbon, extra buttons, colorful papers, photos from old magazines, and more.

Recommendation: (5 of 5 red plates)
Recommended: Whether you are looking for a fun cookbook for a gift, or would like to create personalized cookbooks to give or keep, this is a great purchase.

Cookbook Review: Homemade: How to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products Fast, Fresh, and More Naturally

While this may not be considered a true cookbook, it does have food recipes inside. In addition to the food recipes, though, you will find recipes for dog biscuits, personal items such as shampoo, dishwasher detergent, and even laundry soap. The laundry soap recipe is almost exactly like one I just tried, and I am very pleased with the results. Whether your need is homemade rust remover, beeswax candles, flypaper, or wild bird food, you will find the recipe and instructions in this book. For the homeowner interested in getting back to basics and saving money, this is a must have. I purchased this book specifically for the home remedies that are included, but have discovered this to be a treasure trove.

Recommendation: (5 of 5 red plates)
Recommended: Any book that makes my work around the house easier and less expensive gets a thumbs up vote from me. With allergies, I need to find products that don't contain substances that most commonly available personal needs products and household cleaning products contain. With the recipes in this book, I can create my own. By the way, store bought laundry soap irritates my skin and makes me itch. The homemade laundry soap does not.

Cookbook Review: The Working Cook: Fast and Fresh Meals for Busy People

Written by Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle Food Columnist, and published by The San Francisco Chronicle Press, this is an interesting cookbook. Based on the premise that most Americans do not have the time to shop and cook extravagant meals, this cookbook offers a broad range of meal recipes along with recipes for recommended sides. Full color pictures of many of the recipes, as well as full nutritional facts for each recipe, gives this cookbook appeal to the health concious cook. However, most of the recipes have ingredients that the average home cook will not have on hand, which in some part contradicts the suggestion that this cookbook answers the needs of cooks who do not have the time to shop for ingredients. Mexican, Italian, and Asian recipes are included in the offering of this cookbook, so you have an opportunity to try some flavorful, exciting meals for your family. If you don't mind planning ahead to purchase ingredients you probably won't have at home, this cookbook is a good addition to any cook's library. The table of contents include:

Foreword, Introduction
Fundamentals
Eggs for Dinner
Hearty Soups and Stews
Main Course Salads
Pasta
Vegetarian Meals
Fish and Shellfish
Chicken and Turkey
Pork, Beef, and Lamb
Side Dishes
Glossary and Indexes

Recommendation: (4 of 5 red plates) Recommended: The main reason I don't give this cookbook a 5 of 5 rating is the number of ingredients most cooks would have to purchase in order to use the included recipes. Most of the ingredients needed would last for more than one fix of the dish in question, but my focus in cooking for my family is having something I can use when I need it, not after going to the grocery store.

Cookbook Review: The Ultimate Mixer Cookbook

Published by Running Press, The Ultimate Mixer Cookbook is a great gift at less than $20, expecially for the cook on your list that has the KitchenAid® stand mixer. This cookbook by Rosemary Moon and Katie Bishop, starts with an introductory section that details the different accessories that can be purchased for the KitchenAid® stand mixer, and covers how to use each. A Blueprint for Success section provides helpful hints in using the KitchenAid® stand mixer to best advantage. The Table of Contents includes:

Light Lunches
Midweek Meals
Easy Entertaining
Effortless Desserts
Cakes and Bakes
Breads and Buns

This cookbook is designed for the owner of the KitchenAid© stand mixer. Full color pictures throughout the cookbook show how most of the 80 recipes in this cookbook should turn out. Each recipe states the amount of preparation time and number of servings the recipe makes. One of my favorite recipes in the cookbook is Light Rye Bread on page 146. The White Chocolate Truffle Cake on page 120 is wonderful. While there are some recipes I won't use (for instance, I don't care for lobster), this cookbook has enough extra information on how to use the KitchenAid® stand mixer and accessories that it is a great tool for the kitchen.

Recommendation: (4 ½ of 5 red plates)
Highly Recommended: The only reason I don't give this cookbook 5 of 5 red plates, is that it only has 80 recipes. That said, the full-color photos and extra information make this a cook's delight to read and thumb through. This is an excellent gift for the holidays!

Cookbook Review: KitchenAid® Great Baking and More

Published by Publications International Ltd., KitchenAid© Great Baking and More is a great buy at only $9.98. The cookbook starts with a four page section covering information on how to use your KitchenAid© stand mixer. The contents include:

Starters and Sides
Essential Breads
Extroidinary Entreés
Classic Cakes
Sweet Bites
Delicious Desserts

While this cookbook is designed specifically for the owner of the KitchenAid® stand mixer, there are recipes in this book almost anyone would find enticing--with or without the stand mixer. Cream puffs with creamy feta olive filling, lemon tea bread with lemon glaze, mushroom Swiss onion quiche, and basic egg noodle pasta or spinach pasta with pesto sauce are examples of the recipes included in this cookbook. The glossary at the back of the book gives detailed definitions of cooking terms used in the recipes. Nutritional information provides calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, cholesterol, and/or sodium content for each recipe, making it easy for cooks to adhere to special diets.

Recommendation: (5 of 5 red plates)
Highly Recommended: My favorite thing about this cookbook is that it tells me exactly how long and at what speed to run the mixer to whip up the recipe and have it turn out perfect. I have yet to find a recipe that calls for ingredients I don't recognize, which puts this cookbook far above most I have found. At $9.98, this cookbook fits everyone's pocketbook, and is a great gift idea, especially for the cook on your list that owns the KitchenAid© stand mixer.

Cookbook Review: Better Homes and Gardens ® New Cookbook, 14th edition

A tried and true cookbook used by cooks nationwide, the Better Homes and Gardens ® New Cookbook, 14th edition, is more than a cookbook. It is a culinary education in a binder! The inside front cover lists equivalents, while the inside back cover lists emergency substitutions. The first section in the cookbook, Cooking Basics covers the equipment a practical kitchen needs to make kitchen work more satisfying. Can you do without all the recommended equipment? Certainly, but a dress doesn't have to have accessories, either. And, to some extent, it depends on what you are trying to do. If you want to make cheesecake, for instance, a springform pan is your best bet. There are microwave cooking hints, a glossary of cooking terms and techniques, helpful tips on planning for meals, instructions on how to measure ingredients (and yes, it does make a difference how you measure), the use of spices, and instructions on how to melt chocolate without burning it, how to beat eggs, and much, much more. The section also includes information on nutritional basics, food safety and storage, and basic table manners. Each section that follows has more educational material, such as essential information on appetizers & snacks, beans, rice & grains, beverages, breads, cakes & frostings, candies, canning & freezing, cheese & eggs, cookies & bars, desserts, fish & shellfish, grilling, meat, pasta, pies & tarts, poultry, salads & dressings, sauces & relishes, slow cooker recipes, soups & stews, vegetables & fruits, and 20-minute meals. A comprehensive index makes it quick and easy to find specific recipes, and even marks recipes with icons that identify recipes as low-fat, no-fat, easy, fast, whole grain, or vegetarian--an incredible help to those on special eating plans.

Recommendation: (5 of 5 red plates)
Highly recommended by Mom's Red Kitchen: A great cookbook for all cooks, especially those who want or need to learn more about cooking with minimal cost. This cookbook also makes a great gift for wedding showers and highshool graduates--male or female. After all, guys cook, too.

Cookbook Review: Just in Time: All-New 30-minute Meals, Plus Super-Fast 15-Minute Meals, and Slow-It-Down 60-Minute Meals by Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray has done it again! With this cookbook, she provides quick meals for the cook in a time cruch. The table of contents allows cooks to locate recipes by amount of time required to prepare the dish (15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes), and is further broken down into categories such as:

Sandwiches, Pizzas, and Burgers
Stoups, Stews and Chilies
Pasta and Grains
Salads and Vegetable Entrees
Fish and Seafood
Chicken, Turkey, and Eggs
Beef, Pork, and Lamb

Some recipes use ingredients that will not be handy in some kitchens, so be sure to read the recipe and shop accordingly before beginning to cook a dish you have not tried before. Some recipes are "Double Duty Dinners" where you cook once and have two meals. Reminds me of the "makeovers" my mom used to make when we had leftovers, except these are planned in advance. The book is a good price, too.

Recommendation: (4 of 5 red plates)
Recommended: This cookbook has too many recipes that I will never try, since some of the ingredients are either unknown to me, or out of my price range. That said, the recipes that do work with my cooking styles (and budget) are great. This cookbook will be a great addition to any cook's library, and makes a great gift, too.