Mdoris (Mary) cookbooks for 2024

I get a lot of cookbooks from the library and hope to post them here with a few comments.

Steven Hodge Chocolate all Day (2023)

Fabulous book by a very knowledgable chef in West Vancouver. Amazing pictures and recipes.

>1 mdoris: Yummy start for a new thread and a new year!

The Core of an Onion by Mark Kurlansky library p. 194



I ❤️ onions.
In our house P has a garlic sensitivity so instead I put onions in everything. It is the 2nd largest produced vegetable in the world with 93.17 metric tons per year, with tomatoes being first 177 tons. I learned a lot about onions in this book. For one thing that is how Chicago got its name. (p. 50).... the Indigenous locals called cigaga-wunj which means "onion place". And there are some weird ordinances in the U.S. about onions. For example in Ridgeland South Carolina, a woman weighng more than two hundred pounds cannot be seen eating onions in a restaurant or at a public picnic if she is wearing shorts. I knew most of the onion types Vidalia, Walla Walla, Maui, Bermuda and of course leeks, shallots, spring but learned a lot about their history and where and how they are grown. The last section of the book covers recipe history and includes insights for onion soup, onion sauce, fried onions, onion tarts and bread, caramelized and pickled onions and more. My mom used to make pearl onions in a cheesy sauce as a special treat so it made me think of that! Apparently Hemingway loved onion sandwiches and often had them with peanut butter. Good to know! Often people eat raw onions whole like an apple. Who knew? So this book adds to Kurlansky's curiosity about food along with salt, cod, oysters and milk.

I am teased ruthlessly about wearing swim goggles when I prepare onions. Trust me this is a very good idea! Here is an image in the book that I should show my family and add to my next birthday gift request

>3 mdoris: Interesting book of information.

Milk Street Noodles: Secrets to the World’s Best Noodles, from Fettuccine Alfredo to Pad Thai to Miso Ramen


Any of the Milk Street cookbooks are great and this one is too! I'm interested in making the orzo recipes.

Together at SoBo: More Recipes and Stories from Tofino's Beloved Restaurant (2023)



This is a cookbook from a local restaurant in Tofino B.C. that specializes in local products, locally grown food and seafood and local distillery. The photos are spectacular of the food and the scenery and the locals who make this restaurant a success. Sort of a coffee table feel to the cookbook!

Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit by Abra Berens (2023) was an interesting cookbook. It's main idea is lots of fruit recipes but the first section is for what to bake along with the fruit was excellent, cookies, cakes, crepes, dutchbaby, pies etc.

The cookie that changed my life and more, (2023) this cookbook was pretty amazing, thick, lots of excellent recipes but it wasn't for me. There were just too many instructions involved. The author has many cookbooks to her credit!

Sweet Enough by Alison Roman (2023)



This is a fabulous cookbook! There are many recipes I am desperate to make (that is eat!) like the raspberry ricotta, cake, raspberry scones, blueberry cornmeal shortbread tart. Would I buy it? Afraid not. The recipe ingredients is listed in small print and red. It is very hard to read. Pictures are wonderful and there are lots of fruit based ideas.

Just made the raspberry scones and they were really scrumptious. I might have to buy this cookbook after all, just get out my magnifying glass!

I may have to change my mind and buy this cookbook afterall. Today I made the blueberry tart with a cornmeal shortbread crust and it was out of this world yummy.

Piecemeal by Kathryn Pauline library (2023)



Good cookbook for some basic recipes and meal planning. I copied down a few recipes i.e. cornmenal pancakes, turkey meatballs.

Snacking Bakes by Yossy Arefi Library (2023)



Everyday kind of baking.

Seafood Simple by Eric Ripert library (2023)



This is a stunning cookbook made for the home cook. The photos are gorgeous and the recipes quite simple Ripert is a very well respected chef and was best pals with Anthony Bordain and who must now be devastated by his loss.

>2 MrsLee: Thank you for the welcome MrsLee!

>4 mnleona: I love the info in cookbooks. Am reading one about rice right now that is very interesting. I will post it when I'm finished.

The Sobo Cookbook (2014) library



This was the first cookbook from the restaurant in Tofino B.C.. Like the second one it is full of gorgeous local pictures and delicious recipes made from the local growers products. One recipe that I will try is "health in a bowl" a lentil soup with LOTS of veg made for a father suffering with cancer treatment and the cook wanted to get maximum nutriton in!

The Lemon Apron Cookbook (2022) library



This is a Toronto based cookbook, an excellent one by a home based cook and she runs a blog.
https://thelemonapron.com where she says she has rustic, indulgent, healthy home cooking.
This is my kind of approach. There are a couple of recipes I really want to make.
Mom's chicken and rice
manchego and black pepper gourgères

Salad Pizze Wine (2023) library



copied a polenta orange cake that looks yummy!

Noon Simple Recipes for Scrumptious Midday Meals and More (2023) library



All made with fresh delicious food ideas. Could be extended to dinner ideas too.

Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman (2019) library



I made the Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread and they were FABULOUS! p. 261

Scandinavian from Scratch A Love Letter to the Baking of Denmark, Norway and Sweden by Nichole Accettola



This has some wonderful recipes that I will make especially the one on the cover from Denmark called hindbaersnitter (raspberry square) and coconut dream cake.

Across the Table: An Indulgent Look at Food in Canada by Cynthia Wine library p,211



I got this book from the library on Inter-Library loan. It is an old book published in 1985 and I think I might be the first person to have read it (almost cracking the cover). It came from the Okanagan University College Library. I requested it because of my love for Mary Pratt paintings. She was asked to contribute painting for this book and she agreed and it was the first time she used watercolour paints. The paintings are fabulous and there are many throughout the book all quite personal and beautiful. The book is divided into regions with an explanation of the food culture and specialites of each and then some recipes follow. So almost 40 years old it is dated and feels like a wander through some food history and some lovely times.

>19 mdoris: >20 mdoris: Those both look interesting. I need to visit the cooking section in my library when I'm stitching there Tuesday. I'm kind of in the mood for a flip-through of an interesting one. I've glanced at the ones in new books the last couple of trips and haven't been inspired. Perhaps the actual section will offer more interesting options.

>21 thornton37814: Hi Lori, I get so many cookbooks from the library and if I am watching tv I put the commercials on mute and flip away with the books. They are like eye candy and I get some inspiratations from them. Mostly I like dessert recipes. It is rare that I break down and buy a cookbook but the ones I have bought recently are by Dorie Greenspan. They are fabulous cookbooks.

>22 mdoris: I have far too many cookbooks and need to downsize the collection before I retire and move or before I die and leave the downsizing to the nieces and nephews. I'll put some I really want on a Christmas list, and they sometimes show up among my gifts. I'm getting pickier, and I will purchase an electronic cookbook now whereas I once felt the need for the print.

Hi Lori I too have too many cookbooks and I don't really use the ones I have (bad me!). I don't know anything about electronic cookbooks. I will have to investigate! How many would you "guessimate" that you have? What are your favs?

My favorite is probably a duplicate of a print one I own called Midwest Made. I found it really cheap on Amazon and picked it up for Kindle. I probably have 35 to 40, but a lot of them are cheap freebies. I'm just gradually adding better quality ones.

I am enjoying seeing the books you read.
On You Tube (no charge) I watch Glen and Friends where he cooks from old cookbooks.

>25 thornton37814: Hi Lori, Funny how the fav. cookbooks have nothing to do with $$, some of them quite quirky! There was a publication that produced cookbooks on a theme by a revered cook i.e. Butter (Short Stack) by Dorie Greenspan. I'm not sure how many of these books were published (maybe about 30?) but I could kick myself that I didn't buy some as now they are impossible to get or very $$! I would love to have the ones Butter, Lemon, Tomato, Buttermilk, Maple Syrup (and more). If you put Short Stack in the search box you will see how many of them there are but if you want to purchase some of these tiny books will be over $120. Wow.

>26 mnleona: Hi Leona. I see you are a great grand mother. That is fantastic! What is your fav. cookbook?

I am trying to figure out if I put in ALL the cookbooks I get from the library or just the ones I love. I got 6 last week from the library and many were not me! There was one I thought amazing though.



Dinner in French by Melissa Clark

An absolute fav. cookbook writer is Dorie Greenspan and I she has a forward for this book of Melissa Clark's and so I thought it would be good and it sure is. I will get more of Clark's cookbooks!

These are fabulous by Maida Heatter!



This one also had a foreward by Dorie Greenspan so caught my attention. There are no photos but the occasional drawing but very solid seeming recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, muffins brownies and cookies. Yum. My library has 2 more of her books so I will have a look at them. Just added 2 more and they are such great cookbooks with forwards by such established cooks.

>28 mdoris: I will get another great in August from another grandaughter. The baby is supposed to be born on August 11 but my son is hoping for August 14, his birthday. Thank you for such a nice comment.

I like to read cookbooks from organizations like the church cookbooks because they have some history of the area.

What do other members like to read?

>31 mnleona: Hi Leona, that is very exciting news, a new great grand-baby to be born in August.

I have 9 grandkids but no one close to baby production as yet. Grandkids are sprawled far and wide and no one close by sadly. We have 4 daughters and they are all leading very busy lives.

I am taking back a number of the Milk Street cookbooks to the library and every one is fabulous! There are zillions of them! Great every day recipes, not too complicated, with real ingredients and wonderful pictures to show the recipes.

>34 mdoris: I like them also.

This is from a restaurant in Freedom, Maine. The photos were stunning and recipes were fabulous and if I was anywhere close I would make reservations. It is my kind of place, rustic, in the woods and real food.

>36 mdoris: Sounds lovely.

Waffles from Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan



I am a big fan of Dorie Greenspan and as I have most of her cookbooks I wanted to have a peek at this one which was, I believe, her first published cookbook (1993) so I requested it on inter-library loan and it came today. It is all print and no pictures and full of ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner (broccoli/ricotta cheese) etc. I love waffles so this gave me some new ideas. I use cornmeal in waffles but have never used oats or buckwheat, so now I will!

In Mary's Kitchen by Mary Berg



She is a home cook and this is a gorgeous book packed full of amazing recipes.

I made Apple Cinnamon Biscuit Buns p. 31 and they were out of this world yummy! I used a bag of my frozen transparent apples to make them so a lot of prep was already done. i will make these many times in the future!