LITTLE ROCK — Many of us are always on the lookout for quick, tasty recipes. For those looking to keep calories and fat under control while still offering delicious, nutritious meals, it doesn’t get much easier than Cooking Light, Complete Meals in Minutes from the editors of Cooking Light magazine (Oxmoor House, $29.95).
The thick, three-ring-binder, hardbound book includes more than 700 recipes that can be prepared in about 30 minutes.
With 10 chapters, including fish and shellfish, meatless main dishes, side dishes and desserts, the book includes a “kitchen companion” offering helpful information, such as metric equivalents and temperatures. Each recipe includes nutritional information and many have additional suggestions for shortcuts and ideas to get the meals on the table even faster.
David Joachim’s The Food Substitutions Bible ($24.95, Robert Rose) has been a staple in our kitchen since 2005, when the first edition was published.
With entries from abalone tozwieback (and everything in between), the tattered, spillstained tome has saved many a culinary creation with multiple substitution options for almost every ingredient imaginable.
So we were delighted when we learned there is an updated second edition of the book.
The new one includes an additional 1,500 suggestions and 50 recipes.
The suggestions include straightforward “if you don’t have it” recommendations and options for varying the flavor or reducing fat or calories without sacrificing flavor or texture. But the suggestions don’t stop at ingredients; the book also includes instructions for substituting cooking methods and techniques. For example, how to make popovers without a popover pan, how tocreate a makeshift steamer or cook “grilled” food under the broiler. In addition, the book includes ingredient guides with descriptions of the many varieties of vinegar, potatoes, apples, mushrooms, olives and even salt.
Food, Pages 34 on 10/27/2010