Foodie Pick: Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking

Guy On Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking
by Guy Fieri and Ann Volkwein
William Morrow
2014
342 pages with index
ISBN: 9780062244710

Foodie fun for wannabe and gonna-be chefs! Rock star chef and megawatt personality Guy Fieri keeps it real and that's what viewers of Food Network love about him. His full on fun personality, wit, wisdom and Guy-isms: "off the hook," "that's money!" "That's the real deal," "off the chain," and a ga-zillion other ways to describe food keep viewers watching, young chefs dreaming, and the public hungry to buy his cookbooks.

Guy on Fire is sure to please even the most skeptical outdoor cooking enthusiast. Fieri loves to cook outside, but unlike the ordinary back yard griller, Guy throws extreme  tailgate bashes and participates in serious "que" contests. Everything he does, he does with passion and brilliance. Fieri includes a Master Tool and Equipment List which is comprised of everything any outdoor chef would need including a wine opener, cast iron Dutch oven, a  hatchet, basting brushes, and multiple cutting boards--different colors for each meat--and no wood boards (due to contamination of cooked and raw meats and wood contaminates easily).

Pages are lively and nearly  edible. "Guy's Straight-Up Burgers with a Pig Patty and Donkey Sauce" are sure to jump start taste buds--a burger made from bacon?! Sounds like heaven wrapped up in rainbows and glitter! Every recipe comes not only with ingredients and instructions, but Fieri adds helpful prep tips that will save time. Fieri adds a brief  note to most recipes or tells a funny "Guy"  story--fans of his will find this cookbook a great addition to their kitchen.

Tailgating used to mean ingesting overcooked  brats, boring  hot dogs and soggy burgers, but not in Fieri's extreme tailgating world. It's go big or go home. Who knew Bacon-Wrapped Scallops Glazed with Maple Butter was even a possibility in a parking lot? Fieri lists supplies needed for a successful tailgating event: trash bags, paper towels, wet towels, two ice chests--one for food and drink and the other just for clean ice. How many tailgaters out there put this much thought into an ice chest just for ice?

Photos of recipes are always expected in a successful  cookbook, but Fieri also includes family photos of backyard BBQs and parties, tailgates and contests. Illustrations by Joe Leonard capture the fun mood and party vibe.

Guy on Fire make the perfect gift for that cookbook collector or foodie fan. Anyone who loves to grill, camp or tailgate would like this book as a gift.

Highly recommended for cooking fans of all ages.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Sweet Tween Pick: Frosting and Friendship

Frosting and Friendship
by Lisa Schroeder
Aladdin
2013
216 pages
ISBN: 9781442473966

Frothy, friendly, feminine and flirty, Frosting and Friendship is a fun read for tweens who love adventures in food!


Lily joins a mother-daughter book club with her mom and is excited until...she realizes that the host of each month's  meeting has a bake a beautiful culinary confection. Lily is so doomed! Her baking disasters have haunted her for years. She considers herself a zero when it comes to baking and wishes that the other girls would allow the hostess to simply buy a dessert from the store or local bakery. The other girls are emphatic: the dessert must be home-made. Lily has only two months to learn how to bake and the bar is set for high standards.

Lily's mom assures her that two months is a long time, and they can figure this baking thing out together. Lily is still not sure and spends her time practicing with her garage band. When the school announces that it's having its Spring Fling, the band is excited to try out for it. Lily is torn between spending time with her band mates and practicing or learning to  bake something over the top in order to wow The Baking Bookworms.

Those two endeavors  would be enough for any tween to balance, but then Lily agrees to help plan and host a surprise  birthday party for her friend Sophie.  Being pulled in three different directions is not pleasant and something has got  to give.

Each short chapter is has a cute title: "Music Lovers Cupcakes: A Perfect Harmony of Chocolate and Vanilla" and "Lollipops : Happiness on a Stick." This is a quick read and should appeal to girls, reluctant readers and "Koodies"--kids who are foodies.

For a sweet, sweet time reading, Frosting and Friendship takes the cake (yes, pun intended). Fans of Schroeder's culinary themed  books It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets will like Frosting and Friendship.

Recommended grade 5 and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Foodie/Koodie Pick: So, You Want To Be a Chef? How To Get Started in the World of Culinary Arts

So, You Want To Be a Chef?
by Jane Bedell
Beyond Words/Aladdin
2013
224 pages

Entertaining, noteworthy, informative, and just plain fun, So You Want To Be a Chef? is a must have for anyone with a passion for food.

Foodies and Koodies(kids with a culinary flair) everywhere will be clamoring to get this book. Filled with advice, this little gem tells passionate young cooks/chefs/koodies all the information they will need to decide on a future in the culinary industry. Cooks will need to have a passion for cooking, good management skills and "...an artist's eye is required" in this industry.

Bedell lists 25 Places Where Culinary Professionals Work including: airlines, hotels, hospitals, spas, resorts, and military bases. Young bloggers and writers offer their insight, too. Thirteen year old Dominick Cura, owner of the website Eternally Gluten Free and writer of a cookbook was first diagnosed with Celiac disease when she was nine years old. She turned around and focused on making good food that wouldn't make her sick and helping others like her. Michael Prados, age 12, is a food blogger and attended the first White House Kids' State Dinner.

The book includes fun, little-known facts about food: did you know that almonds, cashews and pistachios are not nuts, they are really seeds? Did you know that the tomato is defined in botany as a berry?

Recipes are included as well. There is a delightful recipe for an easy potato soup. The five "mother" sauces are covered, too. Any chef (or cook) will have to master: Hollandaise, Veloute, Tomato, Bechemel and Espagnole to command a kitchen.

A goldmine of information is found in "Resources for Chefs and Cooks," cooking terms are defined in the glossary, helpful cooking websites and a bibliography of articles and books will keep young culinary wanna-bes busy for a long time.

If you know a young foodie (Koodie), you will want her/him to read this book. Young cooks everywhere are using You Tube to deliver cooking how-to videos to their followers. Sharing sites are making it possible for young koodies to start their careers as children.

Highly, highly recommended age 8-up. This is a must-have.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Beach Read Pick: When In Doubt, Add Butter

When In Doubt, Add Butter
by Beth Harbison
St. Martin’s Press
2012
338 pages

Wonderfully delicious, seductively decadent, and fantastically scintillating, When In Doubt, Add Butter is Beth Harbison at her comic best. This is the perfect beach read for women who have a passion for romance and food! For all of us who have thought about following our dreams for a career path, Gemma is our unlikely hero. Just when she's given up on romance, love heroically finds her.

Gemma is a private chef for a handful of wealthy New York clients. Her cooking style varies according to each client's weird food issues. From the mother who seems to be "allergic" to everything that tastes good to a scary and private Russian mob don, Gemma seeks to please each palate. One of her favorite clients is Mr. Tuesday, a shadowy figure she's never met but she visits his apartment every Tuesday and cooks a meal for him, which she leaves in the refrigerator with notes on how to prepare everything.

Life is not easy when you're trying to please everyone. When relationships falter and marriages crumble, Gemma's jobs start to disappear. What will she do if she can't pick up more work? At age 37 with no savings account and no other training, Gemma's in a fix.

A strange card reading tells her fortune and Gemma learns the man she's been searching for has been right there all along. Gemma realizes that When In Doubt, Add Butter is in reality her life mantra.

Highly, highly recommended and addictive for anyone who loves a breezy, romantic read. Grades 9-up. Sex, mature themes.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Penzeys--the Spice Company With a Heart

On my recent trip to Houston for the Texas Library Association conference, I visited Penzeys (spice store) on W. 19th Street. We don't have a Penzeys where I live, so usually I order from their catalog by phone or online. Each year, when I attend conference in other Texas cities, I find a Penzeys location.

I knew what I was looking for since I had checked out the catalog before my trip: Pasta Sprinkle, Chili Pequin--very HOT and dangerous, French Thyme, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Saffron, and their newest sensation: Raspberry Enlightenment. I left with two cute Penzeys bags.

For the flight home, I put the two bags in a larger carry-on tote so that no spice jars would get broken. At security, my bag was stopped at the xray. The TSA officer asked to check the contents of the bag. After pulling out each jar and bag, she came over to me and was very nice, saying," I'm sorry, Ma'am, everything is okay except this one."

My Raspberry Enlightenment! I had forgotten the fact that its texture is considered a liquid and not allowed on the airline. She said I could take it back downstairs and put it in my checked bags but it was too far and too much of a hassle. I told her just keep it and enjoy! Then, I found out that they have to throw everything into the trash! My beautiful, unopened Raspberry Enlightenment would end up in the trash bin!

When I returned home and settled in, I phoned Penzeys and retold my sad story of the TSA and my poor Raspberry Enlightenment. Penzeys sent a brand new jar with an added spice just for fun and overnighted it! All at no cost to me! If you love to cook or know someone who loves spices, visit Penzeys site.


Here's the two bottles Penzeys shipped to me

and the nice note from the customer rep who sent it right out to me!

It's nice to know that an American company still has a heart for its repeat customers. If you don't know about Penzeys, visit their site and ask for a catalog. I guarantee you'll be a customer, too!

Feed your soul,
Pamela

Foodie Pick: Man With a Pan

Man With a Pan
edited by John Donohue
Algonquin
2011
326 pages

This is a great gift for upcoming Father's Day or any man's/boy's birthday:

Humorous, touching, quirky, and comforting, Man With a Pan is a satisfying collection of twenty-one famous authors' and cooks' stories of their own cooking adventures for their families. Throw in Mario Batali and season well with some spicy Stephen King and you have a great simmering pot of literary and culinary "tales of fathers who cook for their families."

I truly enjoyed reading tales of woe and tales of human kindness. From Sean Wilsey, living in NYC when the World Trade Center was hit on 9/11, he says, "the first thing I did was boil a pot of pasta. I made ravioli at ten thirty in the morning....and began to grasp what was happening." Pasta, it seems, helps in a crisis, even one as huge as that horrific event in American history. Each father/cook shares his favorite recipes and what's on his culinary bookshelf as well. Foodies will be sure to devour their stories and want to try their hand at some of the recipes. An interesting recipe that sounds delicious from Wilsey is "Pistachio Pesto" which I wouldn't even consider a pesto since there's no basil. He substitutes Bottarga di muggine which is gray mullet roe available on the web or in Italian specialty stores.

From Daniel Moultroup, recipes include an easy recipe for pickles and how to can fresh tomato sauce; from Christopher Little--a delicious sounding Low Country Boil featuring sausage, crawfish, shrimp and beer. Stephen King gives directions on the proper care of cooking an omelet with only a few expletives and how to prepare fish in the microwave, yes...the microwave, and a wonderful recipe for chocolate cake he calls "Pretty Good Cake."

More than one father/cook stresses the importance of getting the kids to help prepare the meal, whatever it is. This helps them take ownership and they are more likely to try what's on the menu if they help in the prep. Mario Batali tells readers not to make any new ingredient a big production. Simply prepare it and put it on the table. If the kids ask what it is, you simply say, "pesto" or "cardoons." A cardoon is a little like an artichoke in appearance or a tall stalk of celery and Batali swears they are great sauteed and then hit with a bunch of fontina cheese. I mean, what isn't delicious with fontina?

Teens who love food and have an apetite for culinary adventure are sure to be fans of Man With a Pan. With more and more fathers involved in child-rearing and cooking, more boys may pursue careers in kitchens around the world. The Food Network has made cooking cool, and chefs like Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay--wildly popular chefs with restaurants and cookbooks and huge empires making serious bank--have teen fans--many of them male--who are watching and learning.

Highly, highly recommended grade 8-up. One or two mentions of sex but no details. Some language--especially Stephen King--you gotta love him.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen

Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen
by Donia Bijan
Algonquin
2011
272 pages

Available September 20, 2011

Heartfelt, deep, moving, and full of warmth, Maman's Homesick Pie is a serious find for book lovers and foodies of all ages. Donia Bijan is today a well-respected American chef who has worked in kitchens all over France and San Francisco before opening her own world-renowned bistro. But where did this culinary dynamo come from? Who influenced her to seek a career in a field that was so closed off to women and who encouraged her to seek a spot at Paris's famed Cordan Bleu under the tutelege of Madame Brassart, the dragon master chef who taught none other than American food icon Julia Child?

Luckily, Bijan was brought up by a strong Iranian mother and father. Her mother had a voice in government in Iran during the reign of the Shah, but after his fall in 1978 and with the infiltration of militant religious sects, Bijan's entire family is forced to flee Iran, never to return for fear of death. On a holiday in Majorca, Bijan's family listens to reports of increasing violence and bloodshed at home,and after receiving a harrowing late night call from their uncle, they realize that they cannot go back home. The family gets visas and travels to the San Francisco Bay area where other relatives have already settled.

Bijan's mother easily fits into the California lifestyle in no time. Having attended boarding school in England as a girl, she speaks fluent English and has a nursing degree. It's not long before she has a full-time job at a hospital and soon she's picking up extra hours to help fund Donia's education in France. While her mother assimiliates easily, Bijan's father finds America a horrible place. He can't practice medicine because he can't get over the language barrier, so he can't pass the medical boards. He becomes increasingly depressed and irritated, blaming everything bad on his wife and his daughter. He longs for his homeland where he was a respected doctor with his own hospital. Eventually, he returns to Iran and his beloved hospital without his family.

Donia escapes to Paris to learn to cook the French way. She is charmed by spices and has been in love with food since a young age. Her mother, besides being a nurse and raising a family, made aromatic dishes like Fava Bean Omelet, Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken and Eggplant, and Quince Marmalade. Donia still remembers the scents of Persian cooking from her mother's kitchen in Iran: the saffron, cardamom, tarragon, shallots, poppy seeds, Persian figs, pomegranates, and clementines.

This novel is, above all, a love story. It is the story of a mother's love and undying, unwavering faith in her daughter. Because her mother loved her and pushed her, Donia Bijan excelled in the culinary world and fulfilled her dreams. When her father thought cooking was a terrible fate for his daughter, her mother saw how much it meant to Donia. Her mother never made light of cooking as a career and respected her daughter's life choice. It is the love a mother gives that forever influences the life of her child.

Maman's Homesick Pie is a beautiful tribute to Donia's mother and her Persian recipes. Each chapter is followed by one or two prized recipes from Bijan's mother or from Bijan's culinary days in Paris and San Francisco. The food dances off the pages and readers will savor the flavors and textures of the dishes as described by Donia. This novel makes me want to try all kinds of exotic fare.

A delightful book that will stay with readers. Food lovers, cooks, and wannabe cooks will love this book. Book clubs are likely to choose this as a great read this fall. Put this one on your list. Young foodies ages 12 and up will likely fall for this book as well.

Recommended for adults and younger foodies. Teens who love "Master Chef" and "The Next Food Network Star" will probably love this book and learn a lot about cooking by reading it. This is a great book club novel.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not received any monetary compensation for this review.

Middle School Pick

Killer Pizza

by Greg Taylor

Scholastic, 2009.

341 pages

Any book that evokes R. L. Stine and Darren Shan, is a book that will appeal to middle school reluctant readers. If they love monsters, pizza, and action, this first novel by Greg Taylor is for them.

Toby McGill is not looking forward to a long and boring summer vacation. More than anything he would like a summer job to break the monotony. He is excited to learn that the manager from a local pizza delivery shop wants to hire him. Toby is soon the best cook at Killer Pizza. What he doesn't know is that pizza delivery is only a "front" for what really goes on there.

Killer Pizza is actually a chain of monster killing shops; they seek out guttata--somewhat human and something like a giant bear--to destroy. Toby is picked for an elite team of monster patrol along with Annabel--a cute and super-smart classmate and Strobe, an angry and defiant rebel.

Together they patrol the streets of Hidden Hills, Ohio--just an ordinary town except for the presence of monsters. As Toby hones his skills as an operative, he also gains experience in the kitchen and realizes that his dream to become a chef is attainable.

Mixing pizza with monsters is a great idea. Two things that kids love. What else could they want?

Recommended grades 5-9.