366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of the best cookbooks I own (and I own a lot of them). Chesman starts out the book by going through everything you really need to know about legumes, rice and grains -- the different types, how each should be bought, stored and used, what each is good for, what each tastes and feels like in the mouth, etc. Her shopping and storing tips are worth the price of the book alone, but the recipes take it into the realm of the sublime. The book is well organized by broad chapter, e.g., beans, or rice & beans, with a clear listing of the recipes in each chapter and then the recipes themselves. Each recipe opens with a brief description of the dish or a positive feature about it and is then followed by a very clear list of ingredients and cooking instructions that are almost impossible to mess up. Chesman also gives nutritional content info including the overall protein, fat, sodium, and fiber of each dish, as well as the percentage of calories from fat. Most of the dishes are, or can very easily be, vegetarian, but she gives instructions on how to add meat and make certain dishes more traditional, such as adding salt pork to boston baked beans. She also gives alternatives such as turkey bacon for some dishes, so that the recipes can be adapted for vegans, non-vegan vegetarians, non red-meat eaters, etc. So far I have made Mediterranean White Bean Soup with Fennel, Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas, and Brown Rice and Lentils. All have been unbelievably great and really easy. The dishes freeze well so busy people can make a lot and freeze them in single-serving bowls, or have a party and feed a lot of friends or family without a lot of work.
This book has a lot of great ways to add vegetables and protein to one's diet and get a lot of flavor without a lot of fat. All cookbooks should be this great. I can't recommend it highly enough.

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Andrea Chesman presents 366 creative and flavorful "natural gourmet" recipes using a wide variety of beans and grains, like basmati and jasmine rice, adzuki beans, amaranth, and quinoa. Organized by course and main ingredient, these dishes range from light and lively starters to hearty and soul-satisfying foods that stick to your ribs but not to your waistline.American favorites are well represented here, but adventurous cooks will be pleased to find ethnic cuisines dominating this mouthwatering collection, including such recipes as: * Spicy Vegetable Couscous * Pesto Pasta with Cranberry Beans * Smoky Black Bean Burritos * Jamaican-Style Rice and PeasThis wonderful addition to our 366 Ways series features foods that are among the most versatile and healthful in the human diet, not to mention absolutely delicious. * Recipes are high in flavor, low in fat. * Each recipe includes a detailed nutritional analysis, which counts calories, fat, percentage of calories from fat, protein, fiber, sodium, and calcium. * Vegetarian dishes dominate the collection,but healthful variations include salmon, shrimp, and chicken.

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The Cornbread Gospels Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was given to me by my daughter because she has heard me talking about when my husband and I went on a trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and met Crescent Dragonwagon (as a consumer, not personally). Her restaurant did indeed serve wonderful food and the entire trip was a fantastic experience. I must confess, when I found out that this recipe book concentrated solely on cornbread I was skeptical about it holding my interest. I was wrong.
Let's get the negatives out of the way first:
1. There are no pictures of the finished dishes. I REALLY like pictures.
****EDIT 1/3/2010**** In fairness to Ms Dragonwagon I would like to point out that she added pictures of some of the finished recipes here on the Amazon book page. They are really good photos and will give you an idea of how some of the recipes will look after they are prepared. I'm still cooking up a storm from this book and I'm sure you will too if you decide to try it. Enjoy!****
2. With the exception of the cover, the entire book is black, white, and a kind of pumpkin/orangie color. Not very exciting visually.
3. It is my opinion that much too much emphasis was given to the differences between cornbread as made in the South and cornbread as made in the North. Why go to so much trouble? Just put in the recipes and let me decide if I want to try them.
4. After a while (by about page 100) I really wasn't paying very much attention to the huge amount of information regarding cornmeal and history. Too, too much information.
Now for the positives:
1. It is very obvious that this book was a labor of love for this author. She knows her cornmeal from top to bottom. She even states in the book that this project was six years in the making and I can certainly believe it.
2. Each recipe begins with an anecdote concerning where it came from, who gave it to her or how it evolved over the years. These were simply fascinating to read.
3. Each recipe has obviously been tried, used, and tried again by Ms Dragonwagon. Even within the instructions for the recipes she puts in little nuggets of information to help with preparation, cooking or presentation. I appreciated that and it made each recipe seem very warm and personal.
4. These recipes are GOOD! I have tried four so far and absolutely loved each one, my hubby on the other hand only liked two.
DAIRY HOLLOW HOUSE SKILLET SIZZLED CORNBREAD - The first words out of hubby's mouth were, "Does this cornbread have sugar in it?" He didn't like it, I liked it but will not add the sugar next time. We are firmly entrenched in the no-sweetener-in-cornbread camp. On cornbread, now that's a whole other story. I must confess to liking this but I'm more lenient in food basics than my sweet darlin'.
JANE'S TEXAS-via-VERMONT MEXICAN CORNBREAD - I invited two friends over to taste test this with me. (Thanks Bonnie and June for being willing to sacrifice in the name of research!) We LOVED this cornbread and so did hubby when he got home. I paired it with.....
UNCANNILY GOOD SANTA FE STYLE QUICK GREEN CHILE SOUP-STEW - The recipe says it serves 4 to 6 generously. No, make that 10 to 12 generously. It was a fabulous vegetarian bean soup which just took wings and flew when combined with the cornbread mentioned above. For non-vegetarian consumption I would add some shredded chicken or a nice grilled polska kielbasa sausage.
PATSY'S CORNBREAD SALAD - I have this recipe in a pamphlet/recipe book from Lodge Manufacturing (makers of cast iron cookware) and it has always been a favorite of mine (hubby doesn't like this no matter what I do to it!). The difference here is that Patsy developed the recipe over time and hers has a different dressing and believe you me, that dressing makes that salad completely scrumptious! I'll never use bottled dressing again.
I am impressed with this cookbook. Yes it may seem to have a rather narrow focus but it isn't just about cornbread, it is about cornMEAL. That ingredient can be combined with others to make some pretty wonderful dishes. I can imagine myself using this book over and over and over for years to come. If you don't already have a well seasoned cast iron skillet, invest in one. They are relatively inexpensive and come from the factory pre-seasoned now so you get to skip that step. The cast iron skillet makes that indescribably delicious crunchy/crispy crust which makes cornbread a food of the gods. With this book you will have recipes to try out for months, and that's just counting the cornbreads.

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"Cornbread? I LOVE cornbread!" For six years, that's the response Crescent Dragonwagon got when people asked her what she was writing about. Over time, she came to understand: Not only is hot, just baked cornbread delicious, it evokes—powerfully—the heart, soul, and taste of home.There is an abundance of satisfying cornbreads, as Crescent discovered when she followed the cornbread trail from the Appalachians to the Rockies to the Green Mountains. Traveling to family reunions, potlucks, tortilleras, stone-grinding mills, and the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, she heard the stories, tasted the breads, learned the secrets. Join her in this overflowing cornucopia: over 200 irresistible recipes for cornbreads, muffins, fritters, pancakes, and go-withs. Cornbreads from below theMason-Dixon line (Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread, Truman Capote's Family's Alabama Cornbread) meet those from above (Durgin-Park Boston Cornbread, Vermont Maple-Sweetened Cornbread). Southwestern offerings—Chou-Chou's Dallas Hot Stuff Cornbread, delectable homemade tamales, and tortillas from scratch—meet internationals like India's Makki Ki Roti. A Thanksgiving with Crescent's Sweet-Savory Cornbread Dressing is rapturous. Desserts like Very Lemony Gorgeous Cornmeal Pound Cake make any meal exceptional.Along with this, Crescent gives us the greens, the beans, the salads, stews, and soups that accompany cornbread to perfection. And she tells us the stories, too. Enthusiastic and heartfelt, this thoughtful, exuberant love song to America's favorite breadstuff and all that goes with it will embrace readers and cooks everywhere.

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