Showing posts with label Taste of Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taste of Home. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Review: Recipes Across America


About the Book:
Whether sinking your teeth into crispy Southern Fried Chicken, enjoying a Philly Cheese Steak or sampling a slice of Ozark Mountain Berry Pie, you simply can’t beat the comfort of iconic American foods. Now, it’s easier than ever to sample the flavors of the country with Taste of Home Recipes Across America.

This keepsake collection offers 655 recipes that deliver regional flair from all 50 states. Grill up a fiery Southwestern barbecue, stir together a little Texas Caviar, host a New England clam bake or share a Chicago deep dish pizza! You’ll find everything from no-fuss snacks and quick supper ideas to weekend menu items and impressive desserts…each of which left a delicious mark on its part of the country!

Divided into five regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest and West), Recipes Across America offers all the mouthwatering specialties enjoyed by locals, including unforgettable dishes featuring regional produce. You’ll even discover ethnic favorites passed-down through generations of cultures who established roots in various cities throughout the nation.

As a bonus, you’ll enjoy fun food facts and folklore sprinkled throughout the pages. (For example, did you know that Chef George Crum of Saratoga, NY is rumored to have created the potato chip after a customer complained about the chef’s fried potatoes?) There are even colorful photos and notes regarding regional landmarks, infamous restaurants and more.

With so many recipes, photos and kitchen tidbits, Taste of Home Recipes Across America makes it a snap to take your senses on a culinary vacation you’ll cherish for years to come.

My Comments:
I'll be doing another post on this book showing the recipes we've tried and letting you know what we think about them.  This is strictly about the book itself, which is a winner.  It is hard-covered and stays open easily. The paper is nice quality and there is a color photograph to go with each recipe.  The recipes themselves are generally easy to make and use ingredients commonly found in the pantries of ordinary people and in your local grocery store.  

Each page has a feature called "dishing about food".  From those little boxes you learn such gems as the fact that blackberries grow wild in the Ozarks, that spaetzle dumplings are German dumplings which can be served with butter or caramelized onions and gravy or can be tossed into soup.  My maternal grandmother was a German-Russian and I found a German-Russian recipe for Runza, which appears to be like a homemade hot pocket.  It is on my list to try.  The book also contains numerous photos of buildings throughout the US along with a note describing them.  

I'd like to than FSB Media for making a review copy available.  Stay tuned to learn what I cooked and how we liked it.  Grade:  A. 

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Chewy Brownie Cookies from Taste of Home Best Loved Recipies

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a nice lady named  Leyane Jerejian who works for  FSB Associates  offered me a cookbook for review.  Upon receipt thereof, my assistant determined that Chewy Brownie Cookies would be our test recipe.  You can get the recipe on the Taste of Home Website.

After picking out the recipe, we had to make sure we had the ingredients.


After mixing up the good stuff...


She put the cookies on the sheet


They baked up pretty

And I think she liked them.



 My Comments:
Like other Taste of Home cookbooks, this is full of recipes made by real people rather than gourmet chefs.  Besides the usual chapters for Appetizers, Bread, Salad, Sides and more, this cookbook also has chapters for Celebrations and Holidays, Cooking for One or Two, Grand Prize Winners, Mealtime Express, Mom Made It Best, Potluck Picks and Our Contributor's Meals.  While photos do not accompany the recipes, the book has many pages of photographs of the recipes.  While the recipes for our cookies was on page 312, the photograph was on page 289, but each referenced the other.  

Most of the recipes use ingredients found in normal kitchens or available at normal grocery stores.  However, they run the gamut from Basil Buttered Beans (fresh green beans with spices, butter and fresh basil) to Armenian Okra (Okra with onion, dried apricots and tomato paste) and Savory Pumpkin Ravioli.  There is a German meal, a lasagna meal, and a classic Easter Feast featuring ham, broccoli vegetable salad, hot cross buns and strawberry satin pie.  I'm going to have fun with this cookbook.  Grade:  A

Info from the Publisher:
Taste of Home: Best Loved Recipes
1485 Favorites from the World's #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine
By Taste of Home
Published by Reader's Digest
Hardcover: 928 pages
September 13, 2012; $34.99 US/$39.95 CAN; 9780898219913
Description
What is Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes?
  • Taste of Home is America's connection to the personal recipes of people who cook at home as a way to bring family and friends together, particularly at the holidays.
  • This special collection includes more than 1,400 of the most requested, most beloved dishes, all submitted by Taste of Home readers
  • Each recipe has been evaluated and selected by Taste of Home, which ensures that it can be prepared with affordable everyday ingredients. 
  • Practical and proven tips to help every kind of cook enjoy perfect results every time 
  • Personal stories and memories from contributors are sprinkled throughout
Features
  • Prep/Cook Times
  • Top 100 favorite recipes marked with an icon
  • Everyday ingredients
  • Easy-to-follow directions
  • How-to photos and cooking tips
  • Personal stories
  • Ribbon marker
Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes at a Glance
26 chapters inspired by the most popular magazine features
  • Chapters include some of the most cherished magazine features from over the years including: Mom Made it Best, Our Favorite Contributor's Meals, Mealtime Express, Cooking for One or Two, Grand-Prize Winners, Potluck Picks
About Taste of Home
Taste of Home is America's connection to the personal recipes of people who cook at home as a way to bring family and friends together, particularly at the holidays. Each year, thousands of people from across the United States and Canada submit more than 40,000 recipes, of which 3,000 are published. Every recipe that is published is carefully evaluated and selected by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, which ensures that it can be prepared with affordable, everyday ingredients. Taste of Home content is available in print; online at Tasteofhome.com; in books; via digital download on iPad, mobile apps and Kindle; and Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Obtain a subscription www.TasteofHome.com or on your favorite digital download device.
For more information please visit http://www.TasteofHome.com, and follow on Facebook and Twitter

That from now until September 13th Best Loved Recipes is only available through the Taste of Home website:   http://www.tasteofhome.com/best-loved-recipes/cookbook?Keycode=BLC71VH04M

When you order from the Taste of Home website you'll get an exclusive Taste of Home Baking Guide Free and free shipping. 

Come September 13th it will be released to the trade and will be available on Amazon ( Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World's #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine)  Barnes and Noble and where books are sold.



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