I'm finding that a lot of my current reading deals with either travel or food. Not atlasa and cookbooks, although I do enjoy both, but nonfiction first person accounts.

Some recent fun reads were:
'Many Beautiful Things: Stories & Recipes from Polizzi Generosa' - a memoir of travel and cooking by author Vincent Schiavelli

'The Seasoning of a Chef' by Douglas Psaltis, who grew up close to my own childhood home and how he rose through the levels to become a chef

'A Year in the World' by Frances Mayes. Actually, start out with her first two, which are wonderfully loving looks at Italy and her and her husband's attempts to turn a fallen down wreck of a house into a home they live in half the year. Food, far off places, people all wonderfully rendered with great joy.

Have you read any food or travel oriented books in recent times? I'm always hunting for a few and would love to know of any reccomendations!

I read “Saving Dinner” by Leanne Ely recently. Can’t really recommend it – I tried three recipes and . . . while they weren’t “bad” recipes, they did not impress my family and I won’t be making them again.

But, I did like some of her time-saving tips and healthy alternatives. The cookbook is nicely arranged by season for those of us who live in colder climates and want soup in the winter and cold dishes in the summer.


I also recently read Disney on a Dime by Chris Carlson. After reading tips like “buy the double burger at this restaurant and order a second bun for 60 cents, transfer one hamburger patty to the second bun, load with the free condiments, and you have two burgers for nearly half the cost” I decided that I didn’t want to be that frugal and returned the book to the library. Also, they repeatedly tell you the Disney parks do not want you to bring in coolers of your own food and beverages but go ahead and do it – they have never been turned away. I don’t mind toting a few granola bars in my purse for snacks at the parks but I draw the line at a lot of their frugal ideas :-)

Nytetiger – your book selections sound much more interesting than mine!

quote:

Originally posted by ChapterChaser:
I read “Saving Dinner” by Leanne Ely recently. Can’t really recommend it – I tried three recipes and . . . while they weren’t “bad” recipes, they did not impress my family and I won’t be making them again.

But, I did like some of her time-saving tips and healthy alternatives. The cookbook is nicely arranged by season for those of us who live in colder climates and want soup in the winter and cold dishes in the summer.


I also recently read Disney on a Dime by Chris Carlson. After reading tips like “buy the double burger at this restaurant and order a second bun for 60 cents, transfer one hamburger patty to the second bun, load with the free condiments, and you have two burgers for nearly half the cost” I decided that I didn’t want to be that frugal and returned the book to the library. Also, they repeatedly tell you the Disney parks do not want you to bring in coolers of your own food and beverages but go ahead and do it – they have never been turned away. I don’t mind toting a few granola bars in my purse for snacks at the parks but I draw the line at a lot of their frugal ideas :-)

Nytetiger – your book selections sound much more interesting than mine!

The Disney book sounds like one of those who try a bit too hard; you know, trying to get you to save a dollar, but you end up having to work 5 dollars worth of effort into it. There are cheaper ways to travel; lovely books hafve been written about it that offer real ideas, and you can even visit Disney places and not be made of green, but it takes planning and the proper info ;D Me? I have always figured that if I am going to splurge, I just take the time, save the money and splurge. Most vacations are here at home... when I go somewhere, I want to build the memories that will be there and warm the nights when you feel deprived for whatever real or imaginary reason.

The cookbook sounds lively though; I will look for it. Have you seen the ones by Sandra Lee. OK, she's not perfect, but some of her ideas really did work; and were tasty and easy to make. I like her a lot better than many other 30 minute meal authors who swear their food is healthy, but seem to be making endless variations of food made with hotdogs (nitrates and way too much salt) or burgers (a good treat, but oh, the fat, and additives! -g-).

Paula Deen is another really wonderful chef who, yes, likes her food a bit on th fattening side, but is honest about it and lets you know from the top how 'good for you' the thing is.

I completely agree about vacations – when we go we like to splurge too!

I have seen the Paula Deen cookbooks, but have only thumbed through them at the bookstore. I’m not familiar with Sandra Lee so I will check out one of her books this summer. Have you used any of Rachel Ray’s cookbooks? I watched her Thanksgiving dinner in under an hour show and liked it. She is heavy-handed with the EVOO and cream but those items are easy enough to cut back. I have not tried any of her recipes yet but I like the concept of her show – dinner for the family on the table in 30 minutes (less time in the kitchen is more time to read!).

quote:

Originally posted by ChapterChaser:
I completely agree about vacations – when we go we like to splurge too!

I have seen the Paula Deen cookbooks, but have only thumbed through them at the bookstore. I’m not familiar with Sandra Lee so I will check out one of her books this summer. Have you used any of Rachel Ray’s cookbooks? I watched her Thanksgiving dinner in under an hour show and liked it. She is heavy-handed with the EVOO and cream but those items are easy enough to cut back. I have not tried any of her recipes yet but I like the concept of her show – dinner for the family on the table in 30 minutes (less time in the kitchen is more time to read!).

I really like Ms Ray's concepts, and even some of her early recipes; watching one night she made the most wonderful sounding 'fries' by quartering potatoes, rubbing with olive oil and sprinkling with herbs, then baking. Having the potatoes and the rest, I tried it and OH! They were phenominal; a meal in themselves.

WHat bothers me lately is her dependence on food that is unnaturally high in salt, or fat -- she's used olive oil to cook bacon (something I just do not understand, as even pancetta is fatty enough on it's own -g-) and seems to really be overworking the hamburger/hotdog and sundae for dessert theme.

I think, for me, I'd stick with earlier cookbooks by her. Like most concepts, the longer you try to do something (I think she has been on the air for more than 4 years, which is a loooong time for most cooking shows -g-) the less it works. ;D

But the basic idea of having your family sitting for dinner every night, even if only for an hour, eating non takeout? Oh, that is the best thing she, or anyone could hope to get people to do! My family ate together at least 6 days a week, and the sharing we all did made us a lot closer as a family.

OK, I know this is a non-fiction board, but since you are on the topic of food and cooking I'd like to recommend a good novel: COOKING FOR HARRY, by Kaye-Marie James. It's very funny and heart warming. The author's name is a pseudonym for a best selling author, but my book club couldn't agree on who it might be! If you read it, I'd love to hear your guesses.