Kitchen Garden Experts by Cinead McTearnan

My rating: 3 of 5 spoons
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I don't really have a great space for gardening, but I like to try. I have been doing some container gardening this year, and love cooking with fresh produce that I have grown myself, so this book interested me very much. Twenty celebrated chefs and their head gardeners share information, tips and recipes.

There is good information throughout the book from each chef/gardener combo's "Kitchen Garden Secrets" to crop calendars, how to make your own garlic spray for pests and so much more. This book is set in the UK, so you have to take that into account when using the information. Some of it may not be entirely accurate for whatever zone you're in, but there's still plenty of good information in it. I really enjoyed reading it and gleaning usable tidbits.

The recipes are a mixed bag. There are simple recipes such as Ratatouille, Leeks Vinaigrette, Plum and Almond Flan (you HAVE to try this!) and the amazingly simple Fig, Mozzarella and Basil Salad as well as the pretentious Citrus-Vanilla-Cured Vinegar Trout (I'm sorry, but I couldn't even bring myself to try to make this it sounded so bad!), Whitby Lobster with Quail Eggs and Garden Beans and Gray Mullet, Broccolini & Pickled Nasturtium Seeds. Really?!? Pickled nasturtium seeds? I'm sure there are people who love that sort of thing, and if you are one of them, I highly recommend this book to you as it's filled with that sort of thing. This book is great for people who want some good gardening information with some recipes thrown in. For people who love food and love to cook but aren't trying to make grandiose, extravagant dishes to impress someone, this might not be the book for you.

I received a copy of this book from Quartos Publishing Group for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anniversary Dinner at The Peddler Steakhouse

My rating: 2 of 5 spoons
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My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary with a short getaway in Gatlinburg, TN (which, along with another trip for a family reunion, is why I haven't posted in a few weeks!).  We honeymooned there and hadn't been back since, so it seemed a good fit for a long weekend.  We rented a cabin for the weekend and planned to have a nice dinner Friday night to celebrate.  We were told by many people that we HAD to go to The Peddler.  They don't take reservations, but you can call ahead to lessen your wait time.  We called ahead and requested a table on the creek.  We arrived a little early (they don't start seating people until 5:00pm) and were seated quickly.  I found it interesting that the person that seated us walked past many nice creek-side tables to place us at one in the corner with probably the worst view of all the creek-side tables, but decided not to worry about it.  The wait staff were very nice, and arrived to take our order quickly.  One man takes all the orders, and he shows up at your table with a slab of rib-eye and a slab of NT strip steak that he will cut to order, or you can order off the menu.  We were told to go hungry and expect to take food home as there is a nice salad bar, and meal portions are very large.  I have been in the mood for seafood lately, so I ordered the combo plate with the Fresh Fried Trout and Stuffed Shrimp (hand battered fried shrimp stuffed with seasoned crab meat, covered with a creamy seafood sauce) and the Grilled Vegetable Skewer as a side.  My husband went with the combo plate with an 8-oz Rib-Eye Steak and the Stuffed Shrimp as well, with Sweet Potato Casserole as his side. 

The salad bar was very nice with mixed salad greens or iceberg lettuce (which was very nice as I don't care for iceberg lettuce and that is what is on your average salad bar) and quite the array of ingredients.  All your classics were there from carrots and tomatoes to chopped ham and boiled eggs, but they also included anchovies, smoked mussels, chickpeas, sprouts, etc.

When we returned to our table, they had brought bread to the table which was quite good.  We settled into our salads, but before long our entrees showed up.  Hmm.  That was not what I was expecting.  One small piece of trout and 3 shrimp when you're told to expect a LOT of food is somewhat disconcerting.  I was now very glad I had got a large salad, as I would need it to take care of my hunger pains!  The trout was--interesting.  The flavor was very uneven.  One bite would taste like it had NO seasoning--not even salt--and the next bite would be nice.  The crab stuffing was amazing!!  I could have just eaten a bowl of it and been satisfied!  The shrimp, however, was overcooked, so once you ate past the stuffed part, the upper area was on the rubbery side.  The grilled vegetables were completely bare and very bland.  If they'd had a little drizzle of olive oil and a touch of salt, they would have been greatly improved!

My husband's steak, while not cooked enough for me, was perfect for him, and the meat was amazingly tender!!  The sweet potato casserole was nothing special

Over all, the service to this point was good (though they mixed up our food putting my veggies on his plate and his sweet potatoes on mine), the food somewhat mixed and the atmosphere nice, but paying the bill started a mess.  We had a VISA gift card we wanted to use for part of it, and then put the rest on our debit card.  The card had nearly $70 on it, but our server said she could only get it to run through at $55.  Not a problem, we said we'd put the rest and the tip on our debit card.  I checked the card when we got home and saw that they'd put the $11.00 tip on the gift card as well, but when I checked our bank account, it showed just the remaining amount of the bill, so that was fine--or so we thought.  Nearly a week later my husband was doing a routine check of our bank account and saw that they put the tip on our debit card, too, giving themselves a $22 tip!!! 

If you're heading to Gatlinburg and want a great steak, this might be the place for you.  However, I was not impressed over all, and with the double tip, I don't expect to ever return.

Harvest Maine by Crystal Ward Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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A few years ago, my family & I were able to spend autumn in New England, and I fell in love with Maine. If I were given a choice of anywhere in the United States to live with nothing else to consider, I would choose Maine, so I could not wait to start this book. By the end of the second paragraph, I wanted to pack up and go! Now, this is not a cookbook, but more like a travel/history/science/food book. Yes, I actually said science. As a homeschool mom, I read chapter four, "Maine Outdoors" aloud to my kids as a science supplement one day and we looked up photos of the various trees, etc. For supper that night we had "Auntie's Baked Beans" and "Indian Pudding" for supper. My house smelled like autumn and just made me want to move to Maine even more!

Now, to the nitty gritty of the recipes themselves. As I said, this is not actually a cookbook and it shows. The baked bean recipe, for instance, doesn't tell you the quantity of beans or water to use, so if that's not something you've made before it might be an issue. I used a pound of beans and it made a good amount, but I had to add water at least once during cooking as the recipe just says to cover the beans with water and not to let them dry out during baking. The ingredients for the Indian Pudding are clearly spelled out, but it says to bake for 3 hours without telling you how to know if it's done. The author's note states that her oven cooks it in 2 1/2 hours, so to be on the safe side, I set my timer for 2 hours to check it. It's a good thing I did. Now granted, my oven is on the small side, but the pudding would have been way overdone if I'd waited another 30 minutes to an hour. I was really surprised that the one clam chowder recipe calls for cream of potato soup and cans of minced clams. I understand giving that alternative, but I'm pretty sure that's not how most people in Maine make clam chowder!

There are only about 14 recipes in this book, but most look good and are on my "to make" list. There are some nice color photos in the center of the book and some black and white photos scattered throughout.

Overall, I really love this book, but then I really love Maine! This book is a great read, and if you have some experience cooking, you really ought to try some of these recipes! I probably wouldn't recommend it for novice cooks as there's a little too much instinctive cooking here, but I highly recommend it for Maine lovers everywhere!

I received a copy of this book from The History Press for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Under the Shade of Olive Trees by Merijn Tol

My rating: 3 of 5 spoons
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The title is what first drew me to this book. Doesn't it make you want to pack you bags and go exploring other countries?! I couldn't wait to start cooking! Unfortunately, that's where I ran into problems. Many of the recipes in this book contain ingredients that aren't easily obtained--at least not where I'm at. Many of these ingredients I'd never even heard of! Freekeh, special lamb sausages, "grains of paradise", "gum mastic pieces or meska horra"...the list goes on. I finally settled on making "Our Own Arabian Flatbread" using the pita roll instructions. I love flatbread, and have made various kinds over the years. I was not impressed with this one. The recipe called for too little water, but that was easily fixed. I cooked them on my pizza stone as directed at the proper temperature, and they just didn't cook well. It said cook two minutes until they bulge and turn light brown. It took 5-7 minutes for them to brown, and then they were either too chewy, or too brittle. I've made pita bread many times with great results, but I never could get a single, decent pita from this recipe. Very disappointing!

I really wanted to love this book and cook many, many recipes. Unfortunately, there just aren't that many recipes that are a good fit for my family, and my desire to try them dropped dramatically after the poor outcome of what should have been one of the simplest recipes in the book.

On the plus side, there's some great information in this book (though the "Basic Arabian Glossary is a joke with only seven words!), including "How to enjoy an effortless festive Arabic meal at home" "Music to accompany a wonderful Arabian dinner party", Arabia menus, listings for grocery stores (both physical and online) and more. This could be a great book for people with access to Arabic ingredients, and love for Arabian food, it just wasn't a good fit for me.

I received a copy of this book from Abrams books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons
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This cookbook arrived at the perfect time! I had taken a bag of chicken leg quarters out of the freezer and thawed them in my refrigerator, but I had no idea how I was going to cook them. As I sat down and started flipping, I came across "Poulet a la Moutarde" (Chicken with Mustard). It looked so scrumptious, and I had everything I needed--it was meant to be! I have to admit, it took a little longer to make than I expected, so supper was a little later than normal, but it was worth every minute. All four of my girls LOVED it--and that's saying a lot! They'll eat what is put in front of them, but for ALL of them to love it makes it a keeper.

Next I moved on to "Naan au Frommage". I didn't have the Laughing Cow cheese, so I just omitted that and made the straight Naan bread. The dough was a joy to work with, which was great as I don't have a stand mixer. It cooks quickly and has a wonderful flavor, even without the cheese! It's nice and soft as well, not chewy at all. Another huge hit with my girls!

Oh, my! "Cherry Tomato Crostini with Homemade Herbed Goat Cheese", classic "French Onion Soup", "Chicken Pot Parmentier", "Butternut Squash Crumble", "French Cheesecake"...I could cook from this book for a long time!

This book is filled with more than great recipes, though those abound. Interesting facts and anecdotes abound. I was particularly interested in his bit on salted butter vs unsalted butter. I don't enjoy unsalted butter on my bread, but with butter prices, I can't afford to buy both. Therefore, when I bake I typically use salted butter even when it calls for unsalted. I've never had a problem with how any of it turned out, but always felt a little guilty, like I was breaking some huge rule. It was great to read that some of the top chefs are now using salted butter, at least in some things.

I really love this cookbook. It overflows with great recipes, information, gorgeous photos and an obvious love for good food.  It's been a little while since I've given a cookbook my highest rating, but this one definitely earns it. I highly recommend this not only to those who love (or are learning about) French food, but to food lovers everywhere.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

National Trust Complete Country Cookbook by Laura Mason

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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This is not my first "National Trust" cookbook. I loved "Simply Baking", and couldn't wait to get into this one. I was not disappointed. This is classic British food. From the simplicity of a "Welsh Rarebit" to a classic "Roast Goose with Sage and Onion" (on my list for Christmas this year!) and from a simple "Light Sponge Cake" to the quintessential "Staffordshire Fruitcake", this cookbook is perfect for Anglophiles. The sponge cake is easy, but the flavor is amazing. A little tip, though. When they tell you to grease and line the cake tin, line it!! I tried the old faithful grease and flour the pan, and it didn't want to come out of the pan. Ah, well. That's an easy fix--just cut it up and whip up a trifle! Speaking of which, I was a little surprised that this cookbook lacked a trifle recipe.

"Cornish Pasties" are a favorite with my girls. I know she says not to use minced beef instead of steak, but I used what I had and they're still great. "Champ", the classic Irish comfort food--mashed potatoes with buttermilk and chives--is so easy, but so delicious.

If you are looking for quick, easy recipes with only common American ingredients, this might not be the book for you. If you love British food, or just want to expand your horizons a bit, I highly recommend this cookbook.

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.