Pasta by Hand by Jenn Louis

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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This book is more about dumplings than "pasta" per se, but is still a great book--especially for beginners. The dumpling recipes are divided by area (I was very disappointed to see Sicily completely left out!), and then followed by sauce recipes. There is a nice variety of pastas and sauces; enough to keep you busy for some time to come! Try the Gnocchi alla Romana, Potato Trofie with Pesto or Spatzli with Sage and Speck. Mix it up or go traditional--there's something for everyone.

Invite some friends over, make some pasta together and enjoy the food and fellowship. Mangia!

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

The Land Where Lemons Grow by Helena Attlee

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I realize that this is not a book everyone is going to fall in love with. It is, however, a very fascinating book for me. I fell in love with the citrus in Sicily and this book pulled me in from the beginning. There is a great combination of story, humor, history and even a few recipes to keep you interested. There are a few places that move a little slowly, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable to read about the bizarre varieties of lemons in ancient gardens (which brought to mind the lemons we had in Sicily that the pith was the most delicious part!) and the history of citrus throughout Italy. I'm impressed that the author could take such a tiny point of interest and turn it into a fascinating book. Well done!

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

Flavor Flours by Alice Medrich

My rating: 2 of 5 spoons
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I love cooking healthy for my family, though I acknowledge that I don't do it as often as I should. I do try to stay away from refined, white flours so was looking for recipes using different, healthier flours. We are not gluten intolerant nor do I try to cook gluten free, so I was not looking for recipes that mix multiple flours to mimic wheat, but rather tasty recipes using healthier flours. I was very disappointed, therefore, when I realized as I browsed through this book that what seemed to me to be the majority of the recipes lean on white rice flour. Maybe it's just me, but there's not exactly a lot of nutrients in white rice flour. White rice has been bleached and pretty much everything good about it is gone, so it stands to reason that white rice flour isn't going to have much good going for it.

I love the idea of this cookbook. I would love to learn to cook with other flours such as sorghum, buckwheat and more, but it feels like cheating if in your section on sorghum, for instance, you call for 1/4 c of sorghum flour and 1 c of white rice flour or a scant 1/2 c sorghum and 1 1/3 c rice. The same thing happens over and over in all of the sections (each flour or flour family has its own section). There are some delicious looking recipes in this book, but I probably won't be cooking out of it much as to me I'll be healthier with wheat flour than white rice. I'm sorry, but this book just didn't work for me.

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

The Cafe Spice Cookbook by Hari Nayak

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons
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I thoroughly enjoy Indian food, though I don't make it very often partly due to the length of time so many of the recipes take. I love this collection of delectable Indian dishes that are also easy to make in a relatively short period of time. A lovely, fragrant Lentil and Spinach Soup can be ready in as little as 45 minutes, South Indian Cabbage Slaw in 15, Milk Dumplings in Saffron Syrup (a favorite of mine!) in just 40 minutes. Now, in the age of instant everything, those may not sound like fast meals, but for an authentic, home-made Indian dish it's really good.

There is such a lovely assortment of dishes to cook here. Gorgeous color photos are scattered throughout for a significant number of the recipes. Be brave! Make your own spice mix (recipes are included) and choose a lovely Indian dish to make today.

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

Simply Ancient Grains by Maria Speck

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I recently fell in love with quinoa, so I was excited to learn new ways to cook it as well as new grains to love. I can't wait to try the Quinoa Salad with Roasted Red Beets, Blood Oranges and Pomegranate--I just have to wait for blood oranges to come back in season here!

There is a multitude of delectable recipes and interesting history in this lovely cookbook. It contains everything from Lemon Pancakes with Millet and Amaranth to Warm Wild Rice Salad with Herb-Roasted Mushrooms and Parmesan (oh, my!), Flemish Beef Stew with Caramelized Onions and Rye, Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Hazelnut Buckwheat Stuffing (yes, I love mushrooms!) and Kamut Shortbread with Hazelnuts. Find something fascinating to cook in any of the seven categories: Breakfast, Slow Mornings, Salads and Sides, Soups and Stews, Pasta, Simply Mains and Simple and Sweet.

I this book four out of five as there are multiple obscure and/or hard-to-find ingredients called for that make it more difficult to cook from this book. That is my only caveat with this book. Otherwise, I highly recommend it!

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

Chowderland by Brooke Dojny

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I dearly love a good bowl of chowder, so I was thrilled to get a copy of this book to review. There is a nice variety of chowders included and I enjoyed the book immensely. I have made the Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder and Classic Down East Haddock Chowder so far. The Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder only called for 1/2 t salt (plus more if needed). I know it says "more if needed", but that's way too little salt to even start with for a pot of chowder containing 1 1/4 lbs of potatoes plus the broccoli, cream, etc. I had to add salt 3 times to get it seasoned enough. I also added more cheese as you could barely taste the cheese the first time around even though I was using a good, sharp cheddar. The Down East Haddock Chowder was very enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to trying more of the chowders.

I was very surprised to find no recipes for making your own stock. In the beginning of the book she says "If possible, I call for a cooking method that incorporates broth-making as part of a chowder or seafood recipe", but most of the time she just calls for bottled clam juice and/or seafood broth. I would have loved to have had some good recipes for fish, shrimp, and or seafood broth made from scratch. I think it would have really added to the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be cooking from it again. I have several recipes marked already such as Clam Fritters, Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Tart along with more chowders.

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

Zing! By Gorji

My rating: 5 of 5 spoons
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I love Mediterranean food and this cookbook brings a bold, fresh taste of the Mediterranean into your kitchen. Scallops and Gazpacho Salad (Oh, my! Amazing!!), Salmon Creme in Portobello Mushroom Cap, Cucumber, Tomato & Shrimp and more dazzle your taste buds and bring you back for more. Yes, there are some ingredients that may be hard to find for some recipes and there are some that I will not ever make (I'm not really into lamb brains!), but there's more than enough in this cookbook for anyone to find something delicious to cook.

The cookbook starts with Flavor Building Blocks and Tips, Techniques & Notes before moving into the recipes. Following the recipes are Some Basics on cooking gnocchi, pasta, boiling rice and preparing grape leaves as well as a couple of pages on Gorji Gourmet Foods--what there is and where to buy.

This is a lovely cookbook full of gorgeous photos and delightful recipes. I am very happy to recommend it to others. I have never been to Chef Gorji's restaurant, and maybe someday I will get to Texas and have the privilege of tasting his cooking first hand, but for now I can make his dishes in the privacy of my own home,

I received a copy of this cookbook from Word Slinger Publicity for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.