Recommended Reads: Cookbooks

Good Food -- New Cookbooks Available from the Perkins Library in 2011

Cookbooks are the most popular nonfiction category at libraries across the country. This trend is thought to be driven by the popularity of cooking shows, an increased interest in healthy diets, the availability of exotic foods and spice and the economy. More people are saving money by eating at home. The Perkins Library is keeping up with the trend by offering a number of new, popular cookbooks along with the more traditional favorites.

Recorded cassette (RC), digital book (DB), braille (BR), and large print (LT) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.

Almost from Scratch: Six Hundred Recipes for the New Convenience Cuisine by Andrew Schloss.
BR 18144
Hundreds of recipes using packaged food from the store as the convenient basis of gourmet meals. Gives advice on setting up a pantry and going shopping. Includes recipes for courses from appetizers to desserts as well as meatless and ethnic dishes. 2003.

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients by Ina Garten.
DB/RC 68509 (Available as a BARD download)
Bestselling cookbook author and television personality offers accessible recipes that pair ingredients to unlock the flavor of food and provide a great-smelling house when guests arrive. Covers cocktail hour drinks and appetizers, soups, lunch and dinner entrées, vegetables, desserts, and breakfast fare. Also provides tips for easy entertaining. Bestseller. 2008.

The Best of Cooking with Three Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall.
DB/RC 67815 (Available as a BARD download)
Recipes range from appetizers and beverages to soups, salads, vegetables, main dishes, breads, and desserts--each based on three economical ingredients and a short preparation time, although cooking and baking times vary. Includes holiday and special-occasion menus. 2002.

The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts: Decadent and Delicious Recipes Perfect for People with Diabetes by Jackie Mills.
DB 68533 (Available as a BARD download)
Dietitian offers suggestions for using the right types and amounts of sugar and fat to create a variety of satisfying desserts that stay within the carbohydrate and calorie targets of those living with diabetes. Includes recipes for cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, fruit dishes, frozen treats, and other sweet-tooth delicacies. 2007.

Bon Appetit Magazine
Available through cassette subscription or BARD download
In every issue you'll find time-saving and delicious recipes for everyday meals, tips and techniques for healthy cooking, menus for everything from casual get-togethers to more formal occasions, expert wine-advice and much more.

Cooking Light Magazine
Available as a braille subscription
Find quick and healthy recipes, nutrition tips, entertaining menus, and fitness guide to help you make smart choices for a healthy life-style.

Four-Ingredient Recipes for Thirty-Minute Meals: One Hundred Menus with Recipes, Short-Cuts, Grocery Lists by Barbara Jones.
DB/RC 68365 (Available as a BARD download)
Ideas for easy-to-prepare family meals. Each menu consists of four dishes made with four or fewer ingredients and includes a complete shopping list. Many groceries are precooked, packaged, frozen, or canned goods. Covers breakfast; soups and stews; chicken, beef, pork, and seafood dishes; grilled food; and sandwiches. 2004.

Homemade: How to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products Fast, Fresh, and More Naturally by Don Earnest.
DB/RC 67684, BR 18087, (Available as a BARD download)
Recipes for making more than seven hundred common food, household, and pet products. Offers tips on saving money and creating healthier, more natural items that replace store-bought pantry staples, toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food, and garden helpers. 2007.

Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer.
BR 17462, DB 64227 (BARD download only)
This seventy-fifth anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking is based on the popular 1975 edition and restores many of the original standards dropped from the 1997 edition. Includes recipes for salads, meats, and desserts, as well as sections on nutrition, entertaining, ingredients, and cooking methods. 2006.

The Kitchen Diva! The New African-American Kitchen by Angela Shelf Medearis.
DB/RC 68563 (Available as a BARD download)
PBS cooking-show host presents recipes inspired by her African American culinary heritage, including offerings from West Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, and the American South. Features dishes such as fried green tomatoes, jerk pork, and hoecakes. Provides historical commentary and a section on meals for people with diabetes. 2008.

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: One Hundred Seventy-five Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat by Martha Stewart.
BR 18679
Cupcakes--frosted, filled, or otherwise embellished--for any occasion. Includes recipes for blondies, Boston cream, chai-tea minis, German chocolate, lemon meringue, mint-filled, red velvet, snickerdoodle, and tiramisu as well as animal-shaped and allergen-free. Holiday selections include Halloween wicked witches and Easter bunnies. Provides tips on displaying and giving finished treats. Bestseller. 2009.

The Six O'clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families by Aviva Goldfarb.
DB/RC 68390 (Available as a BARD download)
Fifty-two weeks' worth of weekday main dishes for dinner, organized by season. Provides nutritional information, a staples list, suggestions for side dishes, and possibilities for snacks and school lunches. Includes entrees such as orange and lemon flounder as well as vegetarian dishes such as cheese quesadillas with lime pesto. 2006.