Review - 300 Sensational Soups By Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds

I received a copy of 300 Sensational Soups By Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds for review.  I live in Illinois, so it's basically soup season here...except for the funky warm weather we are having as I type this.  Not that soup isn't good year round, it's just that when it gets cold out, a nice piping hot bowl of soup warms your soul.

I love soup!  

Contents:

Introduction
Soup Stocks
Chilled Soups
Fresh From The Garden Vegetable Soups
Beans, Beans, and More Beans Soups
Cheese Please Soups
Hearty Soups For Meat Lovers
Chicken and Turkey Soups to Comfort the Soul
Go Fish:  Fish and Shellfish Soups
Chow Down Chowders
A World of Soups
Just Dessert Soups
Gilding the Lily:  Toppings and Garnishes

Here are just a few of the mouthwatering recipes:

Coconut Curried Chickpea Soup (page 124)
Beef Stroganoff and Noodle Soup (page 149)
Texas Cowboy Soup (162)
Easy Chipotle Chicken Soup (page 220)
Ground Beef Soup With Chili and Cornmeal Dumplings (page 161)
Taco Soup (page 160)
Lasagna Soup (page 146)
Mac and Cheese Soup With Bacon Croutons (140)
Mulligatawny (page 292)
Hot and Sour Soup (page 329)

About the authors:

Carla Snyder is an artisan baker, food writer and accomplished culinary instructor.  She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Meredith Deeds is a well-respected cooking instructor and food writer.  She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

300 Sensational Soups By Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobel.com and your local bookseller.

Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given the cookbook 300 Sensational Soups By Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review. 

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Review - Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence: Dinner Made Simple

I received a copy of  Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence: Dinner Made Simple to review.  "So many of us have the idea that whipping up a fabulous dinner during the week, but when it comes to putting the pan on the flame, we lose confidence.  Do I have the skills to pull this off?  Do I have the time:  The answer is 'yes' when you have Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence: Dinner Made Simple at your fingertips"

That is so true.

The cookbook has many photographs, and lots of tips and tricks, even a list of Basic Pantry Items to make everything simple.  This book is fabulous just for the Basic Pantry Items list!

Table of Contents:

1. Eat your vegetables.
2. A grain of truth.
3. Beans the miracle fruit.
4. Not your average chicken recipes.
5. Beyond fish sticks,
6. The meat of the matter.

Some of the delectable recipes included are:

Eggplant Parmigiana
Pepperoni Pizza Strata (kind of a savory bread pudding.)
Grain Filled Summer Bell Peppers
Tuscan Sausage Stew With Tomatoes and Cannellini  Beans
Green Curry Chicken With Thai Basil
Tuscan Pot Roast
Tortilla Soup With Pork Meatballs, Tortillas, & Cheddar
...and so many more.

One of the recipes that brought me back in time is Cheesy Spaghetti Pie.  My Grandmother cooked pasta for every holiday...enormous amounts of pasta, so she always had leftovers.  One day we were over there early while my Dad did some work around the house.  Grandma cooked up some spaghetti pie for us kids.  (Because if you're Italian, you know Grandma has to cook for you when you come over, doesn't matter what time you come over, she has to feed you. Manga!)  I am definitely going to make this for my son with Gluten Free Pasta (he has an allergy to Gluten).

About the author:

"Joanne is the host of her public television series Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence and has written 17 cookbooks, including James Beard award winning Weir Cooking in the City.  Joanne is the consulting Editor-at-Large for Fine Cooking and has contributed to Bon  Appetit, Saveur, Cooking Light, Food & Wine, Gourmet Sunset, and Better Homes & Gardens.  Joanne also teaches cooking classes in her home studio kitchen in San Francisco, hosts culinary journeys around the world, and is executive chef of Copita Restaurant in Sausalito, CA.  She has also just launched her own wine label - Joanne Weir's Wines."

Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence: Dinner Made Simple is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and your local bookseller. Fine Cooking.com currently has FREE SHIPPING & 25% off!

Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given the cookbook, Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence: Dinner Made Simple to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Sunday Stealing - The Not So Manly Meme

 Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme. Let's go!!!
 

Today we ripped off a blogger named CV Rick from the blog CVRick Ninja Writer. He states that he got it from Alan, via Mrs. Chili. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!


Don't let the title fool you, it is Gender Friendly. 

1. Boxers? Briefs? Boxer briefs? Thongs? Bikinis? Commando? Boxer briefs.

2. What’s your fussiest personal care routine?  Probably my hair.Today I'm sporting a faux-hawk, because that's what my hair wants to do today.  Lol!.

3. Do you have a favorite tool? Power or manual?  In the kitchen...definitely my KitchenAid Mixer.  Outside the kitchen, my sawzall.  I haven't used it often, but when I have used it, it was the perfect tool.

4. Can you change your own oil? Do you?  I could, I watched my Dad change his oil all the time.  I know how it's done, but I choose not to because I don't feel going through all that trouble is worth my time when Jiffy Lube can get er done in under 30 minutes and there is much less swearing.  Lol!

5. What’s the “manliest / 'womenliest” thing you do on a regular basis?  I have no idea.

6. What’s something “manly” that you never learned how to do?  I have no idea.  I've done many diy projects around the house that probably most men have never done.

7. Do you ever cry? If so, what’s your trigger?  Duh!  Sorrow.  Duh!

8. Do you have a chivalrous streak? How does it manifest itself?  I always open doors for other people.  I just think it's polite.

9. Do you have a chauvinistic streak? How does it manifest itself?  I don't think so.

10. What’s your favorite movie?  Casablanca

11. What’s the dumbest, testosterone-inspired thing you’ve ever seen?  Evil Knievel.  Nuf said.

12. What quality do you think makes a good man good? Do you have that quality?  Empathy.  Yes.

13. Toilet seat up or down?  Down.

14. If your significant other is away, do you cook for yourself or eat out of cans and boxes (or rely on local drive-throughs and delivery)?  I cook for myself, or have my kids cook.  They love to cook.

15. What societal expectation of being a man / women do you most resent?  Women...that we are delicate flowers.

16. What’s the best part - societal-wise - about being a man / women?  Never thought about it.

17. Will you stop to ask for directions?  Hell no!  I have a GPS and if I'm still stumped, if I'm alone, I will drive until I figure it out, or ask my gf to get directions.  Lol!

18. What’s one thing about your significant other that you just cannot understand, no matter how hard you try?  Can't think of anything.

19. What do you need to have in the shower?  Of course.  Daily!

20. Do you burp/fart/scratch? Do you do anything stereotypically male?  I don't care what anyone else says, everyone does it, women just try not to do it in front of anyone else.  Hell, if you have to pass gas and you try to suppress it...you'll esplode!

Thank you for playing this week on Sunday Stealing! Please leave a comment or link when you have posted. Stop back and visit other player’s posts. That is really what this is all about, making new friends! Have a great week. See you next Sunday!

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Cookbook Review: Taste Of Tremé - Creole, Cajun and Soul Food From New Orlean's Famous Neighborhood of Jazz, By Todd-Michael St. Pierre

I received a copy of Taste Of Treme - Creole, Cajun and Soul Food From New Orlean's Famous Neighborhood of Jazz, By  Todd-Michael St. Pierre.

Taste of Tremé captures all of the amazing Creole and Cajun flavors of Tremé, the culturally rich New Orleans neighborhood that was the birthplace of Jazz and is the subject of the critically acclaimed HBO show of the same name.

If you've been to New Orleans and are missing the flavors, you've got to get this cookbook. 

Creole Tomato Jambalaya (photo from Louisianaboy.com)

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Things You'll Need
Breaking The Past
Getting Da Taste Buds Goin'
Entreés
Desserts
Cocktails

You'll find mouthwatering recipes for Po' Boys, Muffulettas, Gumbos, Fried Catfish, Hushpuppies, Crab Nachos and more!

About the Author:

Todd-Michael St. Pierre, a Cajun and Creole foodie and New Orleans native, is the author of several popular cookbooks and children's books.  he has served as a judge for the Reading Rainbow young Writers and Illustrators Contest and has developed recipes for Cooking Light Magazine.  His boks have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Denver Post, and on AOL Food.  His is also a contributing writer to elementary and middle-school textbooks published by Oxford University Press.  For more, visit his website Louisianaboy.com.

Taste Of Treme - Creole, Cajun and Soul Food From New Orlean's Famous Neighborhood of Jazz, By  Todd-Michael St. Pierre is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, and your local bookseller.  It is also available on Kindle and The Nook.


Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given the cookbook Taste Of Treme - Creole, Cajun and Soul Food From New Orlean's Famous Neighborhood of Jazz, By  Todd-Michael St. Pierre to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Cookbook Review: "Modern Flavors Of Arabia - Recipes and Memories From My Middle Eastern Kitchen" By Suzanne Husseini

A while back I received a copy of Modern Flavors Of Arabia - Recipes and Memories From My Middle Eastern Kitchen By Suzanne Husseini.

I love Middle Eastern food, but in the area where I live, there just aren't any restaurants in the area.  This book solved my craving for all my favorites.  It offers the secrets of creating perfect falafel, shawarma, hummus, tabbouleh, spinach filled filo triangles, baklawa and so many more dishes I can't wait to try.  Just flipping through the book looking at the fabulous photographs will make your mouth water.

Recipes are arranged by Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert, and Mezze.  Mezze translated from Arabic means sharing.  Small plates, similar to Tapas.  There are also Conversion Charts, a dictionary of Arabic ingredients and tools.  The book is full of the author's stories and ideas about how to serve each dish.
The hummus and tabbouleh recipes were fantastic.  I can't wait to plan an entire meal.
 
From Amazon.com:

About the Author

Suzanne Husseini was the host of one of the most popular Arabic cooking shows in the Middle East. She is a regular contributor to several publications around the world and frequently travels internationally as a featured food presenter. Suzanne lives in Dubai and Ottawa with her husband and three children.

You can find Modern Flavors of Arabia at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and your local bookseller.  It is also available on Kindle.  This would make a great stocking stuffer for your favorite cook.
 
Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given the cookbook Modern Flavors of Arabia to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Feast

I had a very labor intensive menu this year, and since I did it virtually by myself, I had to pare it down as it got later and later, because I just didn't have the time, and I was fading fast.

This was the planned menu:

Pre-cooked Turkey courtesy of the local food pantry (sadly no giblets for the stuffing.)
Gluten Free Stuffing made with Udi's Gluten Free Bread
Mashed Potatoes courtesy of the local food pantry (lumpy, definitely not my Mom' Mashed Pototates
Lola's Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce (whole berry style.)
Lola's Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Lola's Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
Lola and Mom's Gluten Free Pineapple Cheesecake

The 2 items that got scratched were Lola's Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts because the stuffing was very time consuming.

Lola's Gluten Free Stuffing
3 loaves of Udi's Whole Grain Bread (that's all Meijer had, so I had to go with it.)
1 loaf of Udi's White Sandwich Bread (from my freezer)
Diced Onion
Diced Celery
2 large cans of Chicken Broth
Cooked and diced giblets (the turkey had none, so this year's stuffing was no meat and it was missed.)

As usual I skip the butter my Mom used to add to save on calories.  I also skipped the eggs that most stuffing recipes have, but I think next time I will use eggs because the stuffing was very dry and grainy.  I think the eggs will improve it greatly.

Lola's Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole
Progresso Vegetable Classics Cream of Mushroom Soup (Gluten Free)
2 pounds of frozen green beans
1 onion sliced and caramelized
Sprinkle of Crushed Tortilla (Gluten Free) (or crush your own corn tortillas)

Defrost the green beans, dump in a casserole dish or aluminum baking pan.  Dump in the entire can of Progesso Vegetable Classics Cream of Mushroom Soup (Gluten Free) (do not add anything, the soup is complete in the can.)
Mix.
Add carmelized onions (reserve part to add over the top of the casserole.
Spread the mix evenly in the casserole dish or pan.
Sprinkle reserved caramelized onion over the top.
Sprinkle Crushed Tortillas (Gluten Free) over the top for some crunchiness.

This turned out fantastic!  (I couldn't take a photo before everyone dug into it!)  The Caramelized Onion was my son's idea.  The Crushed Tortillas (Gluten Free) added just the right crunchiness missed by not having the Fried Onions.

Lola's Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
1 small can Libby's Pumpkin Pie
Honey Nut Gluten Free Chex Cereal (pulverize in your food processor or blender) About 3 cups worth after pulverizing.
Gluten Free Bisquick about 1 Cup.
2 tablespoons melted Butter
2 eggs

Mix ingredients together.  The dough should be slightly moist and clump together.  Press dough into 9 inch pie plate.  Press dough up the sides of the pie plate and even out the dough.  Prepare the filling according to the Libby's label and pour into pie plate.  If you have any excess dough and filling, grab a few ramekins and press dough into the bottom and add filling.  Bake according Libby's label instructions.  Be sure to use a pie ring to prevent the top of the crust from burning ( I forgot this part.)

Lola's Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie was a big hit.  The Gluten Free crust tasted cookie like and was the perfect match for the pumpkin filling.

Lola and Mom's Gluten Free Pineapple Cheesecake
1 Box of Jello No Bake Cheesecake Mix (remove the Graham Cracker crust packet and toss, or save for a recipe for the members of the family who are not allergic to gluten.)
Honey Nut Gluten Free Chex Cereal (pulverize in your food processor or blender) About 3 cups worth after pulverizing.
6-8 Tablespoons melted Butter
1 small can Crushed Pineapple (squeezed and drained.)

Mix the pulverized cereal with the melted butter and press into 9 inch pie plate.  (Just as you would have done, had you used the Graham Cracker Crust Packet).
Prepare Cheese cake filling according to package directions.
Add the drained Crushed Pineapple and mix to distribute evenly throughout the filling.
Pour filling into prepared pie plate.  Smooth out the top of the pie evenly.  Add whole Chex Cereal pieces on top for decoration if desired.

OMG!  Was this a hit!  Everyone loved this.  Just the right amount of pineapple, and just the right amount of sweetness in the crust.

I will be preparing Lola's Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese sometime over the weekend, and I'll put the recipe up then.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! 

If you have any Gluten Free recipes to share from your holiday, please put them in the Comments.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Sunday Stealing Social Meme

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme. Let's go!!!
Today we ripped off a blogger and one of our players named Kwizgiver  from the blog What if this is as good as it gets. It's 33 questions, we did edit it to make the right amount of questions. She states that she got it from Bev. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!

1. Where was your profile picture taken?  For facebook?  In my room in front of my computer, using the cybercam.

2. Name someone who made you laugh today.  My son always makes me laugh.

3. Do you believe exes can be friends?  Yes!  But not if the person in the new relationship is too insecure and jealous.  Unfortunately, speaking from experience.  This is how I lost my bff.

4. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?  I like it.

5. Who was the last person you took a picture of? Probably my son.  He's always goofing when I start taking pics with my phone.

6. Are you upset about anything?  Yes, money and lack of it for Christmas.
 
7. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Yes, always.  I've learned that people that come into our lives come into it for a reason, and I've always found this to be true.
 
8. Are you a bad influence?  Oh yeah!  I definitely can be!
 
9. Night out or night in?  It's been night in for as long as I can remember because we don't have the funds to go out.  Last weekend we had an opportunity to double date with friends of ours, but had to cancel because I had $700 in unexpected car expenses which really killed an already sad budget.
 
10. Has anyone ever called you perfect before? Hardly.

11. What song is stuck in your head? I don't really have one right now.

12. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?  A friend.

13. Do you think too much or too little?  I think way too much.

14. Ever been kissed under fireworks?  Oh yeah...cuz I'm cheesy like that.  Fireworks show, moonroof, gf sitting next to me in my SUV...fireworks!

15. When was the last time you cried really hard?  Earlier this week when my gf's Mom cancer was diagnosed.

16. What items could you not go without during the day?  Cellphone, SUV.

17. How do you feel about your life right now?  Sad...profoundly sad.

18. Name something you have to do tomorrow.  Go to work.

19. Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?  Noooo!  I'm already 51 and my kids are still teenagers.

20. Do you smile a lot?  Around my kids and gf, yes.

Thank you for playing this week on Sunday Stealing! Please leave a comment or link when you have posted. Stop back and visit other player’s posts. That is really what this is all about, making new friends! Have a great week. See you next Sunday!

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012