Cookbook Project, Books #59 and 60
Jun. 4th, 2009 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladysprite"Sunset Low-Fat Cookbook"
By now I've realized that these cookbooks are, while not gourmet cuisine, at least better than I had feared. And I've got a small collection of them to work my way through, so I've been trying to use them whenever I can. This is another one that I think I got as a hand-me-down from my mom, and while at this point I've lost my dread, I'm still less than fond of most cookbooks that sell themselves as 'light' or 'low fat,' because so many of them feel the need to take normal recipes and muck them up with inappropriate ingredient substitutions.
I kept that in mind as I was picking out a recipe, though, and wound up making Baked Polenta with Veal Sauce. Or, to be honest, beef sauce - I still won't eat veal if I can at all avoid it, due to childhood trauma involving my pet calf and my great-uncle's dairy farm. And, much to my lack of surprise, it was good. It didn't take forever, and the baked polenta, while not quite as perfect as stovetop, was enough easier to make it a valid substitution for weeknight dinners. Definitely a keeper. The book probably isn't going to become an everyday favorite, but it's at least worth keeping.
"Cooking With Wild Berries of Down East Maine," Bar Harbor Jam Company
As I've probably mentioned here, when I travel I like to bring home cookbooks from the places I've been, as souvenirs. My family tends to gather every year or so in Maine, so a few years ago when I was there for the reunion, I decided to get a cookbook to bring home. This one won, because I'm a sucker for anything that combines berries and baking.
As luck would have it, Whole Foods had blackberries on sale this week. (Blackberries are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and I also view them as the universe's personal apology to me for my being allergic to strawberries.) So we made Blackberry Lemon Upside Down Cake, the hardest part of which was not eating the berries before the batter for the cake was done being mixed.
It was yummy. Not quite as yummy as the plain berries - I need to remember that, while baking with raspberies and blueberries is fine, nothing that one can do to a blackberry can really make it better than it is on its own.....
By now I've realized that these cookbooks are, while not gourmet cuisine, at least better than I had feared. And I've got a small collection of them to work my way through, so I've been trying to use them whenever I can. This is another one that I think I got as a hand-me-down from my mom, and while at this point I've lost my dread, I'm still less than fond of most cookbooks that sell themselves as 'light' or 'low fat,' because so many of them feel the need to take normal recipes and muck them up with inappropriate ingredient substitutions.
I kept that in mind as I was picking out a recipe, though, and wound up making Baked Polenta with Veal Sauce. Or, to be honest, beef sauce - I still won't eat veal if I can at all avoid it, due to childhood trauma involving my pet calf and my great-uncle's dairy farm. And, much to my lack of surprise, it was good. It didn't take forever, and the baked polenta, while not quite as perfect as stovetop, was enough easier to make it a valid substitution for weeknight dinners. Definitely a keeper. The book probably isn't going to become an everyday favorite, but it's at least worth keeping.
"Cooking With Wild Berries of Down East Maine," Bar Harbor Jam Company
As I've probably mentioned here, when I travel I like to bring home cookbooks from the places I've been, as souvenirs. My family tends to gather every year or so in Maine, so a few years ago when I was there for the reunion, I decided to get a cookbook to bring home. This one won, because I'm a sucker for anything that combines berries and baking.
As luck would have it, Whole Foods had blackberries on sale this week. (Blackberries are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and I also view them as the universe's personal apology to me for my being allergic to strawberries.) So we made Blackberry Lemon Upside Down Cake, the hardest part of which was not eating the berries before the batter for the cake was done being mixed.
It was yummy. Not quite as yummy as the plain berries - I need to remember that, while baking with raspberies and blueberries is fine, nothing that one can do to a blackberry can really make it better than it is on its own.....
