Cranbury Public Library’s Comments (group member since May 28, 2014)

Cranbury Public Library’s comments from the Cranbury Public Library Book Chat group.

Cookbook Selection(s): Love Soup by Anna Thomas

Recipes tried by members:

Fresh Pea with Mint Cream Soup – Very good, would be great with fresh peas in the spring/summer

Carrot, Orange, and Ginger Soup – Very good, nice hint of citrus, didn’t use fresh ginger, substituted with ground ginger, great flavor.

Old Fashioned Cream of Mushroom Soup – Very good, mix of mushrooms gave it a rich mushroom flavor, small amount of cream added so not too cream heavy. Added garlic croutons, which was delicious in the soup.

Tomato and Zucchini Soup with Summer Herbs – Good, but would be even better with fresh vegetables and herbs from farmers market. Should have used can of diced tomatoes instead of going through trouble of peeling and dicing whole tomatoes that were not very tasty.

March/April 2016 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):

For the March meeting, we’ll share our favorite recipe and a sample! Our next cookbooks will be Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution by America’s Test Kitchen and/or The Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook by Rachel Rappaport. To give us more time to try out recipes these will be discussed at our April meeting.

Next meeting is March 15th, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

Cookbook Selection(s): Food52: Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook by Kristen Miglore

Recipes tried by members:

Eggless Lemon Curd – loved it, made a batch of Lemon Load to spread it on

Roasted Applesauce – delicious, easy to make

Roasted Carrots & Avocado Salad with Crunchy Seeds – also very good, roasted carrots are easy any day and very tasty

Cauliflower Steaks – Very good, easy

Marie Helene’s Apple Cake – Very good too

Paleo-Friendly Cauliflower Cakes – Tasty, but hard to keep together in pan and flip. Might use less ghee next time (recipe called for 1 Tbsp)

February 2016 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):

Love Soup by Anna Thomas

Next meeting is February 16th, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

Cookbook Selection(s): The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond

And/or recipes from The Pioneer Woman blog by Ree Drummond at http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Recipes tried by members:

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes – Delicious, used only white potatoes not purple ones as shown in recipe but had a nice flavor. Good side dish when you don’t feel like mashing potatoes.

Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries – Delicious, the balsamic vinegar really takes this dish over so even for those that might not like Brussel sprouts, it might convert them.

Bagels and Cream Cheese Baked French Toast – Very good, everything bagels make this dish very flavorful. Nice that it can be assembled night before and just baked in the mornin

Soul Sweet ‘Taters – Delicious, on the sweet side, almost dessert-like.

Pumpkin Smoothie – Didn’t have pumpkin pie filling as recipe called for, but used pumpkin puree instead. This substitute didn’t work because it turned out bland.

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (just published a couple of weeks ago)

Beef with Snow Peas – Very good, might want to add beef broth in sauce as well to richen the flavor a bit.

Bow-Tie Chicken Alfredo – Very good, family loved it, would make again.

January 2016 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):

Food52: Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook by Kristen Miglore

Next meeting is Junuary 19th, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. We’ll skip the December meeting due to all the holidays. Happy cooking! Hope to see you there!

Cookbook Selection(s): The Smitten Kitchen

Recipes tried by members:

Buttered Popcorn Cookies – 2 people tried this recipe with mixed results. One noted that they weren’t what they expected and wouldn’t try this recipe again. The other liked the outcome, albeit a strange ingredient combination, and thought they tasted good.

Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby – delicious, has been made several times in their house and everyone enjoys it.

Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans – delicious, has been made several times in their house and everyone enjoys it.

Tiny but Intense Chocolate Cake– was ok, tasted better cold, not enough chocolate for their taste

November 2015 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond
And/or recipes from The Pioneer Woman blog by Ree Drummond at http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Next meeting is November 17th at 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Cookbook Selection(s): The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

This proved to be an interesting read with many basic, easy, and tasty recipes to do with a busy schedule. It was also filled with practical advice regarding food preparation and use.

Recipes tried by members:

No Kneed Artisan Bread – very tasty, need to vary cooking times to determine doneness, would be great to add spices to the basic recipe as well.

Rustic Italian Farmhouse Zucchini – delicious and very easy

Fresh Tomato Sauce – tasty and easy to make, great for the plethora of CSA tomatoes you may be getting

Basic Roasted Chicken (French Dijon and Soy Ginger Oil) – very good, easy to make

October 2015 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

And/or The Smitten Kitchen blog by Deb Perelman at www.smittenkitchen.com

Next meeting is October 20th at 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Cookbook Selection(s): The Gardener and the Grill by Karen Adler and/or Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison

Due to the dog days of summer and vacations, there are no recipes to report for August’s selections. We will reconvene in September with the following book!

September 2015 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn
This selection is a foodie memoir complete with recipes. Here’s the summary via Goodreads:
The author of The Sharper Your Knife tells the inspiring story of how she helped nine others find their inner cook. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, writer Kathleen Flinn returned with no idea what to do next, until one day at a supermarket she watched a woman loading her cart with ultraprocessed foods. Flinn's "chefternal" instinct kicked in: she persuaded the stranger to reload with fresh foods, offering her simple recipes for healthy, easy meals.
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School includes practical, healthy tips that boost readers' culinary self-confidence, and strategies to get the most from their grocery dollar, and simple recipes that get readers cooking.

Next meeting is September 15th at 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Cookbook Selection(s): Cooking from the Farmers’ Market
by Williams-Sonoma
and
The Essential New York Times Grilling Cookbook

RECIPES TRIED with comments from cook:

Cooking from the Farmers’ Market:

Roasted Broccoli with Red Pepper Flakes – Was good, however felt that the 250 deg. roasting temperature was too low. It didn’t have a roasted flavor, would use a higher temperature next time maybe 350 or 400.

Arugula, Goat Cheese & Walnut Salad – Really enjoyed this salad, would like to add grilled chicken to it next time.

Fusilli with Lemon Zest & Ricotta –Tasted like a lighter version of mac and cheese even though it does have heavy cream and ricotta in it, but has a strong lemon flavor.

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese & Herbs – Enjoyed this recipe, easy way to cook those beets, even though it is a little time consuming, it’s not hands-on.

Lime Curd Bars with Coconut Crust – Delicious, used gluten-free flour instead of regular flour.

Wilted Kale with Lemon and Garlic – Had a hard time getting kale to soften, but otherwise had a good taste.

Baked Zuccini and Tomato Tian – Very good, warm or cold. Used dried marjoram instead of fresh and used a mixture of sweet and red onion. Used broth instead of water, either liquid is a must otherwise it won’t cook. Easy to make.

The Essential New York Times Grilling Cookbook:

Balkan Burgers - delicious

August 2015 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):
The Gardener and the Grill by Karen Adler
and/or
Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison

Next meeting is August 18th at 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Cookbook Selection: A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
Molly’s Blog: orangette.blogspot.com
Another book by Molly: Delancey

RECIPES TRIED with comments from cook:
Taken from A Homemade Life book:

Banana Bread – Changes to recipe: omitted crystallized ginger and used mini chocolate chips, good taste, cake like texture

Bread Salad with Cherries Arugula & Goat Cheese – Used

Italian loaf of bread

Radishes with Salted Butter – Lost flavor of raddish, essentially bread + butter taste, suggestion to try using daikon raddish

Tomato Soup with 2 Fennels – like it a lot, made it several times, good paired with a sandwich
Carmalized Cauliflower with Salsa Verde – Awesome, whole family loved it, especially the salsa verde, used it over steak that was main course too.
Zucchini + Noodles – a little dry, don’t cook zucchini prior to introducing noodles because they were soggy, add more reserved water to moisten

French Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon – cook liked the recipe and has made it for company

Chana Masala – good, made it without the yogurt which was optional in recipe, added lemon wedges, produces a large amount

Sliced Spring Salad with Avocado – Altered it by omitting feta cheese, cook’s family loved it, she would make it again with feta and chicken or smoked trout as suggested. It’s on the bitter side because of the radicchio and endive, but still like it.

Taken from Delancey book:

Apple Crisp – altered to cut sugar and butter by half, added oat bran, added frozen mixed berries, was very good, but on the sweet side

Taken from Orangette Blog:

Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping – really nice, would make it again


Daily Granola – cook’s go-to recipe for granola, making it for several years and now give it as gifts, strange ingredient is brown rice syrup which can be found on tap at Whole Earth in Princeton

July 2015 Read It and Eat It! Cookbook Selection(s):
The Essential New York Times Grilling Cookbook : More Than 100 Years of Sizzling Food Writing and Recipes
And/or
William Sonoma’s “Cooking From the Farmers' Market”

Next meeting is July 21st at 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

This month we reviewed the cookbooks, Slow Cooker Revolution, Volumes 1 and/or 2 by America's Test Kitchen. The following recipes were tried and reviewed by the group:

Turkey Pesto Meatballs - They were good, didn't dry out, but slightly bland. (Leslie)

Turkey Breast and Gravy - It was delicious, just like another Thanksgiving meal. Although be aware of the size of your crock pot before purchasing turkey, I had trouble fitting it in and had to debone it to get it to fit. (Joanne)

Baked Potato Soup - Very good, quite a bit of prep work though. I also halved the amount of heavy cream and cheese that it called for and it was still plenty. (Joanne)

Several recipes were tried by the group from this cookbook with mostly good reviews and some so-so. Here are the recipes and their critiques:

Chipotle beef-stuffed portobello mushrooms - Overall very tasty, beef mixture tastes similar to a chipotle chili and could be eaten in tacos or as baked potato topping. Recipe calls for 4 portobello mushrooms, since they shrink considerably in the oven, use about 6-8 for the amount of beef mixture you are creating. (Joanne)

Whole-Grain Penne with Chicken, Mushrooms and Spinach - Very good, whole family (including picky eating children) loved it. Although picky-eating children did pick out mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, it was still a winner. (Joanne)

Pizza Strudel - Very good, Family pleaser (Lisa)

Tomato & Pumpkin Soup - Good, family liked it (Lisa)

Quinoa & Red Lentil - Good, family also like it (Lisa)

Orange Chicken - Ok, family was not too fond of it (Lisa)

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and Dried Cherries - This was great and we enjoyed it. Used regular cabbage since we didn't have red cabbage

Celery, Radish, and Herb Salad - Did not like this at all, not sure why since I like all the ingredients separately, would not make it again. (Claudia)

Japanese Style Savory Vegetable Pancakes with Shrimp - Everyone like this, but needed more salt. (Claudia)

Now that fall is in full swing and the up and down weather has got you in a tizzy on how to dress each day - what are you reading on these cool nights? Something scary for Halloween or something that conjures up a nice cup of tea and a cozy blanket?

In conjunction with the celebration of New Jersey's 350th birthday this year, the New Jersey Library Association is sponsoring One Book New Jersey in which they have chosen 4 books that honor New Jersey's history, culture, and diversity. The goal is to have people across the state to read the same book for discussions.

The books are:
Killing the Poormaster: A Saga of Poverty, Corruption, and Murder in the Great Depression by Holly Metz
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner
Ben Shahn: An Artist's Life by Howard Greenfeld
G is for Garden State illustrated by Doris Ettlinge

In addition, all are invited to a free event: Meet & Greet with One Book New Jersey Authors on Saturday, Nov 15, 2014, 10:00am-1:00pm at Monroe Township Library (4 Municipal Plaza, Monroe Twp., NJ). Light refreshments will be provided, all are welcome to join us for a panel discussion and with One Book NJ authors to honor the 350th Anniversary of our state!

To participate in One Book New Jersey, let's read one or all of these books and add some discussion here!

Now that the summer months are winding down, what is still on your to read list that you are or plan on enjoying this month?

There are tons of new non-fiction titles that are also getting great buzz - Anyone reading one that you would recommend?

If you are looking for a good summer read, here are a few suggestions that have been getting a lot of summer buzz...

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The One & Only by Emily Giffin
Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick
Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

What are the books that you would add to this list?

Now that summer is upon us, what will you be reading by the beach this month?