This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks.

Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie. 

What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart.

Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer." 

Marie Asselin the author of Sweet Spot: Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips to Bake (mostly) Dairy-Free) is the talented writer and baker who has created some winning recipes for sweets that don't rely on butter and cream. There are cakes, cookies. creamy treats and some nifty master recipes for things like coconut whipped cream, an easy butterscotch recipe, nut praline and more. 

The photography is clean and modern, and the recipes for things like Carrot and Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting, Fresh Strawberry Squares with Pistachio Crust and Dark Chocolate and Whiskey Pots de Creme with Almond Langues de Chat are very appealing. Who's it for? Anyone who's looking for dairy free recipes, or just looking to lighten their desserts. 

Note this is an e-book, available as a pdf or for an iPad. 

Incredibly Decadent Desserts is the latest title from Cooking Light. So that means each recipe offers portions that are 300 calories or less. The recipes rely on more "low-fat" rather than "no-fat" dairy; this book is much more in the moderation camp. There is a recognition that dessert is, well, dessert. It’s an indulgence and frankly it should feel that way. The knowledgable author Deb Wise includes lots of tips and incorporates very of-the-moment ingredients like yogurt, bacon, amaranth, teff and Kamut flour in her recipes. 

If you are concerned about calories and have all but given up on dessert, this book will open up a world of possibilities including cakes, cookies, puddings and pies. Recipes I’ve bookmarked include Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake, Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie  and Apricot Pistachio Tart. Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to enjoy dessert with a little less guilt 

Francois Payard the author of Payard Cookies is a third generation French pastry chef. He was named pastry chef of the year by both the James Beard Foundation and Bon Appetit magazine. He is also a cookie monster. Ok, not a monster but a self-proclaimed lover of cookies. As you might imagine, his cookies are not rustic or homey, they are elegant, sophisticated and well, fancy. 

This is not a book for beginners but for someone with a stand mixer, a scale (everyone should really have one). rolls of parchment paper, a pastry bag and tips as well as silicone baking mats and in some cases, a candy thermometer. The cookies are stunning and involved. For example the Walnut Cookie Bars are composed of a crust, walnut filling, almond cream and a topping.
Who’s it for? Anyone looking to impress or learn some professional pastry techniques. 

I thought I’d seen it all, until Cookies & Beer came around. Yes, it is what it sounds like, a book of cookie recipes with beer pairings. Like a romantic comedy with a car chase thrown in, I suppose it might bridge a divide between two possibly divergent groups, in this case beer lovers and cookie lovers. 

The recipes come from brewers as well as acclaimed pastry chefs from around the country—such as William Werner and Christopher Elbow. The book has both traditional and modern recipes—there are manly cookies with bacon, savory cookies as well as some classics like Russian Tea Cakes and several versions of chocolate chip cookies. There are even cookies with spent grain (from making beer) or beer in the batter.

The recipes are mostly really easy and you can skip the beer if it’s not your thing, or put a whole new spin on the traditional cookie party.
Who’s it for? Obviously cookie and beer lovers!

Guittard Chocolate Cookbook was written by Amy Guittard, the great, great granddaughter of the founder of the Guittard chocolate company. It was published earlier this year but it has lots of holiday appropriate recipes, such as Chocolate Trifle, Chocolate Almond Ginger Bark and Jim's Special Fudge so I'm including it.


I love the use of light rye flour in recipes like Chocolate Pistachio Sables, Salted Chocolate Shortbread and Morning Muffins made with applesauce and oats. The recipes are geared for the home baker and generally don't require any fancy techniques. The book has recipes for cookies and bars, breakfast pastries, cakes, puddings and confections.The recipes use Guittard chocolate, and the chips at very least are widely available in supermarkets.

Who's it for? Chocolate lovers!

Disclaimer: These books were provided as review copies and this post includes affiliate links

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If you go to most grocery stores or supermarkets you can find dried pasta for as little as about $1 per package. At the same time there is “artisanal” dried pasta which costs at least twice as much, if not more. Is it worth it? Yes, it is and here’s why.

Recently I was at an event where there was an in depth discussion about pasta. Big producers like Barilla make in 2 days what a smaller artisanal company like Rustichella d’Abruzzo produces in an entire year. But it’s not just about volume, it’s also about how the pasta is made.

One big difference is how the pasta is extruded. Artisanal producers use bronze dies, these create a rougher surface texture which allows the pasta to better absorb sauces or condiments. While sauces are important, so are the noodles! They should really taste good. Extruding the pasta through these dies is a slower process than using the teflon dies that industrial producers use. Bronze dies don’t last as long and are much more expensive.

The drying time in particular is also crucial. Smaller artisanal producers slowly dry the pasta and it sometimes takes up to 2 days, whereas large producers dry it as quickly as possible using heat. The resulting pasta is noticeably different color. Industrial pasta effectively toasts the wheat by the use of heat, which gives it a different flavor altogether. It’s not terrible, it’s just not nearly as good.

Last but not least, one of the most important ingredients is the wheat itself. A proper blend of grain yields just the right texture and flavor.

Beyond wheat, there are also different ingredients. Today many companies often make pasta that is gluten free, organic or made from different grains. I tried some dried pasta from Rustichella made with different ingredients that lend not just color but flavor. They make tonnarelli (aka spaghetti alla chitarra) with squid ink, spicy red pepper and spinach, but my favorite was the pumpkin torchio (torches). The sweet flavor of pumpkin really shines in this pasta which is best dressed with a very simple sauce such as the one suggested on the package which combines sausage, white wine and sauteed onion.

Curious about all the different types of pasta? This Encyclopedia of Pasta infographic helps to make sense of 188 shapes. Here’s my quick and easy guide to pairing pasta and sauce:

Long thin pasta—oil or tomato based thin sauces
Wide ribbons — thicker meat sauces
Cup or shell pasta — chunky with vegetables or bits of meat
Tubular pasta — thicker ragu style meat sauces
Mini pasta — soups or salads

Bottom line, pasta is relatively inexpensive. Considering it’s often the main part of a dish even $5-10 for 4-6 servings is quite reasonable.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Manicaretti for providing Rustichella d’Abruzzo products for me to review. 

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I’m recently back from a whirlwind week long trip to Guangdong province in China. The capital city Guangzhou is the home of Cantonese food and I am obsessed by many spectacular dishes I enjoyed there. Some were complicated like stuffed mud carp and a candy like crisp pork belly, and some were rather simple yet very compelling such as the congee I ate every morning topped with fried peanuts and some preserved vegetables. One of the simplest dishes I had was a pile of thin flat rice noodles tossed with vinegar, sesame seeds and a generous dollop of XO sauce. The savory, salty, fishy, hot and sweet ingredients in the sauce all meld together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.

XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong, possibly Kowloon, in the 1980’s and there are many different recipes for it. The name XO means extra old, like you see on a very expensive bottle of cognac (popular in China). But there isn’t any cognac in XO sauce, although the dried seafood used in it is rather expensive. The sauce is primarily dried seafood and ham or sausage and pungent aromatics and while you can buy it, it’s extremely satisfying to make. Fortunately you can easily find all the ingredients for it easily in an Asian market. I found the dried shrimp and scallops in a refirgerated case with tofu and noodles. Use the absolute best quality you can find. 

This sauce is kind of crumbly and chewy. It’s super easy to make and just a pure umami bomb. Add it to fried rice, rice porridge, dumplings or noodles, steamed green vegetables or fish, or on anything you like! I’m thinking a jar of it would make a really nice gift this time of year but I wouldn’t blame you for keeping it all for yourself. My version of it is adapted from various sources primarily recipes by David Chang and Kylie Kwong. I first made David Chang's recipe but I felt it had too much ginger and garlic. My version is closer to what I had in China and unlike Chang's version mine includes shallots and Shaoxing wine. 

XO Sauce 

Ingredients

2 ounces dried shrimp, about 3/4 cup2 ounces dried scallops, about 1/2 cup

3/4 cup rice bran oil or other neutral flavored oil

1 cup thickly sliced Chinese sausage

1 Tablespoon dried red chile flakes

1/4 cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half if large

1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks

2 Tablespoons Shaoxing wine

2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari

Instructions 

Place the scallops and shrimp in a medium bowl and cover with water allowing extra water since they will absorb most of it.. Cover the bowl and let sit overnight. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron. In a food processor pulse the Chinese sausage until finely minced. Place the sausage crumbles in the oil and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile drain the scallops and shrimp, place them in the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Repeat the process with the shallots, garlic and ginger. 

Reduce the heat to very low and add the chile flakes and minced scallops, shrimp, shallots, garlic, ginger, Shaoxing wine and soy sauce to the pan. Stir the mixture and let the sauce cook over very low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should dry out and turn a deep redish golden color and have a thick sludge-like consistency. Remove from heat, let cool slightly then store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

Enjoy! 

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Food52 Genius Recipes is a compilation of some of the best recipes from cooks, food writers and restaurateurs. All tested and “foolproof” you get recipes like Nigella Lawson’s Sense Chocolate Loaf Cake, Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion, the Simplest Roast Chicken from Barbara Kafka and Kenny Shopsin’s crazy recipe for Crepes that uses flour tortillas(!). I’m crazy about the recipe for Pasta with Yogurt & Caramelized Onions from Diane Kochilas and the Herb Jam with Olives & Lemons from Paula Wolfert. Having all those recipes in one place is very, very convenient! Who's it for? Everyone

The Yellow Table written by food blogger Anna Watson Carl has an emphasis on sharing meals. Carl’s breezy effortless style of cooking and entertaining is just right for those who are new to cooking. The recipes are straightforward and not complex. They cover very basic things like Roast Chicken with Lemon, Thyme & Shallots and Turkish Lamb Sliders with Tzatziki but also some recipes with a twist like Nutella-Shortbread Brownies, Pumpkin Madeleines and Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Mango & Cucumber. The focus is on entertaining but many recipes serve four. The photos in the book are fresh and inviting. Who's it for? Newbies

Seven Spoons is the names of the blog and cookbook from Tara O'Brady. Though not vegetarian, this one definitely puts vegetables on the center of the plate, Here recipes are inventive and smart. Even when she is cooking standard things, like burgers, there’s a twist that makes them something special, in this case a spoonful of miso. The recipes cross many boarders, there’s Fattoush with Fava Beans and Labneh, Hard Cider Gougeres, Broccoli Rabe with Bagna Cauda and a recipe for Clams and Orzo that reminds me of my favorite steamed mussels recipe with fennel. There is a dessert section where she manages to even improve on Canadian classics like her Walnut Cherry Oat Butter Tart Pie. Who's it for? Bored cooks looking for inspiration 

Remember the Mediterranean diet? The Mediterranean Family Table book brings it all back. It’s written by a doctor who was born in Sicily. It’s an interesting book because it doesn’t eschew every last morsel of meat or bread.There are recipes for his mama’s meatballs, and lamb kebabs, but mostly you’ll find recipes for all kinds of salads, soups and plant based dishes. Some of the recipes are rather unusual such as the Orange and Egg (hardboiled) Salad, Anchovy and Ricotta Bruschetta with rosemary and a breakfast dish made from day old bread, ricotta, milk and hot coffee. The recipes I was most drawn to are the ones from Sicily such as Tuna alla Siciliana with garlic, mint, tomatoes and onions and the Roasted Cauliflower, served with melted fontina. Who's it for? Those focused on healthy eating

Disclaimer: This post includes books that were provided as review copies an contains affiliate links. 

©2015 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Some years it’s easy to find reasons to be thankful and positive. This is not one of those years for me, and for many people I know. But I want to share something that really moved me. It’s a video of a basket maker in Rwanda (and it’s just 2 minutes long). Take a look!

Being thankful for chairs, for electricity, for being able to support her family in a country that suffered the most terrible genocide not that long ago is truly a wonderful thing. As you may recall, in three months in 1994 an estimated 800,000 to a milion Rwandans were brutally murdered and a country destroyed. Today Rwanda has made the most incredible strides toward reconciliation. And if it’s possible in Rwanda, why not in the rest of the world? 

The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional start to holiday shopping. If you are heading to the Macy’s near you or just shopping online, I hope you will check out the baskets from Macy’s Rwanda Path to Peace initiative. Because the program is celebrating 10 years, there are beautiful 10th anniversary baskets available in festive red and white. Half of the wholesale price of every basket goes to the women who make them by hand. The weavers make roughly 10 times the average wage in Rwanda. This amazing program supports fair trade, sustainable income and poverty reduction, it employs HIV-positive weavers to help them support themselves and promotes the culture of reconciliation by employing thousands of women who are organized in groups from both sides of the 1994 Rwanda genocide conflict.

You can find the entire Rwanda basket collection online including the anniversary baskets which range from $30-60 each. Please note sale prices and discounts do not impact the amount the weavers earn. 

I’m giving away this gorgeous basket in Fall colors. I received this basket to review and am very impressed with the quality. It would make a wonderful fruit basket or centerpiece. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

To enter this contest and win the basket please leave a comment telling me what you are thankful for this year. You must have a US mailing address to win. You MUST leave your email address in the field where it is requested, it will not be visible to the public only to me. DO NOT leave your email address in the body of your comment, if you do, I will delete it. I will choose a winner at random on December 3, 2015.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and received the product for this post as a gift. It was my choice to give it away and I was not paid for this or any other post. 

©2015 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The past few years I’ve been making a welcoming cocktail for Thanksgiving. This year I was offered a bottle of Templeton rye and a stipend for ingredients to create a punch for the holiday. It sounded like a slam dunk, but I am not terribly gifted when it comes to developing cocktails. I can follow a recipe, I can swap out a few ingredients but it’s not really my strong suit.

So I cheated. Meet my secret weapon, one of my favorite bartenders, Jen Ackrill. She was a fixture at Rye in San Francisco before moving to live the dream in Hawaii. Today she is the Director of Mixology at Top of Waikiki and SKY Waikiki. I got a chance to try her revamped cocktails when I visited Oahu last year. Jen makes really, really good drinks. She crafts sophisticated cocktails, even her fruity tropical ones and she is particularly skilled with brown spirits. Her cocktails are always balanced and inviting. Next time you are in Waikiki, stop by and say hello! Seeing the sunset at Top of Waikiki, a revolving bar with incredible views of the beach and the city really can’t be beat. 

This punch contains my all-time favorite vermouth, Carpano Antica. I started drinking vermouth in Italy and France and it’s long been my go to aperitif. Carpano Antica is nothing short of spectacular. It’s bitter and sweet with vanilla, warm spices, orange, cocoa and toffee. 

Templeton rye was made during prohibition and was fabled to be a favorite of Al Capone. The current version has notes of toffee and caramel. It’s sweet, lush and has characteristic rye spice and a woodsy character. 

I asked Jen to come up with something with Templeton rye and apple cider that a home bartender could make and this is it! A Fall punch just right for Thanksgiving that has a lot in common with the classic Manhattan. My sincere thanks, not just for the holiday but to Jen for saving the day. 

Thanksgiving Punch by Jen Ackrill

Makes about 10 servings

3 cups Templeton rye

1 cup Carpano Antica

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup simple syrup (I use equal parts water and sugar)

11/2 cup apple cider

Top with a spicy ginger beer like Cock and Bull

Garnish with orange and lemon slices, star anise and cinnamon sticks and a thoughtful block of ice—use a fun cake pan: turkey or leaf shaped to make your ice. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I received the Templeton rye to make this cocktail as well as a stipend for ingredients. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post. Many thanks to Jen Ackrill for her recipe. 

©2015 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Photo courtesy of Erik Olsson

The Nordic Cookbook covers the cuisine of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, each of which reflects diverse cultures, histories and populations. One of the most celebrated contemporary chefs from Sweden, Magnus Nilsson, the chef of Fäviken was tasked with compiling this impressive book. He started with a poll, then embarked on a series of culinary adventures for three years through the region to gather recipes and more. The result is a book with a staggering 700 recipes.You might be wondering, does it even make sense to try and include all the Nordic countries in one book? That was the very question the author struggled with answering, but eventually he approached the project with gusto. I asked Nilsson what surprised him most in writing the book and this is what he told me, "I thought I knew the food culture of the Nordics rather well and it turned out I didn't. There was just so much more diversity than I ever expected."

Indeed, one of the reasons the book is so useful is that introduces readers to a much broader range of recipes than ever before. So do the Nordic countries have much in common? This is what Nilsson told,  "The one thing which all parts of the Nordic region have in common is that there are four distinctive seasons of which one, Winter, is one when you can't harvest plant based foods. Meaning that historically people had to preserve summers surplus and keep it for winter. Even though we can have fresh foods all year around these days this is still very visible in the way we eat." Not surprisingly there are plenty of recipes for pickles and jams.

You'll find lots of classic recipes for things like meatballs and gravlax and Danish pastries, but also some clues as to what makes these recipes so special. I was surprised by some of the more modern recipes, like Chilli Creamed Chicken and Banana Casserole, apparently a classic 1980's recipe from Sweden and Boiled Danish Meatballs in Curry Sauce. The number of recipes for potatoes could have filled an entire cookbook. Mostly the ingredients are accessible with lots of pancakes, braised meats, soups and cake,  however I doubt many folks will attempt the recipe for Icelandic rotten shark, Puffin Stuffed with Cake or Boiled Pilot Whale with Blubber and Potatoes. Regardless, it's good to know those recipes have been preserved for future generations to learn about, complemented by documentary style photography throughout. 

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book and this post includes an affiliate link. I was not paid to write this or any other post. 

©2015 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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12:44