I’m going on vacation in a few weeks and I’m trying to work my way through as many cookbooks as I can because I have so many to tell you about!

One of the blessings of having a food blog is the opportunity (the honour!) to have a peek at the amazing cookbooks that are being produced.

First and foremost, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed Giada de Laurentiis’ latest: Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California.

Thanks to the kind folks at Clarkson Potter and Random House, I was able to take part in a conference call a few months ago were several bloggers got to ask Giada some questions about her new book.

Believe me when I say she’s just as charming in person as she is on the air! She answered everyone’s questions and made some really good points about the importance of fresh ingredients. Another great point she made was how easy it is easy to marry the ideas of Italian cooking and Californian cooking. In many ways, that’s what Giada at Home is about.

If you’re familiar with Giada’s previous books, the usual hallmarks are all here. Beautiful photos, well laid out, lots of recipes that work. Giada at Home is no different. Hope you give it a look if you haven’t already.

I made the Pea Pesto Crostini, which were easy and delicious!

The second cookbook I wanted to share with you today was Mario Batali’s latest: Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking.

I own all of Mario’s cookbooks and this one will happily take its place beside its siblings. The idea behind this book was to give the home cook the chance to make a lot of the great food served at Batali’s Otto Enoteca Pizzeria at home. If buying it for all the pizza recipes isn’t tempting enough, then buy it for all the ice cream recipes.

I tried the Pennette with Cauliflower Ragu (opening picture) and loved it. Actually, sous chef honours must go to Mamma Cream Puff who helped me out by making the pasta dish. I photographed it! Much like Giada’s book, Batali’s book is filled with lots of great photos and easy instructions. Another keeper!

Okay. That’s two books off my list.

So many more to go!

Ciao!

Growing up, chickpeas were a big part of our diet. While my mom would often make dishes with dried chickpeas that had been soaked overnight and reconstituted, she would just as often open up a can of chickpeas and use them in salads and soups, in particular.

I was going through a pile of magazine clippings recently and I come across a recipe for Spicy Toasted Garbanzo Beans and Pistachios from the February 2003 issue of Bon Appétit.

I’m always looking for quick and delicious appetizer recipes to serve with drinks whenever we have get-togethers. I find these types of recipes better for the type of entertaining we do because they offer a quick nibble and people are less likely to fill up on a dish like this as opposed to a more substantial appetizer.

These roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans are chickpeas) and pistachios are so addictive that I often have to double or triple the recipe. And they’re fast and easy to make, to boot.

This is my entry for this week’s Magazine Mondays. Hope you give them a try!

Here’s who’s joined me for this edition of MM:

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Roasted Lemon Cake from Taste magazine. Awhile ago, she also made Everyday Granola from the June 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Claire of Chez Cayenne made Lemon Pulihora from the April 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times.

Brenda of Brenda’s Canadian Kitchen made Triple Cheese Spirals from the April 2010 issue of Food Network magazine.

The prolific recipe sleuth made the following recipes from magazines: Spicy Grilled Shrimp from the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living; Grilled Buttermilk Chicken from the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living; Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Garlicky Potato Salad from June/July 2010 issue of Cook’s Country; Spiced Strawberry Shortcake from the Summer 2010 issue of Homemakers; Roasted Red Pepper Bocconcini Pops from Holiday 2006 issue of Food & Drink; Quinoa, Garbanzo and Spinach Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit; and Linguine with Shrimp and Cilantro-Lime Pesto from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Carla of Recipeaddict made Pork Chips with Tarragon Sauce and Cornichons from the November 2008 issue of Bon Appétit.

Remember that anyone can take part in Magazine Mondays. If you post a recipe from a magazine, just send me the link and I’ll include it in my next round-up.

Have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

The 2010 February Daring Cook’s challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

Well I’m a few days late posting my February 2010 DC challenge but it’s not my fault. Between posting about how proud I am to be a Canadian and how much I love all of you, it took me awhile to get to the DC challenge.

I have to say, though, it’s been a great couple of weeks for me because between the Olympic love, the Valentine’s Day love and the love of this challenge, my tummy has been very happy!

Michele challenged us to make mezze, which are a series of small dishes to be served with homemade pita (which was also part of the challenge). Michelle specified that we had to make hummus, but beyond that we could make any other mezze that we liked.

For starters, I cannot thank Michele enough for showing us how to make pita bread. Had I known it was this easy, I would have tried it long ago. And the pita was truly delicious! I made mine with a bit of wholewheat flour thrown in with the all-purpose so the pita had a bit of a darker colour and a slight nutty taste, which was very nice.

The hummus was also delicious. I’ve made hummus many times before and every time I make it I think, “Why don’t I make this more often?”

Beyond those two components, I didn’t really try a lot of recipes. I made an eggplant dip, which I blogged about last week (but kept the DC secret!!!). I would have liked to try a lot more recipes but as usual, time was in short supply. However, I look forward to making pita bread again soon and trying some more mezze.

I want to thank Michele so much for this challenge! Please take a moment to visit the DC blogroll to see what the other Daring Cooks accomplished. You can click here for the recipe.

Okay … back to the Olympics … Opa!

Ciao!

And Magazine Mondays is back!

I missed last week’s edition and I have a lot of entries this week so I’m anxious to get at it!

But before I do, I want to share my own entry for MM: Eggplant Dip … or spread … depending on how you look at it!

We had the family over on Sunday to eat a huge meal and also watch the Superbowl. I know next-to-nothing about American football but I must admit I did get caught up in the excitement of the game towards the end. I love an underdog as much as the next person and was happy to see the New Orleans Saints win. Hope they’re enjoying lots of beignets on Bourbon Street today!

As the family made their way over, I prepared numerous appetizers to quell the hunger until the real meal began and one of them was this delicious eggplant dip. Although if you wanted to call it a spread you wouldn’t be wrong.

While the recipe didn’t come from a magazine, I’d had my eye on it and decided to finally try it. The verdict: TOUCHDOWN! It was delicious and lovely spread over some crusty bread. And it was easy to make. Hope you give it a try!

In the meantime, here’s who’s joining me in blitzing that magazine pile (did you pick up on the football reference there … didya’???!!!!):

Abby of Confabulation in the Kitchen made Apricot Chicken from Everyday Food.

Tia of Buttercream Barbie made Orange Sour Cream Cake from Canadian Living and Wholesome Fruit Muffins from a January 2006 issue of Cooking Light.

Janie of Panini Girl made Sweet Cheese Puffs from Bon Appétit.

Angela of Spinach Tiger made Savory Leek and Carrot Tart from La Cucina Italiana.

Tamy of Always Eat on the Good China made Creamy French Onion Artichoke Dip.

Poppyseed of Poppyseeds and Tiger Lilies made Creamy Mushroom Soup from Cook’s Illustrated.

Dawn from Doable and Delicious made Butternut Squash Galette from the February 2009 issue of Gourmet.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Sausage and Ravioli Lasagna from the January 2010 issue of Southern Living.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Energy Balls from Save-on Foods.

Sarah of A Taste of Savoie made Red Pepper Pilaf from Country Living.

Patricia of Brownies for Dinner made Bourbon Glazed Wings from the February 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Eggplant Dip
Based on this recipe.

Note: This recipe will yield about a cup to a cup-and-a-half of spread, depending on big your eggplant is. I like to make this the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to really let the flavours develop. Serve with crusty bread.

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons of wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

If you have a gas grill, preheat your grill, or preheat the broiler on your oven.

Prick the eggplant all over to allow for steam to escape.

Place the eggplant on the grill or under the broil and cook until the eggplant is scorched all over and soft inside (test by pricking with a fork or knife). This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the eggplant from the heat and let it cool down so that you can handle it.

Scoop the filling into a bowl and mash with a fork.

Add half the olive and the red wine vinegar and mix very well.

Add the remainder of the olive oil and the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

Add the garlic, the oregano and the salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate utnil ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Cream Puff will not be held responsible for the dramatic reduction in bookshelf space due to the purchasing of any cookbooks as a result of posts on this blog between December 1, 2009 and December 12, 2009, inclusive.

I happen to believe that cookbooks make the very best Christmas gifts.

Well, okay, maybe diamonds make the best Christmas gifts but right after diamonds it’s cookbooks.

Ummm … hold on … okay Mauviel copper pots are really cool so let’s say Diamonds are number 1, Mauviel copper pots are number 2 and then cookbooks.

Except I guess Gien dinnerware is really nice … oh … nevermind!

Let’s just stick with the cookbooks, shall we?

I find that at this time of year, a lot of bloggers have “year-end” lists as in “my top five posts of the year” or “the best five dishes I made this year”. I always love reading people’s top cookbook lists for the year since I am a cookbook freak. Certifiable freak.

I did a list last year but I left so many cookbooks off my list and had such a hard time choosing that I really felt I needed to do something more this year.

So for the first twelve days of December I’m going to give you a cookbook a day. Now to be clear, while some of these cookbooks are newly published, some aren’t. In fact some of them are older cookbooks but the point is that I discovered them in 2009 and I really feel it would be awesome for you if you found them in your Christmas stocking this year.

So let’s get started, shall we?

On Day 1, I give you Two Dishes: Mother and Daughter - Two Cooks,Two Lifestyles, Two Takes by Linda Haynes and Devin Connell.

I’m the lucky owner of two previous cookbooks by Linda Haynes: The ACE Bakery Cookbook and More from ACE Bakery, both of which I love.

For those of you that are unfamiliar, Linda Haynes is the founder of ACE Bakery, probably the most famous bread bakery in Toronto. I’ve said this to many people on many occasions but ACE Bakery consistently has some of the best artisanal bread in the city. Lucky for me, the ACE headquarters are just around the corner from my family’s business so we’re pretty much in there all the time!

Linda contacted me awhile ago and asked if I’d like a copy of her new book and of course I said yes. The first thing I noticed when I got the book is that it was signed by Linda and Devin so that immediately got things off to a great start. Much like the bakery itself, Linda’s books are very open and very welcoming and the well wishes were a nice touch to get me started!

The idea behind this book is that Linda and her daughter Devin each present dishes based on a particular theme. The difference is that they each present their own take on the theme. What results is an always delicious juxtaposition of recipes. Clearly both good cooks, mother and daughter carry on a “recipe conversation” throughout the cookbook that really clicks. Several times, as I read through the book, I found myself thinking, “What kind of recipe would my mom come up with in this situation?”

It’s a completely accessible book that’s beautifully photographed (a bonus in my books is that many of the pictures are taken in and around Toronto and as a native Torontonian, it was nice to see many of the places that I shop at featured in the book).

Ultimately, though, a cookbook always comes down to the recipes and these ones are very enticing and very good. On the savoury side, there’s a nice mix of dairy, vegetables, fish and seafood and meat. On the dessert side, well, there’s lots of dessert and that’s a good thing that requires no other explanation.

I also really loved the way many of the recipes borrow from a variety of ethnic cuisines including Asian and Italian. The recipes strike a nice balance between being healthful and being indulgent.

It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it’s just one of those books that says “pick me up, invite your friends over and cook from me”. It also says, “pick me up and put me in someone’s Christmas stocking!!!”

If I’d had the time I would have happily tried about half the recipes but I managed to try two in time for this post.

The first was the incredible and life-changing (for me) Multigrain Bread on page 30. I adore ACE’s multigrain bread and buy it all the time. While I enjoy baking bread at home on occasion, I have had no luck with grain breads. I don’t know what my problem is. If the idea of integers didn’t send me into a cold sweat I’d express my rate of success with a negative number. That’s how bad it is.

When I first saw the recipe I flipped by it many times. But then I kept flipping back. Finally I was like, “no guts, no glory”, and I headed out to the nearest natural foods store to stock up on my supply of bulgur, rye flakes and untoasted buckwheat groats (a lot easier to find than one would think!). I made my starter and the following morning I was eating the most incredible grain bread. It will never be ACE’s grain bread but for homemade, it was really good. So I’d like to thank Linda and Devin for giving me that early Christmas gift.

The second recipe I tried was one of Devin’s: Baked Lemony Feta Cheese with Thyme, Rosemary and Black Pepper on page 51. I thought I had thyme in the refrigerator but as it turns out I didn’t. Surprisingly, we still have oregano fluorishing in our herb garden so I substituted some of that instead.

About three seconds after I had my first taste I pretty much decided that this is the appetizer of the year for me. It will be front and centre on Christmas Day when we serve nibbles before the big family meal. Delicious! Delicous! Delicous!

Just like the book.

A big thank you to Linda and Devin for thinking of me but more importantly, thank you for such a lovely book!

Ciao!

Thankfully, I’m back to blogging. While I don’t mind taking planned breaks from my little bloggy, forced breaks never go over very well. My PC decided to be very naughty last week and caused me some grief. Happily, that is over.

My PC decided to misbehave right after announcing the new Magazine Mondays logo. And wouldn’t you know it I got more MM submissions than ever but couldn’t post them last week so I’m posting them today. And before I get to my submission for this week’s MM, I thought I’d share all the submissions that I’ve received over the past 2 weeks:

MM’s biggest fan, Wandering Coyote of ReTorte gives us Fish in Tomato Sauce and Mexican Chocolate Pudding. Thanks, Wandering Coyote!

Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook brings us a Blood Orange and Mango Sorbet that makes me want to run out and buy a crate of blood oranges and mangoes! Thanks, Di!

And from the department of best recipe names we have Fusilli alla Crazy Bastard (I love that …) from Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. Thanks, Natashya!

And last but not least my sweet Jenny made Mustard-Garlic Flank Stank for her very first MM post! Thanks, Jenny!

Thanks to everyone who participated! And remember, if you post a recipe from a magazine, just let me know about it and I’ll link to it in my next MM post.

As for me, I come to you today with a failed recipe. Failed, not so much because of the recipe, but more because I was a hurried mess when I was making it and messed it up royally. I’d say 95% per cent of my MM entries have been winners but this one, not so much.

What you see pictured above are (supposed to be) Ham-and-Gruyere Thumbprints from Martha Stewart Living. The problem is that while making these, I forgot to add half the ingredients to the batter and was forced to frantically sprinkle the missing ingredients on after the thumbprints went into the oven.

Not good.

I made these for our New Year’s Eve party and while they didn’t turn out horribly, they weren’t that great either.

Ah, well! They can’t all be good!

See you for the next Magazine Mondays post … have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

Welcome to the first edition of Magazine Mondays for 2009!

Before I start attacking my magazine pile in this newly minted year, I must tie up a few loose ends left over from 2008.

To begin with, I owe enourmous thanks to Wandering Coyote of the blog ReTorte. She has been a huge supporter of Magazine Mondays, so much so that she offered to host MM for the entire month of December when I mentioned that I’d be too busy to host the event.

She did a fabulous job so many thanks to her!

The final chapter of Magazine Mondays, 2008 ends with the image that opens this post. After MM turned a year old in October 2008, I decided it was time that the event had an image to go with it so I approached one of my very favourite artists: Julianna Smith.

Allow me to digress for one teeny moment.

I first learned about Julianna when I read about her on her sister’s blog (her sister just happens to be Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy … talk about a seriously talented family!) As I looked at Julianna’s site, I was so enchanted by her work and then completely blown away when I realized that I had recently bought a birthday greeting card that was designed by her!

If that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.

I contacted Julianna and asked her if she’d be interested in working with me on a few projects and she said yes! Considerable time passed (in other words … Cream Puff procrastinated), but I finally got my stuff together and approached Julianna with the Magazine Mondays idea. She agreed and a short while later, she produced this lovely image for me!

This will become the new symbol of Magazine Mondays. As soon as I figure how to do it (hee), I’ll be adding it to my sidebar (in other words … Cream Puff welcomes any advice on how to do that).

I want to extend my most heartfelt thanks to Julianna. I look forward to working with you in the future on other projects!

And so now we get back to our regularly scheduled MM post. I have a lot of candidates for MM posts but I decided to start this year off with a recipe that I actually made last year, but never posted. It’s from an issue of Martha Stewart Living (that I subsequently recycled so I’m not sure what issue it is) and it’s called Syrupy Blood Oranges. I thought it would be nice to start the year off with something that is both citrusy and crisp, but also sweet. Enjoy!

Ciao!

Here’s the recipe for Syrupy Blood Oranges.

Here are some other MM posts that you might want to check out:

Dan of Casual Kitchen made a mouth-watering mole sauce.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made a Lemon Artichoke chicken that I want right now!

I have a serious thing for olives.

In fact, I don’t know very many people who do not, on some level, appreciate the olive.

Wait a minute.

Let me think.

Yes. It’s true. I can say that I am not (knowingly) aware of anyone in my life who does not like olives.

How can you NOT love the olive?

The fruit of the olive tree (did you know the olive was a fruit?) is a snack unto itself but then consider that you can use it to make sauces and spreads, not to mention the fact that you can add it to any dish imagineable (pasta, fish, meat … ).

And don’t even get me started on olive oil!

Okay. Before I commence a love poem to the olive, let me just say that this is the time of year that I most appreciate the olive and that’s for two reasons.

The first is Olive Ascolane (post to follow one day soon).

And the second is marinated olives.

I don’t think I can even count how many pounds of marinated olives we make at this time of year. We serve them if guests pop in to pass along Christmas wishes, we serve them during every holiday meal, we snack on them and we generally just eat them constantly.

You can’t go wrong with marinated olives for a party and there are about a million different ways to prepare them. Essentially you’re taking the olives of your choice, mixing in the flavourings of your choice and then heating them in the oven to allow the flavours to meld and be absorbed.

This particular version is an orange/oregano one that I picked up from Trish Magwood’s Dish Entertains.

I see myself making many batches.

Hope you make one, too!

Ciao!

Orange and Oregano Olives
From Trish Magwood’s Dish Entertains: Everyday Simple to Special Occasions.

3 cups mixed olives (you can use any varieties that you like, just make sure that they’re not already marinated)
1 orange, halved and sliced
1 tbsp. orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and then spread onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the olives are heated through and the orange slices begin to caramelize slightly.

Let cool and enjoy!