Category Archives: Cookbooks

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is one of my favorite appetizers. I have always loved the cheesy spinach filling and flaky phyllo crust! I first made this recipe when I did a review of 175 Best Mini Pie Recipes: Sweet to Savory. The Spanakopita recipe in this book sounded really good and I just had to make it!

There’s no need to make any dough for this recipe, since it calls for purchased phyllo dough. If you haven’t ever used phyllo sheets in a recipe, you may find it a little tricky to work with because they are so thin and delicate…but after folding a few spanakopitas, you’ll get the hang of it! 🙂

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Book Review: Crazy Sweet Creations

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I received a review copy of this book; all opinions expressed are mine.

If you enjoy making beautiful desserts, Crazy Sweet Creations (hardcover, Mango Publishing) is the cookbook for you! Authored by Ann Reardon, host of the award-winning You Tube series How to Cook That, this book is filled with tips on how to create eye-catching cupcakes and cakes, tarts, pastries, and more.

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Red Potatoes with Clarified Butter, Onions, and Rosemary

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I’m a big fan of potatoes, and if you are too, here’s a wonderful, buttery, potato side dish for you to try—Red Potatoes with Clarified Butter, Onions, and Rosemary. It’s from a cookbook I reviewed a few years ago, Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love. These potatoes make a great side dish for lunch or dinner, and for special holiday meals, too. The potatoes are really tender and they’re mixed with lots of caramelized onions—yum!

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Book Review: Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book

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I received a review copy of this book; all opinions expressed are mine.

If baking from scratch intimidates you, the new cookbook, Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book (Mango Publishing, hardcover) may help you become a more confident baker! This book is authored by Kristin Hoffman, aka Baker Bettie, a trained chef and baking educator (you can visit her website at BakerBettie.com).

A good way to describe this book is that it is a “fundamentals of baking from scratch” type of cookbook. As the subtitle says, this book includes “classic baking techniques and recipes for building baking confidence.” More specifically, the book goes over:

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Apple, Walnut, and Stilton Cheese Salad

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If you’re craving a good salad, this is a great one for fall! The crisp, chopped fresh apples and lightly-toasted chopped walnuts give this Apple, Walnut, and Stilton Cheese Salad a delicious autumn taste. It’s tossed in a dressing of raspberry balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and walnut oil, but if you don’t have those ingredients, there are some substitutions noted in the recipe—you can even make it super easy and use your favorite raspberry vinaigrette from a bottle!

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