Recipes Blog

Recipe for Blueberry Waffles with Berry Compote from Raised in the Kitchen by Carrian Cheney

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

For breakfast, try banana buttermilk pancakes, croissant breakfast sandwiches, or this fun waffle recipe. For lunch, potato, Tex-Mex, or a classic macaroni salad. Dinner: apricot-glazed chicken, ribs, or cheesy pasta with pesto and grape tomatoes. For dessert, next on my list is a chocolate banana bread.

Recipe excerpted with permission from Raised in the Kitchen: Making Memories from Scratch One Recipe at a Time by Carrian Cheney (Shadow Mountain)

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Teriyaki Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans from The Ultimate Meal Prep by America’s Test Kitchen

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This cookbook organizes meals for a week, with recipes and shopping lists. You can use the recipes in this book every night, or once a week, to become a world-class home cook with a signature potluck dish. Next on my list: orzo primavera with feta, cooked in a leek broth; and a salad made with carrot, orange, chickpeas, and a minty dressing, served with crispy chicken pieces.

Recipe excerpted with permission from The Ultimate Meal Prep by America’s Test Kitchen

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Israeli Couscous with Pecans and Apricots from Modern Freezer Meals by Ali Rosen

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This book is full of wonderful recipes that you can eat right away or freeze—perfect for making a big batch and defrosting single servings. I was enchanted with the recipe for pesto, using the bounty of basil and other herbs from your garden. Cook up the pesto, cool and scoop into ice cube trays. Dump the frozen cubes into a zip-top plastic bag, and freeze. Don’t forget to label the bag, and you can have garden-fresh sauce all winter long. Amazingly clever. 

Recipe excerpted with permission from Modern Freezer Meals by Ali Rosen (Skyhorse Publishing)

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Peach and Tomato Salad from The Complete Plant Based Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This is the perfect salad for a hot, summer lunch. I love the addition of cut-up mozzarella. Add a crusty bread and then all you will need is a little handful of trail mix cookies and some sweet ice tea for dessert.

Recipe excerpted with permission from The Complete Plant Based Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Grilled stone fruits with rosemary and rose syrup from Honey & Co Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This fun book is filled with wonderful stories, recipes, and photographs from Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Greece. It will inspire you to grill tomatoes, corn, eggplant, and a whole fish or two. Of course, there are lamb kebabs and chops, served with spicy sauces or hummus. And these delicious, sweet fruits. Fire up the barbecue and start grilling!

Recipe excerpted with permission from from Honey & Co Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich (Pavilion)

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Pea Velouté from The Shortcut Cook by Rosie Reynolds

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This lovely soup is a snap to make. I fished the bay leaf out at the end, before blending it. You can spice it up with the addition of chilli flakes galore, or spice it down with none. I love the mint floating on top. On my list for the next week: for a breakfast, some cinnamon buns; for a lunch, gravadlax with a wonderful oniony cucumber salad sprinkled with chopped pickle; for a dinner, a chicken, leek and mushroom pot pie; and for a dessert: a lemon drizzle cake. 

Recipes excerpted with permission from The Shortcut Cook by Rosie Reynolds published by Hardie Grant Books, February 2021

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Catch of the Day with Tomato Jam from The Food of Oaxaca by Alejandro Ruiz and Carla Altesor

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

Take a trip to Oaxaca from your armchair with this interesting book, then go in the kitchen and make this fish dish. Next, put on your list: lamb chops in pitona sauce, ceviche-stuffed chile de aqua in passion fruit salsa, and maybe even some grilled octopus. Try the heirloom tomato salad and some cinnamon-scented hot chocolate for dessert.

Excerpted from THE FOOD OF OAXACA: Recipes and Stories from Mexico’s Culinary Capital by Alejandro Ruiz and Carla Altesor. English Translation Copyright © 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Everything Oil from To Asia, with Love, by Hetty McKinnon

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This book is filled with wonderful stories and enticing vegetarian recipes. I was intrigued by the jammy, soft-cooked eggs, made with tea or beets. Make this oil, as spicy as you like, for salads and cooking. Next on my list: fried rice, with peas and ginger; sesame rice noodles made with today’s everything oil and charred broccoli; and a sweet French toast.

Recipe excerpted with permission from To Asia, With Love, by Hetty McKinnon, published by Prestel.

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Breakfast Tart from Lazy Day Brunches

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
Recipes by Kathy Kordalis, photo by Mowie Kay © Ryland Peters & Small

Here’s a super lazy way to have a backyard gathering: give your friends copies of this cookbook, and ask each to make a recipe from it for a wonderful pot-luck brunch at your house. Set the picnic table, mix some mimosas, iced tea and coffee, and whip up this breakfast tart and one of the amazing French toasts from the book. Invite me, and I’ll help with the dishes.

Recipe excerpted with permission from Lazy Day Brunches: Relaxed Recipes for the Morning, Ryland Peters & Small

Click on the book cover to buy:

Recipe for Vegetable-Topped Mini Schiacciata from Florentine by Emiko Davies

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This lovely book, filled with stories and recipes, was like a trip back to Italy. Today’s recipe for schiacciatine makes a platter full of adorable little veggie-covered savory treats. Next on my list: Italian meatloaf, fried chicken, and pastas and gnocchi galore. Which to choose? Sweet crostini with pears and walnuts, or maybe individual rice/risotto puddings, for dessert. I know my kids’ answer will be both.

Recipe excerpted with permission from Florentine by Emiko Davies, published by Hardie Grant Books, February 2021

Click on the book cover to buy: