reviews from the vegetable appetizer thread & a cookbook question

[Wendy w]

On Monday, I made Emdg's Chickpea crunchies, and tossed them with taco seasoning and ate them all in one afternoon. Next time, I will use less olive oil as they did have an oily coating but makes a very nice alternative to popcorn. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/cwm2/lurk.gif

Last night, I made Mandarin2j's Minced vegetable dip from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I am dipping pieces of baked potato in it as I am typing this. Very easy and tasty. I really wanted to try the horseradish version, but I didn't have any horseradish as I used it up on St. Paddy's day.

By the way, I have noticed a lot of recipes posted on the bb from his books and I want to know from those of you that have them, what do you think of them? I ask this because I have lots and lots of cookbooks and want to know if you make very many things from it and if it is worth buying. I have noticed that his recipes are really simple.

Thanks Emdg and Mandarin2j and to anyone who can give me information on these books!

Wendy

[This message has been edited by Wendy w (edited 03-29-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Wendy w (edited 03-29-2001).]

[mandarin2j]

Wendy w-

How to Cook Everything is probably the first book I reach for when searching for a recipe or food idea. He has this cake, I think it's called the Death By Chocolate Torte (not a light recipe!), that gets raves at birthdays and gets me credit for being a superstar baker when I'm really a very timid baker who's just good following directions. The recipes can almost always be adapted to lighter versions (he's a firm believer in real butter!), and he has great preparation tips. We have our closest friends over for meals a lot-they're very willing guinea pigs. This has acquired me a reputation as quite a cook, but I'm totally self-taught from this book and others like it. DH and I got this book for them because they really didn't own any cookbooks and would call whenever they were attempting a home-cooked meal for advice. We didn't mind sharing advice, but we noticed they were needing it more frequently and were ready to graduate to a real cookbook. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif It's basic enough for beginners but has great ideas for experienced cooks, too.

-Amanda

[Wendy w]

Thanks for the information Amanda! I will definitely consider buying it although I really don't need it.

I also have a couple of Death by Chocolate cake recipes as well - one is a short cut version using cake and pudding mixes. I hadn't made it in a long time so I made the "cheaters" version for my niece's birthday a few weeks ago and it was a hit!

Since they are from the Dom Deluise cookbook: Eat This, it Will Make You Feel Better you can guarantee that it isn't light!