So I was asked to review a cookbook – awhile ago. A long while ago. The thing with writing a cookbook review is that I have to follow the recipes – who does that I ask you? And the other thing that gets me all riled up – measuring! Have you any idea how long it took me to FIND my measuring cups & spoons? Ridiculous!
So, with a measure of salt, please, my review on Gluten-Free Every Day cookbook by Robert M. Landolphi.
Educational: The introduction is a great, useful, not too detailed, but detailed enough overview of gluten free flours, grains, and starches.
Easy: The recipes are easy to follow. In fact I really really, really, liked the format of the recipes. The lists of ingredients (handy ones), and instructions are succinct. I just hate the martha version of recipes- where you have to learn the latin version of words, and measure everything. (Yes, of course I measured everything. Hello? Book Review!)
Nice book: If you’re like me, you love a nice looking book. The pages are a bit newsprint-y but in a soft creamy color kind of way. And the print is nice brown & red – I love that. There aren’t a lot of pictures to speak of, – but the recipes speak for themselves – brownies, lemon-coconut bars (maybe not the exact titles but thats what they are!), chicken pot pie. Regular stuff, ya know?
Usable: This is now my go-to cookbook of the gluten free variety. If I’m looking for a bread or dough recipe – this book is the most ‘reasonable’ that I’ve found. By reasonable, I mean the ingredients don’t have to be imported, and the instructions don’t take a degree in latin to read. The cream cheese pie crust recipe is the absolute best pie crust I’ve ever made. And when looking for inspiration for dinner – this book has it! Both quiches, breads, main courses, soups, and a few fancier recipes too. But most of it is your down-to-earth American fare. In fact I’ve given out the “Wow Brownies” recipe to non-gf people because it is that good!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We interrupt this review for a funny story: my daughter (9 yrs old) decided to make the Wow Brownies with her classmate 2 days ago. They decided that they didn’t need to follow the directions. (I don’t know where she gets it from!) And Mommy, being the genius that I am, decided that we could substitute guar gum & oil for an egg, cause I was missing one egg for the recipe. Naturally, the result is entirely the fault of the former situation. Result? Those brownies were SO hard that it took TWO days of soaking to get the stuff off the pan – TWO DAYS. Oh – and the most priceless thing – the girls cut the brownies while they were warm (and soft-ish) and each took a 2″ x 1″ square to the table. ”Mommy, its chewy!” That’s what I hear. And then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes later- I notice they are ALL still at the table, chewing. Chewing, chewing, chewing. Is that not the funniest thing ever?
Back to your regularly scheduled review….
—————————————————————————————-
Ingredients: Did I say the ingredients are normal, yet? They are. Normal. He does call for xanthum gum instead of guar gum in all his recipes – I’m not sure why. Seems to me that if you are not using yeast, guar gum is a less expensive option. In my testing I used guar gum in place of xanthum and the results were spectacular.
Assortment: Have I said how normal the recipes are? Normal. People, this book suits me. I love it. Oh – and the chicken pot pie – oh YUM – a little sherry & cream to thicken and make yummy. Delice!!
The Chef: So this fellow that wrote the book, is a real live chef. And then his wife (as an adult) was diagnosed celiac. So then he set out on a personal challenge to create recipes that were as good or better than the gluten-filled versions. And we, my friends, are the very lucky recipients of this ambitious guy.
So, its paperback, its not that pricey $11.55, and you can get from my Lists page: http://strawberriesareglutenfree.com/shopping-info/.
Enjoy! 
Featured: Oral Allergy Syndrome
