Tis the Season for Comfort Food!

Tue, 12/20/2016 - 5:29pm by oliviabee

It's getting cold outside! It's the perfect time of year to indulge in some decadent and comforting recipes! Fortunately, the library offers many delicious cookbooks for all your favorite comfort food fixings. Here's some great ones to check out this winter:

Are you are a soup lover? If so, look no further than Cook's Illustrated all-time best soups. The chefs at America's Test Kitchen chose the best and most delectable recipes to include. The recipes cover a diverse spectrum of soup flavors for all taste buds and skill levels. In it's weeknight wonders section, it's got classics like hearty chicken noodle soup and turkey chili. It also consists of other eclectic soups like caldo verde soup, a Spanish soup with potatoes, sausage and kale which is easy enough to make on a weeknight but still allows you to try something different. If you're feeling worldly, check out the around the world section for Italian wedding soup. My favorite was the modern vegetable soup section which consists of elevated classic soup recipes like roasted red pepper soup with smoked paprika or Provencal vegetarian soup inspired from France. It's got something yummy for every soup lover.

If you're looking for some southern comfort, Melba Wilson's cookbook Melba's American Cookbook is an excellent choice. One of Melba's most acclaimed dishes is her fried chicken and she has a whole section in her book to suit your fried chicken fancy. However, her breakfast and brunch section is the most impressive. It's filled with many comforting recipes! She includes quick and easy dishes such bacon and cheese (asiago) scones. One of my favorite recipes is her eggnog waffles. It's perfect for holiday time if you're feeling festive! She makes her eggnog from scratch and tops it with homemade strawberry butter.

I'd recommend 101 one-dish dinners : hearty recipes for the dutch oven, skillet, and casserole pan to anyone! If you're not up on what's trendy in the home cook world, it's all about one dish dinners. All you need is a dutch oven, casserole dish, sheet pan or skillet. This makes dinner quick and easy with minimal clean up! The recipes in this book don't skimp on the savory comfort foods from skillet chicken pot pie to lemon cream chicken with artichokes and potatoes.

Enjoy!

Nature’s High-Energy Diet

Tuesday April 11, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room

Spring Detox the Safe and Healthy Way

Tuesday March 14, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Westgate Branch: West Side Room

Secrets of Natural Weight Loss: Raw Food

Tuesday January 17, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Pittsfield Branch: Program Room
Grade 6 - Adult

How to Make Dinner Without Making Dinner

Sat, 11/26/2016 - 5:48pm by mansii

I've always admired those folks who cook on the weekend and it lasts them an entire week. However, whether rightly or wrongly, I've always assumed this type of cooking revolves around casseroles and frozen entrees prepped in advance. For me, the joy of cooking is all about making things elegantly and fresh. From stove to palette.

That's why Food 52's brand new collection A New Way to Dinner: A Playbook of Recipes and Strategies for the Week Ahead hits just the right spot. These recipes take advantage of seasonal produce, and model a system that pairs individual components of dishes made on the weekend in new ways to make entirely different, fresh meals each night of the week--with hardly any additional effort.

But, this is not just a book of recipes. Each meal-planned week includes a comprehensive grocery list, an explanation for how the entire week will come together (including desert!), and suggestions for using excess ingredients in the future. It really does teach a whole new life style where dinner is ready right when you get home from work, while remaining 100% fresh from the kitchen--no freezing or left-overing required.

If you are already familiar with Food 52, you won't be surprised by the quality and tastiness of these recipes, along with their sensibility for a modern aesthetic. If you are new to Food 52, AADL has a variety of cookbooks from them you will not want to miss. You can find them here.

Cooking Matters Education Series

Mon, 11/21/2016 - 10:12am by monkk

Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters education series empowers low-income families with the skills to stretch their food budgets so their children get healthy meals at home, as part of the No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger in America. Cooking Matters serves families across the country through hands-on, six-week cooking courses and an interactive grocery store tour. Participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices and cook delicious, affordable meals.

The first round of classes for 2017 will meet Thursdays, January 5 to February 9 from 6 - 8 p.m. at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Campus, Women's Health Center Culinary Studio, and will host a volunteer chef from Zingerman’s. Registration is required by Monday, January 2. Limited spaces are based on income eligibility. To register or for more information, contact Mary Donaldson, Nutrition Instructor with Michigan State University Extension at 734-222-3956 or morrism4@anr.msu.edu.

Why homemade baby food?

Mon, 10/31/2016 - 6:18pm by ballybeg

Well, because it is way cheaper and more fun than buying food in a jar. You can control the quality, use the freshest ingredients, focus on the best nutrition, and introduce a bit of adventure into your baby’s eating. It is not that time-consuming either! Not every busy parent will opt to spend more time in the kitchen, when they could be doing other things with baby, but for those who are so inclined, we have many choices to provide inspiration and technique to the preparation of homemade baby food. These four books are a sampling.

Around the world in 80 purees : easy recipes for global baby food I think the title is misleading because this book is about way more than purees. The recipes in here could be used for the big guys too, and then can be pureed for the baby. Very international cuisine represented, with interesting ingredients and spices. Turn your young eater into a gourmet.

Natural baby food : over 150 wholesome, nutritious recipes for your baby and toddler Lots of ideas for first solids, and lots of solid advice for how and when to begin feeding.

The amazing make-ahead baby food book : make three months of homemade purees in three hours The baby food factory in your kitchen. For the busiest of parents who still want the savings and quality control, but also some time-saving convenience.

Bébé gourmet : 100 French-inspired baby food recipes for raising an adventurous eater I can't resist this one. It aligns perfectly with the book French Kids Eat Everything and might influence the outcome of your child's eating tastes. Arranged for 4, 6, 9, and 12 months and over, it has your baby's introduction to really good food covered. No more fussy eaters!

Very Impressive Brand New Cookbook

Tue, 09/20/2016 - 8:46pm by mansii

If you have ever had an inkling that you might like to try your hand at authentic Chinese food, a very impressive cookbook has hit AADL's shelves just for you! All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips takes a comprehensive look at Chinese cuisine, and by comprehensive I mean over 500 pages containing over 300 recipes, and weighing approximately 4 pounds!

This woman is serious about her cooking, and as authentic as you can get. All 35 different cuisines of China are represented, divided into five different regions. Each section of this volume relays a fascinating and well-researched food history of the region it represents. If you don't know where a recipe title like "Ignored by the Dog" came from Phillips will tell you--along with many other crazy tidbits.

Over 100 pages of "fundamentals" in the back provide essential know-how, like a basic Chinese flour recipe for stickier baked goods results. A thorough glossary explains what the different ingredients mentioned throughout the book are and where to find them. Very detailed technique descriptions, as well as helpful tips on almost every page enable cooks of any level to enter into this whole new culinary world. One of my favorite parts is the sample menu ideas in the back for pairing recipes.

Phillips writes with a love for food and for culture that is contagious. My mouth is watering for some battered and caramelized apples or Drunken Chicken. This book is an education all right, and an invitation to the adventurous!

If 35 cuisines in five regions is a little much to swallow for a first stab at Chinese cooking, check out the rest of AADL's cookbooks on Chinese cuisine here!

Basic Knife Skills

Wednesday February 8, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Secret Lab
Grade 6 - Adult

French Macarons 101

Monday January 30, 2017: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
Grade 6 - Adult