The Husband Cooks Wednesdays

OK, so The Husband Cooks Wednesdays, but not today, for three reasons. 1) My parents came over to visit with Nicholas and we wanted to keep it simple. 2) The contractor is coming back tomorrow to finish the kitchen piece, so we had to clear off the counters, empty the cabinets and the drawers and not make a bigger mess. And last but most importantly, 3) We had reason to celebrate — he got the job he was going for! He’s VERY excited. It’s doing the same type of work he’s doing now (management), but for a much larger company (Time Warner) with more pay, better benefits and great perks. What’s nice is that he wasn’t even looking for another job, since he likes his current one; it’s always cool when they come looking for you instead. Of course, because he likes his job, it’s going to make it hard to give notice, but this is a really good opportunity, so all is good. So, figured it was fair to give him the night off, ignoring the fact that he gets the other 6 nights off. ;) I’ve very proud of him.

Budget Living Magazine, in their newest issue, published an article with their “21 Favorite Cookbooks” that you “must have.” Although I don’t necessarily agree with some of their choices, there’s a few on their list I’ll definitely be adding. Unfortunately the list isn’t available on their web site, and I haven’t received my copy of the magazine yet, but in the meantime, you can view part of the list over here on a Slashfood post today.

One of the cookbooks they list as a “must have” is one from Saveur. I haven’t checked out the book yet, but if it’s anything like the magazine, I’d disagree with it as a “must have.” I love Saveur magazine, don’t get me wrong, but for me, it’s more like National Geographic food porn and I get it more for the cultural aspects and history of the foods and countries they explore, rather than for the rip-out-recipes factor. I think in all the years I’ve subscribed to the magazine, I’ve only made one recipe, and it was a dud. Not to say that they’re not good; their recipes are just more labor intensive than I have time/inclination for. That said, their ingredient lists don’t really mesh with “budget living” either, so was surprised by that choice on two counts. Not surprising, however, was Barefoot Contessa making their list. Never had a bad Ina Garten recipe, butter be darned!

Speaking of cookbook “must-haves,” vegetarians/vegans, heads up. Today’s paper highlighted 5 new vegetarian/vegan cookbooks that they thought were noteworthy, but not necessarily “must haves.” New Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown was touted as “hands down the most gorgeous new book of the bunch.” Next up was Cafe Flora Cookbook by Catherine Geier. They deemed it “not for beginner vegetarians and disliked the design, but liked that it covered a broad ethnic map with little tofu masquerading as meat.” La Dolce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer is an “acquired taste” and they look at Kramer as coming from the “punk side of vegetarianism,” whatever that means. Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, another “punk vegetarian” caught their attention because it was the first time the newspaper had seen a press release “proudly use profanity.” Okaaaay. And lastly, Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet got completely panned, partly because of sandwiches that take 18 hours to prepare (seriously!), recipes for minced parsley (yes, again, seriously!), and a sandwich that consists of guacamole smeared between two slices of tomato bound by lettuce. Can’t say I’m adding that one to my list, let alone the others.

In my Culinary Confessions post from yesterday, I promised to reveal one last confession: the two food items I find hard to keep in the house, mostly because if they’re here, I have limited, if any, self-control.

The first is:
I don’t really have a sweet tooth, so there are actually only a few sweet things that tempt me. This one goes beyond just mere temptation, and unfortunately, now Nicholas is just as hooked, calling them “red bars.” In fact, when scoping out the Halloween clearance section today at Target, I had to stop myself from buying more than 5 bags of these (at only $1.05 a bag!). Just. No. Willpower.

Second item:
I suppose they’re healthier than my first addiction, but probably just barely. I was really looking for a better alternative to have around the house for the odd occasion that Nicholas has chips and bought a bag just to try. Well, I confess, I don’t think he’s had a chance to try them yet, because I can polish them off before he even knows they’re in the house. Luckily he loves granola bars, yogurt drinks and the occasional applesauce, so maybe he won’t know what he’s missing. Mine. All. Mine.

Since it’s the end of October, time for the round-up for new recipes I made. Got some great new recipes I’ll definitely be repeating, and only one complete dud. Twenty-three new recipes, and only several hundred thousand left to try.

Tune in tomorrow to see what regular new event I’m unveiling for Thursdays. Until then…

October 2005 New Recipe Round-Up
Cherry Coconut Bars
Harvest Pumpkin Bars
Shrimp Spread Tea Sandwiches
Pasta with Poached Egg, Frizzled Ham and Brown Butter
Stuffed Garlic Bread
Roasted Tomato and Avocado Salad
Roquefort Pear Salad
Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
Pumpkin French Toast
Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing
Ham, Prosciutto and Cheddar Paninis
Toasted Oat and Raisin Cookies
Banana Chocolate Brunch Cake
Creamy Shrimp with Pasta
Chocolate Macaroon Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Tiramisu Cake
Zucchini Bars
Beer Bread
Moist Caramel Apple Cake
Chicken Paprika
Smoked Cheddar Mini Muffins

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