Now that the cool fall days are here, we are all looking for warm comfort foods to fill our tummies. The library has many wonderful cookbooks to help us create hearty and delicious comfort foods to keep us warm during the long, cold months of fall and winter. Here are just a few:
New Slow Cooker Favourites from Canadian Living is filled with fantastic, simple slow cooker recipes, and many gorgeous mouthwatering illustrations. There are also great tips for selecting and using your slow cooker, along with easy-to-follow recipes for soups, stews, chilies, curries, casseroles and much more. Hearty Thick Turkey Barley Soup, Creole Red Beans and Chorizo, and Black Bean Chili are just a few examples. Other excellent cookbooks in this Canadian Living series include 150 Essential Salads, 150 Essential Beef, Pork and Lamb Recipes, The Appetizer Collection and The International Collection. Each recipe uses everyday ingredients and only the most common cooking equipment found in households across Canada.
One Pot from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living contains more than 120 easy meals for your skillet, slow cooker, stockpot and more. One Pot has delicious recipes for all-in-one meals that can be prepared with little effort and leave you with few pans to wash. Spicy Zucchini Frittata, Curried Chicken Potpie, Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup are just a few of the tasty dishes waiting for you in One Pot.
Good Housekeeping Soups and Stews offers 150 recipes brimming with flavour from the Good Housekeeping kitchens. There is a great variety of recipes suitable for every course and occasion. The recipe for Perfect Chicken Soup is old fashioned comfort food at its best. Beef and Wild Mushroom stew is a long simmering, satisfying main course. Vegetable Barley Stew is filled with whole grain goodness.
Burgoo Food for Comfort by Justin Joyce and Stephan MacIntyre offers delicious recipes from Vancouver’s Burgoo restaurants, lively neighbourhood bistros that serve nourishing comfort foods. This beautifully illustrated cookbook offers classic bistro-style recipes. Beef Bourguignon, addictive Gooey Cheese Grillers, garlicky Caesar Salad and the traditional French Onion Soup await you in the pages of Burgoo. The Macaroni and Cheese recipe is particularly fabulous. Delightfully decadent, creamy and cheesy comfort food. Yum!
Nothing is more comforting than a thick, delicious slice of warm bread. Breads by Jean Paré is part of the Company’s Coming series. Simple recipes show you how to create freshly baked bread along with doughnuts, bagels and much more. These are quick and easy recipes that use everyday ingredients. There are also sections on bread machine recipes and gluten-free breads. The Awesome Potato Rolls are just excellent — tender and light.
Of course, we must not forget dessert — there’s no better way to end a great meal.
America’s Most Wanted Recipes, Just Desserts: Sweet Indulgences from Your Family’s Favorite Restaurants by Ron Douglas is filled with decadent favourites from popular chains. Some basic baking tips at the beginning of the book are also very helpful. Douglas has managed to uncover the secrets of these recipes so that we can recreate them in our own homes. Applebee’s Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Shooter, Baskin Robbins
Turtle Pie, The Cheesecake Factory’s White Chocolate–Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake and Olive Garden’s Brownie Banana Fantastico are just a few tempting examples of these inexpensive, easy and delicious dishes that everyone will enjoy. Douglas is also the author of America’s Most Wanted Recipes, More of America’s Most Wanted Recipes and America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt.
If you are looking for more great titles, don’t hesitate to ask at your local public library. We are always very happy to recommend books for you to devour.
--A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Dianne Allan works at Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Library.
