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Books That Cook

Share the good buys

For warehouse shoppers stocking up or dieters slimming down, there's a new book for everyone.

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published January 17, 2007

TITLE: From Warehouse to Your House by Sally Sampson (Simon & Schuster, $15; 322 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: From Warehouse to Your House offers more than 250 simple recipes to cook, store and share the food you buy in quantity at warehouse clubs such as Sam's or Costco.

SAMPLE RECIPES: Hunter's chicken, chicken with balsamic vinaigrette and wilted greens, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato dip, peach pie, walnut rum cake and oatmeal lace cookies.

FOR: Anyone addicted to warehouse clubs. Sometimes the deals are too good to pass up, but if you aren't using what you buy, money is wasted.

ABOUT THE RECIPES: Skill level ranges from novice to expert, with some recipes calling for lots of prep work. Spices are prevalent in most of the dishes. Your spice cabinet should include garlic, curry, ginger, chives, turmeric and chili powder, among others.

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TITLE: The Wine and Food Lover's Diet: 28 Days of Delicious Weight Loss by Phillip Tirman (Chronicle Books, $24.95; 224 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: The Wine and Food Lover's Diet is not for everyone. You need to like to cook and have the time to do it. Many recipes involve a lot of prep work, not to mention shopping for ingredients that may not be staples in your pantry, such as grapeseed oil, white pepper and pumpkin seed oil, among others.

SAMPLE RECIPES: Barley paella, Mediterranean spiced chicken with olives and almonds, mushrooms stuffed with Parmesan cheese and almonds and sesame seed popcorn shrimp.

FOR: Dieters wanting to start slowly. There are almost 80 pages of reading before getting to the recipes.

CREDIBILITY: This diet program is written by a sports medicine physician. Dr. Phillip Tirman has an "interest" in nutrition and athletic performance. That's not to say that you won't be successful on this diet; however, there doesn't appear to be any scientific evidence to back up the "Savvy Solution" approach.

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TITLE: The Supermarket Diet Cookbook from Good Housekeeping editors (Hearst Books, $19.95; 320 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: The Supermarket Diet Cookbook is the companion to The Supermarket Diet.

FOR: Dieters looking for flavorful, simple meals that can be enjoyed by the whole family. To use it as a diet book, you'll need to buy The Supermarket Diet.

SAMPLE RECIPES: Jamaican beef with sweet potatoes and greens, onion, spinach and pecorino frittata, steak sandwiches with grilled onions, seafood with zesty tomatoes and wine, Thai noodles with cilantro and basil, mixed summer squash with parsley and lemon and apricot souffles.

GLOBAL FLAVORS: Many recipes have a global influence with inspirations coming from Thailand, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Italy and more.

BONUS: If you purchase the cookbook, you get a free subscription to Good Housekeeping. There is also a great chart that tells how long foods can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

SKILL LEVEL: The techniques are relatively easy, making this a good choice for someone with basic kitchen skills. Preparation in most recipes is minimal, but many fresh ingredients are used. Some recipes also use convenience foods.

APPETIZER

Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

1 log plain, soft goat cheese, about 8 inches long, at room temperature

3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped, oil reserved

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Finely chopped fresh basil leaves, for garnish, optional

- Place the goat cheese and tomatoes in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil and the salt, and mash again.

- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 1 week. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired, just before serving.

Source: From Warehouse to Your House by Sally Sampson

ENTREE

Roast Pork with a Walnut Crust

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 boneless, center-cut pork loin roast, about 3 pounds

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1 shallot, coarsely chopped

- In a small, dry skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts, stirring constantly, until they just begin to turn a light brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately pour them into a small bowl to cool. In the same pan over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, until they just begin to turn a light brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into the bowl with the walnuts to cool.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a rack in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the pork. Trim any fat from the pork. Season all over with salt and pepper and spread evenly with the mustard.

- In a food processor, combine the walnuts, sesame seeds, herbes de Provence and shallot. Pulse until finely chopped.

- Pat the walnut mixture evenly over the pork.

- Place the pork on the rack in the pan. Roast until the crust is lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pork reads 145 degrees for medium, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

- Remove the pork to a carving board and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. During this resting time, the meat will continue to cook a little. Carve and serve on warmed plates.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: The Wine and Food Lover's Diet: 28 Days of Delicious Weight Loss by Phillip Tirman

BRUNCH

Onion, Spinach and Pecorino Frittata

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1 bag (5 to 6 ounces) baby spinach

8 large eggs

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

- In a nonstick oven-safe 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook, stirring constantly, just until wilted, about 1 minute.

- Spread onion and spinach mixture evenly in skillet; remove skillet from heat.

- In medium bowl, whisk eggs, water, Romano cheese, salt and pepper until blended. Carefully pour egg mixture into skillet over onion mixture; do not stir. Return to medium-high heat and cook until egg mixture begins to set around the edge, 2 to 3 minutes.

- Place skillet in oven; bake until frittata is golden and set, 8 to 10 minutes. Slide frittata out of skillet onto cutting board. Cut into wedges to serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: The Supermarket Diet Cookbook from Good Housekeeping

[Last modified January 16, 2007, 12:13:09]