Venice in February: Brunetti’s Cookbook by Roberta Pianaro and Donna Leon

Two things I love- Italian food and mysteries. And Donna Leon has found a great combination with Brunetti's Cookbook. Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti series is one of my current favorites, and for those who've read the books, you know why she needed to add a cookbook. If you haven't read the books, let me tell you a bit about them. Brunetti is an inspector for the Venice Questura, so the mysteries are basically police precedurals, not the food-based cozies that are so popular now. But the descriptions of Venice transport you there, and the food is just mouth-watering, whether he's eating at a neighborhood trattorio or at home where his wife, Paola, cooks delectable multi-course meals. That's not to mention the pastries, the wine, the coffee. In Brunetti's Cookbook, Roberta Pianaro has brought these  dishes to our dinner table, with Leon interspersing the recipes with excerpts from her novels and essays about food and Venice. It's a marvelous cookbook to actually sit down...
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Weekend cooking: My favorite stuffed shells

They're not pretty, but these stuffed shells are absolutely delicious. They are from my Betty Crocker's Cooking Basics cookbook, probably my favorite of all my cookbooks. They're not the standard shells stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture and marinara sauce, they're kind of tacoey. Stuffed Pasta Shells Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 12 uncooked jumbo pasta shells 1 medium onion 1 pound lean ground beef 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder 3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature ¼ cup taco sauce Cooking spray ½ taco sauce 1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese ½ cup crushed corn chips 1 medium green onion with tops ½ cup sour cream Directions Boil the pasta shells uncovered for 11 to 13 minutes until tender. Drain. Peel and chop the onion. Cook the ground been and onion over medium-high heat 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned; drain. Stir the chili power, cream cheese, and ¼ cup taco sauce into the beef. Heat over medium-low hear 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Heat oven to 350º. Spray a 8-or 9-inch...
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The Family Dinner by Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt with Giveaway

The Family Dinner by Laurie David with recipes by Kirstin Uhrenholdt We sit down as a family for dinner probably most every night, and I have to admit that I'm always on the lookout for new cookbooks. I think trying new recipes is fun. It doesn't hurt that my husband will eat just about everything and Amber (10) is usually pretty good at trying things or finding parts of a meal she'll eat. While this book  is chock-full of recipes, it's more than a cookbook. Davis discusses why having dinner together is important and offers steps to making those dinners successful (no cell phones!). There are conversation starters, some of which I can actually see working and not just leaving kids rolling their eyes at you. "What is the grossest thing you have ever eaten?" "Describe your dream vacation. Give lots of details." Those two questions alone could probably keep the talk going at our table for hours, with more details than I'd...
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Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Family Favorites by Beth Hensperger

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Family Favorites by Beth Hensperger I love the idea of slow cookers. Put in the ingredients, it cooks while you're at work or doing chores or whatever and then "ta-da" - a delicious meal. It's great for game night pulled pork sandwiches and Italian sausage for parties. Lately though, this hot, humid summer, it's been perfect to turn to because it quite simply heats the kitchen up way less than the stove or oven, and with no air conditioning it's hard enough to keep the house bearable. This cookbook is chock-full of delicious sounding recipes, from standard pot roasts, stews and chilis to more unusual fare, like Chinese Apricot Pork Roast with Buckwheat Soba Noodle Salad and an eggplant parmesan. We've tried a few of the recipes and so far we've been pleased. I do wish there were photos with the recipes or nutritional information. The first thing I tried was the oatmeal with cranberries and apple. I...
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Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn

Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn I adore cookbooks. I can read recipe after recipe, thinking they all sound good. I'm not a wonderful cook, but I do try. Combine a cookbook with ideas on saving money on groceries and I had to check it out. The first third of the book is full of money- and time-saving ideas, some of which I've heard before, some that were new to me. The nice part is that Ostyn doesn't expect you to implement all her suggestions, and definitely not all at once. She encourages you to pick and choose what will work best for you. For me, I think a price book and better meal-planning are great places to start. The price book, in theory, would help me know which of our three local stores typically has the best price, and also help me know what is a good price if I see the item on sale somewhere else. And...
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So Easy by Ellie Krieger

So Easy by Ellie Krieger I love cookbooks. I love looking through them, talking about all the delicious sounding recipes, drooling aver the pictures. Actually, sometimes it drives my husband crazy. He's not a big fan of talking about food if there isn't any actually being cooked. And I especially love cookbooks like this, with dishes that I can actually manage in the time I have. I really like how this is divided up, two sections of recipes for each meal. There's quick breakfasts and ones to linger over, lunch to go and lunch at home, dinners for when you're short on time and dinners for when you have a little extra time. That set up is perfect for families like ours, where some morning getting ready for school and work are rushed, especially because I hate waking up, but Saturdays we can relax some. And evenings when I'm done with work at 5, there's not a lot of time to cook...
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