October 2007 Cookbook Reviews

Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist
by A.J. Rathbun

Harvard Common Press
Hardcover
ISBN# 978-1-55832-336-0
Suggested Retail Price: $29.95 or as low as $18.34 from Amazon.com!

Much more than a simple bartender's guide, "Good Spirits" is a great party planner, and a wild ride through the world of exotic libations. With nearly 500 pages of simple recipes for drinks as simle as the Harvey Wallbanger or Screaming Orgasm, to some really unusual combinations, this book is certainly proof to the adage "there's more than one way to skin a cat." Author A.J. Rathburn adds an amusing comment to each recipe, and there's a full-color photograph of most of them. And to help keep the party rockin' there's all sorts of trivia and play lists included. You can have a great time just browsing through this book, but you'll want to keep it handy when Happy Hour arrives in your house.

Fan Fare: A Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgating or Watching the Game at Home
by Debbie Moose

Harvard Common Press
Hardcover
ISBN# 978-1-55832-338-4
Suggested Retail Price: $14.95 or as low as $4.16 from Amazon.com!

Just looking at the cover of this guide to meals for sports fans will be enough to convince you. It shows a plate of three gorgeous sandwiches - thick sliced roast beef smothered in a seasoned sauce with grated slices of a hard cheese served in perfect-sized bakery buns. 1/3 is appetizers and drinks, 1/3 is has chilis and other main dishes, and the balance of the book has ideas for side dishes and even breakfasts.

Planning what to serve for tailgating parties or for parties at home can make you crazy. This book will give you an SUV-full of ideas so that you can have parties all year long and never serve the same thing twice... unless by popular demand from your guests!

Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen
by Eula Mae Dore

Harvard Common Press
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-55832-372-8
Suggested Retail Price: $16.95 or as low as $7.68 from Amazon.com!

If I mention Avery Island, I'm sure most of you know that's where they make the legendary Tabasco Sauce. Eula Mae Dore and her husband managed the Commissary for The McIlhenny Company who manufactures the elixer. The recipes are presented by season, and each one is accompanied by Eula Mae's complete instructions and many have some great anecdotes about Eula Mae's family and Cajun cooking. My brother-in-law has a Cajun background and loves to cook. We made the Shrimp Creole and he pronounced it a winner. If you weren't hungry when you started to read this book, you will be soon.