Heavenly Icebox Pies

Nothing says spring to me like a cool slice of pie!  Tempt your tastebuds (and your culinary skills) with Icebox Pies:  100 Scrumptious Recipes for No-Bake No-Fail Pies!  Author Lauren Chattman's book gives lots of examples of delicious, make-ahead desserts for the beginner to advanced cook.  The recipes are imaginative, fun, and perfect for entertaining, special occasions or as an everyday treat. Besides your usual lemon and chocolate pies, the book includes instructions for making Gianduia Pie (with hazlenuts and nutella), a couscous and apricot pudding pie and a fig and walnut pie!  There is even a handy end section on "Dressing Up" your pie which includes directions on how to make a variety of sauces and fun things such as sugared nuts and nougatine (almond brittle).  With great photos and detailed directions, this book is a sure winner for any pie lover!

A Decadent Way to Die

I've been reading this series by G. A. McKevett sine the beginning (Just Desserts is the first one) and have loved every one. This is the best book yet though and I can't wait to read the next one. This series is about a private detective originally from Georgia, Savannah Reid, and A Decadent Way To Die is set in the fictional town of San Carmelita, CA. Savannah is a plus-size woman and she left the San Carmelita Police Department due to issues with her weight. She now runs the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency with her friend and assistant Tammy, and two retired FBI agents. Her one-time partner at the police department, Dirk Doulter, often helps them on cases and she returns the favor.

In the latest installment, Savannah is commissioned to find out who wants to do harm to Helene Strauss, the 81 year old owner of Strauss Doll Works, Inc. There have been two suspicious "accidents" and the evidence and motive are pointing towards members of Helene's own family. Savannah is on the case but has to do some work alone because Tammy's time is taken up with a new boyfriend who seems intent on controlling her every movement. Savannah's efforts to get Tammy to see the boyfriend's controlling nature are met with resistance until Tammy is savagely beaten. Savannah doesn't let anybody get away with that! As the case of who wants to kill Helene draws to a close, there are some unforseen consequences for Savannah and perhaps at long last the simmering attraction Savannah and Dirk feel for each other will come to a head--or will they once again part ways as just friends?

G. A. McKevitt is a pseudonym for Sonja Massie.

Mmmmm....Pie....

On a cold wintry day, there is nothing better to eat than a nice, hot, piece of pie! I must admit, the thing that attracted me the most to this book was its beautiful cover image of a piece of apple pie, drippping with cinnamon between a flaky, sugary crust...are you hungry yet? Julie Hasson's The Complete Book of Pies is as delicious as it looks. This book contains 200 recipes for pies, ranging from sweet to savory and the recipes I've tried have all turned out wonderfully. The book includes basic pie recipes as well as directions on how to "correct" any baking issues you have, and many recipes for different types of crusts. My favorite recipe in this book was the "Steak and Mushroom Pie"--instead of the cubed beef sirloin the recipe called for, I used deer tenderloin, and the resulting pie was so delicious that even an 8 year old who doesn't like deer meat ate it! The book also includes recipes for different pie fillings as well as for the perfect food that complements sweet pies, ice cream. The recipe directions are easy to follow, simply written and include tips on the side of each one. There are also lots of beautiful, full color images of the recipes in the book. Every cook will enjoy this book, from the novice pie maker to the veteran baker. Go ahead and slice up your own piece of pie!

Delicious Low-Carb Baking

I am blaming the subject of this blog entry on one of my friends! We were casually talking several days ago about finding "the perfect lemon poppy seed" recipe. So, like any good librarian, I lodged this conversation in the back of my mind until yesterday when I walked through our libraries' cookbook section on the way to our biographies. If you are even an occasional cook, you can probably understand how hard it is to fly through the 641.5 non-fiction section and not get sidetracked by the beautiful covers and interesting titles of the cookbooks in the section. I know I am not the only person in Warren County that is enamored of cookbooks, because these titles circulate often! I remembered seeing a cookbook that I had copied an almond-poppy seed bread recipe from, and thought that it might also contain a lemon poppy seed recipe. The book, Baking With Splenda by JoAnna M. Lund and Barbara Alpert does indeed have a wonderful Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Coffee Cake recipe in it and best of all, it's sugar-free! If you are tired of the on-again-off-again cold weather we've been experiecing, this coffee cake recipe is a wonderful low-carb way to wish in the arrival of spring. The cookbook contains sections on a variety of different food recipes that are all baked with Splenda sweetener instead of sugar--from "Yummy Yeast Breads" to "Creamy Cakes" and even includes a section on "Grandma Jo's Baking Secrets" (did you know you can make powdered sugar from Splenda)? Can't get enough recipes for low-carb desserts? Try also Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Desserts with Fewer Calories or Jackie Mills' The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts: Decadent and Delicious Recipes, Perfect for People with Diabetes. Be forewarned--these books will have you throwing flour around in your kitchen pretty quickly!