The New Southwest #Cookbook Spotlight: Review and Giveaway

You've seen me posting delicious recipes like Mushroom and Leek Migas, and Savory Baked Pumpkin Flautas, and today it's time to review the amazing cookbook from which these recipes came. 

The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist by Meagan Micozzi of Scarletta Bakes. 

For the past two weeks, I've been eating my way through this cookbook. And loving every minute of it!

This hardcover, colorful, and informative cookbook is a keeper. 

Meagan includes a section in the beginning called The Southwestern Pantry where she gives detailed information about different Southwestern spices, chiles, produce, dairy, baking ingredients, and more. I really enjoyed reading through this part, and seeing some of the descriptions for ingredients included in some of the recipes, ones that I knew nothing about like Manchego cheese and oaxaca cheese and canela. Some ingredients are harder than others to find in regular grocery stores, so you may have to go to larger supermarkets or specialty stores for some of the items. I learned a lot reading that section, and it was fun to read all at the same time! 

Other categories include Breakfast, Drinks, Appetizers, Mains, Desserts, and more. I've got some recipes to make!

In additional to those Migas and Pumpkin Flautas, I also made her Whipped Agave Ancho Butter. Delish! The perfect mix of spicy with a little bit of sweet.

Serve it on toast, bread, grilled cheese, in meals that call for butter. I know I am!


















































Other standouts are her Three Sisters Hush Puppies, Dulce de Leche Layer Cake with Sweet Pecan "Pesto," and Drunken Black Beans. I didn't get to make these but can't wait!

It's been a long time since I've actually read an entire cookbook, but this one was so good, I couldn't help but flip through every page and even read the additional info! The migas were pretty good, and we loved the pumpkin flautas and agave ancho butter. I can't wait to make so many more wonderful recipes from this cookbook!

I liked it so much, that I want one of you to win a copy! Well actually, 14 of you will win this cookbook! Just leave a comment at the end of this post, and follow the instructions below for more ways to enter.

Enter to win a copy of 

The New Southwest!

1. Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment on this blog post letting me know what your favorite Southwestern dish is.

2. Tons of optional entries in rafflecopter widget.

Hippocrene will be supplying 14 copies of The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi for this giveaway, in conjunction with The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight.  Contest is open to anybody with a shipping address in the USA.  Submissions will be accepted via the rafflecopter widget through 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, November 3, 2013.  Fourteen winners will be chosen by random draw, verified, and be notified by email (from Heather at girlichef) within 48 hours of the close of this contest.  The winner should respond within 24 hours of notification, or a new winner will be drawn in their place.  Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is part of The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight sponsored by Hippocrene and hosted at girlichef.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Joy the Baker Cookbook Review

Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes

Author: blogger Joy Wilson

Publisher: Hyperion

Softcover 246 pages

I'm pretty sad that the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off challenge is ending, but so glad that I've got this cookbook to continue my baking journey. I was already a follower of Joy's amazing blog, but reading her cookbook made me feel like I knew her even more. Just an old friend who understands my love of cooking! She refers to her cookbook as "A celebration of butter and sugar". Sold! Hooked. I do.

I loved her down-to-earth, approachable writing style. Her short anecdotes before each recipe made reading this cookbook very easy and more personal.

The cookbook itself is also very easy on the eyes. It's bright and colorful and pink.... and I love pink. I'm all about pictures in cookbook too, and I loved all of Joy's beautiful photography for each recipe. 


I also loved that the recipes weren't too advanced for a beginner like me. At first I was a bit intimidated and thought I wouldn't be able to make many of the recipes. But they are very do-able, and I'm sure there are some that will challenge me a bit, but now I'm excited to learn and take on new baking challenges!

Besides all that, I wanted to make nearly every recipe in this cookbook! Seriously, I will be cooking from it for sure for sure. I have pink little post it notes bookmarking pretty much every other page of the cookbook. But I didn't get around to making them all obviously. But I did make some good stuff.

Remember these?

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 


Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

Mommom's Chocolate Bourbon-Spiked Banana Bread

Peanut Butter Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting



Did you all love them as much as we did?!

So yeah, now I wanna get my bacon bakin' on more often. Joy was a self-taught cook, and she inspires me to follow my dreams and do what I enjoy doing, which is cooking and now baking. It truly has been a pleasure baking from it. I've learned some things along the way about baking that I didn't know before, and made some delicious new recipes that I didn't necessarily know I could do.

I hope you've loved this series as much as I have! Now go buy that cookbook and help a bloggin sista out!

*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef*

 

Peace, and bacon grease!

Cookbook Review: Macaroni 'n' Cheese for Two

I'm back with another recipe from Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two cookbook: Macaroni 'n' Cheese for Two. I'm a huge mac and cheese fan, so when I was searching through the cookbook and saw this homemade mac and cheese recipe, I knew I had to make it. 

The only change we made was to add more cheese - 1 and 1/4 cup instead of 1 cup. I used a loaf pan, but the original recipe says to use a 2 and 1/2 cup baking dish. I figured my small loaf pan was the closest pan I had to that.

Macaroni 'n' Cheese for Two

slightly adapted from Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two

* Yields: 2 servings

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• dash of paprika

In a bowl, combine sour cream and milk. Stir in the cheese, macaroni, and onion. Transfer to a greased baking dish; sprinkle with paprika. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Printable Recipe
 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 forks 

I'm adding this to Miranda's Mac and Cheese Quest!

I'm glad that we did make it! The recipe was simple enough, and though not the best mac and cheese I've ever had, it stood its ground! We liked the extra crunch from the onions, and the creaminess from the sour cream. This will definitely stay in our rotation, until we find the next best macaroni and cheese recipe, that is :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

Cookbook Review: Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two from Taste of Home Down Home Cooking for One or Two

I'm really trying to use my cookbooks more, since I have shelves and shelves filled with them. But I usually find most of my recipes from the internet... professional websites and food blogs, and tend to neglect my cookbook stash. So I'm trying to change that! The first cookbook I decided to test recipes from was Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two, and I already told you about the Chili for Two that we made from that cookbook. Well here's the second recipe from there... Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two.

Fall is quickly approaching, and I've got a comforting soup recipe for you. While we weren't exactly blown away by this soup, it was decent for a quick, meatless meal. PJ thought it reminded him too much of a ninja stew his dad used to make him growing up. Since he wasn't really impressed, we probably won't be making this again.

 

Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two

adapted from Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two

* Yields 4 servings

• 1.5 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1.5 cup chicken stock
• 2/3 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 dashes of hot sauce
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped green onions
• sour cream, optional

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes, then stir and heat 2 more minutes, then stir and heat for another minute. Pour into two serving bowls. Drizzle each with lime juice. Sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Top with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Printable Recipe


Rating: 2 out of 5 forks

You can definitely spruce it up with some sliced avocado, because avocado makes everything better. And don't forget to top it with some sour cream, because sour cream makes everything better too :) I hope you like it more than we did!


Peace, and bacon grease!

Cookbook Review: Chili for Two from Taste of Home Down Home Cooking for One or Two

Yes, I am posting a chili recipe in May. No, I didn't just make it though! I've been meaning to blog about it for awhile now... so no better time than now. My man and I am always looking for different chili recipes. I like to take different concepts from different recipes and discover what we consider to be the best chili. 

And I've been trying to use my cookbooks more. With the internet, I get so caught up in making recipes from other food bloggers. But I seriously have so many cookbooks that need to be used up! So I figured that I would try to make as many recipes as possible from a single cookbook before I move on to the next, and give you guys a review of the recipes I make from each cookbook! So I'm starting with Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two. The longer I am in the food blogging world, the more I learn obviously. And I am learning that these Taste of Home cookbooks aren't anything high quality like ones you'd find from well-known celebrity chefs or seasoned pros. They are more basic cookbooks for the average person who just needs to make a simple, quick meal for the family... or in this case, for one or two people! I thought this was a perfect cookbook to start with because it suits our needs... quick and simple recipes that don't call for a lot of ingredients, and they are already scaled down to our portion size. So I hope to be making more recipes from here coming up!

We started with this quick chili recipe - Chili for Two. What a creative name. I want to change it, I really do. That's no name for a recipe! But I didn't make the recipe so who am I to say what it should be called? So yeah, we're talkin a pretty basic chili recipe. Nothing special from any other chili recipe you can find anywhere. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't fantastic. Not THE BEST CHILI ever! I did like the small batch and not having to bust out my math skills to convert measurements. But it could use some more ingredients to spruce it up, that's for sure!

 























Chili for Two

from Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two

*Yields 2 servings

• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (15.5 oz) can chili beans, undrained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp sour cream, divided, for garnish
• 2 tbsp cup shredded Monterey Jack and mild cheddar cheese, divided, for garnish
• 2 cilantro leaves, divided, for garnish

Cook beef, onion, and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Serve in two bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tbsp shredded cheese, and 1 cilantro leaf.

Printable Recipe

Rating: 3 out of 5 forks

I will be linking this up to:

These Chicks Cooked

Foodie Friday @ Designs By Gollum

Family Friendly Fridays

Friday Potluck

Food Trip Friday

Friday Favorites

Fat Camp Friday

Fun w/ Food Friday

Food on Fridays

Food Friday

Foodie Friday @ Little Brick Ranch

Cookbook Sundays

 
So there you have it. Not the greatest chili of my life, but still tasty!

One down, many more to go!

Check out my other review from this cookbook, Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two.

Peace, and bacon grease!