cookbook advice/reviews/favorites

[LisaS]

I'm looking to add 1 or 2 specifically low carb cookbooks to my library (Hi. I'm Lisa - I'm addicted to cookbooks).

I have many (too many?) cookbooks with suitable or adaptable recipes.

I like the websites of lc recipes and/or adapting online ones, but I am finding there are times I want something new but don't want to experiment or adapt.

I just want to turn to a specifically lc recipe and just make it, knowing that it will be on plan w/out modification. Or sit in a chair and browse through recipes that are "on plan" and not recipes where I have to think "how to make this on plan". Know what I mean? :)

anyway - do you have a favorite lc cookbook - which one and why?

[BethB]

My favorites are Dana Carpender's 500 LC Recipes and Fran McCullough's The Low Carb Cookbook.

[kevinpa]

All of Dana Carpender's cookbooks have good recipes in them and I like them alot, but, one of my favorites is Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine by Sharron Long. She has what I consider many unique dishes in this book that I find very delicious. Her spice combinations are not what I consider the norm, but very good. Stevia also seems to be her lo-carb sweetner of choice.

[Gaelen]

Oh wow...a meeting for people with compulsive cookbook collection disorder. Now those would be some fun 12 steps... ;)

I have about fifteen specifically low carb cookbooks, but most of them serve mainly for review purposes. I only actually cook out of a couple of them. My favorite is still the first one I ever bought--Fran McCullough's The Low Carb Cookbook. When McCullough wrote it in '97, there weren't a lot of specifically labeled "low carb" products...so her recipes rely on supermarket-available ingredients and foods that are naturally low carb. When she uses something that might require a visit to a specialty store or not be available everywhere, she also makes substitution suggestions. And she was a cook and cookbook writer before she was a low-carber, so her recipes have been tested, are accurately written, and work every time. When I need something from a recipe that doesn't require me to do more than assemble the ingredients and follow the directions, I turn to McCullough. However, the recipes use Equal when she uses an artificial sweetener (Splenda didn't exist yet.) I don't like the taste of Equal at all, so I either switch it out for stevia, use a touch of real sugar or eliminate the sweetener entirely, depending on the recipe.

Next on my list, and the LC cookbook I've given as a gift, is Lose Weight the Smart Low Carb Way by Bettina Newman, published by Rodale. I don't know if it's still available in stores, but I suspect you can still get it from Rodale. Again...bulletproof tested recipes that depend on supermarket-available foods and very few specialty items...and it includes a good share of meatless and seafood recipes. Of all of my cookbooks, I think it's the most accessible to someone who doesn't do a lot of cooking (which is why I gave it as a gift. ;))

I really like Karen Barnaby's The Low Carb Gourmet (which is also available from Rodale.) Karen tends to play around with artificial sweeteners more than I would use, but her main dish and side dish recipes are great. However, Karen's a professional chef, and some of the recipes can be a little daunting. Every one I've tried has come out great, though!

George Stella's Livin' Low Carb is also really good, and I've made several recipes from it more than once. He does use soy flour as his LC flour of choice and Splenda as his sweetener of choice, so if you don't use those things, you may not like his recipes. To check them out before you buy the cookbook (and he has a second one out, too), go to his website (http://www.stellastyle.com/) and click on the Recipes link; several of Stella's recipes are available even if you aren't a member of the forum.

My name is Gaelen, and I am also addicted to cookbooks. I read them like other people read novels. ;)

[BethB]

Oh wow...a meeting for people with compulsive cookbook collection disorder. Now those would be some fun 12 steps... ;)


Yes, it's really an addiction. ;)

I have the George Stella book too but didn't care for it so much due to reliance on soy flour. I've tried substituting Janine's faux flour in place of the soy but still wasn't pleased with the baked goods.

I don't have the Bettina Newman book, but will definitely look at that. I don't do as much cooking as I did - kiddos are growing up and there are way too many extra-curricular activities going on. So quick and easy is a good thing.

I have a couple of LC slow cooker books - Dana's 200 LC Slow cooker recipes is my favorite. I have another by Kitty Broihier called the LC slow cooker cookbook - haven't done much out of that as she uses tapioca as a thickener - not my style. I think Thicken/Thin would work in place of the tapioca but ya know, you just have to find time to experiment with these things. Preferably not on Monday at 6:30 pm.

A couple of other thoughts:
Dana's 15 minute LC recipes is good for time-challenged days. Most recipes call for pre-thawing. :rolleyes: Yes, I know, no big deal, but it does require advance planning.

If you really want the planning done for you, try Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way. This is also published as an email service at www.savingdinner.com (http://www.savingdinner.com). Her menus are good; they use basic ingredients, and she even provides a shopping list for the week! What I have found is that my family will like 2-3 of the menus in the week - so I have to work a little harder at menu planning.

[BethB]

My name is Gaelen, and I am also addicted to cookbooks. I read them like other people read novels. ;)

Would you believe I spent the early evening looking through a Cook's Illustrated book on Quick Recipes and figuring out which I can convert to LC? I love the trial and error that Cook's goes through and there were tons of fabulous veggie and salad recipes.

It's an illness. :D

[Mitra]

Oh wow...a meeting for people with compulsive cookbook collection disorder. Now those would be some fun 12 steps...

Yes, but I hardly have any low carb books in my collection, so I'm feeing left out. I do have a couple, but didn't really find them very helpful. I bought a new one this week, called Passion for Protein, by Henry Harris, which looks as if it has some good stuff in it. He's a chef with his own restaurant in London, who started eating LC after seeing how well his wife did on Atkins. I've only done one recipe from it so far (tomato and preserved lemon salad) but that one alone was worth getting the book for. There's a gingery dressing for duck confit that I might try next ... There aren't any counts in the book - he wanted the emphasis to be on the food, not the numbers, but the recipes are all low-carb and all the main courses, and most of the starters have plenty of protein.

[realruth]

I'd have to join the group too.

I read recipe books like they are novels as well.

I like Dana Carpenter's 500 LC book

but, usually read other cookbooks and adapt ideas as I do not use any grains ie:wheat, oat, corn or rice flour

[Gaelen]

Yes, but I hardly have any low carb books in my collection, so I'm feeing left out. I do have a couple, but didn't really find them very helpful. I bought a new one this week, called Passion for Protein, by Henry Harris, which looks as if it has some good stuff in it. He's a chef with his own restaurant in London, who started eating LC after seeing how well his wife did on Atkins. I've only done one recipe from it so far (tomato and preserved lemon salad) but that one alone was worth getting the book for. There's a gingery dressing for duck confit that I might try next ... There aren't any counts in the book - he wanted the emphasis to be on the food, not the numbers, but the recipes are all low-carb and all the main courses, and most of the starters have plenty of protein.

Mitra, you would love Karen Barnaby's The Low Carb Gourmet. (http://www.rodalestore.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&productId=15530&langId=-1) It's a cook's cookbook. For another view, try this link to Karen's website (http://www.lowcarb.ca/low-carb-recipes.html), which previews several of the recipes from the book.

Harris' book sounds really interesting...
oh noooo, I'm feeling my addiction. ;)

[Mitra]

Harris' book sounds really interesting...
oh noooo, I'm feeling my addiction. ;)

Just to keep that addiction going, here's a newspaper review (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,1191607,00.html) with some sample recipes :).

[Inez]

Oh no, Mitra! That Henry Harris book sounds wonderful! I just requested 5 low carb books for my birthday and I was hoping that would hold me for a while. Of course, I went through them all in about two weeks. It's a long, long time until Christmas!

[Mitra]

Well, if it will help hold it at bay for a bit longer, here are some more of his recipes from a series of newspaper articles he wrote:

Week 1 - Meat (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2003/08/27/edfood27.xml)
Week 2 - Seafood (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2003/09/03/edrec03.xml)
Week 3 - Eggs (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2003/09/10/edfood10.xml)
Week 4 - Cheese (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2003/09/10/edfood10.xml)

[Inez]

Oh my goodness...those recipes just look unbelievably wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Donna7]

Well, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with CCCD! Please, let me know when the 12 step meetings start...I'm running out of room in my cupboard and I'm getting desperate!

I really enjoyed reading Karen Barnaby's book, but honestly haven't made anything out of it yet. I like George Stella but don't do any lc baking, so don't have the soy flour issues. I'd probably grab one of his books first if I were looking for something quick and easy for dinner or a snack. I like a few things from Dana Carpender and Fran McCullough, and from a beautiful Mediterranean cookbook my sons bought me one year...lots of gorgeous pictures! Learned a lot about cooking eggplant, although it took me a while to figure out what "aubergines" were (it was published in the UK). I purchased Fran McCullough's second book, but it's still packed and I can't remember the name of it--I think it's Living Low Carb--although I probably would use the recipes in the first book more if I owned it (I checked it out at the library a couple of times). I agree with Gaelen, the first book is very easy and practical!

Have fun cookbook shopping! It's easy to find used and very inexpensive ones on Amazon...I just ordered an old copy of "Thin So Fast" for .28, with $3.95 shipping. There are a lot of great recipes online and on this BB, too!

Donna

[Mitra]

Learned a lot about cooking eggplant, although it took me a while to figure out what "aubergines" were (it was published in the UK).

I've been known to ask people here for a "translation" when I'm cooking from an American recipe :) .

[Billie]

We have low carb cookbooks in every room of the house I think :D but by far my favorite is Fran McCulloughs. Decadent chocolate cake and ricotta pancakes will work for me everytime!:D

[Mitra]

I've just found a collection of recipes from the Henry Harris book (Passion for Protein) at chef's help (http://www.chefs-help.co.uk/specialindex.php?type=Low%20Carbohydrate).

[Gaelen]

oh...my...Mitra, those recipes look wonderful.

I saw a recipe made on Iron Chef America (a repeat, no idea when it originally ran) for Cabbage Carbonara. What a perfect, perfect use of shredded cabbage! I will definitely be working that one out when my stomach settles down.

[petra65]

I have this sickness also. I just ordered George Stella's second book. I have made several out of the first book and liked them very much. I agree with the soy flour issue but many of the other recipes are very good in my opinion-turkey stroganoff, bald calzone, and the new york style cheesecake is fantastic if labor intensive. I made the praline pumpkin pie this weekend and it is my favorite low carb pumpkin pie recipe.

I have several of Dana Carpender's books. I find her recipes to be hit or miss-some very good, some not so good. I think the 500 More Low Carb Recipes is definately the better of the two books and if I was going to just buy one, I would get that one although I have both.

I'm surprised you guys did not mention the Eades Low Carb Cookworkx book. These recipes also tend to be labor intensive but they are good. I've made several out of it too.

[Mitra]

I saw a recipe made on Iron Chef America (a repeat, no idea when it originally ran) for Cabbage Carbonara. What a perfect, perfect use of shredded cabbage! I will definitely be working that one out when my stomach settles down.

Cabbage Carbonara! What a wonderful idea. As soon as this round of cabbage with cheese sauce has worn off, I'll give it a go.

[maxlharris]

Mitra, how did the Green Streaky Bacon Camembert cabbage dish work out?

Quick tip on carbonara. A dash of strong cinnamon (or three) really brightens up the whole thing. Worth looking into. FWIW: I like it best with guanciale, but that's terrible hard to find outside of southern Italy, in my experience.

[Mitra]

One of the good things about being in Europe is that we can get things like guanciale - we can do mail order from Italy (eg esperya.com) and get next day delivery :cool:.

The streaky bacon & camembert was good, but I'd make some changes next time. One thing is that there's not much point in carefully assembling a parcel unless you're going to put it on the table like that. If you're serving in the kitchen, then wrapping the bacon around the cheese is pretty much a waste of time, because most of the cheese leaks out while it's cooking, and it pretty much disintegrates when you cut it in half. So I'd probably cut the bacon into pieces and spread them around. The camembert was fairly tangy, ripe, unpasteurised - and probably a bit more strongly flavoured than is ideal for this recipe. I'd maybe try a vacherin, or see what other soft mild cheeses are around. But I will do it again - some cold winter day when I need something rich and warming.

We couldn't really spot the mustard, so I wouldn't think you'd be missing much by leaving it out. Since I don't share your aversion to it, I might be a bit more generous with it next time.

[maxlharris]

Hrm. I wonder. Maybe a double layer of bacon... Few have ever said, "This has too much bacon for me." And most of those who have, were looked at as if they were nuts.

I suppose you could go "Totally Detractor Style Atkins" on it, and go brie in the bacon... Dean Ornish is turning in his crypt right now. Double the mustard if you like it (I can taste, badly, a teaspoon in an egg casserole made for 7... ugly incident with the woman in my life before my wife, who tried to pass one over on me, got caught and was upset that I wouldn't eat more... PEOPLE!)

[deirdra]

The one I use the most is my grandmother's Joy of Cooking from the 1940's. It tells you how to cook real food and has great "substitutions" lists for when you need to make do with what you have on hand.

And Mitra, I found this linked at the bottom of one of the Telegraph recipe pages you posted - another reason to eat Pigs Feet:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2008/03/03/hage103.xml&DCMP=ILC-traffdrv07053100