Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving

Diane Morgan
Andrews McMeel Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9780740793509
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (10/10)

 

I love to give gifts that are fun, consumable, and have a lovely presentation so I was pleased to have the opportunity to review “Gifts Cooks Love” by award-winning author Diane Morgan.  This book is in conjunction with Sur La Table kitchenware retailer.  The presentations in the photographs are beautiful, giving ideas of how the gift should look. 

For the purpose of the review we are asked to make three recipes of our choice. Since I was going to a dinner party it was appropriate to bring a hostess gift and I chose “Panforte.”  The combination of strong spices, hazelnuts, dried apricots, cherries and Mission figs, candied orange peel and the sweetness of sugar and honey gave this Italian Christmas treat a lot of ooohs and aaahs.  I cut the panforte in wedges, saving some to give to others and eat ourselves.  Shelf life is one month.

The second recipe I made was “Cotes du Rhone - Rhubarb Compote.”  I love rhubarb and used to grow it in my garden in Canada.  The compotes I made are not anything like this one so I was excited to try a different version.  Adding the Bosc pears and dry red wine was new to me and I must say I loved it!  Served with grilled pork, the tart compote makes a wonderful combination.   The photograph showed the chunks as whole but my end result was more of a jam consistency.  As well, cooked down for the 40 minutes the recipe suggests, the compote turns dark. Nonetheless, the result is delicious.

The third recipe I made was “Chipotle Chile Candied Pecans.”  Having a supply of this recipe will fill any needed last minute gift. The combination of chili powder and brown sugar gives the pecans a spicy sweet effect, perfect to snack on. Although the whole process takes about two hours to make it is well worth it.  I’ll be making this one again, especially around the holiday season and giving it as gifts.

The recipes are simple and most of the ingredients can be found a kitchen pantry or at a local grocery store. The tips, techniques, and packaging ideas are very helpful, as are the colorful photographs.

I highly recommend “Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving.”  To me, giving a gift of homemade goods is giving love.

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