Friday, January 25, 2013

Salad for Dinner (times 2)

(2) Reviews for (2) Cookbooks, both released in 2012 with almost identical titles: Salad for Dinner


Tasha DeSerio; Taunton Press (2012)
 
This book features sections on: Simple Salads; Leaf Salads; Veggie and Fruit Salads; Grain, Bread and Pasta salads and Legume Salads.  There are also recipes for different types of vinargrette dressings, page on metric equivalents (a plus) a section on kitchen tools and equipment to make things easier for you in the kitchen, and of course many good recipes I'll be anxious to try. 
 
Some of the recipes that I plan to try are:
  • Cannellini bean salad with grilled shrimp and cherry tomatoes (no photo)
  • Whole wheat pasta with roasted broccoli, black olive vinagrette and ricotta salata (photo)
  • Slow roasted salmon with beets, cucumber and horseradish vinagrette (no photo)
  • Frisee with seared scallops and blood oranges (photo)

It's a nice book - roughly 200 pages, but one I probably would borrow instead of buy. There are not enough photographs in this book, and as a visual person, it's a requirement for me when purchasing a cookbook.  The photos that are included are great -- it's just that there are not enough of them. (3.5/5 stars)

 
 (Hardcover - 2012 - Rizzoli International)
 
This cookbook is a beautiful hardcover, and the recipes looked very appealing as well.
 
The book is divided as: A Salad Primer: Glossary of Greens; Foraging for Salad; Washing and Storage; Growing Greens; The Salad Pantry - I found all of this information very informative and something I haven't seen in previous books - a big plus.
 
The Recipe Section was divided into sections: Vegetarian salads; Salads with fish and seafood; Salads with poultry; salads with meat and One Sweet Finish (a home made chocolate cream pie :)
 
Some of the recipes I marked off as ones I'd try were:
  • Seafood Stuffed Avocado dalad
  • Spinach salad with Grilled Shrimp and Peppers
  • Red Mustard and Bread Salad with Roasted Chicken
  • Grilled Chicken Caesar with Parmesan Crostini
  • Roasted Balsamic Chicken and Green Bean Salad
  • Steakhouse Salad
This book had about the same number of pages as the other cookbook by the same name, but lots more color photos -- a big plus for me.  There were also more recipes that I would be likely to try in this book, and I loved the way that meat and potatoes and other grains as well as nuts were worked into many of the recipes.  I would definitely BUY this one. Check it out! (4.5/5 stars)

8 comments:

  1. You find some of the best cookbooks. I love salads for lunch or dinner. I found Soup of the Day at my library and have been reading through it. I need pictures too so it's off to the library to take a look at these two.

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    1. Another beautiful cookbook and review, Diane! I am a big fan of fresh salads. I'm sure I'd also enjoy this book quite a bit.

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  3. My library has the second one so I've reserved a copy and will purchase it if we find enough in it that the family enjoys. Thanks for the review.

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  4. I think I'll look this one up -I love the idea of salad for dinner, and some of those descriptions sound delicious. Too bad about the lacked photos, though, I really am taken in by a delicious looking dish!

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  5. I always enjoy your reviews Diane and love reading recipe books. A great list of dishes you're going to try there. Have a great weekend!

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  6. I definitely prefer a cookbook with more photos. And I do love salads for dinner, but sometimes we make them more unhealthy than they should be (lots of cheese & dressing, etc.).

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  7. I will definitely look up the second book. As my husband and I get older we realize the need to eat better. And with the added benefit that it will just be us two I'm sure we could be satisfied with these types of dishes!!

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