The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook

This cookbook isn't a specifically kosher cookbook, although all the recipes are kosher friendly (and can easily be made parve). I really like the ideas in this cookbook so I'm posting a review here.

I was browsing Amazon for cookbooks a few weeks ago and noticed this one on one of their bestseller lists. It look interesting so I checked my library and they had it.

The author has a cooking blog and always loved cookie dough, but because of fears of salmonella refrained from snacking on cookie dough. One day, she experimented and came up with a totally awesome eggless cookie dough meant to be eaten raw. She posted that recipe on her blog and it became popular. It became so popular, she wrote a cookbook based on that one recipe.

I made her regular chocolate chip cookie dough truffles (you dip them in chocolate) and inside out cookie dough truffle (chocolate dough and white chips) for Chanuka and they were really awesome. Dipping them in chocolate was the most annoying part and one I'm not inclined to do again.

She has a bunch of different variation for her basic cookie dough recipe (vegan, gluten free, peanut butter, white chocolate- macadamia nut, inside out, oatmeal raisin, sugar, almond, gingerbread, mexican chocolate), which all look yummy.

The main issue I have with her book is that most of the recipes are spinoffs of that one recipe. The pictures are gorgeous, but I wouldn't buy a cookbook for one recipe. A lot of her recipes seem to overdo the cookie dough (cookies stuffed with cookie dough, brownies stuffed with cookie, cupcakes with cookie dough, cake with cookie dough in the middle instead of frosting etc.)

I loved the original cookie dough and the inside out variation I tried. I would like to try the peanut butter cookie dough, oatmeal raisin/chocolate chip, vegan and gingerbread. I also want to see if the basic recipe would work with oil instead of butter/margarine.

She has a recipe for Invisible Cookie Dough Ice Pops that can easily be made parve. They look interesting and I do want to try them before I need to return the book.

If your library has this book, it might be fun to check out. The basic recipes are pretty kid friendly and the pictures are amazing.

Truffle pictures:
Regular

Inside out

Here's a link to her basic cookie dough recipe: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/01/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles.html
I would half the recipe unless you really like a lot of cookie dough.


To purchase the kindle edition of this cook click here to purchase the hardcover, spiral version click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Cooking Inspired Part 3

9. Sides- (my favorite part of this book!!!)
Estee uses a lot of "weird" vegetables and using simple ingredients/techniques makes them taste awesome! I know whenever I pick up a new veggie at the grocery to check Estee's books since she usually has a recipe using it.
Grilled vegetable skewers- you marinate skewered veggies with a balsamic vinegar and spice mixture and grill. Great for summer time.
Honey balsamic rice- saute onion, celery and mushrooms and toss with cooked rice and a honey/balsamic dressing
Roasted radishes- I HATE radishes but this recipe made me tolerate them even though I didn't go over to the liking radish side with this recipe.
Cassava cubes- I discovered a new vegetable in the grocery store (I'm one of those weirdos that enjoys grocery shopping- my favorite section of the store is the produce section, I like finding new veggies.) called a yucca/cassova. Of course, Estee was the only one who had a recipe using it. I prepared the yucca/cassova a bunch of time with this recipe and it's yummy. The yucca/cassova looks like a long, brown bumpy log. Preparing it is a bit time consuming. You need to peel it, boil it, remove the center stem and then recook. I buy it occasionally.
Stuffed mushrooms- This is really a Pesach recipes. The mushrooms are stuffed with passover/bread crumbds and nuts and drizzled with wine/oil/spices.
Inspired sides- 2 pretty similar roasted carrot and parsnip recipes.
The first recipe is more simple calling for carrots/parsnips/anise seeds (fennel seeds)/salt and pepper/fresh parsley. I made it without the fresh parsley (I use dried thyme or rosemary instead) and it was awesome and so so easy!!!
The 2nd version also uses fresh fennel (which I didn't have so I used anise seeds), garlic, balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) and maple syrup. I made this version also but liked the first, simpler version better.

10. Counter cakes (or how many different bundt cakes can you make?)
Vanilla bean apple bundt cake- This cake is pretty simple, different but not too different and is on my "I want to try list".
Pecan crunch cake- a pretty typical bundt cake (it calls for rum extract which is the only thing not typical) and is topped with a spiced/brown sugar/ pecan/coconut crunch

11. The grand finale (or dessert)
I also love that Estee has no problem dressing up fruit for dessert, which she does a lot here.
Jazzed-up bread pudding (great idea for leftover challah!!)- soak wet challah in a sugar/egg/oil mixture add apples spices and raisins and then bake.
Sweet squash muffins- very similar to the pumpkin spelt muffins I posted from a different site. They're mostly whole wheat.
Decadent Halva Ice cream cake- I want someone to make this for me!!! It looks SO good but it also looks like a huge patchke. This dessert recipe also appeared in the Mishpacha cookbook that just cake out (Estee's picture in this cookbook was nicer IMO)
Parve chocolate pudding- No raw eggs. This recipe uses tofu. It also uses coffee which I am not a fan of. That's probably why the pack of tofu I purchase to try to make pudding from is still sitting in my cabinet...
Rosemarie Mousse- A more typical chocolate mousse with eggs and hazelnuts(!!) and other such yummy things. I have pasteurized eggs, maybe I should try it.
(She has a recipe for creative cupcakes that is basically a buttercream frosting recipe- I am disappointed with that one!)
Pecan-Coconut Toffee bar- graham crackers topped with homemade toffee and pecans/coconut/marshmallows. Looks easy and kid-freindly (The Baker's Daughter)
Incredible (Passover) Nutty Bar- an easy and yummy Pesach dessert. Basically mix together fruit/nuts/egg/sugar/oil and bake.
Almond Toffee Squares- similar to the Pecan-coconut toffee bar- almonds/toffee mixture/chocolate on a graham cracker
Ellen's brownies- Estee claims these are the **best** brownies ever. And the junkie frosting recipe that goes along with it makes it even better (I'm sure it does...but I'll probably be skipping it if I ever try the recipe). I don't like that this recipe calls for melting chocolate- it's hard to find good quality parve chocolate.
Inspired Brownies- basic brownie recipe with suggested add ins (this was also in the Mishpacha cookbook)
They'll never know brownies (or the gluten free brownie recipe)
The base to this recipe is canned chickpeas. I don't have anyone GF in my life so I probably won't try them. They look good though.

Cooking Inspired Part 2

7. Fish- I'm not really a fish eater, so you won't be hearing much from me in this chapter.
Salt crusted fish- This looked cool. You take a whole fish and make a salt crust around it and then bake it. After baking you remove the salt crust and eat the fish. It looks fun, but I can't see my family finishing a whole fish and the thought of handling a whole fish is just...not for me.
Cedar plank salmon with maple glaze- Another cool recipe that I will most probably never make. You bake the salmon that has been marinated in a yummy sounding maple syrup/soy sauce/honey glaze (OMG the SUGAR!!) on soaked cedar planks.
Walnut crusted salmon- salmon brushed with dijon mustard and topped with a breadcrumb/walnuts mixture. Looks easy and tasty. (Daphna Rabinovitch)
Oven fried fish- turbo/sole/halibut dipped in egg/mayo and then breadcrumbs and baked
Simple sesame glazed fish- Arctic Char with a sweet teriyaki glaze

8. The Main Course (I guess this means meat/chicken?)- One thing I REALLY like in this section is that many of the recipes do not use some sort of sweetener as a main ingredient. I feel that our food already contains so much sugar and that sweeteners should be minimized as much as possible and only used for desserts (I have the same issue with salad dressings).
Grilled chicken breasts with chimmichuri sauce- chicken breast marinated in soy sauce/balsamic vinegar/garlic/evoo and topped with a chimmichuri sauce (parsley/garlic/evoo/red wine vinegar). Quick, easy and not sweet.
Capons with vegetable stuffing- This is a very simple chicken recipe. Chicken capons (or you can use thighs and stuff under the skin) are stuffed with onion/carrrot/celery/mushrooms/zucchini). It is topped with duck sauce, which does add a whole load of sweetener to the dish. It's pretty and elegant. The veggie stuffing does take a little bit of time (shredding in the food processor and then cooking) and does dirty a few dishes. It may be a nice idea for Shabbos or Yom Tov.
Maple roast- This roast recipe is on my wish list. The roast is brushed with dijon mustard and a soy sauce/maple syrup glaze is poured over. Even though this recipe does call for a lot of sugar, I love the sound of the flavor profile and wouldn't have a issue making it once in a while.
Spanish Chicken with herbs and peppers- A one pot dish!! Chicken cooked with peppers and jalapenos (leave out if it's too spicey for your kids), garlic, tomato paste/tomatoes, white wine, sugar (I would try to half the sugar), capers/olives, herbs and chicken stock. It looks like a simple and tasty dish that basically uses healthy ingredients.
Best burgers ever (also featured in the Best of the Family Table grrrr)- standard burgers get an upgrade with the addition of grounded portabella mushrooms and some herbs.
Hickory hamburgers- a ground chicken/beef burgers gets a smokey flavor with the addition of smoked paprika (this spice is awesome!!).
New meatloaf- meatloaf is upgraded with ground pastrami, dill and a shallot instead of the standard onion. It's brushed with duck sauce. The recipe is pretty simple, but you will need you good processor to grind the pastrami mixture.
Spicy meat sauce for a crowd- I love this recipe because it makes a huge amounts and cooks up in a crockpot. Estee says it freezes well. I don't love that the sauce calls for hot dogs, but you can use spicy sausages instead. You need to saute the onion/garlic/peppers first, but if you throw it in the crockpot raw it should come out fine. You also add ground beef/hot dogs or spicy sausages and tomato products/chicken stock/wine/bit of brown sugar/herbs and spices. I need to try this one day.
Savory honey glazed chicken- a whole chicken is rubbed with a dry spice rub, grilled and then brushed with a honey glaze. The glaze is sweet so I would only make this occasionally- maybe a good idea for Rosh Hashana?
Fruity Moroccan Chicken- chicken pieces that are rubbed with a spicy mixture are skewered with dried prunes and apricot and grilled. Nice for Tu B'shbat. No sugar although it is probably plenty sweet from the fruit.

Cooking Inspired Part 1

I've been using this cookbook a lot lately, even though it isn't so new so I decided to do another review.

This cookbook is a compilation of recipes from kosherscoop.com. Most, if not all, of the recipes are posted there. Most of the recipes are from Estee Kafra who has an annoying habit of using double negatives, but there are other contributors as well. Unless I say a recipe is from someone else, you can assume it's Estee's.

I love Estee's simple cooking philosophy (most of her recipe are easy and delicious, some are also healthful) and found a lot of recipes in this book that I liked. I own Estee's 2 other book and use them pretty regularly.

The cookbook is really gorgeous. There's a beautiful photo for almost every recipe (and AFAIK Estee does all the pictures herself), the book is the perfect size- not too big to be bulky on the kitchen counter or not fit on your bookshelf, but not too small that it's hard to read. It comes with a bookmark which I LOVE. The pages in the book are thick and glossy and the pages generally stay put when you turn them and don't turn back.

1. Introduction-
A page telling you about kosherscoop
Estee explains why she wrote the cookbook
Estee explains different cooking techniques
A cookbook key

2. Appetizers
The empanadas looked like they would be yummy. I like my mom's recipe so never tried them.
The bistro mushroom salad looks like a yummy salad to make for yom tov (mushrooms cooked in wine with sauted baby bok choy and pastrami over romaine with a balsamic dressing). I made a lazy version of the recipe once and it was yummy. The dressing does have some sugar in it.
Savory mushroom squares- puff pastry dough topped with caramelized onions and goat cheese sauteed mushrooms. For sure tastes heavenly, but I probably will never make it because of my aversion to puff pastry.
The section has a lot of options for dips also. Dips don't interest me so I skipped them, but they're there.

3. Brunch- Estee has a lot of great options here.
Eggs:
"Diet" roasted vegetable shakshouka- basically a mostly egg white omelette with veggies and tomato sauce. Estee seems to be a low carb dieters.
Egg "muffins"- basically scrambled eggs with veggies baked in muffins tins
Inspired quiche- It looked good but I have a recipe that's delicious that doesn't use any mayo, while Estee's recipe does.
Granola- There were 2 options, they're probably good, but I love the recipe I currently use so won't be trying them. (Granola is an awesome yogurt topping BTW)
Sheet pan pizza- Estee gives 2 dough options ww or white. She also offers a standard pizza topping or a white cheese topping. She spikes up the pizza sauce with some seasonings. I like her ideas and maybe one day will try them.
Busy mom Creamy pasta sauce- Estee gives a basic recipe for a tomato cream sauce that can be mixed up in minutes. It doesn't call for heavy cream (and I love that most or all of Estee's recipes avoid heavy cream). It makes a nice amount and the leftovers can be frozen!!!
Zucchini parmigiana- Eggplant parmesan with zucchini instead. The zucchini is fried. I wonder how it'll taste baked. I find this recipe interesting since I dislike eggplant (or think I do) but love zucchini. (Chai Frishman)
GF Roasted vegetable lasagna- a lasagna with lots of added veggies, rice flour noodles and a ricotta/feta/mozzarella cheese filling. The veggie roasting part is putting me off from making this recipe. I would probably use regular lasgna noodles if I ever make this. (Daphna Rabonovitch)
Four cheese and mushroom lasgna- I would love someone to make this for me, but the hard to find ingredients and many steps turn me off from making it myself. (Daphna Rabonovitch)

4. Breads- a lot of her bread recipes call for seeds to be added in or call for interesting flours.
Water challah- very similar to Reb. Kanievsky's recipe
Gluten free oat challah- I am not GF, but there's a hamotzi challah option for GF eaters that can tolerate oats. (Sharon Matten)
Honey quinoa rolls- these are part ww and can be made dairy. It doesn't call for any white sugar or any weird ingredients (besides quinoa). it sounds like it would taste good.

5. Soup- Estee doesn't believe in soup mix although she sometimes offers it as an option in parenthesis
My family favorite soup- This soup is so easy and tasty and is full of veggies! I made it today and got a HUGE pot (I froze some). It's really, really good and calls for very basic veggies (carrots, celery, onion or leek, peas).
Squash pears soup- butternut squash with pears, cinnamon and milk/coconut milk. The flavor profile sounds similar to the sweet potato soup that I adore from the Secret Restaurant Recipes cookbook. I want to try this.
Mushroom barley soup- Levana adds lots of veggies (turnip+ parsnip which I usually don't see in mushroom barley soup + the usual onion, garlic, mushroom, carrots, celery) to her soup and even offers a GF option. She adds thyme, bay leaves and dill for flavor which is also not so usual. (Levana Kirshenbaum)
Creamy Carrot and Parsnip soup- Garlic, leeks, parsnips, carrots and coconut milk with some spices.

6. Salad- Estee is not very into lettuce based salad.
Spinach, mandarin and almond salad- If I would be bothered again to check spinach, I would probably give this salad a go. It calls for fresh baby spinach/red onion/bell pepper/grated carrot/craisins/canned oranges (I would probably use fresh) and slivered almonds. Dressing is olive oil/honey/vinegar/orange juice/dijon mustard (BTW orange juice is AWESOME in salad dressing). (Norene Giletz)
Sweet and salty salad- spinach/sweet potato (roasted with maple syrup)/feta/parsley. There isn't much of a dressing on this salad. If I would make it, I would skip the maple syrup- sweet potatoes are sweet enough IMO.
Pan-roasted pear and goat cheese salad-A patchke of a salad that I would love for someone to make for me (you need to make 2 bowls+ a frying pan dirty). (Shani Malka)
Summer salad- easy seasonal summer salad made with oranges/romaine/radicchio/scallions/goat cheese/granola (doesn't sound very summery to me...but it probably tastes good...). Dressing is super simple- just orange juice and sesame oil- I must try that dressing ASAP.
Winter salad- romaine/apple/grapes/walnuts/feta (grapes are more summer than winter to me but wtvr...). Dressing is mayo/maple syrup/white wine vinegar/sugar. If I make this salad, I'll be using a different dressing, the one the recipe calls for is too sweet.
Asian Pasta salad- Spaghetti with a lot of veggies. You can easily use ww pasta for this since the soy sauce/honey/sesame oil/garlic dressing hides the darker color and masks the ww flavor. I made this and it came out great. I loved that it calls for so many different veggies. I used ww pasta so this recipe and no one even realized.
Quinoa Pilaf- sounds easy and tasty. My only complaint is that it calls for a bit of sugar along (and it already has craisins in it...)
Whole wheat pasta salad with tomatoes and feta- It's basically ww pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil and feta.  I made this a few times, it's yummy and easy.
Creamy pasta salad- peas/pasta/ricotta/lemon/olive oil/garlic
Asian purple cabbage salad- cabbage/peas/scallions/water chesnuts/almonds dressing with olive oil/vinegar/honey/soy sauce
Classic french vinaigrette- this recipe is virtually identical to my go to salad dressing that I came up with. It's an easy and tasty dressing. I love that it doesn't use any sugar or mayo. (Daphna Rabonovitch)

To purchase  this cookbook on Amazon click here. This cookbook is available in a Kindle version which you can read FREE if you have Kindle Unlimited (which Amazon allows you to try free for the first 30 days).
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Gorgeous Green Beans (The Best of the Family Table)

 Here's a link to the recipe I tested: http://kosherscoop.com/2014/12/gorgeous-green-beans/

These green beans are super yummy. I already made them 3 times! I've made similar recipes before, but they don't compare to these. The apricots add a whole new dimension of flavor.

Variation to make life simpler: I tossed all the ingredients together on a baking sheet and baked them in the oven on 400 instead of making them on the stove. I made them on the stove and in the oven and it easier and yummier in the oven.

These green are heavenly!

To buy the cookbook this recipe is from on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Hot Pretzel Rolls (The Best of The Family Table)

1. Hot Pretzel Rolls- They aren't really rolls, more like homemade hot pretzels. It looks yummy though. (Faigy and Chanie)
I made the pretzel rolls- I 1/4 the recipe and got 4 pretzels (small ones though). I used 1/2 whole wheat flour. I needed to add more water since the dough was dry, so next time I'll start with even less flour. It wasn't messy, but maybe it's because I didn't make so many.
They didn't come out pretty, but they tasted good :)
I think I will be trying these again by Mishloach Manos (maybe as a hot dog bun instead of rolls).

Fresh Hot Pretzels

To buy the cookbook this recipe is from on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Secret Restaurant Recipes

In addition to reviewing the fabulous cookbooks in my collection, I will also be reviewing recipes that I tested from the cookbooks that I reviewed (I will try to post pictures as well).

Recipes I tested and loved from Kosher Restaurant Recipes:
Sesame chicken (pg. 148- Kosher Chinese Express)
I've been to Kosher Chinese Express before and have enjoyed their sesame chicken. This recipe tastes almost exactly like it. I didn't double fry the chicken and used the lite soy sauce the recipe called for instead of making the a brown sauce like the restaurant does (Leah and Victoria explain how it's made in the sidebar). It was a bit of a patchke because of the frying. I like that it didn't call for nearly as much sugar as most sesame chicken recipes do (maybe because it's authentic).

Sweet potato soup with meatballs (Citron and Rose- pg. 72)
This soup recipe was worth the price of the entire cookbook IMO. It's very easy, fairly health and tastes heavenly. I made this soup twice so far; I doubled the recipe the 2nd time I made it and froze some of it. It froze very well. The soup also tastes amazing topped with some grated cheese. If you make it with cheese, you can skip the meatballs and then the recipe is even simpler.

Here's a picture of the soup that I made:

To purchase the cookbook these recipes are from on Amazon click here,
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.