BRUNCH WITH BINGO: THE COMFORT OF APPLES: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO
BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S
"BRUNCH WITH BINGO DAY"

I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS SUNDAY'S
"BRUNCH WITH BINGO DAY"
FOOD BOOK CHOICE IS.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE COMFORT OF APPLES
BY PHIL AND LAUREN RUBIN

ABOUT THE COOKBOOK:

Nearly 100 surprising and savory recipes for a favorite fruit!

The idea for The Comfort of Apples came to chefs Philip and Lauren Rubin when, after an afternoon spent picking apples at a local orchard, they looked at each other and wondered, "What do we do with them?" With the abundance of apples filling farmer's markets, supermarket produce sections, and orchards every fall, it is a rare soul who doesn't wind up with a veritable bounty of apple varieties filling their larder for at least several months out of the year. And yet many cooks don't realize that apples have infinite cooking applications beyond sauces, crisps, and pies. As this beautifully illustrated book shows, they can be julienned raw in a salad; poached whole in wine; used in the form of cider as a deglazing or braising liquid; fermented into warm drinks; or juiced and turned into sorbet. The list goes on.

Excited by the many uses for the humble apple, the authors here share nearly one hundred original recipes that will take the home cook beyond the basics -- recipes for breakfast, appetizers, entrees, and desserts. In addition, they suggest the best apples for certain recipes, including many unconventional varieties that are showing up at greenmarkets and farm stands across North America. Some of the mouthwatering recipes include Poached Eggs and Apple Butter; Crostini with Clams, Bacon, and Apples; Oysters with Apple and Lime Granite; Crisp Pork Belly with Lentils and Applesauce; Gnocchi with Cauliflower, Peas, and Apples; and Applesauce Spice Cake with Penuche Icing

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Philip and Lauren Rubin, authors of The Comfort of Apples: Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite, and graduates of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, own 2 Peas & A Pot, a Manhattan catering company. They previously worked in several restaurants, including Cafe Luxembourg, Union Pacific, and Tribeca Grill. Lauren has also worked as a personal chef and recipe tester at Good Housekeeping. They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, and were the subjects of a full-length feature in BizBash, the premier trade magazine for event planners. They live in New York City with their son, Henry.

For more information please visit www.2peasandapot.com and follow the authors on Twitter.

MY REVIEW:

THE COMFORT OF APPLES by Phil and Lauren Rubin is a wonderful book that is as yummy to look at as are the recipes inside are to taste. The pages within yield about one hundred recipes using every kind of apple from the most common to the newer ones that we see in our produce sections at the store all the time. The subtitle of “MODERN RECIPES FOR AN OLD-FASHIONED FAVORITE” is so very true and honestly, who doesn’t feel comforted by an old-fashioned recipe using apples for example in the apple pie you had for dinner last night, or the apple sauce that may have been one of the first solid foods you ate as a baby? Filled with ideas for everything from breakfast, to entrees, appetizers, desserts, and more, THE COMFORT OF APPLES gives recipes that are as easy to make and clearly explained as the they are delicious.

I found the chart in the beginning of the book that describes how apples taste to be invaluable. I see so many apples and never really know much about how they taste or what they can be used for unless I buy them, eat them, and try them. This chart takes away the guess work. It has listed 41 different kinds of apples and organizes them by their taste from Sweet-tart, Sweet, and Tart, and tells whether they are better for eating or for putting in a pie! Certain apples lend themselves better for cooking and others being crisp and sweet or tart, are preferred for eating raw.

The introduction includes, beside the apple chart, information on orchards and about the pests that can invade them, and how people should properly pick apples. I couldn't help but think back to my favorite folk tale, Johnny Appleseed, and how he planted apple orchards all over the country. It also gives vital information about cooking apples in general, the equipment you use for apples such as a mandoline (not the one for music but rather for thinly slicing apples on a sharp, angled instrument) and a food mill ("crucial for apple butter"). I thought the information on canning was a nice addition and was amazed when I read the part about "cutting an apple"! The next ten chapters then go into the recipes and divide them up by everything from Breakfast to Cocktails, Snacks and Salads to Sauces and Condiments, Meat and Poultry to Fish, Pasta and Side Dishes, and of course, DESSERTS!

These mouthwatering recipes are delectable and include so many uses for apples that I never thought of. Green Apple Gelato, Apple Risotto, Citrus Beets with Apples, or Mac 'N Cheese are just a few of the ways of using apples I would never have imagined and the fact that they actually seemed like even I could cook them, is a plus for this book right away. Surely German Apple Pancakes and Apple Cake could be good starts but then to branch out to BLT with Cider Aioli or BBQ some Cider Ribs opens up a whole new way of looking at apples. I’d love to continue to list “what I want to try first” but with each recipe I read and see, and the wonderful presentations from Lauren and Phil Rubin, I keep changing my mind. So before I switch to Coconut Panna Cotta with Caramel Apples or Apple Ice Cream, I’m off to make some Apple Bread Pudding and I’ll let you know how it turns out. But if mine is half as good as it sounds, it will be YUM-MY!

One final note I will make is there are pictures of ingredients and lots of apples but not really finished dishes. At first, I didn't like the idea but the more I think about it, my food never come out looking like the cookbook so maybe as long as it tastes good, this will not disappoint me when I have the finished product! Either way, with Philip and Lauren Rubin's THE COMFORT OF APPLES, an apple a day won’t be such a hard thing to stick to at all!

WATCH FOR SOME GREAT RECIPES FROM THE COOKBOOK TOMORROW AS WELL AS SOME BONUS ENTRIES TO WIN THIS WONDERFUL COOKBOOK!

GIVEAWAY
THANK TO ANNA AT FSB ASSOCIATES,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS YUMMY
COOKBOOK TO GIVE AWAY

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE COMFORT OF APPLES COOKBOOK THAT YOU READ ABOUT ABOVE AND THE RUBIN'S TALENTS BY VISITING THEIR WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A FAVORITE RECIPE THAT YOU MAKE, OR ONE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN TO MAKE, THAT INCLUDES APPLES!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 6

GOOD LUCK!