Ryan's Staff Pick

When I asked Ryan Calhoun, our Young Adult Services Librarian, about a cookbook that he would recommend, he suggested Avatar the Last Airbender: The Official Cookbook: Recipes from the Four Nations by Jenny Dorsey. Calhoun stated, “I am a HUGE Avatar the Last Airbender fan. So it was really cool when I saw this cookbook. Food plays a rather important part of the Avatar Universe, so it was really cool to see the foods mentioned in the show come to life”. This cookbook is one of four that Dorsey has released, but it has by far the best rating, with nearly five stars on various sites, including Amazon and GoodReads. It is also the Number One Best Seller in the Animation Graphic Design Category on Amazon. This hardback book is beautifully organized, with stunning photography, beloved Nickelodeon characters, and quotes to accompany each recipe. Nearly a hundred Eastern Asian recipes make up this lovely collection, both ingredients, snacks, main courses, and desserts. New to our collection within the last year, this cookbook has already been wildly popular; to find it on our shelves, look for the call number, “YA 641.5 Dor.” For patrons who are Avatar fans, BPL has dozens of items, both in-house, and digitally that you’re sure to love, from TV series and graphic novels, to general fiction and picture books. Let us know what you think of Calhoun’s Staff Pick, and give us your recipe recommendations!

The Cheesecake Factory Sun-Dried Tomato Fettuccine

 

Ingredients

· 1 (16-ounce) package fettuccine

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· 4 teaspoons minced garlic

· 1/2 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

· 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained

· 3 tablespoons tomato paste

· 1 tablespoon sugar

· 1 cup heavy cream

· 1/2 cup sour cream

· 2 cups baby spinach

· Salt and pepper to taste

 

Steps

1) Cook fettuccine according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water; set aside. While pasta is cooking, add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar, stirring until well combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in cream and sour cream. Let simmer and thicken for 5 minutes. Add spinach to sauce and cook until wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. If sauce is too thick, use reserved pasta water to thin it out. Add pasta to prepared sauce and toss until cooked.

 

From: Copycat Cooking: 100+ Popular restaurant Meals You can make at Home

By: Six Sisters’ Stuff

 

Ginger Toffee Cheesecake

Crust

· 2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 45 cookies)

· 1/2 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

· 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

· 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

· 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream

· 1 cup sugar

· 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

· 3 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping

· 3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

· 1/2 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

 

Steps

1) In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and toffee bits, stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. springform pan.

2) In a large bowl,  beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.

3) Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill overnight. Combine topping ingredients; serve with cheesecake.

 

From: Taste of Home Baking: Timeless Recipes from Trusted Home Cooks

 

Mini Honey Kiwi Tartlets

 

Ingredients

· 4 ripe kiwi fruit

· 3-5 tablespoons runny honey, to taste

· A drop of green food coloring (optional)

· 6 small freezer proof molds (such as silicone mini cupcake molds or foil petit four cases and 6 popsicle sticks

 

Steps

1) Peel the kiwi fruit and chop the flesh into chunks. Put in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and, adding the honey a little at a time, blend and taste — depending on the sweetness of the kiwis you may not need to use all of it.

2) Pour the mixture into the molds and carefully transfer to the freezer. Freeze for 4-6 hours, until completely solid.

3) When ready to serve, dip the molds in hot water for a few seconds to loosen the frozen tartlets and serve immediately.

 

From: Popsicles and Other Fruity Frozen Treats

 

National Afternoon Tea Month

Here at BPL, we love afternoon tea, especially during our book clubs, which is why we have no qualms when it comes to celebrating National Afternoon Tea Month this April. Nationaldaycalender.com describes National Afternoon Tea Month as, “a nearly 200-year-old tradition that began in the United Kingdom. In the 1830s, only the upper class enjoyed afternoon tea due mainly to the price of tea leaves. The upper class also enjoyed more leisure time than the working class, allowing them to enjoy a social moment over tea and biscuits. What began as a light snack turned into a meal with rituals and traditions carried over from high society”. If you’re interested in trying some tea, and enjoying this nostalgic pastime, but don’t know where to begin, BPL has just the thing for you. With hundreds of cookbooks in our collection, I’m sure it’ll come to no surprise to you that we have several specially dedicated to tea. These not only provide ingredients, time requirements, and photos, but give tips for enjoying and what supplies you’ll need. Our recommendations are listed below. Give these books a shot, and let us know what you think!

• The Tea Book by Linda Gaylard (641.875 Gay)

• Tea with a Twist: Entertaining and Cooking with Tea By Lisa Boalt Richardson (641.875 Ric)

• The Top 100 Tea Recipes By Mary Ward (641.875 War)

Mango Salsa

 

Ingredients

· 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced

· 1/2 cored pineapple, diced

· 1 small red onion, diced

· 1 small red bell pepper, diced

· 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced

· 1 small serrano chile, seeded and finely diced

· 3 tbps. Chopped fresh cilantro

· 1/4 cup rice vinegar

· Grated zest and juice of 1 lime

· 1 tbsp. olive oil

· 1 tsp. salt

· 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

 

Steps

1) Combine the mangoes, pineapple, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, serrano, and cilantro in a large bowl.

2) Whisk the vinegar, lime zest and juice, oil, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl, and pour over the salsa, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

From: The Beach House Cookbook: Easy Breezy Recipes with a Southern Accent

By: Mary Kay Andrews

 

Kate's Staff Pick

Kate, Head of BPL’s Children’s Department, chose The Unofficial TikTok Cookbook: 75 Internet-Breaking Recipes for Snacks, Drinks, Treats, and More! by Valentina Mussi as her staff pick. She said, “this cookbook is a family favorite, my tween and teen daughters love working together and trying to recreate some of their viral favorites”. TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular media platforms and is often used as a way to educate; with this being the case, many recipes have gone viral after being featured in videos. This cookbook uses emojis, slang, and hashtags to create a digital “vibe,” that media lovers are drawn to. It also has the same bright colors, eye-catching photos, and easy-to-read fonts featured in TikTok. It provides social media tips to grow your following and make viral videos. Now let's talk food - there’s dozens of recipes in each of the six chapters that you’re sure to love, but some of my personal favorites include Mini Baked Donuts (p.152), Golden Milk Latte (p.33), and the Skillet Pizza Mac ‘n’ Cheese (p.119). There’s a reason these recipes went viral, so you’re not going to want to miss out. Find this book under the call number, “641.53 Mus” in the Adult Department Nonfiction section. 

If you’re a fan of Mussi’s cookbook, we have a very similar title by Emily Stephenson called, As Cooked on TikTok: Fan Favorites and Recipe Exclusives from More than 40 TikTok Creators! that you’ll want to check out. For sixty more viral recipes, QR codes to famous creators’ pages, and a stunning display of graphic design, find this book under the call number, “641.5 Tik.”

Grilled Beer Brats and Onions

Ingredients

· 2 pounds onions, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

· 3 tablespoons pepper, divided

· 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper, divided

· 3 cups beer

· 2/3 cup Dijon mustard

· 1 teaspoon sugar

· 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

· 2 pounds bratwurst (8 to 12 sausages)

· 8-12 (6-inch) Italian sub rolls, split lengthwise, toasted on grill if desired

 

Steps

1) Push toothpick horizontally through each onion round to keep rings intact while grilling. Brush onion rounds with oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Combine beer, mustard, sugar, caraway seeds, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper in dissolvable pan, then add sausages in single layer.

2) A) For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes. B) For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.

3) Clean and oil cooking grate. Grill onions until lightly charred on both sides, 6 to 10 minutes, flipping as needed. Remove toothpicks from onion rounds, transfer onions to pan with sausages, put [an on cooking grate, cover grill, and cook for 15 minutes.

4) Move pan to 1 side of grill. Transfer sausages directly to grill and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausages to platter and tent with aluminum foil. Continue to cook onion mixture on pan, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve sausages and onions on rolls, spooning sauce over.

 

From: The Outdoor Cook: How to Cook Anything Outside

By: America’s Test Kitchen