Download Your Dinner

June 7th, 2013
Galina · Staff Recommendations

Oh, Summer! As you begin thinking about picnics and gatherings with family and friends, stop by to browse our cooking selection. If you are too busy in the hustle and bustle, look through our online catalog and request us to hold your books for easy pick up and check out. If that takes you a little more out of your way than you like, you can’t beat looking for free e-cookbooks to download from our website, harrisonpl.org. Just click on “OverDrive Advantage Download” and then search “Cooking & Food” – now you’ll have new recipes without even leaving the comfort of home. I bet you did not know that we have a feast of recipes, food memoirs, healthy living, and food related travel information — online? Check it out. You will love our e-cookbook collection!

There are a few reasons why e-cookbooks are great:

• Convenience – Just browse through the recipes, click and read!
• Easy Search – Have your computer do your work for you! Find recipes by keywords instead of flipping through pages.
• World Class Recipes – Virtually every top chef in the world has contributed their best recipes to various e-cookbooks!
• Easy To Read – No need to hold it open like a book so it can sit in your lap or on the counter to be read.
• Luggage Free – No matter where you are in the world, you can travel and look up all your favorite recipes on your computer!
• Environmentally effective – No paper or ink products and doesn’t have to be replace with wear and tear.

Smack your lips and get your juices flowing. Tested, tasted and true – the recipes are really fabulous.

Summer Gatherings: Casual Food to Enjoy with Family and Friends by Rick RodgersFirm, ripe tomatoes. Golden corn. Fragrant basil. Juicy peaches. Nothing compares with the bounty of summer when colors, flavors, and aromas are at their peak and cooking is easier than ever. Fresh, ripe produce is so tasty and perfect on its own that creating a terrific summer meal can be stress-free, delicious, and fun. From family cookouts to neighborhood block parties, from picnics on the lawn to picnics at the beach, the appetizing recipes and photographs in Summer Gatherings are guaranteed to satisfy and inspire all season long.

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book by Jake GodbyWith more than 300,000 Twitter followers, a heaping helping of controversy, and a rich supply of attitude and humor, Humphry Slocombe is not your average ice cream shop. Yet the ice cream is what matters, and they make it in dozens of glorious, unique, and delightful flavors. This tasty book collects 50 recipes for these idolized and iconoclastic flavors, as well as surprising sundae combinations and popular toppings such as marshmallow and crumbled curry cookie. More than 50 color photographs, dozens of graphics and drawings, and first-person essays and scenes from the shop present a delicious foray into this scoop of San Francisco’s incredible food scene.

Emeril at the Grill: A Cookbook for All Seasons by Emeril LagasseIf you know Emeril, you know that he always takes cooking to the next level. And when it comes to grilling, that means that instead of hamburgers he’s making Pork and Chorizo Burgers with Green Chile Mayo. Instead of corn on the cob, he’s got Grilled Corn with Cheese and Chile. Anyone can grill a chicken, but only Emeril would come up with Northern Italian-Style Chicken Under a Brick (yes — a brick!). And while we all love peach pie, how about Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Honey? You’ve never grilled like this before.

Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook by Rachael RayFrom her cookbooks to her magazine to her daily talk show, Rachael Ray’s message remains the same today as the day she wrote her very first 30-minute meal–making delicious, knock-your-socks-off dishes should be fun, fast, fulfilling, and foolproof. Rachael now presents her best idea yet: Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook–100 brand-new recipes, each featuring beautiful and helpful step-by-step full-color photographs that illustrate how to create each meal, along with photographs of the gorgeous finished dishes. You literally look along while you cook!

Mix Shake Stir: Recipes from Danny Meyer’s Acclaimed New York City Restaurants by Danny MeyerThe bartenders at Danny Meyer’s wildly popular restaurants are known for their creative concoctions. Guests at Union Square Café or Gramercy Tavern expect not only the finest cuisine but also Meyer’s special brand of hospitality that often begins with a Venetian Spritz or a Cranberry Daiquiri. In Mix Shake Stir, Meyer offers all the tips and tools needed to become a masterful mixologist and supplements the cocktail recipes with gourmet takes on bar snacks. There are over 100 recipes of bar classics, signature favorites, and original, refreshing libations–from the Modern’s elegant mojito made with champagne and rose water to Tabla’s Pomegranate Gimlet. Shaken or stirred, straight up or on the rocks, these cocktails make this collection an invaluable resource for elegant entertaining.

Vegetarian Times: Everything Vegan by Vegetarian TimesA diverse and delicious collection of vegan recipes from the experts at Vegetarian Times magazine. Whether they’re vegan for a day, a week, a lifetime, or even just for lunch hour, the demand among vegans for deliciously satisfying animal-free recipes has never been greater. Vegetarian Times Everything Vegan is the something-for-everyone vegan cookbook with hundreds of tasty, healthful recipes that will woo omnivores to the possiblities of plant-based eating while wowing committed vegans and vegetarians.

Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook: Crazy Delicious Recipes that Are Good to the Earth and Great for Your Bod by Kim BarnouinAfter five years atop the Skinny Bitch phenomenon, author Kim Barnouin has grown as a cook, a nutritionist, and a mom. Now she delivers the “Ultimate” cookbook that will be for everyone looking for a healthier way to feed themselves, their families, and friends. Kim’s emphasis is on “easy,” and her kick-ass recipes feature seasonal produce (no fake meat or hard-to-find ingredients) and provide a versatility of tastes and cuisines, from Mediterranean to California-fresh. With almost 150 recipes, full-color photos, complete nutritional breakdowns, and simple “switch-outs” for quick variations, it will be the new “gotta have” on any healthy bitch’s bookshelf.

Sips and Apps by Angie Norwood Browne, Kathy CaseyAuthor Kathy Casey says that ‘a great drink is just as important as a great dish,’ and she should know—she’s been creating signature cocktails for cruise lines, luxury hotels, chef’s bistros and spirit brands for years. Created with a culinary philosophy and fresh seasonal ingredients, the extraordinary drinks and appetizers in Sips and Apps are impressive enough that home entertainers can keep it simple and let one or two selections speak for themselves. Classic cocktails have made a huge comeback in recent times, and drinks made with fresh, high-quality ingredients can be found at the bars of all the best restaurants and clubs. And nobody wants to drink a cocktail without a delicious snack to go with it! Guests can sip a Pear Thyme Fizz while they nibble on Croque Monsieur Puffs, or perhaps they’d like a spicy Poppy’s Margarita to go with their Cha Cha Cashews! Experienced mixologists and newcomers alike will benefit from Kathy’s chapters on which ingredients, equipment and glassware will make a modern bar great.

Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smartby Maya AngelouRenowned and beloved author Maya Angelou returns to the kitchen–both hers and ours–with her second cookbook, filled with time-tested recipes and the intimate, autobiographical sketches of how they came to be. And oh, what food you will create! Savor recipes for Mixed-Up Tamale Pie, All Day and Night Cornbread, Sweet Potatoes McMillan, Braised Lamb with White Beans, and Pytt I Panna (Swedish hash.) All the delicious dishes here can be eaten in small portions, and many times a day. More important, they can be converted into other mouth-watering incarnations. So Crown Roast of Pork becomes Pork Tacos and Pork Fried Rice, while Roasted Chicken becomes Chicken Tetrazzini and Chicken Curry. And throughout, Maya Angelou’s rich and wise voice carries the food from written word to body-and-soul-enriching experience.