Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Best Christmas Gift Cookbooks 2024



BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT COOKBOOKS 2021



# 1 BEST NEW COOKBOOK 2024

"SINATRA SAUCE" 

 


SINATRA SAUCE

"COOK LIKE FRANK"

EAT LIKE FRANK

His FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

CHRISTMAS 2024





# 2 The JOY of COOKING

An AMERICAN CLASSIC



The JOY of COOKING

If YOU COULD ONLY HAVE ONE COOKBOOK ?

"THIS WOULD BE IT" !!!




“Generation after generation, Joy has been a warm, encouraging presence in American kitchens, teaching us to cook with grace and humor. This luminous new edition continues on that important tradition while seamlessly weaving in modern touches, making it all the more indispensable for generations to come.” —Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

“Cooking shouldn’t just be about making a delicious dish—owning the process and enjoying the experience ought to be just as important as the meal itself. The new Joy of Cooking is a reminder that nothing can compare to gathering around the table for a home cooked meal with the people who matter most.” —Joanna Gaines, author of Magnolia Table

In the nearly ninety years since Irma S. Rombauer self-published the first three thousand copies of Joy of Cooking in 1931, it has become the kitchen bible, with more than 20 million copies in print. This new edition of Joy has been thoroughly revised and expanded by Irma’s great-grandson John Becker and his wife, Megan Scott.

This new edition of Joy is the perfect combination of classic recipes, new dishes, and indispensable reference information for today’s home cooks. Whether it is the only cookbook on your shelf or one of many, Joy is and has been the essential and trusted guide for home cooks for almost a century. This new edition continues that legacy.





 

# 3  BEST ITALIAN COOKBOOK

 
SUNDAY SAUCE
 
When Italian-Americans Cook
 
 


SUNDAY SAUCE
 
by Daniel Bellino Zwicke
 
Bestselling Italian Cookbooks
 

 
"Come here kid, lem-me show you something.You never know when you're gonna have to cook for 20 guys some day." Pete Clemenza says to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. It's one of the most famed movie scenes in history, and of great importance to Italian-Americans. Clemenza is making "Gravy" aka Sunday Sauce, the Supreme Dish of Italian-America, and the dish that brings Italian Families together each and every Sunday. Learn How to Make Clemenza's Sunday Sauce, Meatballs, Pasta Fazool, Momma DiMaggio's Gravy, Goodfellas Sauce, and all of the great favorites of The Italian American Table. Cook Sinatra's Spaghetti & Meatballs, Italian Wedding Soup and more, and delight in the many stories and factual information written by Italian Food & Wine Writer Daniel Bellino Zwicke. This book is filled with Joy & Love, and you will get many years of both, reading, cooking and eating the dishes in SUNDAY SAUCE "When Italian-Americans Eat".Do you Love Goodfellas, The Godfather, and Italian Food? Of course you do. Learn How to make Clemenza's Brooklyn Mob War Sauce for 20 people some day. Remember that scene in Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo classic Film Trilogy of the Corleone Family of Sicily and Brooklyn, New York. Recipes in Italian-American New York Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke's Best Selling Cookbook (2 Years Amazon Kindle) SUNDAY SAUCE include; Frank Sinatra Sunday Sauce, Dolly Sinatra's Spaghetti Meatballs, Joe DiMaggio 's mom's Sunday Gravy, and Charlie Scorsese making Sauce in Prison in Martin Scorsese's GOODFELLAS - starring; Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesce, and Ray Liotta making Veal & Peppers and Sunday Sauce. And by-the-way, Joe Pesci and Liotta are both Italians from New Jersey, so they know their stuff when it comes to Italian Food and all things Italian (Mafia speak and so-forth). .
SUNDAY SAUCE With SAUSAGE MEATBALLS BRACIOLE PASTA..Editorial Reviews : Great Recipes & Stories of Italian-America .... I didn't know what to expect before I loaded this on to my Kindle and started reading. The premise of the novel is a set of Italian recipes with each one accompanied by a story. This is the first of its kind that I've ever read or even heard of, so I thought I'd give it a chance and wasn't disappointed after finishing it a few days ago.Daniel does a great job of creating the recipes and making sure that each one feels authentic and taste wonderful. All of the stories with each recipe is also well done and does a great job of connecting the food to the story. It's hard to figure out which one is more enjoyable. The story side or the recipe side of this novel, but I had to chose it would be the recipe side of the novel as the recipes are truly great and highlight Italian cuisine.If you're looking for a great cook book to give you some great Italian dishes to try out all courses, with a few stories to read while your food is cooking, then this is definitely the book you've been looking for. As it does a splendid job of creating wonderful, quality meals..Buy This One ... This is The Best Italian Cookbook Ever !Authentic Italian Cooking ... Many of the recipes are very close to those, my grandmother,who was from Sicily, made. These recipes are very good. My only critique is that the book could be edited better, but the recipes are very good. Buy the book if you want authentic Italian recipes. 
 
From the Author :  I'd like to thank everyone who has obtained anyone of my books and for your many kind words about some of the joys the recipes and stories within have pleased you. It's truly an honor for me for each and every book that anyone obtains of mine and I thank each and everyone of you. 
 
 
SUNDAY SAUCE was # 1 BEST SELLER of ITALIAN COOKBOOKS on AMAZON KINDLE longer than any other cookbook.
 
 
 
 
Get SUNDAY SAUCE at AMAZON.com
# 3  BEST MEXICAN COOKBOOK
PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE

by Pati Jinich



PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE
 
The host of a highly popular PBS series, Pati’s Mexican Table, and a self-described “overloaded soccer mom with three kids and a powerful blender,” Pati Jinich has a mission. She’s out to prove that Mexican home cooking is quicker and far easier than most Americans think.

Her dishes are not blanketed with cheese, or heavy and fried, or based on complex sauces. Nor are they necessarily highly spicy. Surprising in their simplicity and freshness, they incorporate produce and grains. Most important, they fit perfectly into an everyday family cooking schedule and use just a handful of ingredients, most of which are already in your pantry. Many are homey specialties that Pati learned from her mother and grandmother, some are creative spins on classics, while others are not well known outside of Mexico.

Dishes like Chicken à la Trash (it’s delicious!), a one-pot meal that Pati gleaned from a Mexican restaurant cook; Mexican Meatballs with Mint and Chipotle; Sweet and Salty Salmon; and Mexican-Style Pasta can revitalize your daily repertoire. You’ll find plenty of vegetarian fare, from Classic Avocado Soup, to Divorced Eggs (with red and green salsa), to Oaxaca-Style Mushroom and Cheese Quesadillas.
 
 
 
AVAILABLE on Amazon.com
 
 
 
# 4  BEST FRENCH COOKBOOK
 
 

The BEST FRENCH COOKBOOK
MASTERING The ART of FRENCH COOKING


by Julia Child
50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

 
 
 
This is the classic cookbook, in its entirety—all 524 recipes.
 
“Anyone can cook in the French manner anywhere,” wrote Mesdames Beck, Bertholle, and Child, “with the right instruction.” And here is the book that, for more than forty years, has been teaching Americans how.
 
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food and long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic cuisine, from the historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. This beautiful book, with more than 100 instructive illustrations, is revolutionary in its approach because:
 
• it leads the cook infallibly from the buying and handling of raw ingredients, through each essential step of a recipe, to the final creation of a delicate confection;
• it breaks down the classic cuisine into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of recipes; the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone’s culinary repertoire;
• it adapts classical techniques, wherever possible, to modern American conveniences;
• it shows Americans how to buy products, from any supermarket in the United States, that reproduce the exact taste and texture of the French ingredients, for example, equivalent meat cuts, the right beans for a cassoulet, or the appropriate fish and seafood for a bouillabaisse;
• it offers suggestions for just the right accompaniment to each dish, including proper wines.
 
Since there has never been a book as instructive and as workable as Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the techniques learned here can be applied to recipes in all other French cookbooks, making them infinitely more usable. In compiling the secrets of famous cordons bleus, the authors have produced a magnificent volume that is sure to find the place of honor in every kitchen in America. 
 
Bon Appétit!
 
 
 
 
 
# 5  BEST RECIPES For COVID COOKING
 
 
The BADASS COOKBOOK
 
 


AMERICA'S FAVORITE DISHES

GET a COPY of The BADASS COOKBOOK

AMERICA'S FAVORITE FOODS

And SECRET RECIPES

 
So you want to cook like a Badass? Well not really a Badass, it's the recipes that are Badass. And in this case Badass is good, awesomely good. As Good as it gets. We've compiled all of America's Favorite Foods and Best Dishes, with things like; Badass BBQ Sauce & Ribs, The Best Potato Salad Ever, You'll Learn How to Cook The Perfect Steak, make Breakfast, Badass Fried Chicken and Much More. The Badass Cookbook is one of the greatest collections of Awesomely Badass Tasty as Can be Recipes ever assembled. The Thug Kitchen Cookbook ain't got nothing on us. Dam they're vegetarian? Which is fine, but if you really want to Cook Badass Food, that can Kick Any Thug Ass anywhere, then you're gonna want to get your self a copy of The Badass Cookbook. It's badder than Bad (which is Good) and the recipes within will Kick Thug Ass any day of the week. The Recipes are Badass Awesome, so you don't have to be a Badass to Cook them, the recipes already are Badass as Badass can be. Some of the recipes you'll find inside the Badass Cookbook are; The World's Best Potato Salad, KFC Knock-Off Secret Fried Chicken Recipe, New England Clam Bake, Cowboy Chili, The Bomber, The Badass Lobster Roll, Old Fashion Chicken Soup, Badass Porchetta, The Perfect Burger, Burritos, Tacos,Classic Beef Stew, How to Make a McRib, Badass Goulash, How to Cook The Perfect Steak, and much more ... It's all in there and it's Awesome as Awesome can be, It's The Badass Cookbook and everyone has one ...
 
 
 
Available on Amazon.com
 
 
 
 
# 6  HOW to COOK EVERYTHING
 
 
 
HOW to COOK EVERYTHING
 
 
 
The ultimate kitchen companion, completely updated and better than ever, now for the first time featuring color photos

 
For twenty years, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything has been the definitive guide to simple home cooking. This new edition has been completely revised for today’s cooks while retaining Bittman’s trademark minimalist style—easy-to-follow recipes and variations, and tons of ideas and inspiration.
 
Inside, you’ll find hundreds of brand-new features, recipes, and variations, like Slow-Simmered Beef Chili, My New Favorite Fried Chicken, and Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce; plus old favorites from the previous editions, in many cases re-imagined with new methods or flavors. Recipes and features are designed to give you unparalleled freedom and flexibility: for example, infinitely variable basic techniques (Grilling Vegetables, Roasting Seafood); innovative uses for homemade condiments; easy-to-make one-pot pastas; and visual guides to improvising soups, stir-fries, and more. Bittman has also updated all the information on ingredients, including whole grains and produce, alternative baking staples, and sustainable seafood. And, new for this edition, recipes are showcased throughout with color photos.
 
 
 
 
 
# 7 BEST ALL AROUND COOKING
 
 
 
AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN COOKBOOK
 
20th ANNIVERSAY EDITION
 
 
# 8 BEST COMFORT FOOD COOKBOOK

MODERN COMFORT FOOD
 
by Ina Garten
 
# 9 BEST DESSERTS COOKBOOK


MARTHA STEWART 'S 

BAKING HANDBOOK
 
Available on Amazon.com

 
This essential addition to every cook’s library is rich with tips, techniques, and the mouthwatering and stunning recipes for which Martha Stewart is so well known. Covering a delectable array of topics from simple to sophisticated, including biscuits, muffins, scones, cookies, layer cakes, specialty cakes, sweet and savory pies and tarts, and pastries and breads, she provides a dazzlingly delicious yet crystal-clear, vividly illustrated repertoire of recipes. There are cakes that are elegant enough for formal occasions, such as showers, weddings, and dinner parties, and basic favorites meant to be enjoyed every day and then passed down through the generations. Every chapter includes indispensable visual equipment glossaries and features vital make-ahead information and storage techniques. Organized for maximum clarity and practicality, the handbook also offers step-by-step how-to photographs that demystify even the most complex and nuanced techniques. These culinary building blocks will turn good bakers into great bakers, and make great bakers even better.
 
Filled with time-honored classics, such as Marble Cake with White-Chocolate Glaze, Apple Pie, Challah, Baba au Rhum, and Croissants, as well as lots of new surprises, Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook will be reached for again and again, no matter the season or occasion.



# 10 BEST HUMOROUS COOKBOOK
 
GOT ANY KAHLUA ?
 
aka The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK



GOT ANY KAHLUA ?
 
The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK
 
The COLLECTED RECIPES of The DUDE
 
 
"ABIDE in IT" !!!



The BEST TRAVEL COOKBOOK of 2020

POSITANO The AMALFI COAST COOKBOOK & TRAVEL

 


POSITANO
 
The AMALFI COAST COOKBOOK
 
TRAVEL GUIDE
 
.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

Friday, November 22, 2024

Rod StewaRT Not Retiring

 




ROD STEWART

"I am Not Retiring. O Love what I do, and I do what I Love.
I am fit and with a full head of hair, 
and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the Jolly Old Age of 79"





MOD ROD GOES ON !!!










SINATRA SAUCE

COOK LIKE SINATRA

The COOKBOOK




Thursday, November 21, 2024

Frommer Guide Europe on $40 a Day

 






Arthur Frommer, known for the guidebook Europe on 5 Dollars a Day and other titles on budget travel, has died aged 95.


Pauline Frommer, his daughter, confirmed his death in a statement on his website. 

The writer, who began his journalism while on military deployments abroad, passed away at home surrounded by his loved ones. 

“Throughout his remarkable life, Arthur Frommer democratised travel, showing average Americans how anyone can afford to travel widely and better understand the world,” Pauline wrote in her statement. 


“I am honoured to carry on his work of sharing the world with you, which I proudly do with his team of extraordinary and dedicated travel journalists around the world. We will all miss him greatly," she added.


Frommer was the founder of Frommer's guidebooks - a series of travel books that included planning and travel tips to destinations around the globe. 


The series was based on Europe on 5 Dollars a Day - one of his first publications, which came out in 1957 and sold millions of copies. 


The book detailed how average Americans could afford to take trips that many thought were only accessible to the wealthy. 






Europe on $5 on DAY

The FIRST ONE

"Wow ! Imagine it? Europe on $5 a Day"

The GOOD OLD DAYS



“This is a book for American tourists who a) own no oil wells in Texas, b) are unrelated to the Aga Khan, c) have never struck it rich in Las Vegas and who still want to enjoy a wonderful European vacation," he wrote in the original guidebook. 

Frommer was drafted during the Korean War. He was sent to Europe and served in Germany because of his language skills. While deployed, he wrote what would be his first travel guidebook for his fellow service members, The GI's Guide to Travelling in Europe.


As well as a writer, Frommer was a TV and radio host whose work helped shape others' approach to travel. 


In one essay, Frommer wrote that travel "broadens our lives". 


"Travel has taught me that despite all the exotic differences in dress and language, of political and religious beliefs, that all the world’s people are essentially alike," he wrote. "We all have the same urges and concerns, we all yearn for the same goals."






EUROPE on $25

by Arthur Frommer

Early 1980s Edition










POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

TRAVEL GUIDE - COOKBOOK





My FIRST TRIP to EUROPE

"And Using a Frommer Guide"



My own Frommer travel experience. After dreaming of going to Europe since I was about 16 or 17 years old, I pulled the plug in the Summer of 1985. Yes I yearned for several years, dreaming of hanging out in cafes in Paris, going to Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, maybe Switzerland, I don't know, I had to figure out an itinerary.

I was influenced by people I knew, and settled on Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice, and Positano and The Amalfi Coast, and over to Barcelona to meet up with some friends from New York.

Well I didn't end up going to Paris (another trip), but I did make it to Nice, Monaco, and The South of France. Everything would be wonderful, but I would have to plan. I had my Frommer Travel Guide, Europe on $40 a Day. I think it was that one. All these years later (2024) I can't remember of it was the $25 a Day edition or $40 a day. Anyway, the book was a great help. I had also bought Rick Steves 1st travel guide, Europe through the Back Door which was nice, but not filled with nearly much info, on many more places as the Frommer Guide by Arthur Frommer. 

Europe on $5 ($25, $40) was the standard at the time, which Arthur Frommer started in 1957 with his 1st of many guides, with Europe on $5 a Day. "Wow, imagine that" ? Those were the good old days, when European Travel was "Dirt Cheap" I must say, I was lucky to catch the tail-end of very affordable (cheap) European Travel on my first few trips.

On that first trip, I stayed in a Pensione in Rome for just $14 a night, just $6 a night in Barcelona, I think I payed about $25 - $30 for a room in Nice, $35 a night at the Hotel Firenze in Venice, and $40 for a room at the Pensione Maria Antoinette in Positano. Though it was Europe on $40 a Day at the time, I decided to give myself a budget of $60 a day. I wasn't backpacking it, I had luggage as opposed to a backpack, and I didn't want to stay in hostels, but I did want the most affordable accommodations a step or two up from hostels. This was Pensione accommodations, which gave you a clean room, but usually not with a bathroom. There were shared bathrooms on each floor of a typical Pensione. I didn't have any problem with not having my own private bath in the room. "Hey, at least I wasn't staying in a hostile with other people in my room?" Not that there is anything wrong with that. 

The Europe on $40 a Day covered the main attraction cities like Rome, Paris, Venice, Florence, Vienna, Athens, Amsterdam, and others. For each city, the main tourist attraction such as The Coliseum in Rome, Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Parthenon in Athens would be covered. Local transportations options were cover, with sections called "How to Get There" and "How to Get Around," which were very helpful. For each city there was a small listing of inexpensive Hotels to choose from, a few mid-range options, and maybe t deluxe hotel recommendations, which were classified as "Splurge" options, for both hotels and restaurants.

Then of course there were restaurant suggestions, mostly in the affordable category, as well as a few of the most popular dishes that any particular city or region was famous for. 

Most important to me was the hotel section of any particular city. Back then (1985) there was no Internet, which has made travel much easier to naviagate, with limitless information on vacation destinations around the World, and companies that book hotels all over the World, such as Expedia, Booking.com and others, where you have websites that list hotels in every budget, you can sift through the pages, pick a hotel, make room reservations, and book hotel rooms, all on your computer or Smartphone.


I was 22 years old when I made my first trip to Europe. I book a flight on PanAm from JFK New York to Rome. It was $55o. I can't tell you how excited I was on the flight over, and those first 5 days spent in Rome, and I was in total euphoria as I explored The Eternal City. I just couldn't believe it. I was like a young child on Christmas Day. That's the feeling I had, super excited and oh so happy. And again, I was in a state of euphoria. That's how much I loved it. 

I met a couple on the plane, we shared a taxi from the airport to Rome Central Station. I took a cue from my Rick Steves travel guide, and checked my luggage at the train station while I went looking for a pensione with a list I made from the Frommer Guide listings. I got a room on my first try with in a pensione that was just 2 blocks from the train station. I told the desk clerk I would take the room, and went back to the train station to retrieve my bags. After going back to the station, I laid down for a few minutes, couldn't fall asleep (to excited) so I took a shower, got dressed, then went out to explore Rome, The Eternal City. 

I walked about 5 blocks and came upon a Kiosk Cafe by small park across from the Piazza della Repubblica. I went inside and saw these little sandwiches on the counter (Tramezzini). They looked good and were cheap (900 Lire - .50 cents) so I got a couple, along with an Apricot Juice and my 1st Italian Espresso in Italy. I took my stuff and went outside to sit at one of the cafe tables. I was in "7th Heaven." No big deal to most, yet it was blissful to me. I was in the Ancient City of Rome, eating my first ever meal in Italy, and Europe at the same time. the sandwiches were tasty, the juice refreshing, and the Espresso was amazing. "I loved it all," and this some 39 years later, I can still remember it all, and I savor the memory. The sandwiches were so tasty (but not filling) that I went inside and got two more. This would be my breakfast for the next 5 days while in Rome. I found a cafe I liked the next day, and went there for the following 4 days, for a caffe (espresso_ Apricot Juice, and 2 or 3 Tramezzini Sandwiches. I loved it.

Anyway, back to that first day. I walked and found my way to The Spanish Steps. I marveled at the sight. I walked up to the top. There was a food truck up there, and I got a Coca-Cola. This was around the time that Coca-Cola had the foolish idea of changing the recipe of "Coke." A big mistake. People stopped drinking Coca-Cola and the company was forced to changed back to "The Original Recipe." I had my Coke and gazed out upon The Eternal City. Up on top of The Spanish Steps, you get a wonderful view of Rome, spread out before you. I savored it all. 

From here. I walked down the road toward the Borghese Gardens and the Piazza del Popolo beyond. I came across a beautiful little garden caffe an stopped in. I got a little something to eat. Sorry, can't remember what it was. What I do remember was that it was enchanting sitting in the garden and again, looking out over Rome. Absolutely beautiful. 

After leaving the garden caffe, I continued on my exploration and walked on the road and descended down into the Piazza Popolo with its two beautiful little "Twin Churches," and a couple famous caffes, including Rosati that my friend Rene Ricard told my that I had to go to, along with visiting the  two Twin Churches. Of course I did. 






Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke

"The TWIN CHURCHES'

PIAZZA del POPOLO - ROME



After visiting the twin churches of Santa Maria Maricoli & Santa Maria Montesanto, I continued on. In a few minutes, I came upon the monument to Victor Emmanuelle, The 1st King of Unified Italy. Adjacent to this monument is the Roman Forum, and The Colosseum beyond. Wow, The Colosseum ? This really blew my mind. Ancient Rome of 2000 years ago/ I couldn't believe it.




Daniel Bellino Zwicke


..... to be continued ... 






Flying to ROME ?



FLIGHTS & HOTELS to ITALY

And WORLDWIDE








NEED a ROOM in ROME ?



HOTELS in ROME

And WORLDWIDE









Learn How to Make SINATRA SUNDAY SAUCE ITALIAN GRAVY

Sinatra n Sunday Sauce

   SINATRA & SUNDAY SAUCE ?   Yes, they go together, Francis Albert Sinatra  & Sunday Sauce  ...            ...