Weekend Cooking: Come On Over by Jeff Mauro

Have you heard of Jeff Mauro? He made his name as the “Sandwich King” on the Food Network and currently hosts the show The Kitchen on the same network. His new cookbook, Come On Over will be published by William Morrow in April. (Thanks to William Morrow for the review copy of the cookbook.)

As you can tell from the title, this cookbook is all about entertaining—but don’t think hoity-toity. The gatherings Mauro likes are those that involve family and close friends. Each chapter focuses on a different kind of company meal, such as brunch, game day, cook-out, and pizza. There are also menus for themed meals, like tropical, Mexican, and holiday.

The recipes themselves are fairly easy to put together and have good flavor. We liked the Crispy Broccoli with Asiago and Pine Nuts, for example (see scan), which consists of tossing the broccoli in seasonings and cheese, roasting it, and then mixing with toasted pine nuts and some lemon zest and juice. Simple and delicious.

We (by we I, of course, mean me!) also made Greek Lemon Chicken and Orzo Bake, and the pantry-style Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup (see below for recipe). Both are on the make-again list.

Recommendation: Jeff Mauro’s Come On Over is a great choice for people looking for fairly easy recipes for casual entertaining or even for family dining. Many of the main dishes include fish or some kind of meat, so vegetarians will have to look before buying.

Cooks who have a solid repertoire of tried-and-true recipes for informal company dinners will want to check this cookbook out of the library. I promise you’ll find some new recipes to try (like Takeout-Style Chinese Spare Ribs, Citrusy Honey-Tequila Shrimp, and Grilled Greek Summer Salad), but I’m not sure you’ll find a ton of new ideas.

Last week's meal plan: Here’s what we had for dinner over the last week. Note that all dishes were served with a vegetable, salad, home-baked bread, grain, and/or pasta as appropriate:

• Grilled apple gouda pork sausages (sausages from Butcherbox)
• Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup (recipe below)
• Greek Lemon Chicken and Orzo Bake from Come On Over
• Curry udon with broccoli and avocado from I Can Cook Vegan (an Abram's Dinner Party cookbook I shared on Instagram and IG stories)
  
• Mediterranean baked cod from The Mediterranean Dish website (cod from Butcherbox)

Now for the promised recipe. Note: I turned the soup into a vegetarian dish by eliminating the bacon and using vegetable stock. I added a chopped jalapeno pepper to the soup with the onion, and I didn't make the crema. We served this with lime wedges, diced avocado, and some shredded Cheddar cheese.

Next time I’d add chopped spinach, kale, or Swiss chard to the soup after using the immersion blender, just for extra nutrition. But the soup was really yummy without it.

Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup with Avocado Crema

Serves 4

• ½ pound smoked bacon or pancetta, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• One 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped fine
• Three 15-ounce cans black beans, including canning liquid
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I skipped this and seasoned at the end)
• 1 jalapeno, cored, seeded, and sliced thin, for garnish
• 1 small bunch cilantro, for garnish

Avocado Crema:

• ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and roughly chopped
• Zest and juice of 2–3 limes, as needed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Set a medium saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

Quickly add the onion and cook it in the bacon grease, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, letting it get some good color. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, stock, chiles, beans, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally.

To make the crema, place the crema, avocados, and lime zest and juice of 2 limes in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. If too thick, thin out with a bit more lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the crema to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to keep it from browning. Refrigerate the bowl.

Now back to the soup. Carefully remove the bay leaf and discard. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until you achieve the consistency you desire. Taste and season with more salt, if desired.

To serve, ladle the soup in to bowls, garnish with bacon, avocado crema, jalapenos, and cilantro. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days or freezer for 3 months.

Scans and recipe shared in the context of a review. All rights remain with the original copyright holder.

Shared with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker)

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Weekend Cooking: The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook by ATK

I'm not sure why meal prep books are so popular right now, perhaps it has to do with COVID; I don't know. That's all to say that perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised to see that the new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen was called The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook (Random House; March 2).

I'm a huge ATK fan. Their recipes are always spot-on thanks to their extensive research and testing, and the recipes I've made from The Ultimate Meal Prep book have been delicious.

Despite the title of the cookbook, this is really more for meal planners than for meal preppers. At the heart of the cookbook are 25 weekly plans of four recipes and a bonus recipe (I'll explain in a minute). The beginning of the book includes tips for storing food properly, cooking ahead, and preparing veggies for the week to come. There's a lot of good information there, and even experienced cooks will learn something, like reheating strategies and how to properly store leftovers.

Each meal plan consists of five dinners meant to make the most of your grocery list and pantry. So, for example, if you need to buy fresh rosemary, that herb will show up at least twice that week so there's no waste. If you still have leftover herbs, ATK tells you how to dry or freeze them, so you don't have to throw them out.

ATK starts each meal plan with a description of why it works, what can be made ahead, how long the components of the meals will keep, a prep-ahead checklist, a grocery list, a pantry item checklist, and more. Some of this information is repeated with each individual recipe. Variations, substitutions, and serving suggestions are also provided.

The grocery list and checklists are based on the four main recipes. The fifth recipe each week is called a "pantry meal" and is meant to be a filler for households that need that extra recipe. For example, bigger families may not have any leftovers, but couples may find they need only the four dinners to make it through the week. The recipes for the suggested pantry meals are collected at the back of the cookbook.

Here's the good: The recipes are easy and doable even if you don't take advantage of any of the prep-ahead advice. The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook includes active cooking time for each recipe, which is a help for busy cooks. If you're new to meal planning, having a suggested weekly plan can be a godsend. If you're an old hand at meal planning, ATK's meal plans will work as a springboard to help you mix and match their recipes with your own. The pantry meal section is great for coming up with quick meals that use what you already have on hand. Nutrition information for each dinner is given at the back of the book. The meals are not assigned specific days, so you can be flexible about what you eat when.

Here's the not so good: The cookbook is very meat heavy. As most of you know, we're about 50 percent vegetarian, meaning I alternate fish/meat dinners with vegetarian dinners. Most of the meal plans in The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook include four fish, meat, or poultry dinners and only one vegetarian. People hoping to cut down on their meat eating will have to tweak many of the meal plans.

Just for fun, I decided to try one of the suggested meal plans. I picked Week 13. I made a couple of changes, though. ATK suggested shrimp burgers one night, but we went for grilled salmon instead. The rest of the dinners were Steak, Mushroom, and Spinach Rice Bowl; Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Asparagus Salad; Tortellini and Vegetable Soup with Pesto; and a pantry meal of Coriander Spiced Couscous with Chickpeas. The steak bowl was supposed to topped off with a fried egg, which we opted out of, since the steak was filling enough for us. The suggested pantry meal was a lentil dish, but we had just finished a big batch of lentil soup and didn't want to repeat. The meals were delicious and easy to make and worked well for us. Some dishes lasted two nights, and others gave us enough leftovers for lunch.

The scan above comes from the promo material and shows the cover page for Week 3. Don't the meals look yummy? Click the image to enlarge it.

Recommendation: As I often say, you don't have to meal plan or prep to use the recipes in a meal prep cookbook. America's Test Kitchen's The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook can be used by non-planners as a source of easy, quick, and delicious weeknight dinners. Meal planners will appreciate ATK's suggestions; sometimes it's nice to have an already put-together plan. Meal preppers may learn new tricks. Vegetarians and people trying to reduce their meat consumption can still use many of the recipes but will find it harder to follow the suggested meal plans. Vegans should look before buying.

Coriander-Spiced Couscous and Chickpeas

Serves 4-6

• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1-1/2 cups couscous
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1-3/4 cups broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1-1/2 cups frozen peas
• lemon wedges for serving

For the couscous: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add couscous and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe the skillet clean.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onion, salt, and cook until softened and just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, coriander, and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and chickpeas and bring to simmer.

Stir in peas and couscous. Cover, remove skillet from heat, and let sit until couscous is tender, about 7 minutes.

To finish: fluff with fork and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.

BFR's Notes: I added some leftover crumbled feta cheese on top. Recipe and scans shared in the context of review; all rights remain with the original copyright holder.

Shared with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker)

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14 Nonfiction Books to Read in March

March is a big book month, which means I’ve spotted many, many more great books than I can possibly read in a timely manner. Just because I can’t get to everything, doesn’t mean you can’t.

Here are 14 nonfiction titles that made it to my wish list. So far, I’ve read only one, but I hope to get to most of them—if not this month, then certainly before too long.

Notes: All the following books are coming out this month, according to Edelweiss+. I’ve provided audiobook information when possible. All books were provided to me in one or more formats (print, digital, audio) by the publishers. The descriptions are adapted or taken from the publishers’ summaries.

Celebrate Women’s History Month

• Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine by Olivia Campbell (Park Row): The true story of how, in the Victorian Era, Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and Sophia Jex-Blake became the first women to earn medical degrees. Not only did they break the glass ceiling, they transformed the nature of women’s healthcare. Audiobook read by Jean Ann Douglass (~11.5 hr).
• The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster): You don’t have to be a geneticist to get caught up in and understand this well-researched account of how Doudna and colleagues discovered a way to use CRISPR technology to alter genes, eventually leading to the development of the COVID vaccine. For my thoughts on the audiobook, see AudioFile Magazine. Audiobook read by Kathe Mazur (~16 hr).
• The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women’s Rights by Dorothy Wickenden (Scribner): This an account of how Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Wright formed an unlikely alliance in their fight for abolition and women’s rights in the mid-1800s. Relying on firsthand accounts, including the women’s letters, Wickenden reveals the work of these women starting before the Civil War and ending in the 1880s. Audiobook read by Heather Alicia Simms, Anne Twomey, and Gabra Zackman (11 hr).
• Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Search for Freedom and Identity in New York’s Greenwich Village by Jan Jarboe Russell (Scribner): In 1920, Eleanor Roosevelt left her husband and children, relocating to the Village, where she connected with forward-thinking women of all ilks. This book explores why she took the break, how it changed her, and how it influenced the rest of her life. Audiobook read by Samantha Desz (~6.75 hr).
• Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am by Julia Cooke (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt): This is the story of the women who met the surprisingly stringent requirements to become stewardess for Pan Am in the 1960s and 1970s. We learn more than what it was like to manage disgruntled vacationers; these women were intimately caught up in the effects of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and feminist causes. Audiobook read by Andi Arndt (~7.5 hr).

Learn about Science and Medicine

• Gut Feelings: The Microbiome and Our Health by Alessio Fasano and Susie Flaherty (MIT Press): Many of us are now aware that our gut and the many and varied microorganisms that live there play key roles in our health. This book was written to help us better understand the connection between our microbiome and our current and future physical well-being. This is not a self-help book; it’s an easy-to-understand explanation of how the bacteria that live within us offer numerous benefits. Audiobook: N/A
• Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older without Getting Old by Andrew Steele (Doubleday): Researchers have long been asking whether it’s possible to grow old without getting frail, without weakening immune systems, and without dementia. In this book, Steele presents the current science, medicine, and research concerned with aging and provides commonsense actions we take right now to up our chances of having a vigorous life right up to the end. Audiobook read by the author (10 hr).
• Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul by Brandy Schillace (Simon & Schuster): This is the biography of Dr. Robert White, who had two identities. On the one hand, the renowned surgeon was a Nobel Prize nominee, developing advances in neurosurgery. But he also hoped to find a way to conduct brain transplantation, thereby allowing “the soul to live on after the human body had died.” His story will make you thankful for today’s ethics committees. Audiobook read by Jean Ann Douglass (~10.75 hr).

Look at the World around You

• Empire of Ants: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth’s Tiny Conquerors by Susane Foizik and Olf Fritshe (The Experiment): Think about this: “Ants number in the ten quadrillions and they have been here since the Jurassic era.” This book introduces us to the quintessential picnic pest, revealing their complex social structure, childrearing practices, and political actions. Audiobook: N/A
• The Nation of Plants by Stefano Mancuso (trans. Gregory Conti; Other Press): This is an easy-to-read treatise about the importance of plants to our own lives and to the planet. Mancuso outlines the foundational tenets on which plant life depends and reminds us that if we don’t treat plants well, we’ll soon lose their protective and nourishing benefits. Audiobook read by Nigel Patterson (3 hr).
• Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World by Kimberly Nicholas (Putnam): If you haven’t noticed that the climate is changing, then you haven’t been outside your house in 10 years or more. In this down-to-earth book you’ll learn that climate change is real, but you’ll also learn that you—yes, you—can make a difference. Nicholas, a climate scientist, tells us just how important it is for each of us to change our behavior: every small change makes a huge difference. Audiobook read by the author (~9 hr).

Murder through History

• A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon (Abrams): On the surface, it appears that Ancient Rome had a different relationship with life and death than we do; after all people came out in droves to watch gladiators fight to the death and they murdered their emperors in public view. Employing her sense of humor and an easygoing style, Southon tells all about Roman murder and culture and notes their relevance to modern times. Audiobook read by Sophie Ward (~11 hr).
• Terror to the Wicked: America’s First Trial by Jury That Ended a War and Helped Form a Nation by Tobey Pearl (Pantheon): In 1638 near Plymouth Colony, a Nipmuc tribesman was robbed and murdered by a white indentured servant. Before he dies, the man reveals the details of the crime and names his killer. This is the story of the ensuing manhunt and the first jury trial by colonizers in the Americas. The case involved famous figures like Myles Standish and everyday citizens who testified before the court and served on the jury. The outcome of this trial had far-reaching consequences for the colonies and the new country to come. Audiobook read by Barrett Leddy (~7 hr).
• The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Liza Rodman with Jennifer Jordan (Atria): In the 1960s, when her mother worked during the day and danced in Provincetown bars at night, Liza and her sister were in the care of a babysitter: a good-looking, nice man who worked as a hotel handyman. When Liza learned that Tony Costa was arrested for brutal murders, she couldn’t reconcile the nice guy who took her for ice cream with the Cape Cod killer. This is her story of the man, how the knowledge of the murders affected her, and how she ultimately coped. Audiobook read by Andi Arndt and Alda Reluzco (~9 hr).

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