This year's cookbooks have been super-sized

10/22/2006

This is the year of the Big Cookbook.

At least a half dozen mega-size cookbooks, some with at least 1,000 recipes, have been or will be published in 2006. Each has its own culinary spin.

The Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild (Wiley, $34.95) opens with "Notes from the Test Kitchen" where novice cooks and experts learn the secrets of cooking techniques. Recipes (there are 1,200) are concise and doable, from Baja Fish Tacos to Green Beans with Walnuts, Lemon, and Parsley. Holiday recipes include Chocolate and Cherry Yule Log and Roast Turkey.

The Taste of Home Cookbook (Reiman Publications, $29.95) has 1,200 recipes and 300 tips and how-tos. There are home-style meals and traditional holiday favorites like turkey with the trimmings, prime rib, cranberry relish, baked ham, and five chapters of desserts.

The 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking (Scribner, $30) will be published in November. It boasts 500 new recipes and 4,000 of the most beloved Joy classics, retested and updated. Once again convenience has a place in the kitchen, with a bigger vegetable chapter and a canning chapter for the rising trend of the farmer's market. New recipes include Breakfast Bars, Rolled Sushi, Flavored Vodkas, and Barbecued Baby Back Ribs.

The Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (Meredith, $29.95) has 800 new recipes and 1,400 recipes in all. There's a 20-minute-meals chapter and 45 quick meal solutions. Recipes include Fajitas, Herbed Pasta Primavera, and Cinnamon Rolls.

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral will hold the ladies Benevolent Society's Annual Dinner from noon to 7 p.m. Oct. 29 at the church hall, 3754 Woodley Rd.

The menu includes stuffed grape leaves, baked kibbee, green beans with meat served over rice, meat pies, tomato and cucumber salad, and a choice of beverages. Dessert of baklava is included. The adult dinner is $12 and children dinners are $6. Tickets can be purchased in advance by contacting the church at 419-475-7054.

Raw kibbee and Lebanese pastries area available a la carte. Carry out service is available.

St. Joseph Central Catholic Music Booster organization of Fremont will usher in the holidays with "Cooking on a High Note" show and expo at 5 p.m. Nov. 4 at the high school, 702 Croghan St. in Fremont.

Featured will be an executive chef from the Nia Center/Kalahari Resort of Sandusky. The event is a fund-raiser for the band's uniforms.

For tickets, which are $10 each, call the high school at 419-332-9947.

Washingtonians can always count on 25 for $25 in March and November. Now in its fifth year, Seattle's successful bi-annual dining promotion is something for travelers to buy into.

The event will take place Nov. 1-Nov. 30 excluding Thanksgiving. Select Seattle area restaurants will offer prix-fixe lunches for $12.50 and pre-fixe dinners for $25 Sunday through Thursdays. The price does not include beverage, tax, or gratuity. Each restaurant will decide whether they will offer lunch, dinner, or both, but all meals include 3 courses with 3 choices per course.

Participating restaurants downtown and around the city include Flying Fish, Sazerac, and Restaurant Zoe. For more information, visit www.nwsource.com/25for25.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that canola oil now is eligible to bear a qualified health claim on its ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to its unsaturated fat content.

The claim which may be used on labels states: Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggest that eating about 1 1/2 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil. To achieve this possible benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains (x) grams of canola oil.