7 New Cookbooks That Are Sure To Dazzle You

I don't know how many of my readers realize this, but I am a bona fide cooking nut! Yes, I'm sure you already figured out the "nut" part (HA!), but I also absolutely LOVE to cook. I credit my mom for instilling in me at an early age how much fun cooking can really be. In fact, I used to enjoy surprising her by having dinner ready when she got home from work when we were growing up. She was a single mom with three kids, so it was practical for her to have a kid who could actually cook. That was ME! :)

In fact, ever since I got married to my cherished Christine in August 1995, I've probably done about 90 percent of the cooking. I just plain enjoy it because it relaxes me and I can't wait to experiment and try new recipes. When I started livin' la vida low-carb almost four years ago, I had to adjust some of my recipes to make them low-carb. It's a tricky thing sometimes when recipes call for lots of sugar or white flour, but it can be done.

Although I am so grateful to people like Dana Carpender, Judy Barnes Baker, and Jan McCracken, for example, because they have taken their cooking talents and created outstanding low-carb cooking resources for all of us to enjoy, it's still kinda neat to take a look at some more traditional cookbooks and try to transform the recipes into low-carb ones.

Today I wanted to share seven brand new cookbooks from 2007 that are sure to dazzle you. With a little finagling and substituting of ingredients, just about ANY recipe in these books can be made low-carb. You might find something new to enjoy among these tantalizingly delicious selection of recipes! ENJOY!


1. Holiday Entertaining: Inspired Recipes & Ideas For Celebrating The Season

Just in time for the holidays, this picturesque cookbook with gorgeous photos will have you welcoming in Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's the right way. With creative drink and hors d'oeuvres recipes to main dishes, sides, and desserts, there are recipes to treat your friends and family in style found in this cookbook. There's even a section with homemade gifts you can make in your kitchen that you won't want to miss. This is one holiday cookbook you won't be able to resist!


2. Voice Of The Angels Cookbook: Talk To Your Food Intuitive Cooking

Are you a cook who is a "little of this, little of that" kinda chef? Then this is the cookbook for you! The author Dian Garris encourages you to "talk to your food" and let it tell you what the final product is supposed to look and taste like. If you put the new age funkiness of the "channeled message" aside, there are some really stimulating recipes in this book (whether you buy into the spirituality of the author or not!).


3. The Complete Baking Cookbook: 350 Recipes From Cookies And Cakes To Muffins And Pies

A very practical cookbook with an easy-to-read format that clearly show the serving size for each recipe, a brief explanation of the origins of the recipes, precise listing of all the ingredients involved, detailed listing of the instructions about how to make it and some tips you can use to make the recipe as good as it can possibly be. If you like to be held by the hand as you cook, then this is the book for you. There's even an extremely educational look at some common cooking ingredients at the beginning of the book that will make anyone a better cook.


4. Modern Indian Cooking

Personally, I wasn't holding out much hope for this book since I am not a fan of Indian cuisine. But Hari Nayak and Vikas Khanna make the mysteriousness of these recipes very mainstream by infusing common ingredients to formulate some really tasty dishes. In fact, many of these are quite suitable for people who are livin' la vida low-carb with very few substitutions required. For something a little different while still mouthwatering, the recipes in this book will do the trick.


5. Gluten-Free Quick & Easy: From Prep To Plate Without The Fuss 200+ Recipes For People With Food Sensitivities

More and more people are suffering from a condition called celiac disease which means they have a severe and potentially deadly aversion to any wheat products. That's why they need to eat what is known as a "gluten-free" diet. This book of recipes from Dr. Carol Fenster is sensitive to the needs of this special sect of people because she is an outspoken leader on their behalf. She explains how to prepare your kitchen for a gluten-free lifestyle and then serves up some of the most tantalizing recipes that will rival those you'd find in any cookbook anywhere. There are even suggestions in the back of the book about how to substitute key ingredients in traditional recipes with gluten-free ones.


6. 2500 Recipes: Everyday To Extraordinary

I've never seen a book that contains two-thousand five-hundred recipes in it! Well, yeah I have--THIS ONE! WHOA! There are FIFTY chapters with FIFTY recipes each that run the gamut when it comes to cooking--from snacks to grilling and stir-frying to stews and fish to fruit and chocolate recipes to homemade pies--and would make the cooking king or queen in your life a very happy person. From simple to complex, these recipes will keep that cook in your life quite busy (enough new recipes to have one brand new one every single day for the next EIGHT years!!!).


7. Mastering The Grill: The Owner's Manual For Outdoor Cooking

Do you like to cook on the grill? I mean REALLY get down and dirty barbecuing like you were born to do it. Oh yeah, baby! Then THIS is the book for you. Authors Andrew Schloss and David Joachim don't play around and mean serious business with this hands-on grilling cookbook. With vibrant photos of their sensational BBQ recipes, each page of this book provides helpful hints about how to maximize your grill to make the perfect dish. Temperature recommendations, full ingredients listing, cooking directions, estimated preparation/grilling time, and recommended grilling equipment is provided for each recipe. Fire up the grill and let this book help you become the BBQ king in your neighborhood!

That's all the cookbooks I have to share with you for now, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for any more that tickle my fancy and capture my attention. Let me know if you decide to pick up any of these books and experiment a bit in the kitchen. Half of the fun of cooking is figuring out what you want to make next. HAPPY COOKING! :D