Cookbook Watch: various

Dylan's Candy Bar
This iconic candy shop is one we sadly missed on our New York trip. However, the book is quite wonderful - filled with candy! It's not a cookbook per se, but there's a lot of inspiration in it - for parties, for crafts, for candy-eating in general... I love the bright, gorgeous photos - it's very upbeat and perky, and you can't not feel good after leafing through this. And, also, obviously, it makes you crave candy in the worst way, so if you have any New Year's resolutions in that general area, skip this. If you don't mind giving in... get it. It's lovely.



Kung i Köket ("King in the kitchen") is a cool cookbook made by the men of the Swedish cooking team. They've competed in the World Cup, as well as Culinary Olympics, and they've done so very well. This book is geared towards the home cook who wants to impress - lots of stuff that looks hard and chef-y, but is actually not difficult to make. And, as a bonus, the book has a lot of photos of the chefs, model-style. And some are very, VERY cute!



Bulle, Burgare, Biff - en kokbok om färs ("Ball, burger, patty - a cookbook about mince") by Tobias Holmberg was a surprise to me. I didn't expect to like it much - after all, how much can you say about minced meat? Enough for a whole cookbook on the subject? Hardly. Well, turned out I was wrong. There's a lot to say. Or at least a lot to cook. This book goes straight to the point - just recipes (and pretty pictures) and not a whole lot of chatter. The chapters are obvious but helpful - beef, pork, lamb, fish, chicken, veal, game and vegetarian. And while all the recipes have the same starting point - mince - Tobias really takes them in different directions. Sure, there are some burgers, but also veal mince wrapped in prosciutto and served with a sage risotto. And empanadas with lamb mince. And a classic Swedish cabbage pudding. And chicken meatballs in coconut broth, flavored with galangal and fresh coriander. Yeah, you get the point. There's a lot of really good food in this cookbook. And that's what truly matters to me, in the end. Keeper!




Fina Feta Fiskar is written by Klara Desser, whose usual focus is food with a low glycemic index. (I've reviewed a few of her books before.) Her books are always very well written, and with beautiful photos taken by her husband Hans. This one focuses on fish - the title means "Fine Fat Fish", and has a lot of recipes for fat fishes like salmon, mackerel and herring. Not my usual preference to tell you the truth - I like salmon, but am no big fan of the other two. Nonetheless, this book is quite inspiring, since it has so many ideas and recipes. The two I'll try first are for salmon though - one thai-inspired soupy stew with red curry and coconut milk, and one for pan-fried salmon with a sauce from green peas, coconut milk, mint and ginger. Sounds good!