Books for Foodies II

On an earlier post, I made a quick summary of some "Foodie" books I read. I've since read a couple more books, so here's my take on them.

Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen with Sherry Suib Cohen

For me, watching Paula Deen on the Food Network has always been enjoyable. She's so cheerful, warm, and she has a great laugh. Her recipes look yummy, but I hadn't tried any of them before reading this book. The reason? I'm constantly trying to find recipes that use less butter, not more.

However, I enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. As I read, I felt like I was listening to an old friend chat with me over a cup of tea. Her story is truly inspiring because she started out with nothing. She is a success today because of a lot of hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck.

Before reading this book, I felt like her sons (whom you constantly see on her shows) were riding on their mother's coattails. (I mean, they even have their own show?) Now I see that they were an integral part to building the empire that she is today.

The details about her agoraphobia are shocking and graphic. You feel her pain, and when you finish the book you will like her even more.

I was inspired to cook one of the "recipes" she describes in her book. I said "recipes" because you're going to laugh when you see how easy it is, but it is SO GOOD.

Paula's Romantic Puff Pastry Dessert

Buy a box of puff pastry and let it defrost. Cut the pastry into squares (about 5" X 5"). Brush each square with some milk, and then place a mini chocolate bar in the center. (I used mini Snickers bars.) Bring the corners up to form a small package and seal the edges. Bake in a 425 degree oven until brown. (I made four in my toaster oven.)

Oh. My. God. So good! You must try making these at your next dinner party. People will flip.

Even though it seems that I see Paula's name on every kitchen product around these days, I think she deserves every penny! A great read.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

I was inspired to read this book after enjoying the movie. Loved, loved the movie.

The book, however, did not work for me. As a fellow-semi-foodie-blogger, it was interesting at the beginning. I enjoyed reading about how she cooked each dish, what went wrong, right, finding the ingredients, etc., and then it started to feel repetitious. Then it continued to feel repetitious. Then I felt bored. So quite honestly, I stopped reading it when I was about half-way through. Is that wrong? But I highly recommend the movie.

Here's a link to my earlier post on Books For Foodies.