Wrapping Up Another Month.

January has come to an end and with that we will all close our Moosewood Restaurant New Classics and open an exciting new cookbook for February. As for David and myself, Moosewood will be at the ready, we were impressed by the dishes made from it and will use it again and again.

With the end of a month, comes a Q & A style sum up of the chosen book, so without further adieu, here is what everyone thought of Moosewood Restaurant New Classics:

1. What were your favorite aspects of this book?

Amy-"Lots of variety."

Stephanie- "I love the focus on healthy, flavorful eating. I enjoyed the multi-cultural cuisine; dishes, flavors and seasonings from around the globe. I really liked the introduction to the cookbook and the pages leading up to the actual recipes... the explanation of the restaurant history, how the recipes are developed, and the goal in assembling the cookbook- great, fun insight!"

Crystal- "I love the wide variety of foods!"

David- "The simplicity of the recipes and the complex flavor that comes from such simplicity."

Kimberly- "I realized upon making some of these recipes that we were getting doses of spices and flavors we rarely enjoy on a regular basis. I think I had unknowingly missed some of the ethnic flavors on my taste buds and really enjoyed digging through our spice cupboard on a regular basis."

2. Any recipes you would happily make again?

Amy- "Presto Chocolate Cake"

Stephanie- "I really enjoyed the Veggie Pho, and will definitely be making it again. It had great presentation and filled the room with beautiful aromas."

Crystal- "I loved making the scones! They are the perfect Saturday morning breakfast."

David-"The curried quinoa, the bulgur, and the vegan chocolate cake."

Kimberly- "The grains made great side dishes (though we usually ate them as a meal) so keeping those handy will be a priority. Last night we took the Israeli Couscous and French Lentils (pg. 231) to a little potluck and it was a successful crowd pleaser."

3. Any recipes you will be avoiding for life?

Amy- "Nope."

Stephanie- "None that I came across. I plan on making the PistachioCardamom cake.... we'll see how that turns out. Sounds intriguing, but cardamom can be a strong spice."

David-"There were a few recipes we didn't find post worthy after trying, but wouldn't avoid them for life. The broccoli rabe with orecchiette and butter beans (pg. 251) was pretty bitter and might be better with broccoli since the bitterness really killed the whole dish."

Kimberly- "I have some strange memory of a Peter Rabbit Salad I made in first grade that I hated. Memories of shredded carrot and raisins spring to mind. And mayonnaise...was there mayonnaise in that salad!?!? So, I will likely not give Two Shredded Carrot Salads (pg. 111) a second glance, nor the opportunity for creation in our kitchen. In fact quite a few of the salads left me less than enthralled simply based on the title, which is surprising, as I typically love a good salad."

4. What type of friend would you recommend this book to?

Amy- "A vegetarian."

Stephanie- "Someone who is up for a little taste-adventure in the kitchen. I think that any skill level will be able to successfully cook form this book, however. The recipes are very straightforward and easy to manage."

Kimberly- "Someone looking for some ways to cut meat from their diet, add some new ingredients to their plates, and some blasts of flavor from the world's spices."

5. What was the biggest challenge in using this book?

Amy- "Not a lot of pics."

Stephanie- "I would have to say the "visual stimulation". However, once you begin reading the recipes and looking at the ingredients, your imagination comes alive with the potential flavors each dish offers."

Crystal- "I think pictures are really important in cookbooks. I would have liked to have seen more pictures of the dishes in the book so I knew how they were supposed to look".

Kimberly- "I'm a sucker for beautiful photographs in a cookbook. This cookbook had zero."

6. What was the biggest surprise about Moosewood Classics?

Amy- "I was surprised to see so many tasty desserts."

Stephanie- "How simple the recipes were! Dishes that sound involved or complicated are so easy to make! I had a LOT of fun with this book and look forward to cooking more with the Moosewood Restaurant family."

Crystal- "How quick and easy it was to make the scones! Who would have thought?"

David-"How much I liked almost every recipe."

Kimberly- "A completely boring looking book delivered on simple yet fabulous tasting recipes. Reminding me of that old saying, 'you can't judge a book by its cover'."