**March COTM 2009** suggestion thread!

[foxy fairy]

Good morning, Hounds! I'm thrilled to embark on my time as moderator of Cookbook of the Month. What an honor! I'm delighted to give back to an endeavour that has so enriched my life and -- of course -- my kitchen.

So, please excuse me as I'm a little late getting started this month with the passing of the baton... thanks oodles MMRuth! In the future I'll get this suggestion thread up right at the very start of the month, promise!

This month, we'll have an abbreviated suggestions thread, giving everyone a chance to make suggestions until the end of the day on FEBRUARY 17. That's six days for suggestions. I'll leave this thread up until February 17th, and plan to do what MMRuth did last time, which is not to have a run-off vote, unless two books are hopelessly tied. That way, participants can order the book and have it in time for March 1.

HOW TO POST:

When you recommend a book, please try to mention if you've cooked from it or not, why you think it would work for COTM, and feel free to add in your own critique of the book ---- but please, please use all CAPS for your actual suggestion. I'm excited to see the ideas!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to make it easier for participants to scan others’ suggestions and for me to tabulate the results, I’d appreciate it if you would make your recommendations in the following format:

TITLE (in all caps), Author: Description of the book or reason you are recommending it (optional but preferred)

**If you want to second or third a title that someone else has already mentioned, please repeat the title, typing it in capital letters.** Just saying “I agree with So and So” may well get lost and your choice might not get counted. And the more often a particular title is mentioned, the greater the chance it will be among the finalists.

A little note -- I'm on a road trip cross-country right now (in Amarillo, Texas this morning), but I will be online each evening, so I will respond each night to any questions or concerns.

Thanks so much for participating!

*foxy fairy*

[roxlet]

OTTOLENGHI

[The Chowhound Team]

If you are voting - you need to do that over on the Voting thread that is stickied to the top of the board.

Thanks.

[foxy fairy]

Sooooo it looks really close between Fish Without a Doubt and Ottolenghi. Cast any last-minute votes! If it's within a vote or two (right now it is), we will have a one or two day runoff to make the final decision.

thanks :)

foxy*

[Candy]

OTTOLENGHI

[alwayscooking]

OTTOLENGHI
If I can use online recipes if the book doesn't arrive in time.

[themags]

OTTOLENGHI

[pitu]

RUN OFF VOTING THREAD:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/597331

[Karen_Schaffer]

Good idea to post a link from the suggestion thread to the voting thread. I'll bet there are other people who didn't realize a run off vote was happening.

[foxy fairy]

Noted and thank you, pitu. My apologies, and I'll definitely make sure to post the runoff thread onto the suggestions thread in future months :)

*foxy*

[cpw]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT

New york public library system has 12 copies and I reserved mine today.

[foxy fairy]

Great to read these! Just a reminder that everyone has until the end of the day on Tuesday February 17 to post ideas and suggestions. thanks!

[pitu]

THE OTTOLENGHI COOKBOOK by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
+ Ottolenghi online http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyl...

I never heard of it before this thread, and it's not available in either the NYC or Bklyn library systems
but it sounds right up my alley and I can deal with online sources....
New Vegetarian etc
I hate to say it, but we've been finding Heidi Swanson's book to be less than thrilling afterall.

[JoanN]

Did you mean Sally Schneider? I must say I'm very surprised there have been so few reports so far. The title has come up often on the suggestion threads and I had the sense there was quite a bit of enthusiasm for it. I wonder if people are, as seems to happen on occasion, cooking from it and just not posting.

[Karen_Schaffer]

I haven't been finding it very inspiring, I have to say. Good ideas here and there, but not a lot of recipes that have made me think, "Oh, I want to make that!"

[greedygirl]

I agree. I was keen to have it as COTM so I'd use it more, but I find that I'm just not that inspired, which is why I don't use it that much, ifyswim!

[pikawicca]

Well, this is why I did not vote for this book for COTM--meh. Not a terrible cookbook, but not inspirational, either.

[roxlet]

Ditto. It's sitting sadly in the kitchen bookcase, and I may relegate it to another location where space isn't so precious. The one recipe/outline I tried was kind of disappointing...

[LulusMom]

Took it from the library, saw maybe 3 things I was interested in making, made one which was a big disappointment, and took it back to the library. Very uninspiring for me.

[Katie Nell]

I actually have been inspired, just A LOT of other things going on right now. Some of her techniques really intrigue me, for instance, smoking with ancho chiles- I just would have never thought of that. I really loved the turkey burgers. I need to take it back out now that the dust has settled a bit around here.

[Rubee]

Same with me - E's business is slow so I'm working a lot of OT, but have a bunch of dishes marked to try. Especially timely since we've started a plan to eat healthier. I didn't vote on a suggestion for March's book since I don't know now much time I'll have to cook, so I plan on cooking from "New Way to Cook" next month also.

I think it's a hard book to get inspired by flipping through it since it's so large and a bit cumbersome and there are very few pictures. Also, she encourages improvising with flavor enhancers and techniques so that's why some of recipes seem over-simplified. OTOH, I'm one of those nerds who like to read a cookbook cover-to-cover, so some I plan on making:

Flageolets with Tomatoes and Herbs de Provence
White Beans and Mellowed Garlic with Rosemary Oil
Bourbon Baked Beans
Miso-Glazed Fish Steaks
Sesame Crusted Swordfish with Cilantro and Coconut Chutney
Mushroom-Crusted Bass with Port Wine Butter Sauce
Fish fillets in Green Curry Sauce
Skate with Brown Butter and Capers
Home Cured Salmon
Cold Spicy Sesame Noodles
Rustic Pilaf with Madeira
Quinoa Salad with Lemongrass and Mint
"21 Club" Chopped Salad
Carrots in Chermoula
Cabbage Braised in Riesling with Smoked Ham
Crispy Artichokes with Garlic and Sage
Roasted Peppers with Garlic and Anchovy
Roasted Sesame Dressing
Skordalia/Greek Garlic Sauce
Romesco
Garlic-Scented Cod Puree/Brandade

On recs from other Chowhounds in this month's reports:
Confit Rub for roast chicken
Szechuan Pepper Crusted Steak with Onions
Chicken with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
Turkey Burgers with Apples, Onions, and Sage

[Katie Nell]

Yes, I am definitely interested in the Bourbon Baked Beans! I've never bought just pork skin before... were you planning on buying it or buying a pork cut with the skin on and using the skin from that?

[Rubee]

Yes, exactly. I picked up some skin-on pork belly at the Asian market and put it in the freezer. I plan on using the skin to flavor the beans, and the meat for a Dunlop recipe.

[Katie Nell]

Perfect. That's probably what I'll do. I also want to try the savory french toast with chives in it... it sounds especially good with smoked salmon, like she recommends.

[pitu]

Supernatural Cooking, Joan - a sensation a year or so ago
by Heidi Swanson
she does the lovely 101Cookbooks website
maybe it works better if you live in California and are looking to deal with alt flours and sweeteners...but thus far everything I've cooked has not been to my adventurous taste...

[JoanN]

Sorry, Pitu. Had been thinking about COTM selections, what has worked and what hasn’t, knew Heidi’s blog hadn’t been a selection, so completely misread your sentence to fit my agenda. My apologies.

[alwayscooking]

Interesting tidbits but there's really nothing I'm inspired to make. I'm happy I only spent $8 including shipping for the book.

[yamalam]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT

[JoanN]

Not proselytizing here. I’ve done that elsewhere. But just took a quick look to see what recipes from “Fish Without a Doubt” might be online and I found far more than I’d anticipated. And I’ve checked. Each of these is indeed in the book. For those who might be interested:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90470442
· Grilled Dorade with Hoisin Glaze
· Key West Ceviche with Grouper

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24985973/
· Catfish Sloppy Joes
· Citrus broiled shrimp
· Linguine with clams

http://www.thefoodpaper.com/cookbooks/fish_without_doubt.html
· Trout Amandine

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=57971&sc=3025
· Steamed Jumbo Shrimp
· Linguine with Tuna Sauce

http://www.projectfoodie.com/spotlights/cookbooks/fish-without-a-doubt.html
· Tuna Burgers with Harissa Mayonnaise
· Mom’s Cucumber Salad

http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/how-to/life-advice/how-to-cook-fish-recipes
· Jerk Tuna with Mango Sauce
· Shrimp Boil
· Steamed Salmon with Fennel

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/oil-poached-halibut-44092908
· Oil-Poached Halibut with Gribiche and Poached Eggs

http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/cooks-books/turn-cooking-fish-into-a-love-story-rather-than-a-horror-film.html
· Trout Amandine

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/food_wine&id=6154501
· Halibut Poached in Milk, with Bok Choy and Coconut Green Curry Sauce

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/everything-tuna-cheap-eats
· "Everything" Tuna

http://www.recipezaar.com/Jalapeno-Salmon-Burgers-349915
· Jalapeno Salmon Burgers

https://accesovpn.terra.es/http/mobil...
· cioppino

[Karen_Schaffer]

I'd like to see us choose a cookbook that's readily available to everyone, including our UK members like greedygirl. How about the JAMIE OLIVER books instead? I've always enjoyed the recipes I've made from them.

Would we have to choose just one? I'm a fan of doing multiple books when a chef has several, because we're unlikely to ever come back to them. I've got The Naked Chef, The Naked Chef Takes Off, and Happy Days, but I'd be happy to do any of the others as well.

(Can I take back my vote for Fish Without a Doubt? I can't edit the response anymore.)

[billieboy]

My vote is for "The Flavor Bible" even if they can't spell Flavour. :-)
Very interesting book.

[foxy fairy]

Karen -- Yes, I took your vote for Fish Without a Doubt off the official count. Thanks for clarifying -- foxy :)

[Procrastibaker]

All the recs sound great, especially the New Spanish Table. But I recommend SCANDINAVIAN COOKING BY BEATRICE OJAKANGAS. Maybe it's been done before? But this is the right time of year for it. I have made and eaten many recipes from her book and they've all worked beautifully. It's broken up by seasons/holidays so some good recipes for early spring.

[MMRuth]

I have her Scandinavian Feasts book and have really enjoyed all of the recipes I've cooked from it. I'd be game to do one of her books - or a group of them - sometime as well.

[MMRuth]

THE OTTOLENGHI COOKBOOK by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi - plus the online recipes - I've not cooked from it but plan to pick up a copy in the U.K. and think it looks interesting.

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT by Rick Moonen & Roy Finamore. - I've cooked just one recipe, but it was delicious and quick. The book is very informative and a lot of the things JoanN has cooked from it look wonderful.

KITCHEN DIARIES by Nigel Slater. A long shot, I know - I just bought this and had a lovely Sunday afternoon read of it several weeks ago. It's basically a journal of his cooking over a year, with a lot of wonderful sounding recipes. I'll try cooking from it some this month anyway, and report back on that British cooking thread I started.

[LulusMom]

I made my first recipe from Fish Without a Doubt on Saturday, and it was a huge success - very easy and absolutely killer delicious. It was the Baked Scallops with Porcini Mushroom Butter. I'm going for the tandoori salmon later this week.

[Candy]

The Ottolenghi book is now available from Amazon US. When in London look for a copy of Nigel Slater's "Eating for England" it s a nice group of essays. I've been dipping into it and enjoying it slowly.

[The Dairy Queen]

Just a small clarification, for those for whom it might matter: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook is available from 3rd party sellers on Amazon US. The price starts at $32, with shipping added on top of that, and there are only 13 of them available.

~TDQ

[Candy]

They also take a few weks to deliver. i ordered mime from Amazon UK and had it in a week.

BTW it was profiled in Jan. edition of Gourmet. I am going to make that orange polenta cake very soon.

[The Dairy Queen]

I've been admiring that orange polenta cake on Gourmet. :) I can't wait to hear about it. If I might ask, how much did it cost you when you purchased it from Amazon UK?

~TDQ

[Candy]

The book, shipping and exchange charges to my M. Card came to about $35.00

[The Dairy Queen]

Interesting! Sounds like it might be more cost effective to order it from Amazon UK than Amazon U.S.

Thanks for the info, Candy.

I definitely would like to cook from this book one of these days.

And, P.S. Foxy Fairy, thank you for getting us going here!

~TDQ

[pikawicca]

Just a friendly heads up, TDQ: If you order from Amazon UK, you will get the British versions with metric measurements. I couldn't wait for the US edition, so using the UK version is finally making me learn the metric system!

[oakjoan]

I have a good deal of experience with the Ottolenghi book being "available" on Amazon. I placed my order about 3 months ago and, after a couple of months, got an email from them that they couldn't fill my order just now (out of stock? they didn't say) and I could cancel if I wished. I finally did wish. I then ordered it (also from Amazon) from one of the independent sellers who have the book available here in the US. I haven't received it yet, but I figure it'll arrive in the next day or two. It has shipped. What a relief.

SO - Caution. If you're ordering from Amazon, make sure it's from a seller who actually has the book. The listings indicate the number of copies each place/person has available.

[pikawicca]

Three months ago, the US edition had not yet been published.

[roxlet]

The same thing happened to me, and then they cancelled the order! I just tried ordering it again -- this time from an on-line seller, not Amazon, and I'll see if I get it this time!

[pikawicca]

OTTOLNEGHI. This is a gem, although it might be a bit new to be in many U.S. libraries. If we don't do it this month, I really hope we do it a little later in the year. Recipes that I've particularly liked:

Fennel and Feta with Pomegranate Seeds and Sumac
Turkey and Sweet Corn Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Red Lentil and Chard Soup
Puy Lentils with Sour Cherries, Bacon, and Gorgonzola
Camargue Red Rice and Quinoa with Orange and Pistachios
Lamb Cutlets with Walnut, Fig, and Goat's Cheese Salad

BTW, there are many vegetarian-friendly recipes in this book.

[oakjoan]

I think that, regarding whether or not the online Ottolenghi recipes are or are not in his book, it could be addressed by making the COTM the book and online recipes. Since almost all of the online recipes (about 140) are at one site: UK Guardian, it'd also be quite easy to participate using them.

Although I am not sure whether the online and cookbook recipes are the same, they all certainly have a similar philosophy behind them. Somebody who owns the book should chime in here and clarify.

[pikawicca]

There are 108 Ottolenghi recipes on the UK Guardian website; I looked at about one third of them. I did not find any that were the same as those in the book. Although both the book and the website have recipes for Artichoke and Broad Bean Salad; they are different. (It's interesting to see how he has tweaked his own recipe.)

This website is a wonderful resource -- great recipes and gorgeous photos -- I've bookmarked it on my tool bar.

[Karen_Schaffer]

Has anyone posted a link to the Ottolenghi recipes yet? I couldn't find one, so I went in search. Here it is:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyl...

At least, that's a link to the New Vegetarian columns. It's possible he had additional recipes published as well.

[Gio]

I noticed there were indeed recipes from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook....they're noted at the very bottom of some of those recipes at the site you posted, Karen. The quesidilla recipe at the top of page 3, for example. There are other references at the bottom of other recipes so I'm thinking that there are recipes from all his books....Unless some recipes have a "plug" for the new book.

[greedygirl]

I think that's just a plug for the book, Gio. The quesadilla recipe isn't in the book.

[Gio]

Oh OK.... I thought it might be too good to be true. Thank you GG.

[Chimayo Joe]

There are a few more recipes at the Ottolenghi website.

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/cate...

[greedygirl]

I have my eye on the lamb cutlets for our Sunday dinner next week!

I have made and loved:

Chicken with sumac
Radish and broad bean salad
Fennel and feta as well
Butterbeans with sweet chilli sauce and fresh herbs
Couscous and mograbiah with oven dried tomatoes
Marinated turkey breast with cumin, coriander and white wine
Pistachio and rosewater meringues

I hope we get to this book too at some point this year. It's just so original and fresh. It may actually be better to do it in late spring/summer when more fresh vegetables are available.

[Karen_Schaffer]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT

The Ottolenghi book sounds wonderful, but it was only published in December here in the U.S., and none of my local libraries carry it yet. (I'll put in a request to my local one who probably already has it on order, knowing them.) If we come back to it in a few months, I'll bet it would be more readily available. I'd love to try it after reading all the raves about it, but not until I can check it out from the library. So that's why I'm voting for Fish without a Doubt, even though I have 2 other new fish cookbooks as well! (Maybe I'll post comparisons.)

[beetlebug]

No suggestion from me. But, I have the same concern about the ottoenghi book as Karen Schaffer. My extensive library system (Minuteman system in Massachusetts) does not have any copies in the system or on order. I'm going to ask them next week to see if it is available for purchase. Even if they buy it, that will be one copy for the entire library system in the greater boston area.

[MMRuth]

Did you see Oakjoan's post about there being 140 recipes available on line?

[JoanN]

Yotam Ottolenghi writes a weekly column for The Guardian called "The New Vegetarian" so there are indeed a lot of Ottolenghi recipes on The Guardian Web site. But there's no indication, at least in the articles I looked at, whether or not those recipes are from the book. I would think it would be a major, although certainly appreciated, undertaking for someone with the book to go through the list of Guardian recipes and note specifically which ones are included in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.

There are eleven recipes on their Web site. But without the book in hand there's no way to know, unless it says so, which of those are in the book either.

[greedygirl]

I've had a look at the online recipes, and with the exception of a couple on the Ottolenghi website, most of them are not in the book. The Guardian column is exclusively vegetarian, for one thing, which the book is not.

[JoanN]

I suspected as much, but thank you for taking the time to confirm, greedygirl. Good to know.

[oakjoan]

Greedygirl: Actually Ottolenghi's column for the Guardian is not exclusively veg and there ARE a number of fish and meat recipes (which I noted above in my list of some of the online recipes).

[pikawicca]

They're not? His column is called "The New Vegetarian." All of the recipes I've seen here ARE vegetarian. What am I missing?

[beetlebug]

I did see Oakjoan's post above and the comments below. For some reason, I don't do well when there is only an online source. I think I like to touch the book. I like reading a newspaper and when I see something interesting, I'll go on line to forward it. But, I don't read the newspaper on line. Same goes for books and magazines. The internet supplements hard copy. It's one of my (many) oddities.

[greedygirl]

I realise I'm a lone voice on the other side of the pond, but I'm in the same position with regards to Fish Without a Doubt. I agree that it's not ideal though.

[greedygirl]

Fish Without A Doubt is not available in the UK and I'm wondering if that's partly because it uses a lot of fish that are specifically North American. Can anyone advise on that?

Anyhow, I'm going to suggest KITCHEN DIARIES by Nigel Slater. He's not that well known in the US but is one of our most celebrated food writers. Kitchen Diaries is his latest book, and it's focus is eating seasonally and simply. It is as enjoyable to read as it is to cook from.

I'd also like to recommend THE OTTOLENGHI COOKBOOK by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. This is my standout cookbook of 2008 and I know quite a few hounds have got it already. There are also a lot of recipes online as Yotam Ottolenghi has a weekly newspaper column. This is a book for anyone who loves strong flavours, and food with a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern twist. Everything I've made from it so far has been outstanding. There are lots of creative salads and vegetarian dishes, as well as wonderful cakes (rosewater and pistachio meringues, anyone) and meat/fish dishes.

[MMRuth]

I've really enjoyed reading Kitchen Diaries. Check your email - I'm heading to London!

[greedygirl]

Yay!

[Candy]

2nd. THE OTTOLNEGHI COOKBOOK. Last trip I had to walk by their Kensington location at least twice a day. The place was mesmerizing. Ordered the book from Amazon UK in Dec. after getting a look at Pikawicca's copy. Wow what a book! Now available in the US. I am going to make that orange polenta cake next week. It was featured in the Jan. issue of Gourmet. There is something for everyone in the book. It is a major WOW!!!!!!!!

[LulusMom]

It is a great looking book and I wouldn't be at all disappointed if it won.

[JoanN]

“Fish Without a Doubt” does seem to be available in the UK. See this from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-list...

Some of the less expensive “used” copies even ship from the UK, holding down shipping costs. I’d assume these are all US editions of the book, not revises specifically for the UK market.

It could be that UK publishers feel it’s too North American-centric to appeal to a UK audience, but it could also just be that it’s a new book, published last year, and a British version is still in the works.

Just for kicks, I looked up a couple of articles on fish and shellfish sustainablility in the Guardian. A lot of recipes in the book wouldn’t need substitutes at all: salmon, mussels, scallops, tuna, mackerel, sole, prawns, haddock, turbot. Whiting could be substituted for cod, haddock, pollack, and scrod. Megrim could be substituted for sole, flounder, and other flat fish. Sea bream could be substituted for red snapper and sea bass. Frankly, with a bit of research I think an awful lot of the recipes in the book could be made with fish available in the UK. And one excellent aspect of the book is that the author encourages you to experiment, so the recipes are often suggestions and techniques as much as hard and fast rules.

Having typed all this, I guess I’ll just go ahead and nominate it formally.

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT by Rick Moonen & Roy Finamore.

I’ve made eight recipes from the book so far and all but one have been easy, quick, and excellent. I still have loads more I’m eager to try and would love to have COTMers join me.

[greedygirl]

Thanks for that JoanN. I did briefly look at the Used and New section, and they all seemed to come from the US, which means a 2-3 week wait. I guess I didn't look closely enough!

Most of the fish you mention are easy to come by here, with the exception of scrod and megrim, both of which I've never heard of.

I suspect the reason it's not been published here is that we have our own fish specialist, Rick Stein, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall also published a fish book last year.

[JoanN]

I'd never heard of megrim either, but it was listed as readily available and sustainable in the UK in this Guardian article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment...

The article made it sound to me as though it was fairly common in the UK. Guess not. Or maybe it's called something else. So many fish in North America seem to have two or three different common names and I always get confused about what is what.

[oakjoan]

Ah, Rick Stein! What a great day it was when I first saw his cooking show on PBS here in California about 10 years ago. A wonderful source for recipes.

However, since my copy is now in the mail AND since there is such a large number of recipes online (UKGuardian website has 140 in an easy to find section),

I also nominate OTTOLENGHI, THE COOKBOOK, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, who have several take-out places in London.

Since hearing about him a while ago, from Greedy Girl, I've used many of his recipes and every single one has been great. I had a hard time at first getting the book over here (pub. in UK), but now I've bought it from a bookseller in New Jersey and it's on its way. There are quite a number of books available for purchase here in the states.

Here's quite a long sampling of the online recipes.

quinoa and red rice salad with dried apricots and arugula
spinach pancakes with meyer lemon butter
individual tarts in the style of tart tatin made with potato, onion & goat cheese (amazing!)
chard cakes
crab and radish bruschetta
roasted goose with quince
whole bream stuffed with pine nuts and lemon
smoky duck eggs on toast
fried rice and poached eggs (Indian spices) with fried onions and raisins
clementine and almond syrup cake
fatayer (Palestinian/Lebanese savory turnovers)
garlic soup with harissa
seared beef with cucumbers and seaweed
fried calamari with cucumber salad
warm mackeral with potatoes and garlic
champagne and saffron jelly with cardamom shortbread
polenta cakes with rocket salsa
roast chicken with jasmine rice
new potatoes with horseradish

I've made his quinoa and red rice salad several times for guests and it's always a huge hit. I've never had so many people ask me for a recipe. The fritters and their accompanying flavored butters or sauces alone are worth the price of the book.

End of rant.

[MMRuth]

I was just at Kitchen Arts & Letters and was perusing his book "Complete Seafood" - it's lovely, and I hadn't realized that there is a U.S. edition.

[greedygirl]

There was much wailing and nashing of teeth when his little dog, Chalky, who was probably more popular than Rick himself, died a few years ago.

[roxlet]

Where are these on line? I have been looking for a recipe for fatayer (hoping it's the same as fateer) for two years! I just found it on line, and alas, it is not fateer, which we have when we are in Egypt.

[MMRuth]

Let me first say thanks to foxy fairy for taking over, and add that the delay was my fault, as I was tardy in forwarding some information to her! Mea culpa. Nice to be participating as a civilian again!

[LulusMom]

OK, I'll go first!

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT by Moonen & Finamore. I haven't cooked from this yet, but plan to do so on Saturday, and have a long list from the book of things I want to try. JoanN's thread on her results from it have me very excited to try it.

[MMRuth]

Here's that thread in case anyone wants to persue it:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/584841

I also have the book and like it a lot. Still ruminating about suggestions.

[LulusMom]

Thanks so much for adding that link MMRuth, meant to do that myself and then just spaced.

[Gio]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT

Interesting selection, LLM... March is smack in the middle of Lent this year so this will indeed be handy! Past "cotms" can be referred to for side dishes. I have cooked several dishes from this book and have been very pleased with everything. I use the Montery Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch booklet when I go to buy seafood now. I'm trying to buy seafood ethically....

Many thanks to foxy fairy for coordinating this endeavor!

[lesterj2]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT -- I absolutely second this nomination. Just recommended it in response to another post, before I saw this. I've made several dishes from the book, favorite being Sauteed Char with Moroccan Spices, Lentils and Harissa Tomato Sauce. The techniques/ tips on cooking fish are extremely useful.

[foxy fairy]

A list of past COTM, for your perusal:

**2006**

Sept - Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/325712

Oct - Molly Stevens, All About Braising
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/330177

Nov - Rick Bayless, One Plate at a Time
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/339027

Dec - Dorie Greenspan, Baking from My Home to Yours
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/347476

**2007**

Jan - Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe Cookbook
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/355995

Feb - Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid, Hot Sour Salty Sweet
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/366679

March - Leite's Culinaria
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/376081

April - Claudia Roden, Arabesque
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/387069

May - Suzanne Goin, Sunday Suppers at Lucques
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/397079

June - Edna Lewis, Country Cooking
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/406983

July - Nigella Lawson, Forever Summer
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/416938

August - Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/427007

Sept – Patricia Wells, Vegetable Harvest
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/437177

Oct – Julia Child
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/446374

Nov – Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, The Silver Palate Cookbook
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/456241

Dec. – Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook AND Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/465358

**2008**

Jan – Paula Wolfert, The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/474978

Feb – Frank Stitt’s Southern Table
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/485291

Mar - Fuchsia Dunlop, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook and Land of Plenty
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/494660

Apr – Simon Hopkinson, Roast Chicken and Other Stories
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/505153

May – Peter Berley, The Flexitarian Table
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/514822

June - Penelope Casas
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/524513

July – Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/534325

Aug. - Diane Kochilas, The Glorious Foods of Greece
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/544541

September - Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham and Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/553813

October - Mario Batali: Babbo, Molto Italiano & Simple Italian Cooking
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/561501

November - Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/568869

December '08/January '09 - Revisiting Sunday Suppers at Lucques and The Zuni Cookbook

**2009**

February '09 A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/592560

[Katie Nell]

No suggestions, but WOW! our list is really getting long! It's impressive!

[erica]

THE NEW SPANISH TABLE by Anya Von Bremzen. Because while Casas has been done, there has not been a book dedicated to the "newer," more modern Spanish recipes. I use this book often; there is a great depth of dishes here (Book is more than 400 pages with good color pics.)

[oakjoan]

Rats! I was just at the library today and actually saw The New Spanish Table. I didn't look at it because we'd recently done Casas. Will have to go back soon. Thanks for the info erica.

[Jane917]

FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT

[TheSnowpea]

Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian... just cuz I just purchased it and because the recipes look very promising LOL

Thank you for doing this, Foxy Fairy!

Snowpea

EDIT: oops, I responded at the wrong level.