COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY: "Big Buy Cooking"

I did my “comment drawing” for Dian Thomas’s book, “Tipping The Scales in Your Favor,” and Teslaca is the winner!  As soon as I get an email with her mailing address, I will put the book in the mail to her.

This week, I’m giving away “Big Buy Cooking: The Food Lover’s Guide to Buying in Bulk and Using It All Up,” by the editors of Fine Cooking Magazine (Taunton Press, $19.95).  In order to be entered into the drawing, leave me a comment on this blog post.

This is not a “food storage” book. Rather, it has fresh recipes for using up those big containers of stuff you buy in warehouse stores. Yes, you can find amazing bargains at Costco or Sam’s Club. But you usually end up filling the grocery cart with more food than you can eat in a week’s time, and then start wondering what to do with all of it.
  “That flat of blueberries looked far too gorgeous to pass up; that side of salmon had ‘great barbecue’ written all over it; and that big bag of avocados sang out to the guacamole lover in you,” is what the introduction says.  For instance, you buy a big jar of Kalamata olives. The book has recipes for Black Olive & Rosemary Vinaigrette, Swordfish with Black Olive & Mint Tapenade, spicy Penne Tossed with Chicken, Broccoli and Chopped Olives.
  Those double loaves of bread can become Warm Maple & Cinnamon Bread Pudding,  Grilled Bread Salad, or Asparagus, Ham & Mushroom Strata.
  It’s organized differently than most cookbooks, by ingredients: Pantry (Kalamata olives, bread, canned tomatoes, capter, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, dried mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes) Dairy (Grana Padano, feta, Brie, plain yogurt and cheddar) Meat & Fish (boneless leg of lamb, prosciutto, spareribs, beef top loin, Italian sausage, and salmon and Fruits & Vegetables (avocados, haricots verts, blueberries, fingerling potatoes, sugar snap peas and mangos).

Here is a recipe from the book. Instead of buying sun-dried tomatoes, I will pull some of last summer’s  home-grown dried tomatoes from my freezer to use:

Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Vinaigrette
1/3 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped, plus 1/4 cup oil from the jar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 small shallot, coarsely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon loosely packed chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Put the tomatoes, vinegar, shallot, oregano, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons water in a blender and blend to combine (don’t worry if it doesn’t puree, it will when you add the oil). With the blender running, pour the olive oil and the tomato oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed hole in the blender’s lid. Transfer to a bowl or jar and stir in the feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes about 1 1/2 cups