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Bite Me Cookbook: A Stomach-Satisfying, Visually Gratifying Cookbook

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An inspired collection of food and fun, Bite Me Cookbook contains 175 dependably delicious recipes created for the urban and the suburban, the aspiring and the well-seasoned cook.

ite Me: A Stomach-Satisfying, Visually Gratifying, Fresh-Mouthed Cookbook

With a side order of sass (the section dedicated to soups is aptly named “Spoon Me”, the chapter on Fish is entitled “Catch Me” and the book concludes with “Fork Me:  Desserts for a Happy Ending”), the recipes in Bite Me do not require an army of sous-chefs, a pantry of guava paste, or blowtorch to turn a bag of groceries into a satisfying meal for a weeknight meal, casual dinner party, or formal holiday gathering. Both authors are busy working mothers with three kids each — they both understand the importance of making cooking and entertaining fun and stress-free.

Piquant Pasta Puttanesca (page 111 in Bite Me)

Quick and easy, spicy and fragrant, robust and satisfying, it’s no wonder this Napolitano dish is also known as “whore’s spaghetti.” Myth has it that prostitutes would use this aromatic sauce to lure men into their bordellos, so, unless you’re looking for unexpected visitors, keep your windows closed.

Bite Me: A Stomach-Satisfying, Visually Gratifying Cookbook
  • 1) For the sauce, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add olives, capers, oregano, salt, crushed red pepper flakes and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and red wine, bringing to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • 2) For the pasta, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain well and return to pot. Toss hot pasta with puttanesca sauce and Parmesan cheese. Top each serving with fresh parsley.

Quick and easy, spicy and fragrant, robust and satisfying, it’s no wonder this Napolitano dish is also known as “whore’s spaghetti.” Myth has it that prostitutes would use this aromatic sauce to lure men into their bordellos, so, unless you’re looking for unexpected visitors, keep your windows closed.

Bite Me Cookbook Review by Larry Garascia

I have been cooking for more than 40-years. I also love collecting and reading cookbooks and have a collection approaching 200. And today, the market is crowded with cookbooks and everybody seems to be writing new ones, so having a catchy title is certainly a good thing. But writing a good cookbook is difficult because so many recipes have been published over the years. I mean, how man recipes can you have for Chicken Fettuccine? And the other thing about a cookbook is the illustrations: really good cookbooks don’t have many and the ones they include are technical pictures of a technique, in say how to bone a whole chicken.

‘Bite me’ try’s to be too cutesy with its illustrations. The cover features coconut shrimp pinned to a clothesline with old fashioned clothespins. And deeper inside there’s a catchy picture of miniature, red plastic firemen playing with a bowl of pasta. Further back is a picture of two women sitting in a booth and the waiter has his head buried inside the blouse of one of the women. But pictures, no matter how catchy or titillating, do not make a cookbook, the recipes do and having great experience in cooking all things Italian I turned to the rice and pasta section. The two authors, billing themselves as ’the not so sweet, tiny and salty sisters’, Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, start by making fun of the classic Fettuccine Alfredo, a dish that has stood the test of time for a thousand years! Then they turn around and in ‘Lustful Creamy Chicken Fettuccine’, they duplicate the very basic pasta sauce but add Italian tomatoes and red pepper flakes. The result is tasty and excellent, but it’s just a different rendition of the classic dish. Then they have a recipe for three-cheese polenta lasagna, a dish I have been cooking and eating for over 40-years. And a recipe which you will find in just about any decent Italian cookbook.

So here’s the bottom line: ‘Bite me’ is an OK cookbook. The recipes are well laid out and easy to prepare, but they are simple revisions of existing recipes found in thousands of other cookbooks.

Stay Connected:

  • Bite Me Blog — a blog of dishful thinking!
  • Bite Me Recipes — (including the recipe for the Chunky White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies!)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  13. They all look good, but I’d most like to try the Frozen Chocolate Banana PB Pie as I know my family would love it.

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    Hugs,
    Barb

  23. I’d like the tomato soup and crouton recipe. Thanks – this would be a great prize for my mom!

  25. I would love to make the CHUNKY WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY COOKIES! These recipes look delish!

    Thank you!

  47. I like the sound of Mom’s Lemon Chicken, and the picture for the Pasta Puttanesca is absolutely hysterical!

  50. I’m a sucker for yummy tomato soup and grilled cheese but that Balsamic Vegetable Stack looks pretty enticing.

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