Back-of-the-book blurb: Potlucks and picnics, dinner parties and church socials, fundraisers, toasts to the teacher, reunions, cookouts—it’s the busy age of shared meals, which means with every invitation comes the question: ” What can I bring?” Anne Byrn, an [...]]]> What Can I Bring? Cookbook by Anne Byrn
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (November 10, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-076114392

Back-of-the-book blurb: Potlucks and picnics, dinner parties and church socials, fundraisers, toasts to the teacher, reunions, cookouts—it’s the busy age of shared meals, which means with every invitation comes the question: ” What can I bring?” Anne Byrn, an inspired cook, problem solver, and bestselling author of The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, knows exactly how to answer the question. Cutting through menu block, here are over 200 delicious suggestions for crowd-pleasing food that’s designed to travel.

She is Too Fond of Books‘ review: My first FTC-compliant post was a demo/review of Marie’s White Bean and Basil Spread from this cookbook.  At the time, I promised a full review of the book would be posted “in the next week or so.”  Well, time flies when you’re having fun; here’s the review, “in the next month or so.”

Anne Byrn, The Cake Mix Doctor herself, has built a brand around her talent for improving convenience food with tweaks to the recipes and ideas for wow-worthy presentation.  What Can I Bring doesn’t offer recipes for doctoring up mixes and convenience foods; the recipes are, for the most part, “from scratch.”  There are some recipes that include “a can of diced tomatoes,” but every dish doesn’t require the cook to open a can or box.

The thick paperback cookbook includes recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides, and desserts.  I didn’t try anything from the final chapter of the book, but I’m very curious about “It’s a Gift!”.  This section contains wonderful suggestions for hostess gifts from your kitchen, such as Marinated Olives, Glazed Nuts, and Cranberry and Apple Chutney.

Each recipe includes a small sidebar of “tote notes.”  My Sweet and Sour Broccoli Salad suggests:

Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, but don’t garnish it with the bacon.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready to leave.  Carry the bacon separately in a small plastic bag and scatter it over the salad just before serving.

Another sidebar includes prompts to note made for, prep notes, don’t forget, special touches, and bring again?.  I write in my cookbooks, and appreciate the dedicated space for these notes.

In addition to Marie’s White Bean and Basil Spread, we tested Beth’s Manicotti.  This is a pasta casserole, intended to serve 6-8 as a main course, or more people as one of several dishes at a potluck dinner.  Our family of two adults and four children devoured the delicious pasta meal, which we ate with crusty bread and a simple green salad.

I liked the recipes we tried, and will make other dishes from this book.  However, even more than the recipes, I enjoyed reading the tips and ideas on planning, transportation (if bringing the dish to someone else’s home), and presentation.  Byrn has checklists for both a potluck host (set a card at the serving table, indicating where food for each course should be placed) and guest (bring appropriate serving utensils for the dish you’re sharing; and label them with your name).

If you like a color photo of each finished recipe, you won’t find it in What Can I Bring?.  As I noted in my review, The Cake Mix Doctor Returns has small photos of each cake at the front of the book, but What Can I Bring? is missing those thumbnails.  I didn’t mind the omission; I’m learning to be a more confident cook (and these recipes are all fairly straight-forward), so I actually enjoy not having that yardstick of a food-styled picture to live up to.

See what else is happening in the kitchens of the blogosphere this weekend.  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking to find links to other food-related posts.  There may be book reviews, recipes, kitchen gadget tips and tricks …

Back-of-the-book blurb: What could be better than a phenomenon? The return of a phenomenon. Ten years ago Anne Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor began its run as one of the most popular baking books of all time. Now Anne [...]]]> The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrn
Paperback: 502 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (September 30, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0761129615

Back-of-the-book blurb: What could be better than a phenomenon? The return of a phenomenon. Ten years ago Anne Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor began its run as one of the most popular baking books of all time. Now Anne Byrn is back with the all-new Cake Mix Doctor Returns! From the author who showed home bakers how adding a touch of sweet butter or a dusting of cocoa powder, a dollop of vanilla yogurt or flurry of grated lemon zest could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary; here are 160 brand-new recipes for luscious layer cakes, sheet cakes, brownies, bars, cookies, and more.

Today 90 percent of home cooks use prepackaged mixes, while the economy is creating a perfect excuse to let them eat cake—cake equals happiness.   The Cake Mix Doctor is back—just say ahhhhh!

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: What time of day are you reading this?  Looking for something to go with that morning cup of coffee?  Kids coming home from school soon, wanting a snack?  Need a little something to satisfy your after dinner sweet tooth?  You’ll find the answers in this book!

Anne Byrn gives advice on assembling a cake baker’s basic pantry; equipment essentials; making healthy substitutions; baking, frosting, and freezing tips; and gift ideas.  She lists 15 “easiest tricks in the book,” here’s my favorite:

Don’t throw away a cake that falls, cracks, or overbakes.  Crumble it into wine glasses, drizzle Kahlua or rum over it, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Well, Ms. Byrn, as Humphrey Bogart said to Claude Rains, “this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Each recipe has a sidebar for the baker’s notes: made for, prep notes, don’t forget, and special touches.  I always write in my cookbooks, and it’s nice to have lines and suggested topics to fill in.

Turn on your “scratch and sniff” screens and your “click and lick” keyboards … the first recipe we tested was Pumpkin Spice Cake with White Chocolate Glaze.

Ingredients to make box mix the traditional way

Additional ingredients prescribed by The Cake Mix Doctor

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The results?!  A moist pumpkin-flavored cake (not heavy or dense as some pumpkin loaves are).  The Bundt was appealing to the eye with the pecans on top and the glaze running down the sides.  Rather than envelop the entire cake with the glaze, I drizzled it on the top and sides; we used the remaining glaze to make chocolate-covered pretzels (bonus!).  When I make this again I might omit the pecan topping and add raisins instead.

The second recipe I tested was Sock-It-To-Me Muffins.  These start with a plain butter recipe golden cake mix, add extra ingredients (including sour cream for moisture and flavor), and involved sandwiching a streusel between layers of batter:

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Oh. So. Good!  We loved the flavor – not overly sweet or processed; the kids were all over the streusel topping!  I would have liked to experiment with freezing these, but there weren’t any left over – my family, friends and neighbors helped sample the Sock It To Me muffins.

Toward the back of the book there’s a conversion table and index.  I tended to use those color photos at the front as my index.  One thing to be aware of is that black-and-white photos, rather than color, accompany the text.  Full-color photos of each cake (cupcake, Bundt cake, bar, layer cake, etc.) are printed in the first dozen pages.  They’re listed in the order they appear in The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.  I was initially disappointed by the lack of color pictures within the text, but as I worked with the book I realized that having all the photos together made it easier to skim and choose the recipes I’d bake.  Black-and-white (more like sepia, actually) photos are interspersed with the recipes.  This format is consistent with the way photos are arranged in Byrn’s other Cake Doctor cookbooks; I imagine there is some cost savings as well.

The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! is a nice volume to add to your kitchen library.  It would make a good gift for someone outfitting their first kitchen, or for a tween/teen who enjoys cooking and baking at home.

About the author: Anne Byrn has worked as a newspaper restaurant critic and food columnist, authored freelance articles on travel and food, taught cooking classes, and hosted a radio show devoted to food and restaurants.  Her food column in The Tennessean, advising reader how to “doctor” a packaged cake mix, led to The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook.  She has also authored Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor, The Dinner Doctor, Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor, and the What Can I Bring? Cookbook.

FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.