Cookbook Review: The Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier!

Title: The Apple Cookbook: 125 Freshly Picked Recipes
Author: Olwen Woodier
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: June 30th 2015
Source: Netgalley & Storey Publishing, LLC

About the Book:

Apple Cookbook features 140 recipes, sweet and savory, easy and delicious, featuring America's favorite fruit in dishes perfect for every meal. Try Apple Cheddar Crepes, Apple Ring Fritters, Apple Banana Bread, Iced Apple Tea, Curried Chicken Salad, Grilled Tuna with Apple Chutney, Cider-Braised Chicken, Pork Chops with Apple Cream Sauce, French Apple Tart, Apple Turnovers, Peach and Apple Pie, Apple Lemon Cake, Apple Blackberry Crisp, and Pumpkin-Apple Pie.

Review:

★★★

I love apples. Eating them, drinking them, smelling them. It doesn't matter. Fall is my favorite holiday, and apples and autumn go perfectly hand in hand. I was really excited to get this cookbook, because what could be better than a whole cookbook dedicated to one of my favorite ingredients? Overall, I thought this was a decent collection of recipes.

The book is divided by course for easy navigation. The chapters include an introduction, Breakfasts & Breads, Drinks & Snacks, Salads & Sides, Apples Make the Meal, Desserts, Preserving, and the different varieties of apples. The first and last sections give really good information about apples, including advice on how to store, cook, and prepare them as well as what apples are best used for what type of cooking process or dish. It was mostly things that I already knew, but it was a handy guide to have all the same.

A lot of these recipes were fairly standard and basic, things like granola and yogurt, crepes, and smoothies. While there are more complicated dishes in this book too, I was surprised how many of these recipes were things that I can already make, and don't necessarily need a cookbook in order to make them. The instructions are very short, sweet, and to the point, in a numbered step format. I thought they were a bit too short and not very descriptive, and could have been written better.

Most of the recipes are either vegetarian friendly or very easily adapted to not include meat (minus the chapter on meat dishes). I'm not vegetarian, but it was something that I noticed.

There's a lot of very pretty pictures of different kinds of apples and shots from orchards and things like that. However, there weren't very many photographs of the actual dishes that were being described. I would have liked more of them- a lot more of them. I will say though, that the food pictures that were included were great looking.

Some of the dishes I'd most like to try include Apple Doughnuts, Apple Eggnog, Sea Scallops with Coriander and Cider Sauce, and Apple Cranberry Meringue Pie.

All in all, this isn't a book that I suggest you run out and buy right away. However, it's worth having on hand, especially if you enjoy cooking with apples as much as I do. I think it's a book that is best used by cooks on the beginners' end of the spectrum.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.