Cook What You Love: Simple, Flavorful Recipes to Make Again and Again [Hardcover]

Robert Blanchard (Author), Melinda Blanchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2005

More than a decade ago, Bob and Melinda Blanchard decided to follow their dreams, taking a risk that many of us would not chance: They uprooted themselves from the cold winters of Vermont, moved to the Caribbean island of Anguilla, opened a seaside restaurant, and settled into the beautiful rhythms of a new life on island time. The Blanchards chronicled this inspiring transformation in their book A Trip to the Beach—the story of their journey to living the life they love. Here, in Cook What You Love, Bob and Melinda extend that journey into the pleasures of the kitchen, teaching us that even if we can’t move to paradise, we can create our own little paradise wherever we are, at any time of year.

In Cook What You Love, Bob and Melinda bring food and people together in the kitchen and around the table. With simple ingredients, no-fuss instructions, and flavorful meals that can be prepared in a snap, this book celebrates the Blanchards’ knack for combining the sublime comforts of great food and great company with glimpses into their paradise.

Cook What You Love blends many of the Blanchards’ favorite recipes with anecdotes about how their love for food seeps into every part of life. Bob and Melinda’s transporting stories take you from making tortillas and salsa in the mountains of Mexico to discovering the combination of lime, coconut, and ginger in Thailand and grilling chicken and ribs at an Anguillan bike race. From Blue Cheese and Mango Bundles, Reggae Pork, and Pistachio-Crusted Goat Cheese Salad to Crunchy Coconut French Toast, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, and Key Lime Pound Cake, every recipe merges the timeless flavors of the Blanchards’ classic New England roots with the rich influences of the Caribbean.

The delicious recipes are accompanied by expert cooking tips and, to make it easy, include prep and cooking times. Cook What You Love joins some of the Blanchards’ most celebrated restaurant recipes with their personal home-cooked favorites, creating an incredible breadth of both everyday and special-occasion dishes—all enlivened with their infectious enthusiasm for exploring new tastes, places, and friendships around the common bond of food.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Blanchards successfully blend New England practicality with the generosity and warmth of the islands.” —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Married for thirty-two years, Bob and Melinda Blanchard divide their time between Norwich, Vermont, and Anguilla, where they operate Blanchard’s Restaurant. In addition to their eight successful business endeavors, the Blanchards have hosted television shows on the Fine Living Network and PBS and have been featured on the Today show as well as in People, Gourmet, USA Today, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, and the Washington Post, among other media. They are the authors of A Trip to the Beach, At Blanchard’s Table, and Live What You Love. The Blanchards can be reached at blanchardsrestaurant.com and livewhatyoulove.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; First Edition edition (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400054397
• ISBN-13: 978-1400054398
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 0.7 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Caribbean & West Indian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cook what you love...that is, if you love food more than Chihuahuas, August 19, 2006

By 

DeAnna Knippling "Word Nerd" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cook What You Love: Simple, Flavorful Recipes to Make Again and Again (Hardcover)

So...with all the free recipes online, why would I need to buy cookbooks? The authors address this question in the introduction, and I agree with the answer they quote in their book:

"Like other good books, the best cookbooks have strong voices that lure readers into unfamiliar worlds, give colorful observations about those places, and, above all, reveal a passionate interest in sharing pleasure." (Barbara Haber, food historian.)

Online recipes (not the food described, but the writing style, if that makes any sense) are usually straightforward and colorless. "Do this. Do that. Don't let this happen." The recipes in the best cookbooks, on the other hand, imply the outlook of their writers. "Do this, because it will make your tongue melt. I did that the other day, and while it isn't for everyone, it made me want to dance around naked."*

The recipes in Cook What You Love are appealing. The first section, breakfast, begins with a short essay about the joys of making breakfast in bed, so while I was reading this section, I was imagining my husband bringing me breakfast in bed. "Yes," I said to myself, "I would eat Crunchy Coconut French Toast in bed. I would eat Orange-Currant Muffins and One-Eyed Jacks and Spanish Scrambled Eggs in bed..." It all sounded good. I then asked myself whether I would cook all those recipes if it meant getting up early to do it...well, that one was harder, but I ended up with a "yes" there, too. As I read my way through the book, I realized I would cook anything in the book, just so I could eat it, and that, I think, is the mark of a good cookbook.

The mark of a really good cookbook is when it can talk you into trying something you normally wouldn't try, either because you don't care for it or it's a pain to make. I found myself actually considering roasting cherry tomatoes, even though I don't like them, just because of the description in the book:

"We're always looking for ways to add color and texture to a recipe. Food seems to taste better if it looks beautiful. Roasted whole cherry tomatoes are a quick, easy way to brighten up a platter of these or any other scrambled eggs. Just toss the tomatoes with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at 400F for about 10 minutes or until hot and wrinkled. Serve them hot or at room temperature."

Hm....I'll think about it. I keep promising myself a trip to the farmer's market. Maybe I'll pick up some cherry tomatoes and give it a go.

*Also, online recipes usually don't have pictures. Mmmm....it's food erotica.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed it, April 8, 2006

By 

Melanie C. Hurt (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cook What You Love: Simple, Flavorful Recipes to Make Again and Again (Hardcover)

I read the Blanchard's cookbook in two sittings at Barnes & Noble. The photography is beautiful and the recipes are reasonably simple. I tried the Brown Sugar and Basil Bacon right away and it was a nice sweet change from what is always eaten. And there are others in the book that I am excited to try out.
One other nice thing about the Blanchard's book is that it's quite unusual. It has stories of their lives mixed right in with the recipes. If you enjoy reading or looking at cook books "Cook What You Love" makes for a delicious read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly as advertised: your go-to cookbook, March 26, 2007

By 

Jesse Kornbluth "Head Butler" (New York) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cook What You Love: Simple, Flavorful Recipes to Make Again and Again (Hardcover)

It's easy to love --- or envy --- Melinda and Bob Blanchard.

They have a charmed life: a restaurant on a Caribbean island so popular that people fly to Anguilla just to have dinner there, a lovely house in Vermont for summer retreats, lifestyle books that sell and sell.

But in the end, the early motto of Motown applies: "It's what's in the grooves that counts."

That is: These "simple, flavorful recipes to make again and again" --- well, do you?

We bought "Cook What You Love" because "At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook" was very much a cookbook we turned to again and again. And not for the entertaining stories about Blanchard's Restaurant, the Blanchards' enlightened management theories and their annoyingly happy marriage --- those passages made for pleasant reading, but only once. The reason to own a cookbook is the food. And here the Blanchards shine.

Melinda Blanchard does not begin in the kindergarten --- she assumes you know your way around a kitchen and can crank out a dozen meals good enough to serve to friends. She assumes you have sharp knives and quality pans. She assumes you don't need to be told that fresh trumps frozen, that prepared foods are generally a disguised delivery system for chemicals, and warmth and friendship are essential ingredients in any dish.

As a result, Mrs. Blanchard produces stunningly straightforward recipes. You'll need fresh ingredients and a few spices. You won't need much time; nothing takes very long to make. And you won't need to stress, as dinners build around Blanchard recipes somehow seem.... relaxed.

Bonus points: great range and great editing. In about 175 pages, Melinda Blanchard not only covers hors d'oeuvres, salads, main dishes, vegetables and desserts, she presents a toothsome selection of breakfast specialties and eight recipes for kids.