Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals [Hardcover]

Silvana Nardone (Author), Rachael Ray (Foreword)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (August 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606521659
• ISBN-13: 978-1606521656
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Allergies
  • #45 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Quick & Easy
  • #78 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Nutrition

More About the Author

You may know me as a mom, a wife, a friend, a magazine editor, a cookbook author or even a former bakery owner. If we haven't met yet, hello, my name is Silvana. I am the mother of two awesome kids, Isaiah, 13, and Chiara, 3. At age 10, Isaiah was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Ever since, I've worked to keep my fridge--and my family's stomachs--full, the way only a mom knows how, with patience and plenty of good food. The truth is whether you're gluten-free or gluten-full, you don't have to change how you eat or what you eat. Your food can look great and taste even better than you could ever imagine.

I'm the founding editor-in-chief of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, where I'm also the "No-Recipe Zone" and "Sweet Spot" columnist. I also co-authored Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian and have worked for Food & Wine magazine. I previously owned an Italian bakery called Fanciulla. I've appeared on NBC "Weekend Today," WCBS "News This Morning" and WABC "Eyewitness News This Morning" and Food Network's "Roker on the Road." I've been featured in The New York Times and New York magazine. I grew up eating really good food, thanks to my mom and dad, but also my grandfather, who all share this passion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, August 31, 2010

By 

G. Shields "Marine wife" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals (Hardcover)

I've been gluten free for about 9 years now, and I can't tell you how many recipes and flour combinations I have tried - mostly without success, at least in the bread department. I wasn't sure about buying another gluten free cookbook, but decided to try it out anyway. I wanted to make the pizza first since bread recipes are the hardest (in my humble opinion) to re-create gluten free. The pizza was delicious and has been the first gluten free bread that I have tried that actually emulates its wheat counterparts. Buy the book! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. There is a wide variety of recipes: pizza, doughnuts, risotto, pumpkin dumplings, coffee cake, etc.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book from a real baker!!, September 9, 2010

By 

Heather Harris (Macon, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals (Hardcover)

I love the recipes for the pancakes. I have tried other pancake recipes, but they are always "off" texture wise, but Silvana's pancakes have the right texture & crumb! I can't wait to try the pizza and the taco recipes!!

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should be a special occasion book..., January 9, 2011

By 

R. Miller (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals (Hardcover)

I gave this book 3 stars for several reasons.

THE TITLE: Even though there are many terrific dishes, I would take serious exception to the fact that the cover says, "Recipes for easy, delicious meals". While most are delicious, few recipes are easy. If you are just entering the world of GF/CF, if you are a novice cook (ie. you've never made anything from scratch and understand little about the "chemistry of cooking"), or if you do not have quality kitchenware & a well-stocked spice rack - this book is NOT the place to start.

These recipes are not for everyday cooking. They are full (CUPS FULL) of sugars, oils, wide-variety of spices and many require specialty (or expensive) cookware. I would disagree with many of her prep-times until you are quite familiar with the recipes & after you already have all the ingredients set out & prepared (squeezed, cored, grated, beaten). I found that my cast iron pans were necessary to produce tasty results. Aluminum cookware just wouldn't cut it for the pancakes. The fact that she even suggests the possibility of producing a decent pizza crust without a stone is sad. (GF pizzas need a stone if you are going to get near to their gluten counterpart) In addition to the list at the beginning of the book, you'll need a stand mixer, donut pan, ice cream maker, and waffle-cone machine if you want to create *all* these treats.

ALLERGY ALERT: Please be aware - you *must* be *very* familiar with what ingredients *may* contain your specific allergens. Ms. Nardone does a poor job of warning the reader of what products must be purchased specially to maintain GF/CF status. Because of standard ingredients, common additives, or high potential for cross-contamination during manufacturing there is a *long* list of ingredients to be cautious of: chocolate chips/chunks, Worcestershire, broth, mayonnaise, polenta, chicken, sausage, etc. can be triggers for those with celiac, allergies, and sensitivities.

Additionally & *not* affecting the rating of the book, here are additional allergy concerns (yes, I realize that the book never claimed to be these things - but many families appreciate knowing in advance how versatile recipes are).

It is likely not appropriate if you are following at GFCF diet for Autism or ADD/ADHD. There is some food coloring, a LOT of sugars, and recipes without sugar tend to contain yeast.

If you are avoiding soy - you'll be pleased that her base "Silvana's all purpose flour blend" and "Silvana's pancake mix" utilize rice, potatos, tapioca, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. We found the recipes worked well with soy-free oils & shortening.

Eggs and corn are a different story. Many recipes call for eggs and we found soy-free egg replacements to diminish the results. Perhaps a soy-based egg-replacement would have fared better. She has entire sections devoted to corn that couldn't be substituted well.

CONTENT: At approximately 225 pages, one would think there are hundreds of recipes included. However, Ms. Nardone's husband is a professional photographer and as an apparent advertisement for his business (you'll conveniently find his website on the back flap) - nearly half this book is full-page pictures of finished dishes. Sadly, there are only two recipes utilizing one-inch-square "in progress" photographs to encourage you that you are on the right track. Yet there's a full page of her son playing croquet, another full page of him playing in the sprinkler, another hugging his sister, another playing scrabble, etc. - cute, but not useful.

There are approximately 140 recipes if you include the base "Silvana's all-purpose flour blend" and "Silvana's pancake mix". Over 100 of the recipes call for her "specific blends". The rest are salads and soups which tend to be gluten free anyway. Yet, with providing this specific blend - she fails to provide "basic" recipes using her blend. Want some good ole fashioned pancakes? biscuits? a decent loaf of bread? You're out of luck. While, according to the author, you can substitute standard AP flour (um, why am I reading this book if I can use wheat?) in her recipes - the converse is not true. Attempting to use her blends in other recipes was a complete failure. So, you'll need to keep a stash exclusively for this book.

Just getting started requires a serious investment in time & ingredients. Bear in mind that you'll need to make at least 3 batches of her "all-pupose flour blend" just to start using her book. Nearly 2 batches will be used just to then make a single (approx 10.5 cups) batch of her "pancake mix". If you'd like more than the cup of her all-purpose blend that's left over you'll need to make a 3rd batch.

Even with these "pre-made" mixes - you're still looking at measuring out additional sugar and salt in the recipes.

Conclusion: If you need a serious sugar-rush, have exhausted the basics of GFCF cooking, have acquired decent skills in the kitchen, have ample time to prepare and are ready to branch out - this is the book for you.