Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips [Hardcover]

Stacey Printz (Author), Mark Lund (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2009

With little fuss and enormous flavor, transform everyday meals with simple yet creative toppings, dips, and spreads.Forty recipes are paired with multiple serving suggestions for producing yummy (and healthy!) dishes, from appetizersto dinners. With few steps to follow and minimal ingredients to purchase, these recipes—many of which aresensitive to vegans and those with nut and gluten allergies—are built for speed and ease. Fifteen minutes is thetotal preparation time for Classic Provençal Tapenade, Balsamic Fig and Caramelized Onion Spread, and Rich Crab Spread. Using fresh ingredients and pantry staples, you'll soon be whipping up tasty pesto faster than you can say "presto!"

Editorial Reviews

Review

FAMILY CIRCLE
This little book - Pestos, Tapenades & Spreads by Stacey Printz (Chronicle Books) - is filled with lots of big ideas for parties or just hanging out. It s never been easier to impress guests.

About the Author

Stacey Printz is the San Francisco Bay area-based author of "The Best 50 Salad Dressings" (Bristol Publishing, 1998). Her work has also been seen at www.chefs.com. She began cooking alongside her gourmet Mom at an early age, and learned the ropes through her mother's work on the "San Francisco Encore" cookbook. With an affinity for fresh, vibrant flavors, Stacey has always developed her own recipes, using home-grown vegetables, and herbs. In addition to being a cook, Stacey is a nationally, and more recently internationally known choreographer, dancer, and educator. She has performed and taught in places such as Ireland, Russia, Lithuania, New York, Los Angeles, Utah, Tennessee and more. Her company, Printz Dance Project, blends athletic modern dance with elements of jazz and hip-hop creating unique yet accessible classes and performances. For more information on her company visit www.printzdance.org

Mark Lund is a photographer in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First edition. edition (August 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811865894
• ISBN-13: 978-0811865890
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Sauces, Salsa & Garnishes

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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 Best spreads!, October 22, 2009

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips (Hardcover)

I've always enjoyed pestos & tapenades, but I never went out of my way to have them. I never would have placed them among my favorite foods, that's for certain. Now, after using Stacey Printz's Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads, I'll be making and eating them far more often!

We chose three recipes more-or-less at random from the book. I picked out a "no-nut pesto" because I had to know whether or not that would actually work, since it sounded dubious at best (apparently the author was asked to develop a no-nut recipe for an allergic relative). Next came a portobello mushroom & thyme tapenade, and a beet tapenade.

All of these were incredibly easy. The beets take a little time to boil or steam, but it isn't as though that takes effort. There's a little chopping to be done, but a food processor can do most of the work. The recipes don't cost very much to make, either--especially since a little goes a long way, given their flavorful nature. The no-nut pesto was deliriously delicious. The mushroom tapenade is sooo good, even though I'm not usually that fond of olives, which play a significant part in this recipe. The beet tapenade, however, proved to be the surprise winner. Spread some goat cheese on toast and top with the tapenade, and you have one of the best quick lunches ever! Not to mention, make a few quick spreads and you have gorgeous party food that will make it look like you slaved over a stove all day.


So indulge yourself with sage-walnut, spinach, or rosemary pesto. Tempt your neighbors with feta-mint, shrimp-olive, or dried cherry tapenade. Or bring a party alive with curried hummus, avocado-chevre, or smoked salmon spread. It's easy!

Oh, yeah. The recipes were so amazing that I almost forgot to mention: the book has gorgeous photographs; the layout is clean, clear, and easy-to-read; and so far we've found no errors in the text.


[Review book provided courtesy of publisher]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth the Bargain Book Price, February 15, 2010

By 

S. D. Fischer (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips (Hardcover)

I took a risk and bought this book without checking it out in a book store or library. I am glad I did, especially at Amazon's low bargain book price.

The author provides 40 recipes including 12 for pesto, 14 for tapenades and 14 for other spreads (such as hummus). While she includes the recipes for the well-known (and well-liked) versions of pesto (traditional basil), tapenade (olives) and spreads, she also provides new, inventive approaches.

I really like that each recipe is accompanied by two to six serving suggestions. For example, the dried cherry tapenade can accompany pork tenderloin, be used as a condiment on a roasted turkey sandwich, or spread on crostini and topped with Brie, goat cheese or blue cheese. The cilantro pesto can be tossed with grilled or sauteed shrimp, tossed with pasta with olive oil and diced fresh red pepper, be used as a condiment for a grilled vegetable panini, or added to a stacked salad with sliced tomatoes, avocado, and queso fresco.

There are full-page, color photos of 18 of the serving suggestions.

The recipes are clearly laid-out and the instructions are clearly explained. Nutrional information is not provided for the recipes.

Pesto recipes include:
*Traditional Basil
*No-Nut
*Green Pea
*Arugula
*Artichoke-Lemon
*Cilantro
*Thai
*Rosemary
*Spinach
*Sage-Walnut
*Mint-Peanut
*Pistachio-Herb

Tapenade recipes include:
*Traditional
*Tapenade, Take Two
*Citrus-Olive
*Feta-Mint
*Smoky Eggplant
*Roasted Fennel
*Portobello Mushroom & Thyme
*Beautiful Beet
*Shrimp-Olive
*Roasted Red Pepper
*Sun-Dried Tomato
*Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion
*Dried Cherry
*Date & Almond

Spread recipes include:
*Curried Hummus
*Edamame Hummus
*White Bean-Sage
*Avocado-Chevre
*Sun-Dried Tomato-Chevre Cheese
*Toasted Pecan & Gorgonzola
*Creamy Balsamic Onion
*Caesar
*Black Bean & Roasted Tomato
*Rich Crab
*Smoked Salmon
*Savory Tofu
*Tahini Tofu
*Blueberry-Cheese

I am definitely looking forward to trying many of these recipes.

3.0 out of 5 stars Measurements, March 4, 2011

By 

ckhl "ckhl" (United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips (Hardcover)

The ideas are great, but some of the measurements/proportions are a little off. A general guideline for pesto is:

2 cups packed leaves
1.25 cups nuts* (about 125-150 grams)
1.25 cups cheese (about 100 grams)
a few cloves of garlic
about ½ tsp salt
pepper
1 cup oil

I am still try experimenting with some of the pestos, such as Thai, that contain no cheese. In the end I may add some to the Thai. The resulting taste/texture may indeed improve it.