Anna Mae's Mac n Cheese

Are you a mac and cheese freak?

Are you looking for new and different recipes to spice up your mac and cheese experience?

Then Anna Mae's Mac n Cheese by Anna Clark and Tony Solomon might be the perfect little stuffer for your stocking. It's not a tiny book, by any means, but it's a tad smaller that some. But it's loaded with cheesiness, that for sure. And mac.

The book is written by the owners of a British mac and cheese food truck, so there are plenty of Britishisms. Like calling ground beef "mince" or asking for American mustard or burger cheese or mature Cheddar. There are also a few oddities, like asking for "a jar" of red jalapeno chilies, but never specificing the size of that jar.

But the book points out that its perfectly acceptable to swap cheeses to use what you have on hand or what you like, and that it's also fun to mess with the flavors. So if you're not sure what burger cheese is, just use whatever it is you'd put on a burger, I guess.

There are recipes here for different types of mac and cheese, but then it gets really crazy, using mac and cheese in nachos; using mac and cheese in a breakfast dish that includes sausage, hash browns, and eggs; making a mac and cheese ... creation ... that tastes like a Big Mac; or making mac and cheese fries.

There are also recipes for things that go with mac and cheese, like guacamole, hot sauce, quick kimchi, and desserts.

It's a fun little book.

My ONE quibble is the font used. It looks like a typewriter and it reminded me of old-school community cookbooks, which at first make me think the book was going to be cheap or not well-written. Once I got over my initial dislike of the font, though, I started liking the book a lot.

I received this book from the publisher at no cost to me.

Pimento Cheese the Cookbook #giveaway

The topic of  Pimento Cheese the Cookbook by Perre Coleman Magness, is ... I'm sure you'll guess ... pimento cheese.

There are a whole lot of variations of pimento cheese recipes, but that's not all. There are recipes that have the flavor of pimento cheese, like the deviled egg recipe that you'll find on Cookistry.

There are also biscuits, waffles, chicken tenders, shrimp and grits, soup. cheesesteak sandwiches, and a whole lot more of pimento-y cheesey goodness.

One thing I really like about this book is that the recipes that incorporate the flavor of pimento cheese don't have you start by making one of the pimento cheese recipes. They include the amount of cheese, pimento, and other ingredients you need for that particular recipe.

And that means you won't have to make a tub of pimento cheese in order to use a portion of it in a recipe. Not that I couldn't find a use for a tub or three of pimento cheese.

This is a small book - in dimensions and pages. But that's fine. This isn't a topic that needs a lot of space, and 50 recipes is plenty - there's no fluff here, where you think the author tossed in a lame recipe or two, just to fill the pages. It's just the right size and has enough recipes to make or to inspire you to make something else.

How would you like a copy of your very own? Yup, I've got one to give away!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher, who inexplicably sent a second copy; I will cover mailing costs to the winner.