32 Yolks

32 Yolks From My Mother's Table To Working The Line by Eric Ripert is an inspirational story of Ripert's culinary journey to becoming one of the top chefs. Ripert takes us on a fabulous journey from his painful childhood to the mentors that helped shape him as a chef.  He also gives us a detail account of what it is like to work behind-the-scenes at restaurants. I didn't realize the culinary world can be so cut-throat and competitive. I have never eaten at Le Bernardin, but I hope to someday.

I didn't realize the memoir was going to be in an audiobook format. While I like audiobooks and listen to them on a daily basis, I would have preferred to read the actual memoir. The narrator was a little dull.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Inspiralize Everything

Ali Maffucci's cookbook Inspiralize Everything showcases a number of recipes that uses spiralized vegetables or fruit. I recently purchased a spiralizer because I wanted to substitute pasta for raw vegetables. The recipes that I tried were mostly raw and nobody in my family enjoyed them, including me. Maffucci's cookbook uses spiralized vegetables or fruit but most of the recipes are cooked so they do taste much better. I've mostly only tried recipes with spiralized zucchinis so I am looking forward to trying a variety of vegetables. It never even occurred to me to spiralize fruits until I got this cookbook. The Bell Pepper Taco Skillet recipe was particularly yummy and easy to make, and I am looking forward to trying the Vietnamese Cold Jicama Noodle Salad. The noodle salad recipes look delicious and refreshing!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Doodletopia Fairies

Christopher Hart released another how-to-draw book, and this time he will teach you how to draw cute and elf-like fairies. Along with learning how to draw fairies and their faces and bodies, you also learn how to draw a number of accessories: magical hats, antennae, tiaras, wands, wind power. The book also teaches you to draw different hairstyles, pouty faces and different fairy moods. The book breaks down as follows:

1. Complete Fairy Heads and Faces
2. Draw Fairy Bodies
3. Create Magical Clothing and Accessories
4. Design Fairy Wings and Flying Poses
5. Give Your Fairies Personality
6. Conjure Up Magical Powers
7. Finish Musical Instruments
8. Design Fairy Dwellings

If you like this fairy drawing book, you will also enjoy Christopher Hart's other Doodletopia books: Cartoon and Manga. I also have Christopher Hart's Doodletopia Manga, and I think I like it the best because I think manga and chibis are sooo cute!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Fatal Gift of Beauty

Nina Burleigh's latest novel, "The Fatal Gift Of Beauty" was a definite page-turner. The book goes into detail about Italy's culture and beliefs. Even though the tragic murder of Meredith Kercher, I did not follow the news or trial closely. I recently watched the Netflix documentary "Amanda Knox" and read Burleigh's investigative story of Kercher's murder and Italy's trial of the century. I can now understand why the media was so fixated on this particular case. Still, so much of it still remains a mystery in some way.  But all of it was very tragic: Kercher's gruesome murder and Knox and Sollecito's imprisonment. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Amanda Knox case or anyone who is interested in a murder mystery.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The London Cookbook

Aleksandra Crapanzano's "The London Cookbook" takes you on a journey throughout London to some of it's finest restaurants. I never thought of London being an epicenter of fancy food. The one time I've visited, I don't recall the food much. What a shame that I did not get a chance to visit some of the restaurants and tried some of their food. This cookbook is a compilation of some of London's best chefs and their dishes. The cookbook is broken down to the following: Light Fare; Soups; Pasta, Rice and Grains; Vegetarian; Seafood; Fowl; Meat: Desserts: Chilled Desserts: Cocktails. This cookbook is rather varied with a good number of recipes to try from. A good number of the recipes are rather easy and simple while some other recipes require more time. I really loved the black and white photography of London and wished there were more in the cookbook.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Peter Reinhart's book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art Of Extraordinary Bread" is a serious book. It received the James Beard Foundation Book Award and The IACP Cookbook Award and the heavy book is over 300 pages. The book has detailed instructions on how to prepare, proof, bake, shape a multitude of bread. I don't bake a lot of breads, but the pictures look delicious. I never really thought a simple loaf of bread would be so difficult and time consuming, but it takes a lot of patience and an artistry to get bread right. This bread book is a bread lover's dream come true!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Mindy Kaling Does It Again

Mindy Kaling's second and latest book "Why Not Me?" is a light-hearted and hilarious easy read. I read Kaling's first book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" and loved it. I was super excited to receive and read her second book. "Why Not Me?" does not disappoint either. It is just as funny as her first book. Kaling's books are similar to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's books. As much as I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, I couldn't get into their books for some odd reason.

Kaling is very funny and witty. I can't imagine what it would be like to hang out with her in person. I hope Kaling writes a third book because I would definitely read it.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.