Thrifty Cookbook Wednesday #2 ~ Fifty Shades and Fireside Feasts

Fifty Shades of Chicken, published in 2012.  First off, I have not read the book or viewed the movie (nor do I have plans to do so), but since chicken is one of the few things I can eat (food allergies) - I snapped this book up for the recipes. That being said, the chapters (three in all) must be a play on the book's subject matter.

Up first is The Novice Bird (simple recipes for the beginner) which offers vanilla chicken, roasted chicken with cherries & herbs. jerk chicken, roasted chicken with tangerine & sage (trussed), Coq au Vin, BBQ chicken sandwiches, plus fried or fricasseed chicken.

In Falling to Pieces, the bits & parts of the bird are used in the dishes, which include wings, whipped livers, chicken fingers, chicken hash, roasted thighs with apples & cinnamon, a green goddess chicken salad, chicken breasts with balsamic & rosemary and "dripping" thighs ~ made with sweet & sour onions.

The last chapter, Birds Gone Wild, features roasted chicken with truffle butter, skillet roasted chicken with golden onions & lemon, roast chicken & chorizo salad, chicken Parmesan croquettes, pot pie, beer can chicken, tandoori chicken, sliders and a chicken sub sandwich.

Fireside Feasts & Snow Day Treats, published in 2012. Comfort food for winter entertaining, the book is filled with many luscious photos.

Snow Day Snacks jump starts the recipes with a panchetta & onion tart, fondue, cheese & basil souffles, quiche, carrot & chickpea pancakes, dips, spare ribs, cheese straws and potato & butter bean fritters, while Cold Day Comforts offers French onion soup, minestrone, split pea & sausage soup, pumpkin-coconut soup, beef pho, a variety of relishes & flavored butters, scones, gratins (ham & blue cheese, salmon or broccoli & potato), smoked trout hash and risotto (saffron or barley).

The options in Fireside Feasts encompass mac & cheese, stew (sausage, pasta & bean, sweet potato, spinach & chickpea or pork), Moroccan chicken pie, fish pie, casseroles, braised duck, goulash, lamb tagine, Thai red beef curry, lamb shanks with lentils and a winter veggie bake, with Winter Salads pitching a cheese, apple & hazelnut salad, roasted sweet potatoes with macadamia nuts, Spanish bread salad, poached chicken & brown rice and a delightful bleu cheese & steak salad.

Moving to to Indulgent Treats, a few of the notable dishes  are hazelnut cheesecake bars, chocolate sea salt cookies, rhubarb custard, pecan & bourbon tartlets, Dutch apple pie, a rice pudding trifle, strudel, pavlova, Chai pineapple cake, mulled wine & cranberry tea bread and stollen. A Cup of Cheer closes out the book with libations - both hot and cold ~ black olive martini, harvest punch (made with cider), coffee punch, mulled port, rosemary milk and the polar bear (milk, cream, white chocolate & Kahlua).