Food Swings

March 6, 2017
In a friendly voice Seinfeld encourages readers to take her approach to what she calls “food swings” and eat without guilt. Or, she concedes, to eat with less guilt. The book is divided into the virtuous recipes, which appear to be nutrient rich and lower in fat and calories, and the vice recipes, which focus on flavor and indulgence. Seinfeld explains her food-swings concept as an honest approach to eating. Readers will find oven-baked fried chicken under virtue and, no surprise, fried chicken listed under vice. Seinfeld manages to make chicken for dinner seem exciting again, with subtle tweaks to classic recipes, including peach and sriracha chicken over coconut rice and orange chicken with rosemary. The virtuous recipes are the stars, of which a variety of quick but innovative breakfasts will stand out to those bored of yogurt parfaits. Seinfeld and her cocreator Sara Quessenberry layer flavors creatively, which makes the virtuous recipes truly appealing. The virtuous desserts tempt with their vicelike allure, including Seinfeld’s family-movie-night treat that she makes “when I want my family to like me”: chocolate-popcorn almond clusters. Vice desserts are, not surprisingly, equally desirable, such as Seinfeld’s lemon-macaroon pie. However you divide up the recipes, this is a great day-to-day cookbook with tasty-looking recipes that are approachable and simple to prepare. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME.

April 15, 2017

Recent cookbooks tend to be ascetic or excessive--this one's a little of both. Best-selling author Seinfeld (The Can't Cook Book), wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, has assembled 125 recipes that allow readers to eat as healthfully or indulgently as their mood dictates. The first half of the book is devoted to virtuous dishes (e.g., chia bowl with peaches, blueberries, and toasted almonds; oven "fried" chicken), while the second focuses on more indulgent fare (e.g., lasagna Bolognese, creamiest cheesecake with graham cracker crust). Both halves include breakfasts, mains, and desserts, many of which are labeled gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan. VERDICT Readers can have the cake and quinoa, too, with Seinfeld's latest, which strikes an effective balance between two popular eating styles.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2017
Jessica Seinfeld gets it, even down to the one-liners. With three cookbooks under her apron, Seinfeld takes a cue or two from her husband, Jerry, targeting both the devil and the damsel in her 125 recipes. She's eminently practical ( I never throw out spotty brown bananas ). Very straightforward ( Teaching me how to cook was one of the smartest things my mother ever did ). And keeps her dishes in line with our modern proclivities: quick, healthy with an occasional sinfulness, convenient for the beginner as well as for the experienced home chef. If virtuous, the dishes are marked as vegan, dairy-free, or gluten-free. All include great photographs, easy instructions, and hints on technique (e.g., how to zest citrus or cook brown rice). Almost more important are her confessions that, yes, food can be a temptationand she shares some of her strategies to duck the devil. Dishesfrom chard-wrapped cod and roasted plums with honey and pistachios to chicken Parmesan to chocolate-fudge cakethat can appeal to a variety of tastes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)