Be Free For Me Blog

This week’s Friday Favorite on BeFreeForMe is presented to one of the all-time best books I’ve ever received. Although let me mention…  this is not one of those book that you read like a novel. Instead it is one of those “keeper books” that become dog-eared, flipped through, perused, referenced and depended upon for years and years to come. This is one of those books that become a permanent fixture on your kitchen counter.

This book is a sort of chronicle of each and every department, from the grocery aisles to the wine section, of one of the most popular, fan-based and followed supermarkets in the country, Bi-Rite Markets.

The book is co-written by Sam Mogannam and Dabney Gough.  A team that produces the perfect combination of Sam’s food-entrepreneurial brilliance blended with Dabney’s foodie-genius culinary mastermind.

This book takes you through each department of a grocery store, aisle-by-aisle, answering the questions that we all wonder at some point or another: Q: How do I pick the sweetest peaches? A: The dark spot on fruit are areas of concentrated sugars – not a bruise!; Q: Tips for cooking any meat? A: Some pointers are to let the meat come to room temperature and season well with salt & pepper just before cooking, and lubricate your cooking surface with a neutral oil, like grapeseed oil.

Also, included in this cookbook is close to 100 recipes, many of them dishes that are featured in Bi-Rite’s in-house kitchen. I found that many of these recipes are gluten-free and allergen-free (or can be easily modified to be so). Some of my favorites? Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pistachios and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette; or the Apple, Pear Spinach Salad with Walnuts & Blue Cheese. All delicious.

This book is a keeper. Paging through it gets you excited about shopping, the food you eat, and cooking. It gets you wishing you had a neighborhood market owned by a guy like Sam, and a BFF (Best-Friend Foodie) like Dabney. Cheers to the two of you and a job well done!

All these reasons are why this week’s Favorite Friday goes to “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food”. (Note: Want to get this book for yourself ? Or how about for a perfect gift idea? A hard-cover book for less than $20… Bonus!) Check out this link here on Amazon.com and take advantage of the Super-Saver FREE Shipping!  “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food” by Sam Mogannam & Dabney Gough

When I was notified by Relish Magazine, America’s largest food magazine that is distributed exclusively through newspapers, that they wanted me to review the “Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook” by Robert Landolphi, I was ecstatic.

Being a gluten-free foodie, blogger and recipe developer, I’m constantly checking-out cookbooks and recipes that sneak their way across my desk, and kitchen counter. Plus, sharing my expert opinion (aka: appetite)  on a new gluten-free cookbook is near and dear to both my heart, and my stomach.

Read my review on Relish’s website, and check out some of my favorite recipes from the “Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook” in BeFreeForMe’s recipe section (Tri-Spiced Onion Rings with Horseradish Dipping Sauce, Cayenne-Dusted Chicken Nuggets and Pumpkin Nut Mufins).

This cookbook is a must-have for anyone that needs quick and easy gluten-free meals!

Gluten-Free Everday Cookbook, published by Andrews McMeel Publishing can be found on Amazon.com.