This post was first published in November 2012 and revised in April 2019.
When I first saw the pair of red shoes on the cover of Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook
by Tessa Kiros, it made me feel happy and warm inside as I thought back to the time when my youngest daughter was a little girl and wearing similar shoes. I immediately purchased this cookbook based on the cover alone and must admit it was a wonderful decision.
This colourful, heartwarming cookbook begins with a lovely read in the Recipes for Life chapter. The 200 comforting, simple and delicious recipes are organized by eleven coloured chapters such as:
Red: Fried risotto balls, Tomato lasagne, Veal involtini
Orange: Cream of winter squash soup, Beef stew with carrots, orange juice and olive oil cake with pine nuts
Yellow: Barbecued mixed grill with corn, Chicken sautéed with cheese and milk, Lemon meringue ice cream cake
Pink: Beet gnocchi, Baked ham and cheese savory custard, Pear and berry crisp
Green: Spinach and ricotta cannelloni, Angel hair pasta with zucchini, mint and feta, Pea and potato mash
Gold: Olive oil focaccia, Fried mozzarella sandwiches, Fish cakes
White: Leek and potato soup, Thin pizza with stracchino cheese, Lemon rice pudding with roasted peaches
Brown: Chocolate Loaf, Lentils and sausages, Brown rice risotto with butter and Parmesan
Monochrome:Chicken croquettes, Fish Pie, Potato and chickpea mash
Stripes:Little spinach and carrot ramekins, Chocolate and vanilla marble cake, Ice cream sundaes
Multicolor:Tiny Savory tartlets, Sausage and potato frittata, Pandoro birthday cake
Tessa is a wonderful storyteller and shares childhood memories, anecdotes and cooking advice in each chapter.
The recipes are well written and easy to follow preceded by headnotes. Beautiful colour food and whimsical drawings are displayedthroughout the cookbook.
Feature Recipe – Chicken Cutlets with Tomatoes and Capers
The Chicken with tomatoes and capers recipe is on page 40 from the Red chapter. It is a quick and easy recipe to make using minimal ingredients. The tomatoes and capers complement each other in this flavourful dish. The taste reminded me of my Sicilian mother’s cooking where tomatoes and capers were prominent.
Chicken cutlets with tomatoes and capers recipe
Chicken cutlets with tomatoes and capers from Apples for Jam cookbook
This is the kind of dish my mother-in-law has taught me to make — she is such an inspiration. You can add a couple of olives or anything else you think might be appreciated. I like to serve this with some pan-fried potatoes with rosemary and sage or even just my <g class="gr_ gr_87 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="87" data-gr-id="87">favorite</g> bread. Buy chicken cutlets from your butcher, or buy one chicken breast and thinly slice it horizontally into four thin slices.
Author: Tessa Kiros
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 chicken cutlets
all purpose flour, for dusting- 2 sage sprigs
- 4 tbsp white wine or water
- 1½ tbsp drained capers or caperberries in vinegar, rinsed
- 1½ tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat half the oil with the garlic in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the tomatoes with a little salt and fry over high heat until they are just starting to pucker. Lift them out onto a plate.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan. Lightly dust the chicken with flour on both sides. Put into the pan, add the sage and fry over medium-high heat until the underside is golden. Turn over and season with salt.
- Put the garlic cloves on top of the chicken if they look in danger of burning. Cook until the new underside is golden brown, then turn the chicken again and season with salt. Add the wine, put the tomatoes on top of the chicken cutlets and throw in the capers and parsley.
- Let it
bubble up and evaporate a bit, then put on the lid and leave for a couple of minutes before serving.
On my cookbook shelf
Apples for Jam is one of my favourite cookbooks and an essential part of my cookbook collection. Tessa Kiros fantastic talent for storytelling, the recipes, the photos and drawings, and the feel of the cookbook all invoked feelings of nostalgia for my childhood. It’s an inspiration for families to cook and connect.
Cookbook Details
Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook
Author: Tessa Kiros
Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing
Hardcover: 429 pages
ISBN-23: 978-0-7407-6971-9
Acknowledgement
Recipe and photo excerpts reprinted with permission from Apples with Jam© 2006 by Murdock Books. Text by Copyright © 2006 by Tessa Kiros. Photographs copyright © 2006 by Manos Chatzikonstantis
Disclosure
Apples for Jam – A Colorful Cookbook was sent to me by Andrew McMeel Publishing for review. The opinions are my own.
My Cookbook Addiction is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program and earns fees from qualifying purchases. The fees will not affect the cost of the purchases.
Suggested cookbook reviews
Per La Famiglia: Memories and Recipes of Southern Italian Cooking
Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays
Authentic Italian Desserts
