From time to time, we review bean cookbooks here. I haven't done that as frequently as I would have liked, but I plan to do better in the near future. In the meantime, it occurs to me that some of you might really want some guidance as to what's available to help you with cooking beans.
So, helpful soul that I am, I figured out a way to quickly help you with this important (or perhaps not so important) matter. I went to Amazon.com and, through some sleight of hand, managed to get the list of their top-selling bean cookbooks in order from most popular to least. I had to apply a little judgment as to what is really a bean cookbook, however. Some that show up on the list merely have beans in the title (such as Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites, available at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0... ), which is a great little cookbook for folks who want to save money--but it doesn't really concentrate on beans.
This list will be helpful because you can currently buy all these books from Amazon or other online booksellers. You may have a little trouble finding these books at your local Barnes and Noble or Borders, however, since none of them are recently enough published to ensure their presence on their shelves. I'll give you enough info, however, to allow you to special order them from your bookseller if you're not into online shopping.
So, without further ado (or further cliches), here are the Top 5 Best-Selling Bean Cookbooks.
366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains
by Andrea Chesman
Plume, February 1998
Trade paperback, 480 pages
$18
ISBN: 0452276543
Available online at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0... .
This excellent book, 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains, gives you 366 recipes for healthful, delicious bean, rice, and grain dishes from all over the world. Yes, they're primarily vegetarian recipes, but the book does include variations on the recipes that use salmon, shrimp, and chicken. Mouthwatering ethnic recipes are mixed with other "natural gourmet" items that are fascinating to read, fun to prepare, and a delight to eat. How do Smoky Black Bean Burritos sound? Or how about Pesto Pasta with Cranberry Beans? I'm ready to start cooking right now.
The Bean Bible: The Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet
by Aliza Green
Running Press, May 2000
Trade paperback, 320 pages
$18.95
ISBN: 0-7624-0689-5
Available online at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0... .
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