SMORGASBORD: Ready, set go! . . . Itty bitty brownies . . . Shuffle 'em up

Ready, set, go!

Mollie Katzen hopes to rectify one of the basic dichotomies of modern times: People are becoming increasingly interested in foods from around the world but are cooking for themselves less and less.

Her new book has a mission as clear as its title: “Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen” (HarperStudio, $24.99). Aimed squarely at beginners, the book succeeds in taking the intimidation out of cooking.

Author of two classic vegetarian cookbooks, “The Moosewood Cookbook” and “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest,” Katzen does not forget the vegetables here, even as she adds chapters with meat, poultry and seafood. A number of the meat and dairy recipes are easily adaptable for vegetarians and vegans. The book offers a range of recipes, from cozy comfort food to ethnic dishes to quick meals. Katzen is a smart, frugal cook; neither time, money nor food goes to waste. Recipes are clearly and simply written. Each recipe comes with a list of “go-with” side dishes and “get creative” sidebars to encourage more advanced cooks to branch out.

You’ll find Katzen’s passion and enthusiasm infectious. She can make even a simple baked potato seem cause for celebration.

Itty bitty brownies

Two new Pillsbury items recently started to show up in stores. First, there is the Brownie Minis brownie mix. The box contains two envelopes of just-add-water brownie mix and two little oven-safe plastic pans, each with cuplets to make six darling little minibrownies. So, the box makes 12 total miniature brownies, with (admittedly) very little effort.

At one store, the box, which contains a total of 7 ounces of mix, sells for $2.25, the same price as a 15.9-ounce box of regular (Smucker) Pillsbury brownie mix.

The other new Pillsbury item is Easy Frost “no-fuss frosting” in aerosol cans. Each can contains 13.5 ounces of frosting and at one store sells for $3.47, where a 16-ounce tub of (Smucker) Pillsbury’s ready-to-spread frosting costs $1.95.

Shuffle ’em up

Bon Appetit’s Celebrations Deck includes 50 recipe cards (with photos) in six categories, such as “mains,” “sides” and “desserts.” It’s designed to provide crowd-pleasing ideas for special occasions such as graduations, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day, but we think we’ll just shuffle the cards and cook up a fusion masterpiece.

It’s $15 on Web sites such as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Tags: get cooking, brownie minis, celebrations deck, features, food, smorgasbord