A Bad Hair Day Cookbook

I enjoy cookbooks of all kinds and books with recipes in them, so I was eager to get a look at A Bad Hair Day Cookbook. Marla Vail is the star of author Nancy J. Cohen’s Bad Hair Day Mysteries. She’s down to earth, running a business as a hairstylist, providing a home for her husband Detective Dalton Vail and his teenage daughter, Brianna, and getting involved in crime solving on the side. The books have provided many hours of reading pleasure as well as several tasty recipes. A Bad Hair Day Cookbook is as down to earth as Marla. It spans soup to nuts, appetizers to desserts, and contains an interesting variety of dishes, from some staples everybody makes to more exotic dishes and Passover meals. This is the kind of cookbook you’ll want to keep on your kitchen counter for handy reference on those days when you are racking your brain trying to come up with ideas for dinner. Whether it’s an old standby you forgot all about or a new or unusual combination or preparation of ingredients there will be something to appeal to you. Even if you’ve only got a job and family to attend to and aren’t solving crime in your spare time, this cookbook will make your life easier. The recipes are easy to follow and designed to save time, utilizing prepared or pre-packaged foods when possible without sacrificing variety, taste or presentation. The book begins with an introduction of terms and techniques for the novice cook, and Marla provides commentary for each dish – its history, cute movie references, how her family liked it, how simple it was to make, how she especially likes to serve it, how to use any leftovers, etc. This commentary makes A Bad Hair Day Cookbook more than just a book of recipes. It’s fun, especially for long-time fans of the series. Also included are some excerpts from various books to give you a peek into Marla’s sleuthing. A Bad Hair Day Cookbook is a cookbook I will use again and again. I am an experienced cook and love to experiment but I don’t always have a lot of time and Marla has provided time savers as well as meals I haven’t really thought of before that I feel are sure to please my family. It will be fun trying them all! A special treat is an excerpt from the forthcoming book in the series. Author Nancy J. Cohen is a bit of a “foodie” providing recipes, food tips and reviews of meals she’s eaten in various locations on her blog and FB posts. A Bad Hair Day Cookbook is the next logical step. Many thanks to her for providing an advanced copy for my honest review.