Amour, Amore, Amor, 愛, miłość, љубав,אהבה LOVE is the same no matter how you say it!

One or two more Valentines posts and we’ll call it a day – I have a heart shaped brownie recipe coming this week and this cookbook review.

I had seen this book in the bookstores awhile ago but for some reason never got around to purchasing it. I saw it again recently and was captivated by the photography, and bought it. Upon reading it, I found some delicious recipes in the book as well. What could be better than spending a nice quiet Valentine’s Day with the one your love enjoying a sensuous meal “Cooked with Love,” just the two of you alone with the food, a little background music, a few candles, ...the perfect evening.

Although my friend Jasminka has a good point, why wait for Valentine’s Day, we should treat the people we love like this everyday, so go ahead and make everyday Valentine’s Day.



The New Intercourses an aphrodisiac cookbook – Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge

The New Intercourses is certainly not your traditional cookbook in that there are no pictures of food, but the photography inside is quite beautiful. The pictures are of models in various states of undress, covered in food. There is no obscene nudity, just beautiful artistic photos, and they are quite clever I might add.


If you are a cookbook collector who enjoys reading your cookbooks like they are novels, then you will enjoy this book from that perspective as well. The book is a collection of recipes that include foods that are considered to be aphrodisiacs, accompanied by stories from the couple who tested them.



There is a guide for paring foods to different stages of relationships, to different seasons of the year, or even to your partner’s astrological sign.

The Chapters are divided by the names of different foods such as asparagus, chocolate, oysters, avocados, and more. The book then goes on to talk about the specific food, discuss it’s history in the world of aphrodisiacs, and then gives you a few recipes where the title ingredient is the main feature of the recipes as well.


I found the cookbook quite interesting even though I initially bought it with the thought that it would make a good review for Valentine’s Day. The recipes look quite easy to prepare as well. I love the descriptions that accompany the recipes by the reviewers.


For example in discussing a basil lemonade recipe that is in the book, the woman, Joanna, who tested the recipes describes it as follows “I clink ice into two tall glasses. David pours the whole concoction into a pitcher and tips the spout for each of us. The tarts shock of the drink twists my lips into a little O. Outside, a car blasts its horn, and the muddled music from a neighbor’s television sings its way through the window. David brings his wet mouth down to mine, and the sweetness of his kiss makes my bare feet curl against the tiles. This is summer in the city, and it is delicious.”


Table of Contents:

Chocolate
Asparagus
Chiles
Coffee
Basil
Grapes
Strawberries
Honey
Artichokes
Ginger
Black Beans
Oysters
Rosemary
Edible Flowers
Seafood
Pine Nuts
Avocado
Libations
Figs

Thanks
Preface
Introduction
Resources
Massage Oils
Aphrodisiac Usage Guide
Works Consulted
Index

This book could easily stand alone as a coffee table book as well as being a welcome addition to your cookbook collection. There is something here for everyone, the romantic, the cook, the art lover, the avid reader, everyone will take something different away from the book. Of course since this is a food blog, we are interested in the food aspect, and you won’t be disappointed. I also think some mention of the photographer, Ben Fink, and all the models also deserve tremendous credit. I’m sure it was no easy feat to get that food on their bodies, and pose for the pictures…beautiful job!


There are 135 delicious recipes in the book, including
Blue Cheese Oysters, Chocolate Stuffed Crescent Rolls, black Russian cake, Cornish Hens with strawberry balsamic sauce, Chicken with pasta, asparagus and gorgonzola sauce, eggplant-basil soup, just to name a few.

Recipe from the Book: There were so many to choose from but I thought that since Valentine’s Day is coming that a nice easy yet sensual dessert might be in order, so I selected:

Easy Strawberry Empanadas

¼ cup cream cheese at room temperature
4 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
1 (8 –count) package of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Yields: 4 Empanadas

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Blend the cream cheese and the brown sugar in a bowl. Fold in the strawberries.

Unfold the crescent rolls into four rectangles, smoothing the dough together along the dotted line. Divide the strawberry mixture among the 4 pieces, spooning onto the bottom half of the rectangle. Fold the dough over and crimp the edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork.

Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the cooked empanadas with melted butter, and dust with remaining brown sugar before serving.

Note: Marilyn who tested the recipe says, “Make sure you crimp the edges together well because there is no way you want to lose any of that warm creamy filling.”



Book Title: The New Intercourses an aphrodisiac cookbook
Author: Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockeridge
Category: Theme Cookbooks
ISBN: 13: 978-0-9653275-2-7
Publisher: Terrace Publishing
Publishers Address: Distributed in the US by
Independent Publishers Group
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago Illinois 60610
Website: www.terracepartners.com
Published: 2007
Edition: 2nd
Description: Hard Cover
Illustrations: none
Photographs: Yes beautiful Color Plates

Price: 29.95
Reviewed by: Elise Feiner
Date of Review: February 7, 2009


The New Intercourses an aphrodisiac cookbook can be ordered by scrolling down to the bottom of the blog to our Foodfanataholics Cookbook Nook,
go to the sidebar on the right and click on the picture.

Posted by Foodfanataholic at Sunday, December 21, 2008 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Cookbook Reviews,