Just the name Morton’s on a cookbook could be intimidating enough for a home cook based on their reputation for having the best steaks anywhere. Then as you look at the pictures, the intimidation grows because the food showcased looks absolutely amazing. It isn’t until one looks at the recipes that they realize the recipes aren’t that hard to follow.

Going through the cookbook, one can easily visualize the spirit of Morton’s Steakhouse from all of the side stories shared with the recipes. To help the cook at home, sample menus are located throughout the cookbook. Drink pairings are provided for the main dishes.

I was able to make several of the dishes from Morton’s The Cookbook. I made warm blue-cheese dip, filet mignon with light garlic rub, old-fashioned roasted chicken and sautéed garlic green beans. All of the dishes were delicious, not just at the first serving but also as leftovers. The warm blue-cheese dip was a crowd favorite with a second batch made the next day. My favorite was the old-fashioned roasted chicken. It was extremely moist and flavorful. I can only imagine how it must taste at an actual Morton’s Steakhouse.

Before the steakhouse classics chapter, the reader is provided information about cooking and timing a steak. This is perfect for the beginner, and I found this information to be extremely helpful. As I made the other recipes, there were some directions that I found confusing, so it was helpful to have friends and family around to help. Home cooks should read the entire recipe before starting to make sure they understand everything.

The only thing I felt that was missing from Morton’s The Cookbook was nutritional information for the dishes. Although with how delicious these recipes were, I probably wouldn’t want to actually look at that information. Overall, I believe that Morton’s The Cookbook is a must have for any home cook.

Written By: Kristin Ewing

Regular readers of the site were generally interested in South Florida dining and will notice that we’re now expanding. The core DineMag.net site is now more of a network of sites which serves as the hub for new locations (more on the way). Your South Florida articles are still alive and well, they’re just moved to the SouthFlorida.DineMag sub domain.

There may still be some bugs or quirks here and there but we felt a launch was good to get the blood flowing.

As we launch the other cities we have in the works, you’ll be able to find them by visiting the root DineMag.net site or on the sidebar of any blog in the network. This is really exciting stuff.

Not only are we expanding the blog aspect of the publication, we’re also going to be introducing some really cool new technologies to the Dine brand. Make sure you keep up with @DineMag on Twitter for the latest, as well as my posts in the Site Updates are of this blog.

With 2009 just beginning, we can truly appreciate those restaurants that have survived the test of time, but we also must recognie the chanes that are taking place in the culinary world.  We are seeing an influx of restaurants opening up that are focusing on small bites and shared family sized portions.  We’ve also seen famed establishments open up new locations with very affordable prices—including YOLO, da Campo Osteria, and Smith and Jone’s.

While restaurants are adapting and changing, so are we here at Dine. With this issue, we are expanding our staff and our partnerships. Maude Eaton has just joined the staff of as our culinary consultant. Maude is adding her knowledge of the culinary world, trends in the industry and assisting in our Wine & Dine Club events.

As always, this issues gives you some great recommendations on where you can find a great meal and oh-so-much more!

Happy dining!