Category Archives: Cook Books

Cookbooks

Posted on April 12, 2009 | 2 comments

I didn’t bring one with me. Not one. Meats are different here. Today I wanted to try a brand-new homemade rub on some pork baby back ribs but could only find them already marinated. I’ll have to try another store and a butcher I can get to know.

There are reasons I didn’t like our new grocery’s sister store back home. I need to find a place that will help with meats and produce (Jim is allergic to fish but I cook it for myself occasionally).

I don’t really need recipes unless I’m trying a different cuisine, but it is always a comfort to have my stalwart cookbooks at hand to look up a roasting temperature or remind me of Julia Child’s 1970’s French Onion Soup.

Today I have the Internet, and I printed out the recipe and made a smoked paprika bbq rub but then didn’t have the ribs to put it on. Hey, when I first moved home to TX, I found an entire hog’s head in the freezer section. It freaked me out. Now in our temporary digs here the meat section and butcher’s counter is very different than back home.

Granted, this is Easter Sunday and I need to check out the goods at several groceries within a mile or two. While I ended up with thin pork chops, we ordered pizza so I’ll be able to re-think recipes tomorrow. Recipes and taxes. Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Cook Books, Editorial

Second Wind

Posted on March 13, 2009 | 2 comments

It’s midnight. I laid down for a while and napped, then arose and finally showered. The dishwasher finished running and I’m just now starting a load of clothes to wash. It’s 44 degrees and raining. Yesterday it was 84 degrees.

We are full to the gills with moving boxes and not nearly done yet. Mostly we are blessed by friends who come over and spend several hours in the trenches, packing. Tonight Jan brought us tasty BBQ AND dessert and helped pack our Italian majolica, my mother’s bone china and all the most expensive framed art on the walls. [We are leaving the priceless quilts on the walls for now as we’ll put them in the car and leave them with Jim’s folks for the duration rather than put them in storage.] Jan was tired when she went home a couple of hours ago. Nothing like having an art museum curator to pack the delicate stuff!

I know, it’s an embarrassment of riches. First an MIT grad helped Jim wrap the big bulky stuff (sleigh bed, sofa) then an energy and finance whiz for the smaller items to wrap, now a museum curator. I think Obama’s stopping by tomorrow for a couple of hours, then Warren Buffett on Saturday to finish up.

We finished most of the books, including my extensive and esoteric cookbook collection that includes volumes on home cheese making and a trail mushroom guide, Sicilian vegetables, a Jewish settlement cookbook and one from a friend’s mother’s church and JIm’s mother’s VA cookbook. I didn’t even know what I had!

When we moved here from Austin we rented a garage downstairs for a week. Whenever we had a dolly load of packed boxes, Jim brought it downstairs. Here we’re just inundated. Tomorrow we finish the books and shelves, rest of the pictures, and start on the laundry room/pantry, master closet and kitchen. Hope I can sleep tonight but I may just be too bone-weary to do so.

Today we went to the office supply store so we could have an “in your face” way to designate boxes that must go with us in the car. So the yellow ones designate “Fragile” and orange designates “Car.” As I went around tagging the car boxes I put one Car sticker on the dog so we wouldn’t forget her. Hey, one needs some light moments in the exhausting tedium of moving a life into storage.

Hope you’re having a great day. I think we have three packing days before us before we hit the road. When Jim moved from Texas to San Diego he had three linear feet in a freight truck. When we moved from San Diego to Texas we had 12 linear feet. He tells everyone the girl he met in San Diego and married there cost him Nine Linear Feet! Now we’d take at least the entire 20′ truck.

Perhaps we remember the days when all our belongings went into the trunk (college) or pickup truck (post-college). But even in 1,028 sf that we moved into with a kitchen, office and bed… now we have a dining room, living room and bedroom and that’s a lot of stuff.

Hope you’re having a great week. We can’t wait to get done and have a paycheck start coming in from work starting a week from Monday. Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Cook Books, Editorial

Cassoulet

Posted on February 25, 2009 | 3 comments

Yes, I’ve read the 40-minute cassoulet from Mark Bittman in the NYTimes. Perhaps I’ll try it. But if one makes everything from scratch, it is a very lengthy process, and a worthwhile endeavor.

Chowhound.com has a link to cassoulet afficionados. I made it once, 20 years ago, and my Dad loved it! And now that we have online ordering, the tarbais beans and duck fat are only a click away. Not to mention the duck confit and saussice de Toulouse.

Cassoulet is a French dish made of beans and meat in a savory broth topped with a bread crumb crust. It only gets better as it’s re-baked and the crust hardens once again, just to be broken. I wrote this simple description because it’s probably the only one that passes muster with all three French towns and other cassoulet lovers. There are many schools of cassoulet.

Twenty years ago I quit my job as a lobbyist in NYC and spent my life savings going to cooking school. Alongside our lessons, many of the dishes we prepared were written by Simone “Simca” Beck, of Mastering the Art of French Cooking fame. Our teacher worked with Simca and Julia Child during the summer months. Given a choice of a beach or the South of France, I’d choose France!

My apprenticeship of four weeks was held at Cafe Beaujolais, a beautiful small restaurant in Mendocino CA. I lived in a cabin with little light and no heat and when the little supermarket bundle of wood was done at 3:00 a.m. I froze my butt off. I was making nothing and had spent my savings on cooking school and a rental car to drive up there and had no TV or radio so my sole “just for fun” purchase was Simca’s Cuisine, from a used bookstore in Fort Bragg.

I am looking at it and its’ cassoulet recipe now. She calls for Great Northern beans, bacon, 2 ducks, hot Italian or Spanish sausage, and aromatics. She calls it “Un diner canaille pour joyeux amis.” That means an earthy dinner for high-spirited friends. She serves the cassoulet with Coquilles St. Jacques, a cold asparagus vinaigrette, a strong cheese and cherries in custard with meringue, flambee.

The entire meal sounds too heavy for me, but I may just try the cassoulet when we’re flush again. Our President spoke, stocks went up, then they revealed the bank solvency test and it went right back down again. Every day seems to be a crap shoot.

Tonight, we have roasted chicken breast, baked potatoes and a choice of vegetable. Red cabbage cole slaw (finishing that up, finally), fresh tomato in balsamico, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil. We also have a newly-made cucumber slaw from the Smoked Butts… cookbook I have on the site.

When I do try cassoulet again, I’ll check recipes and ponder my choices, taste and give you my results. The thing about especially French country cooking, this time from the area around Languedoc, is that people had this stuff made. There was no refrigeration so duck or goose legs were cooked in their own fat and kept covered completely in that fat in a crock in the pantry. Doing this culinary marathon is somewhat pointless for urban dwellers as we have to re-create everything, whether from scratch or from an online catalogue.

This entire one-sided conversation ends with me saying that we should cook local food, in season, the best produce and meats we can find. Don’t mess them up with complications. Serve your family a terrific meal. If you’re in Georgia, how can you use peaches in an entree? Texas, sweet onions, our family usually has tons of pears. Plus BEEF. Jim’s favorite. Support your local farmer, no-one else does.

The EPA wants to put a methane tax of $87.50 per beef cow. Some cows worth 1K to 1.5K are selling for $500. Losing most of their investment plus adding a tax of 20% of the sale price puts the rancher even more in the hole. ‘Nuff said. Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Cook Books, Editorial, Recipe Ideas

Tagged

More Than Hardware

Posted on December 20, 2008 | 1 comment

A couple of weeks ago Jim and I went to our favorite local hardware store to have a key made or pick up a new sink trap or A/C filter. I love going there because the folks are so helpful in finding things, and because over 1/3 of the shop is dedicated to cooking! Yep, that’s where I picked up Margie’s quiche pans.

And while we were on our way out I saw this gorgeous hardcover book with photos of Spain (I’ve never been) and a PBS show with a most unlikely duo, Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow. Now, I’ve been a fan of both for years but just never thought I’d see them on the same book jacket. When one sees Mario he’s inevitably expounding upon the regional cuisines of Italy, wearing his chef coat, shorts and clogs.

When one sees Gyweneth Paltrow, one doesn’t necessarily think “food.” Well, I awakened with a sore throat at 2:00 this morning and after sitting up and taking a throat lozenge, I turned on PBS with no sound and found Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman and Claudia Bassois at the Alhambra palace eating persimmons.

Back to hardware. The gentleman at the shop told me about the cookbook, the show and that it would be back on PBS in January after their holiday money-raising marathon. Yes, it is public television and this show makes me want to support public television but spare myself the marathon and “free” mug.

It also makes me want to keep supporting our local hardware/cooking store and perhaps take a sojourn to Spain. Not that I think Bittman or Batali would offer to show me around, but I’d feel bad going with Jim because so much of Spain is seafood and he’s allergic to anything that swims.

While we’re not celebrating Christmas here, Jim’s birthday is the 23rd and, like his family, I like to make it special because it is easily absorbed into the holiday season. Hopefully he’ll be back at work, and we have an event that evening, so I’ll have to think of something. Most spouses would be touched by a homemade breakfast of bacon and eggs, huevos rancheros or an omelet but I do that for him every morning. I’ll think of something. No, I’ll bet Gwyneth Paltrow has other plans for the day that do not include SE Texas. Good try, though.

Next time I’m at my local haunt I’ll check out the book more thoroughly to see if it’s an appropriate addition to my overstuffed cookbook shelves. I definitely want to visit the Alhambra and learn more of Spain. Tapas, anyone? Paella?

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Posted in Cook Books, Editorial, Education, Travel

New Addition to Reference Books

Posted on June 14, 2008 | Leave a comment

I just recently got this book and it is a welcome addition to my bookshelves but haven’t had the chance to use it much. If you want to go to Italy, eat in Italy and experience the culture THEN want to know everything there is to know, get this book.

Author: Riley, Gillian

Title: The Oxford Companion to Italian Food (Oxford Companion To…)

Publisher: Oxford

Notes: This book contains blurbs from the best Italian chefs. Like the infamous OED (Oxford English Dictionary) this will show you ingredients, methods and historical information.

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Posted in Cook Books

Cooking Mags

Posted on June 14, 2008 | 2 comments

I must preface this post with a confession: I collect paper. I have to limit the number of books and magazines that come into our home because unless they’re given out as gifts, they don’t leave.

There’s no daily newspaper or monthly assortment of magazines. I check the news online and get emails from various cooking magazines. That way they don’t clog my mailbox, I can print out what I want, and don’t have to take a hundred pounds of trash out.

If I had three cooking magazines I would have on paper and collect right now, they would be, in no particular order: Food and Wine; Cooks (product of PBS America’s Test Kitchen featuring techniques and tastings); and Gourmet.

Right now I get regular updates from F&W online and am a Gourmet “Tastemaker” as a volunteer, of course.

You may have the fortitude to clip what you want and toss the magazine after a few days. I don’t. Friends of mine love Bon Appetit and Southern Living and all kinds of magazines and that’s great because they’re into it. These recommendations are for overall cooking and techniques and education and are highly limited by my strict criteria of three. You need really fun cooking mags too.

Happy reading! Dee

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Posted in Cook Books

Cookbooks, Volume 2

Posted on June 12, 2008 | 1 comment

Following are some of my favorite cookbooks that are not in my admittedly selective “reference” category.

Author: Beard, James

Title: James Beard’s & Hors D’oeuvre And Canapes (James Beard Library of Great American Cooking, 1)

Publisher: Quill

Notes: Classic appetizers, both hot and cold, plus how to host a proper cocktail party, an invaluable addition to your library.

Author: Jeanne Voltz

Title: Barbecued Ribs, Smoked Butts, and Other Great Feeds: KCA-pbk (Knopf Cooks American Series)
Publisher: Knopf

Notes: A few years ago I did an exhaustive search for first a particular seasoning rub, then all seasoning rubs and could find but a few. Later on I found out that a lot of BBQ cooks on the circuit don’t want to share their recipes because of arming the competition and because most of them include MSG, something we’ve all been taught to avoid. Ms. Voltz is an exception, and I love her rib rub. She explains basic grilling vs. BBQ and includes a host of recipes for both methods, plus a section on side dishes. Love her Fresh Cucumber Relish.

Author: Walsh, Robb

Title: Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses

Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC

Notes: This is a serious book, recommended to me by Jim’s Uncle Bobby who hand-crafted a smoking rig to tow behind his truck and who thinks nothing of baby-sitting briskets, ribs and sausages overnight. His brisket cooks for 13 hours! So I jumped at the chance to research rib rubs for him. I’m an armchair smoker, as it’s difficult to accomplish in a fourth floor loft, and I don’t think the police horse patrol, right under our windows, would appreciate smoke billowing out of our building. Gentlemen, think of this as a wish book and ladies, Father’s Day is right around the corner.

Author: Fox, Margaret and Bear, John

Title: Cafe Beaujolais

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Notes: This marvelous restaurant is in picturesque Mendocino CA. While Margaret doesn’t own it anymore she’s still in the neighborhood and working with food. I had the pleasure of doing my culinary apprenticeship there in 1989 and we still keep in touch. I regularly made the apple-pear crisp (because their was a surfeit of apples and pears from her orchard) and a chocolate-raspberry torte that unfortunately is not in this volume. Margaret has a great sense of humor and is one of few writers who write as they speak and endear themselves to readers.

Authors: Child, Julia; Bertholle, Louisette; and Beck, Simone

Title: Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One (1) (Fortieth – 40th – Anniversary Edition)

Publisher: Knopf

Notes: Julia Child came into my consciousness with her first PBS show. Out in the country we only got four channels. These three ladies brought French cuisine to the USA and for this feat should be highly commended. With James Beard, I believe they opened up American cooks’ minds and luckily brought moms everywhere out of the “Take one can cream of mushroom soup…” philosophy of family meals. This belongs as a basic building block but since it’s French, I included it on this list rather than Vol. 1. Ms. Child’s French Onion Soup is worth every second- don’t rush it!

Authors: Child, Julia and Beck, Simone

Title: Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 2 (Paperback)

Publisher: Knopf

Notes: This follow-up to Mastering the Art of French Cooking is also a must-have for the serious cook. Many of the recipes we used at Institute for Culinary Education in NY City were directly from Simone “Simca” Beck because our teacher spent summers at her home in Provence. During my apprenticeship I found Simca’s Cuisine at a used book shop (Knopf, 1972) and it retains its hallowed place on my bookshelves.

Author: Deighton, Len

Title: Basic French Cooking

Publisher: Creative Arts Book Company

Notes: First published in 1979, this small paperback was called “Ou est le Garlique” and it has been out of print for years but is available on Amazon, as I just bought it as a gift for a special student recently. Yes, this is the Len Deighton of spy thriller fame. Even better, it is illustrated by the author with his own drawings. Learn about the batterie de cuisine (pots & pans and stuff), the mother sauces et al in this gem of a book.

Author: Artusi, Pellegrino

Title: The Art of Eating Well: An Italian Cookbook
Publisher: Random House

Notes: I’m told this book is in every Tuscan kitchen. Mr. Artusi was born in 1820 but these classic Italian recipes do not change. What has changed is that now the book has finally been translated into English. Buon appetito.

Author: Kasper, Lynne Rossetto

Title: The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens

Publisher: Scribner

Notes: I love this book. It’s very easy to use and comes with wonderful stories accompanying each dish, called lagniappes. The page with Spaghetti alla Carbonara is wrinkled and stained but at least I now know how to cook pasta in the style of the charcoal-maker. Another family favorite is Balsamico Roast Chicken and Potatoes, in Italian it’s Pollo Arrosto. Delicious in any language. I often say that Americans live to work, and Italians work to live. Eating is a big part of life in Italy!

Author: Kennedy, Diana

Title: The Art of Mexican Cooking

Publisher: Bantam

Notes: I had the good fortune of meeting this non-Mexican ambassador of Mexican cuisine during my Cafe Beaujolais apprenticeship. The kitchen bustled for days before her arrival and everyone was nervous. A young cook was caught rinsing a roasted pepper and was immediately told that he would wash away the flavor, “and Diana Kennedy is coming.” She made staff an incredible shrimp dish (page 207) called Camarones Enchipotlados or Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce. At the time we had a ton of blackberries in the walk-in and she made ice cream. When I got the chance to drive her into San Francisco, three hours away, I jumped at it. We talked about a lot of things, but what I recall is her looking disdainfully at the Diet Coke I purchased at a rest stop and saying “Ugh, if you keep drinking that you’ll ruin your palate!”

Author: Lewis, Edna

Title: In Pursuit of Flavor (The Virginia Bookshelf)

Publisher: Knopf

Notes: As a “Union” gal, I was transplanted to the South and knew nothing except that “the War of Northern Aggression” is in no way over and I’d better learn about Southern traditions like a mess of greens and sweet tea. You’ll learn about making the most of everything in your larder, even if there’s not much there. Plus Southern staples like Virginia Ham and Buttermilk Biscuits.

Author: Peterson, James

Title: Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition)

Publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold (div. of Int’l. Thomson Publishing, Inc.)

Notes: At nearly 600 pages this tome should have been included in Volume 1 as it is a comprehensive reference work. Please don’t think you have to read it from cover to cover in one, or a few, sittings. Keep it on your shelf, however, because it includes every classic and contemporary sauce known to humankind pre-1998 and won the 1991 James Beard Foundation “Cookbook of the Year” award.

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Cookbooks,Vol. I

Posted on June 11, 2008 | Leave a comment

I know you’ve been waiting for this so I culled through my favorite books and will share with you first my reference selections. I’ve included my basic reference materials as well as one vegetarian book which serves as a reference for me. Selections are ordered by author and title with comments from moi.

Reference Cooking Books

Author: Beard, James

Title: James Beard’s Theory & Practice of Good Cooking

Publisher: Weathervane

Note: Out of print. Available on Amazon, including collectibles (just don’t take them all as I give them as wedding gifts!). This is a unique book that really teaches newbies how to cook because it concentrates on techniques rather than individual recipes. Learn to braise and what to braise or saute… and you’re only limited by your imagination and your guests’ palates.

Author: Child, Julia

Title: The Way to Cook

Publisher: Knopf

Notes: I prefer the hardcover because it lays flat on the counter. This is a great book for its contents and photos. What can one say about Julia, who came into our kitchens on PBS? Or James Beard, another American icon.

Author: Kafka, Barbara

Title: Roasting-A Simple Art

Publisher: William Morrow and Co.

Notes: When you only cook a whole turkey with stuffing once a year, this book will tell you how to cook it. Many instructions are given for fast roasting and slow-roasting along with temperatures for every done-ness. Ms. Kafka cooks and tests and writes incredibly well and this is a welcome addition to any bride and groom’s gift list.

Author: Kaufelt, Rob

Title: The Murray’s Cheese Handbook: A Guide to More Than 300 of the World’s Best Cheeses

Publisher: broadwaybooks.co

Notes: This is a fun one for me because I’m getting to know some of the UK cheeses as well as French and Greek and Italian. And US and Canadian and Mexican, of course!

Author: McGee, Harold

Title: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

Publisher: Scribner

Notes: A scientist in the kitchen. Now I can answer arcane questions my husband, the physics major, throws at me. What’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder? My answer is that powder brings its own acid to the party and one needs to add lemon juice or other acid to soda to get the party started and bake your cookies or corn bread.

Author: Rombauer, Irma and Becker

Title: Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition – 2006

Publisher: Scribner

Notes: Years ago a farmer gave my roomate and I a Hubbard Squash. Ms. Irma told us we could use a sledge hammer to cut it. I’m sure husband Jim would use a chain saw. We let it sit on our urban apartment’s counter for six months then tossed it in the trash. But if you have a question on anything, this is the book to have.

Author: Schneider, Elizabeth

Title: Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide

Publisher: Harper and Row

Notes: Lately my husband’s been off on vacation and perhaps once a week I let him come grocery shopping with me. I usually lost him all over the place, usually by ice cream or batteries. Now he’s in the produce section looking up the strangest fruit he’s ever seen. Lately it’s been star fruit and Pummelos. But if you find a kumquat or lemon grass Ms. Schneider will tell you where it’s grown, its season, what it’s used for and how to tell if it’s fresh. Then she’ll give you several recipes. Her Lemon Grass Seasoning Paste is a winner for grilled salmon or chicken!

Author: Madison, Deborah

Title: The Savory Way

Publisher: Bantam

Category: Vegetarian, Reference

Notes: I was a vegan for a short while and I’m in no way a vegetarian now but this book is fantastic, from white beans to parsley pesto. It’s definitely a buy and a keeper.

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Posted in Cook Books

Favorite Cook Books

Posted on May 27, 2008 | 4 comments

The Way to Cook
Cafe Beaujolais
Morning Food: From Cafe Beaujolais

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Posted in Cook Books