Recently in Books Category

I finally was able to unpack a few boxes of cookbooks and kitchen notes, and came upon a treasure:

Recommended to me 20+ years ago by my good friend Steve-O, who used to teach Chinese cooking classes in the Seattle area, it's a classic. There's copies available for a penny, so if you have any interest at all in Chinese cooking you'd be nuts not to pick one up. It's not a pretty book in terms of photography, at least the 70s version I own, but it's full of useful information and great recipes, which is what I look for in a great cookbook anyway.

Here's a few dishes I made this week, customized from the original somewhat to make them standalone dinners:

Chungking Chicken with Brocolli and orange peppers:

Sczechuan Eggplant with Chicken:

Am-Ko Market has been an wonderful resource to restock my oriental sauces after the move, and having a properly stocked pantry is key to making faithful versions of your favorites.

Fire up your wok and go for it!!

... and this new James Lileks book looks like a great present for food lovers:

Not that I want it. And this isn't a hint. At all.

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown)

Paul "Chile" Brown is excited about a new dish:

Man I am alive!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zukerman potatoes and Three Twisted Sister's Bacon from Chandler. Going to fire up the smoker with some beef ribs and beef loin. I got some applewood chunks off of E-bay. The kroppkakor is a Swedish Potato and Bacon Dumpling. I have a new book called "A World of Dumplings "

The book looks interesting, making dumplings is something I've had decent success with, but I've never really taken the time to really make the effort to perfect my technique.

Here's Paul's finished dish, sadly he didn't invite me over... I got a lot of good emails, y'all have been cooking up a storm!!!

Bob, here in Phoenix, sent me a great link a while back to a site created by the Italian government to increase awareness in Italian products, not that we aren't aware of some of the great stuff there already!

Lots of great recipes, and an downloadable e-book that's easy to get lost in. And it's free. Which we love...

A great friend of this blog, and a huge supporter of Desert Island Foods®.com, Shauna's long anticipated book is now on the cyber-shelves. She's become a great email pal, and someone I've really gotten to respect and admire.

I haven't even read it yet, but I highly recommend it. How do I know? I know Shauna.

I got an email from John in Chicago today, raving about a cookbook he's been checking out:

I've been testing out a new baking cook book called "Baking, from my home to yours" by, Dorie Greenspan (she was Julia Childs asst on the show "baking w/ julia" which was a nuts on (te he) baking tv show, the best really!!! ) I've taken a novel approach to her recipes, I'm doing them exactly as stated , which is a real friggin trick for me.

Every recipe I've tried has been a home run, which is a first for me (maybe its cuz I'm not screwin w/ em)!!! I know you're not big on cookbooks but this one rules the baking thing, and she really made
them simple for even novices
..........................................jb

Good enough for me! I was a huge Julia Child fan, and I'm looking forward to checking it out. John noted that I'm not a big cookbook fan, which is partially true, but baking is science, and having good recipes to use as a starting point is just good sense.

I posted an Amazon link at the top of the post, if you're interested. If you buy it through that link, you'll enrich my family fortune by nearly a dollar. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

Buy through Amazon link:
The Norman Rockwell Illustrated Cookbook

I know- you've got a million cookbooks already, but seriously, this book that I got for Christmas is a treasure. Full of great American recipes that go from soups to entreés, breads, side dishes, sauces (excellent) and classic desserts, it represents the epitome of American cooking. I love the sensiblilities of the recipes- not too simple, not too fussy, just a lot of really good information. I've seen this book used at Amazon for a couple of bucks, and it's a steal for that price.

I can't wait to make some of this stuff.

(Disclaimer: My $.70 commision I would get if you bought the book through this link would enable me to pay off my fabulous French villa, and guarantee you a place to hang out if you come over to visit. Which is nice, I think...)

As you probably know, I'm not a big fan, and certainly not a big collector, of cookbooks. When some friends showed me an advance copy of Morton's Steak Bible, I was cautious in my enthusiasm. Sure, I love Morton's, and I've been lucky enough to have enjoyed quite a few meals in quite a few of their locations across the country over the years, but would the cookbook deliver?

(Photo: Courtesy Paul McCann, of Per Se's Rib-Eye of Nature Fed Veal)

Terrific review of 'Per Se' over at Kiplog. Done with a terrific photographer's eye and a true food lover's palate, it's the next best thing to actually getting to eat there, and a lot less expensive.

Per Se, for those who don't know, is a Manhattan restaurant offering by Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame, which consistently receives a 5 star rating as well as 'best restaurant in the world' in 2003-2004.

Here's a link to the French Laundry cookbook, too. While a beautiful coffee table book and a great representation of perfection in food, don't expect to be able to re-create any of these dishes exactly unless you have serious kitchen chops, a lot of the right equipment, and some serious time and cash to throw at it.

BTW, the whole Fiery Foods site is a terrific resource for true chili-heads. Bookmark it and check it often! Here's Dave's latest book: