Tell us about your recent cookbook finds

On the recommendation of a cooking buddy, I just purchased "A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean from the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More than 500 Recipes" by Clifford A. Wright.

It is quite the hefty tome! I hope to dip into it more this weekend, but it looks really interesting for anyone interested in food history.

I also purchased his later book, "Some Like it Hot: Spicy Favorites from the World’s Hot Zones." Haven't even opened this one yet.

He has some recipes and history entries on his website:

http://cliffordawright.com


What have you found recently?

A good friend recently gave me The Big Book of Appetizers (by Meredith Deeds and Carla Snyder) as a hostess gift. I love it. Already made two things out of it and they were great...Bleu Cheese and Toasted Walnut Spread (served with sliced apple), and a loose version of the White Bean, Rosemary and Pancetta Spread (served as a bruschetta topping).
I recommend the book. Have quite a few pages book-marked.

[Jenise]

Just yesterday, Daniel Boulud's Braise showed up in my mailbox. I will admit, I've got a bit of a crush on him right now from watching his After Hours program on Mojo TV, and I'd seen this book at my friend Ines' house months ago and lusted for it. In particular, you know how just one picture can get those salivary glands working?, there is a recipe for a pork and chestnut whole stuffed cabbage that my life will not be complete without attempting.

Subtitled "A journey through international cuisine", the approximately 100 recipes borrow influences from all over the world and grounds them in Daniel's solid French technique. How about Beef Brisket With Red Miso and Watermelon Radish, Lamb Shanks Rogan Josh, or Oxtails Asado Negro with Plantains, Peppers and Garlic? These sound wonderful to me. And too, I cannot help but get excited by titles like Ham Hocks with Lychees and Bok Choy, or Beef Shank with Coconut and Avocado because they combine ingredients that would usually never occur in the same meal, let alone on the same plate. From a lesser chef they'd be scary. From Daniel? Inspired.

Now you've done it, Jenise. I am suddenly famished and I still have nearly 3 hours until lunch!

I'll have to acquire this cookbook too! Not that I actually have any place to put new cookbooks, but they still keep coming home with me.....

Jenise, I think Basque Chicken and Chorizo Sauté is in that book - top-notch recipe!

[Jenise]

Eden, this is probably the one: Chicken Basquaise with Artichokes is the title, but it includes chorizo. He says that the dish has been in his repertoire "for years, ever since I worked in the Basque region as a young chef". He goes on, "It was wonderful to see how in love the Basques are with their peppers. You'd see peppers hanging everywhere, drying when they were in season or already dried during the rest of the year. The Basuqes even dedicated whole festivals to peppers." It sounds wonderful, but I bet with that description it's giving Cynthia an even stronger siren call.

Yep, that's it. Variations for those who want to make the dish a little more wine friendly include subbing fennel or celery (the latter being my preference, as I'm not a fennel gal) for the artichokes. Super-duper wine friendly, needless to say, with some of the fab Portuguese wines running around these days. Yum!

An old book, but one I've never picked up until Now...--Martha Stewart's Hors D'Ouevres Handbook. Pretty incredible for ideas...full of great photos and fun ideas.

b

It sounds wonderful, but I bet with that description it's giving Cynthia an even stronger siren call.

OK, so it somehow mysteriously landed in my cart at Amazon.com just now.

And the added draw is that my domestic associate, Jack, is of Basque heritage!

Thanks for the review of Daniel Boulud's Braise, Jenise. I've re-read this book several times -- the approach is even more important than the recipes.

I'll report on a couple of recipes I've tried -- he's improved my cooking dramatically.

Regards, Bob

Haven't got one since Andrea Immer (Robison's) "Everyday Dining with Wine." Not impressed. She should stick to the knitting; wine that is.

I recently acquired Sara Foster's Casual Cooking. I loved her first book: The Foster's Market Cookbook, and this one did not disappoint. I love simple, easy to fix meals with flavors that burst in your mouth. Several times I've made the Warm Sourdough Bread Salad with Chicken and Pine Nuts (pairs nicely with a crisp chardonnay). Love her chapter on Salad Meals. You can't go wrong with this book as a wedding shower gift as she tells you how to equip a pantry for elegant quick meals (various cuisines), plus there is the added bonus of variations on vinegarettes, marinades, sauces and condiments to expand your repetoire. Beautifully written and laid out, great and plentiful pictures, good recipes (make certain to read the side bars). I just love books like this.

I recently became the proud owner of some bound volumes of <i>Le Pot-au-Feu</i> magazine. The issues I got are complete years from 1893 to 1906. I’m having fun reading through them.

Oh, Peter! How nice!!

[Jenise]

I recently became the proud owner of some bound volumes of <i>Le Pot-au-Feu</i> magazine. The issues I got are complete years from 1893 to 1906. I’m having fun reading through them.

Oh, Peter, I'm envious! I love reading old recipes. They speak so clearly not to just the food, but the trends and the sensibilities of the times in which they're written. Fascinating.

In looking through these 14 years it is possible to see some interesting changes in technology. Early ads are devoid of telephone numbers, but they begin to appear near the end of the period. Also appliance ads change over the period.

The principle author in the magazine wrote under the pseudonym <i>La Vieille Catherine</i>. She is the same woman who later published a couple of significant cookbooks under the name <i>Madame E. Saint-Ange</i>. She seems to have a fondness for bechamel sauce that runs the entire period.

[Jenise]

Peter, what kind of appliances did they have in those days, anyway?

Peter, what kind of appliances did they have in those days, anyway?

The variety was actually quite amazing. The magazines are too fragile to scan, but here’s an image from <i>La Cuisine et la Table modernes</i>—in one sense, an early version of <i>Larousse Gastronomique</i>—a book from the same era.



The items in the picture (left to right, top to bottom) are a nickel-plated, electric plate warmer designed for home use; an electric frying pan made from aluminum; a steel, electric grill for home use; and another nickel-plated, electric plate warmer.

Besides large and small appliances moving towards electricity, there was also the move to town gas from wood, coal, and coal oil-fired stoves and ovens.