Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
I’ll be honest.
I’ve been categorically ignoring the whole no knead bread trend since I first heard about it back in 2006.
It became quite the internet sensation at the time, died down and now seems to be making the rounds again, due at least partially to Cathy Erway’s new book about not eating out for 2 years, I assume (which includes her riff on the recipe).
As someone who loves cooking and food as much as I do, I can say with alacrity that I’ve often thought of no knead bread as the lazy person’s shortcut, aka baking for dummies. If you asked my mother, she’d probably cluck her teeth and mutter something under her breath about it being the cowboy way. Beyond that, even though I start by mixing 90% of my breads in a stand mixer for at least part of the process, I can’t imagine giving up the interaction with the elementalness that is bread just to make life “simpler”.
But, when I saw Erway’s recipe for parmagiano, peppercorn and potato no knead bread, I made an exception and decided to try it. At the time I had no knowledge of what made her recipe differ from the standard no knead bread, so I followed everything to the letter except for 2 things. I subbed in a cup of whole wheat flour to surreptitiously improve its healthiness and instead of cracked black peppercorns, I mixed up a blend of 5 different ones that I’ve had lurking in the kitchen, including Muntok, Sarawak, Malabar, Tellicherry and Moula peppercorns crushed in a tea towel with a mallet.
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Tags: Baking, Books, bread, Cathy Erway, Jim Lahey, NY Times, The Art Of Eating In
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Above all else, I admire passion in others.
Not for me are the random masses shuffling along through their workaday lives, never fully immersing themselves or finding anything worthwhile to commit to. Instead I respect the creative, overly exuberant doers, the ones who push the envelopes and expand the boundaries of their respective fields through constant trial and experimentation.
When I familiarized myself with Paul A Young’s 2009 work Adventures With Chocolate recently, I knew I’d found a rare culinary maverick worthy of further examination, whose book I just had to lay hands on. Once I managed to track down a copy through Alibris UK I only had to exercise a modicum of patience until it arrived on my doorstep a week and a half later.
Adventures With Chocolate is a rollicking stroll through the mind of a (not so evil) genius, whose book jacket photo reveals a dapper young man reminiscent of a modern day Willy Wonka. This is by no means your mother’s cookbook, resplendent as it is with the rich tones and lush textures of pure chocolate juxtaposed against rustic, homespun preparations. It’s part concept journal and part chocolate as high art, but on all accounts they add up deliciously. I’ve yet to test drive a single recipe, but after my recent experimentations with chocolate and ‘nduja I’ve been inexplicably drawn to some of his more whimsical combinations, including chocolate water crackers (for cheese), fig and date tarts with cumin chocolate syrup and cedar cassia truffles (to name a few). I’ve no doubt that once I start I will work my way through the book in its entirety.
Especially helpful for the novice chocolatier is the glossary near the beginning that identifies certain flavours that marry well with distinct varieties of single origin chocolate. I may be somewhere between amateur and professional (having only dabbled in truffle making during my late teens and early twenties under the moniker Princess P) but even I found the table to be an invaluable tool. I’ve also found it curiously prevalent for British recipes to specify the variety of sugar; whether it’s turbinado, muscovado, caster or any other, nothing is left to chance in the precise flavour compilations Young is after (definitely a trend I would like to catch on universally).
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Tags: Adventures With Chocolate, Books, chocolate, Paul A Young
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Tomorrow is my birthday.
So, it seems only fitting that as I prepare to spend another year in this skin, I should reflect on what it is I’m planning to do in the coming months, particularly in relation to gardening.
With the exception of the various forms of root stock I ordered (potatoes, sunchokes and asparagus) all of my seeds have arrived. I spread them out on the kitchen table last night and simultaneously felt surges of fear and excitement. There’s something rather exhilarating about the potential of this year’s garden with the many unknowns I’m introducing into the equation, but at the same time I can also see the immense amount of work all of the seed packs represent.
Of course, the few months between receiving the seeds and actually planting them into the ground is excruciatingly painful for someone as impatient as I am. There is the distraction of starting the seeds in the basement, but that is just a temporary solution, which is why I invariably end up going back to the seed catalogues that keep showing up at my door and ordering more. In fact, immediately after I placed the orders for all of the seed packets that you see above, another Richter’s magazine (ironically) showed up, attempting to entice me into purchasing again. To date I haven’t caved, but only because I’m not sure whether I realistically have room for all of the things I’ve already bought. Regardless of that concern, I’m sure before May rolls around there will be a few more seed orders arriving at my door.
As an added bonus, the company that sent me the seeds on the very left (Heritage Harvest) included a free package of tomato seeds with my order, and I’m very intrigued by them. They’re called Henderson’s Wins All and apparently this heritage variety grows grotesquely massive 2-3 pound specimens. While some of you may be aware of my fascination with all things tiny and squee, I’m also (surprisingly) amazed by those biggest vegetable ever contests that people hold every harvest season. Between the Sicilian Saucer (another 3 pound beast) and this new Henderson’s I think I’m going to have giantesse all wrapped up this year. I’m expecting it’ll be a very Alice In Wonderland-esque garden with all of the tiny cherry tomatoes being dwarfed by these 2 oversized plants.
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Tags: Books, Cowbell, Gardening, Gayla Trail, Grow Great Grub, Heritage Harvest Seed, Mark Cutrara, Purveyors, Restaurants, Richter's, You Grow Girl
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As you may recall, one of the things I wanted for Christmas was a bag of Chris Cosentino’s Boccalone lard caramels (amongst other things).
After the holidays I was able to cross a few things off that massive list (I Know How To Cook, the dough press, a scraping beater, a rolling pin and the spice storage solution, specifically), but I was still no closer to tasting those caramels. As I probably mentioned at the time of writing, unless I get myself (or someone I know) to California (which is highly unlikely) I don’t have much chance of partaking of them any time soon, either.
You may also have noticed that this past weekend I rendered down the better part of 10 pounds of pork fat into lard, the majority of which has been earmarked for sealing the prosciutto. Even after taking that into consideration, there was still a fair amount of fat left over. Some I planned to freeze for another day, but it occurred to me that I had enough of a surplus to sacrifice a little to a lard caramel experiment.
When I first read about these fancy lard caramels, I assumed there must be some magical twist to them. Further research revealed that wasn’t the case, and in fact the only thing unique about them (compared to other caramels) is the fact that the lard supposedly comes from Cosentino’s restaurant. Beyond that, everything I read indicated they’ve employed a fairly standard caramel recipe.
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Tags: Alice Medrich, Baking, Boccalone, Books, caramel, chocolate, Chris Cosentino, Ginette Mathiot, I Know How To Cook, lard, New Projects
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As some of you may recall, late last year I embarked on an attempt to cure my own prosciutto.
And now, as the first stage of that nearly 2 year process draws to a close, we’ve come to one of the more time-consuming and arduous tasks.
Having been rested in a salt and herb coat for quite some time now, the prosciutto is nearly ready to be smeared with a mixture of lard and black pepper and hung to be aged until it’s magically delicious.
Of course, to get to that point, one has to have a fair amount of lard.
Lucky for me I bought half a pig last summer, which came with its own lion’s share of fat. As you may know, fat can eventually be rendered down into lard.
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Tags: Books, Fat, Jennifer McLagan, lard, New Projects, pork, Preservation, prosciutto
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I’ve often wondered if those 6 words might just be one of the most uttered phrases in any relationship.
Having caught up on some (long overdue) reading lately, I’ve had my nose stuck into The Gastronomy Of Marriage by Michelle Maisto for the better part of the past week, a tale which attempts to answer that exact question.
I’d first heard about the book back in December, while combing through one of many ‘makes a great gift for a foodie’ guides that tend to present themselves right before the holidays. The summary made the story sound interesting enough, so I’d earmarked it on my Chapters wish list and then forgotten all about it. While at the bookstore returning a duplicate gift after Christmas, I’d spied the bright veg on its cover and was inspired to take it home.
I’m not entirely certain what it is about the photo, but there’s something romantic, sensual, yet poignantly sad about those 2 crooked gourds wrapped around each other. Perhaps I’m just full of silly sentimentality, but to me it evokes an us-against-the-world feel which doggedly tugs upon my heartstrings.
Throughout the story, Maisto explores the link between family and food and how they influence our personal opinions of what makes a suitable meal (or comfortable life), all against the backdrop of her impending marriage. Combining the single households of Italian American Maisto and her Chinese American husband prior to their nuptials often produces comical results.
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Tags: Books, Cooking, Judith Jones, Michelle Maisto, Reviews, The Gastronomy Of Marriage, The Tenth Muse
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It’s early still, but I’m thinking of dubbing this the year of the olive (for me, anyway). Although truth be told, I think the Everyman has unofficially gone ahead and done it for me already.
My hunt for those elusive Cerignolas last week led me to The Spice Trader, but only after I’d already picked up an overpriced jar of Lucques olives (that barely resembled them) while I was out procuring supplies for New Years Eve dinner at the Leslieville Cheese Market; this was prior to Carlo Catallo contacting me with their name.
Once I arrived home and received his reply, I began a) kicking myself for not using my iPhone as nature intended (to check email while away and thus circumventing this problem) and b) wracking my brain for possible sellers of the Cerignola olive that would be open on the day before New Years Eve. Terroni and The Olive Pit (sister store of The Spice Trader) immediately sprang to mind, both of which auspiciously happened to be in my neighbourhood…
Heading back out into the cold, I wandered down the street to The Spice Trader, half convincing myself that in my sickly state I should just turn around and go back the next morning, but for whatever inane reason I pressed on. It was a good thing I did, too, because once I got there I found a holiday hours sign pasted to the door advising me that the 30th was the last day they were open until the new year. Fortuitously, they also happened to be having a 25% off sale.
Of course, once I got inside I couldn’t help browsing to see what was new and interesting in herbs and spices. In the basement of The Olive Pit, I found my precious Cerignolas, plus an intriguing bottle of pear vinegar that I decided to bring home.
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Tags: Books, Carlo Catallo, Jeffery Alford, Leslieville Cheese Market, Mangoes And Curry Leaves, Naomi Duguid, New Projects, Purveyors, Restaurants, Splendido, Terroni, The Olive Pit, The Spice Trader, Victor Barry
Posted in Books, New Projects, Purveyors, Restaurants | 1 Comment »
A little over a week ago, Larbo over at This Little Piggy posted about his discovery of Fergus Henderson’s trotter gear (a gelatinous porky broth made with (what else?) braised trotters.
Until I read Larbo’s post, I’d never heard of this magical liquid before, but had often contemplated the versatility of a pork-based stock.
There are plenty of recipes out there for beef, chicken, veal and vegetable variations, so why not a similar frenzy for pork, I wondered.
After ruminating on Larbo’s post for a little bit, I started to consider the possible uses for trotter gear.
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Tags: Baking, Books, bread, Fergus Henderson, Grant Van Gameren, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman, New Projects, pork, Recipes, Restaurants, The Hoof Cafe, This Little Piggy, trotter gear
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I’ve long been a fan of Mark Bittman’s gregariously engaging style and presentation.
Anyone who has watched more than a few minutes of his vast library of podcasts knows that the man is a serious ham (oh the irony!).
At times I’ve found myself transfixed, watching entire episodes on preparations of foods that I don’t even like, just because he’s so darned entertaining and fun.
I’ve owned How To Cook Everything for years, and though I don’t often cook whole recipes from it (in general because I don’t like the limitations that a recipe puts on my creative intentions) it sits right there on the easy-to-reach shelf alongside The Joy (Of Cooking) and various other handy encyclopedic references, like my 27 volume Time Life Cooking set from the 70’s. I own a few other Bittman tomes too, like Food Matters, Quick And Easy Recipes From The NY Times, and I’m sure there’s another one or two in there somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I could tell you which ones, which I suppose points out how often I use them.
And after what seemed like a ridiculously long time, I finally managed to get a copy of How To Cook Everything Vegetarian recently. Ever since I read Food Matters, I’ve been meaning to pick up a copy, but every time I went to one of my local book shops, it’s always the one book in his massive repertoire that’s consistently absent. For a bit I began to wonder whether that was because it was so incredibly popular that nobody could keep it in stock, or because it was so unpopular nobody wanted it.
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Tags: Books, Cooking, Food Matters, How To Cook Everything, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, Irma Rombauer, Julia Child, Mark Bittman, Mastering The Art Of French Cooking, Quick And Easy Recipes From The NY Times, The Joy of Cooking
Posted in Books, Cooking | 4 Comments »
I’ve done quite a bit of experimental baking over the last few months; in particular veering out of my comfort zone of Local Breads to include other books and bread-making recipes.
I’ve enjoyed myself, maybe even learned a few things, but most of all this task cemented the fact that baking is my zen. Nowhere do I feel more peaceful or at ease than when I’m standing at the counter massaging a mass of spongy dough. Time to start evaluating a career change? Perhaps so, but only time will tell… though I recently read about GBC offering an artisanal bread certificate program…
At any rate, I thought I’d share a short pictorial with all of you on some of the highs and lows of my personal baking quest since September;
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Tags: Baking, Books, bread, Daniel Leader, Local Breads
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A few months ago, I found myself stuck in to Deborah Madison’s What We Eat When We Eat Alone.
The content of the book is pretty self-explanatory and provides hours of entertainment when combined with the illustrations done by Madison’s husband.
It came as no surprise that even the most sophisticated people have quiet, private quirks that they share with nobody else; such as standing over the sink eating frito pie, as one woman in the book was known to do. Coincidentally, it was also the first time I came across the sheer oddity that is a frito pie, and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it.
Sometimes it came down to the simple fact that people indulged in foods that their spouses didn’t like while on their own, but more often than not an overwhelming number expressed (in one way or another) their feelings about the comparative value of cooking for only yourself. Admittedly, when the Everyman was away on a business trip a few months ago, not only did my meals become stripped down and simpler, but most (if not all) of them included fish, shellfish or sushi because they are all things that he doesn’t like. In that regard, I get it.
But what I don’t understand is the propensity for people to feel that their own nourishment is not “worth it” and there were a whole slew of stories in the book to that effect. Before the Everyman and I lived together, I lived on my own for quite a few years, but living solo was never a good enough excuse not to cook for myself. At the time I had a lot of friends who also lived alone and instead of cooking, they spent a great deal of time and money on takeaways or Subway sandwiches.
Why is it that the number of guests coming to the dinner table makes us more likely to cook? Logistically speaking, you’d think that it would be easier and less effort to cook for 2 than it is for 6, but for whatever reason, many are more inclined to let someone else do the work when those dinner numbers dwindle. In a sense it says to me that we almost don’t feel that our alone selves are worthy of the care that we lavish on others. On the other hand, it’s possible that many of us have lost the connection to knowing how to cook, too. My own mother in law has confessed to me that she’ll often invite others over for dinner just so that she feels more obliged to cook than when it’s just the 2 of them. In her case, she finds that she cooks much less since her children have left home. Conversely, I much prefer cooking for the Everyman and I than cooking for company because I find the more plates that are added to the table increases my stress level about the meal. But, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
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Tags: Books, Deborah Madison, What We Eat When We Eat Alone
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Day by day, it’s getting colder and colder, and becoming more and more apparent that summer is long gone. With that shift in seasons, we spend a little less time cooking outside on the grill, and a little more time indoors baking, braising and stewing, etc.
One of the indicators that typically signals the arrival of fall for me is my willingness to spend time making homemade stock. Such a steamy, sweaty endeavour would be out of the question during the dog days of summer, but in the fall when days are brisker and nights hold a chill, warming the air with rich, meaty scents sounds like a wonderful, reflective idea. It also happens to appeal to my waste-not-want-not mentality. Each time I make stock, I continually marvel at the amount of flavour you can extract from little more than kitchen scraps. And with such a small amount of effort, you can improve just about every dish you add it to. Bored of rice? Simmer it in stock. Making mashed potatoes? Boil those in stock first, too. Deglazing pan juices? Stock can do that. In just about any cooking application where you would use water or wine, stock makes a flavourful stand-in.
But, before we get to the meat of the matter, a few “suggestions” about making stock that will make life a little easier.
1) Be organic – I try to buy as much organic food as possible, mostly because I think it tastes better, but also because it’s better for me and the environment. I usually try not to preach to others about why they should too, because I understand that some things about food are very personal matters. In this case I’m breaking my rule, though. If at all possible, try to use organic food to make your stock. With something as simple and elemental as boiled bones and veg, imperfections easily come through, so starting with the best product possible will automatically put you ahead.
2) Save, save, save – If you roasted a chicken, save that cleaned carcass in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Once you’ve amassed a few, you’ll be well on your way to a flavourful stock. And don’t hesitate to add vegetable trimmings to the bag either, as long as they’re cleaned first. Carrot peels, onion skins and celery leaves all make great additions to a stock base.
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Tags: beef, Books, carrots, celery, chicken, Cooking, Food Matters, frugality, Irma Rombauer, Mark Bittman, onions, Preservation, Recipes, stock, The Joy of Cooking, trimmings, vegetables
Posted in Books, Cooking, Preservation, Recipes | 3 Comments »
As most of you probably already know, we’re only a few days away from Canadian Thanksgiving.
And, as I’m well aware, having a food allergy can make enjoying holiday meals more than a little challenging. On the one hand, you don’t want to inconvenience your host by making a big deal about your situation, but many allergies can be deadly; anaphylactic shock is a sure way to ruin any holiday celebration if you ask me.
In my case, I’m lucky that I don’t often have to worry about my seafood/shellfish allergy, because neither are typically included in traditional holiday meals, and when they are, they’re pretty easy to spot. For others (like my mother in law) it’s unfortunately not so simple. An allergy to wheat that she developed later in life means that she can’t always spot the things that to her are deadly, but knows exactly what it is she’s missing (hello baguette!).
Being a fellow allergy sufferer (one who also developed an allergy in adulthood) I can sympathize with the notion of pining for something you used to be able to eat before – I constantly decry my memories of fresh caught crabs off the piers in BC. But, one thing I’ve noticed about people with food allergies in general is that they don’t want you to take pity on them. All they really want is something good to eat! There’s nothing worse than feeling like a leper because everyone else is eating “normal” food while you nosh on some “alternative” bread, cake, pie, etc.
But, what people often forget is that there’s a whole slew of great recipes that are unintentionally allergy friendly. If you’re a raw foodist, you can eat gazpacho (I think, I’m not super familiar with their ideology, to be honest). If you’re allergic to wheat, well, there really isn’t anything better that a decadent flourless chocolate cake, you know? And if you’re allergic to eggs, well I recently found out that ground flax and some water makes a surprisingly decent substitute (ascertained when I accidentally ran out of eggs for banana bread).
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Tags: Baking, Bettina Schormann, Books, Earth To Table, gingersnaps, gluten free, Jeff Crump, pie, pie crust, pumpkin, Recipes, Recipezaar
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