we just got both volumes of Alice Waters' Art Of Simple Cooking - my mom gave us the (new?0 2nd one, and so we picked the first one up as well. we are seriously considering a CSA membership for 2014 and these are full of good ways to use excess veggies
plus, the first one has the best caramel sauce recipe ever
― sleeve, Tuesday, 31 December 2013 22:51 (ten years ago) link
CAD, please post updates when you cook from this! I made a batch of the soy-pickled shiitakes this morning and will report on them in a few days. There was a lot of pickling liquid left over, and I have a couple of ideas of what to do with it. (Mustard greens & small turnips)
― oldbowie (WilliamC), Wednesday, 1 January 2014 19:16 (ten years ago) link
CAD, please post updates when you cook from this!
i made the osso bucco and pea risotto tonight--sort of a weird first choice but all the ingredients were easy to find and it seemed like a nice wintry meal. i halved the recipe and called a few audibles but no complaints with the result. i had never made risotto! the whole time i was doing it this scene was playing in my head:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRp2phlJWXA
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 01:45 (ten years ago) link
lol I always think of Top Chef in my head when I make risotto; but oh jeez that poor girl! how mortifying
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 02:15 (ten years ago) link
I wish I could get veal shanks or lamb shanks or any other kind of shanks other than smoked ham hocks around here. I would osso bucco the hell out of the universe.
Today from the Currence book I made the pickled sweet potatoes and lemon-pickled honeycrisp apples, except I accidentally picked up a back of fujis instead of honeycrisps at the store. The pickled shiitakes are good, though it seems the soy overpowers the mushroom flavor a bit.
― channel 9's meaty urologist (WilliamC), Friday, 10 January 2014 03:35 (ten years ago) link
I really want La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life - Beatrice Peltre. Anyone been able to look at this cookbook or own it?
― *tera, Friday, 10 January 2014 05:13 (ten years ago) link
I've not found it at any book store I happen upon.
― *tera, Friday, 10 January 2014 05:14 (ten years ago) link
deborah madison's "vegetarian cooking for everyone" is my basic cookbook, almost all i need
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nlbmRddnL.jpg
― marcos, Friday, 10 January 2014 16:07 (ten years ago) link
also sandor katz the art of fermentation is just a joy:
http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-art-of-fermentation/9781603582865_vert-b614f1efff1f31b4ee1f12ebfe888c73a4c1c415-s6-c30.jpg
― marcos, Friday, 10 January 2014 16:10 (ten years ago) link
Yeah that book is insane. So far I've only done sauerkraut but one day I'll branch out.
― Vote in the ILM EOY Poll! (seandalai), Friday, 10 January 2014 16:18 (ten years ago) link
red miso is surprisingly easy if you have a basement with cellar temperatures. i just decanted a two-year old crock of my homemade miso and it is sublime
― marcos, Friday, 10 January 2014 16:21 (ten years ago) link
ooooh that book looks like a good way for me to start fermenting stuff, thanks for the rec!
― quincie, Saturday, 11 January 2014 00:44 (ten years ago) link
Yeah even if you never ferment anything it's super-entertaining; the people who ferment meat are o_O (and that's before you go reading their web forums).
― Vote in the ILM EOY Poll! (seandalai), Saturday, 11 January 2014 03:45 (ten years ago) link
*hurl*
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 11 January 2014 04:22 (ten years ago) link
Man I'm trained as a microbiologist and even I wouldn't get involved with meat fermentation.
I had a super wonderful sauerkraut a few months ago; they sold the juice separately as a drink and for real I would be all over drinking that stuff over soda any day!
― quincie, Saturday, 11 January 2014 07:19 (ten years ago) link
Read at your own hurl-risk: http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/display-your-culinary-creations/high-meat-recipe-preparation-for-more-advanced-rafers/
― Vote in the ILM EOY Poll! (seandalai), Saturday, 11 January 2014 13:20 (ten years ago) link
There's this wave of fancy Southern cookbooks. That Currence book, the Edward Lee book, the Donald Link. They all have very similar names, like "Bourbon, Black Eyed Peas and Shrimp," or "Meat, Marinade and Moonshine" or "Whiskey Jars, Soup Pots and Southern Fried Cast-Iron Skillets." They all have pretty awesome recipes. I'm making the bourbon-spiked banana pudding from the Link book today, as a matter of fact.
Wish I saw this thread a couple of weeks ago, because I just went on a cookbook spree. Finally bought the Marcella Hazan Essential Italian, the first Bayless book, Molly Stevens' All About Braising and I want to say one of the many books by Melissa Clark, because I like her Times recipes. Simple, unpretentious and good.
A couple of my go-tos for the last couple of years, for the same reason, have been by Bill Granger, my favorite Aussie fresh/comfort food chef. Oh, and I've yet to be let down by Smitten Kitchen, whose recipes are the best sort of home cook concoctions/adaptations. She's got really good instincts, imo.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 11 January 2014 14:36 (ten years ago) link
These pickled sweet potatoes are amazingly good. I think I'm going to make a double or triple batch, enough to have jars to process instead of just the one jar for the fridge.
― channel 9's meaty urologist (WilliamC), Wednesday, 15 January 2014 04:37 (ten years ago) link
I'm not somewhere I can get a hold of the book (will probably buy it when I am back in the states)--if I could twist your arm to post the recipe that would be super awesome; I am in the land of sweet potatoes (who knew Taiwan was so into sweet potatoes? They are everywhere, including a special little roasting display at the local 7-11).
― quincie, Wednesday, 15 January 2014 07:43 (ten years ago) link
OK --Pickling liquid, saucepan:1/2 cup sweet white wine1 cup champagne vinegarGrated zest and juice of 1 lemonGrated zest and juice of 1 medium orange1/2 cup light brown sugar1 teaspoon salt
Pickling spices, tied up in cheesecloth or a large coffee filter:2 tablespoons peeled/chopped fresh ginger1 whole star anise2 tsp. peppercorns1 medium shallot, thin sliced2 cloves garlic, thin sliced1 dry bay leaf1 tsp. red pepper flakes3 whole cloves
Bring the pickling liquid to a simmer, add the spice packet, simmer for 10 minutes. Add:4 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticksand simmer for 3 more minutes. I timed the 3 minutes from when the liquid came back to a bubble.
Turn off the heat, toss the spices and let the sweet potatoes cool in the liquid, then jar 'em up. I let the jar sit in the fridge for four days before tasting. I'm sure they'll just get better over the next week or two.
I didn't have light brown sugar and used dark. I didn't have champagne vinegar and used 2 parts sherry, 1 part cane and 1 part brown rice vinegars. Currence must have been using big commercial-kitchen coffee filters because it takes 2 normal ones to hold all that stuff.
Glad I had a mandoline. 4 cups of matchsticks by hand would have been a huge pain.
― channel 9's meaty urologist (WilliamC), Wednesday, 15 January 2014 14:09 (ten years ago) link
The Smitten Kitchen cookbook has been a hit at my house. Also this one:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0MhX5uhyV1Y/UhFanj3eOUI/AAAAAAAAXqo/0-1N0uSnW7I/s1600/1373459981_flour-too-indispensable-recipes-for-the-cafes-most-loved-sweets-savories.jpg
Includes the recipe for their famous egg sandwich.
― Ornate Coleman (Moodles), Wednesday, 15 January 2014 14:43 (ten years ago) link
Thanks so much WmC! I think I can pull that one off even though the kitchen setup I inherited was:
Two gas burners, which are actually totally badass and crank out the BTUs like no-one's business
One pot. No lid.
One wooden spoon
One not so sharp knife
Electric kettle
Vegetable peeler
Salt
Two small dishtowels
Chopsticks/forks/spoons/knives for eating
A few bowls, plates, mugs, glasses
― quincie, Thursday, 16 January 2014 01:30 (ten years ago) link
To this I have added: a pot with lid and steamer insert; a cheap but somewhat sharper knife; a mixing bowl and three smaller prep bowls that can double as serving bowls; a strainer; and a filter for the sink drain.
Husband's first reaction to seeing original kitchen setup: "it's like camping!"
Gonna ask apartment owner to purchase a rice cooker for the place. There's no oven, microwave, toaster/toaster oven, crock pot, or any other kitchen appliances, but a rice maker would be a game-changer.
― quincie, Thursday, 16 January 2014 01:35 (ten years ago) link
Grabbed Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain Of Rice from the local library after having used a bunch of the recipes via the Grauniad &c.
― etc, Thursday, 16 January 2014 04:15 (ten years ago) link
I just bought that the other day!
― gbx, Thursday, 16 January 2014 07:20 (ten years ago) link
i cooked from it last night
― just sayin, Thursday, 16 January 2014 07:21 (ten years ago) link
Well now I'm really going to need a rice cooker!
― quincie, Thursday, 16 January 2014 09:17 (ten years ago) link
I received 'Every Grain of Rice' for Christmas this year and it really delivers on being the every day Chinese cookbook. I can easily knock together a couple of dishes in the time it takes the rice cooker to deliver. I've got her Hunan and Szechuan cookbooks and they are great but the recipes do take a bit more prep work, although I love being able to do 辣子鸡,chicken with chillies at home.
Favourites so far are 豆豉鸡丁, black bean chicken, and 家常肉末芹菜, celery with minced beef. Last night did 香肠炒荷兰豆, mange tout with wind dried sausage but I think I out in too much meat and not enough ginger as the flavours didn't balance right.
While our kitchen is not quite as galley style as quincie's it doesn't have a great deal of space but does have a usable wok burner on the hob. It really made a difference vs my old place where the burners dint quite have the oomf.
Only criticism and this goes for all her books is that the pinyin has no tone marks so it takes some work with Pleco to work out how to pronounce things. ( I'm learning mandarin so this matters to me)
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Friday, 17 January 2014 01:05 (ten years ago) link
Burners having oomph is sooooo important; I am going to overhaul the hell out of our gas range at home someday.
My landlady is dropping off her rice cooker tonight for us to use while we are here! I hope it is not some crazy neuro fuzzy model with tons of buttons, because I cannot read Mandarin. If needed maybe I can post a pic on ILX for help ;)
― quincie, Friday, 17 January 2014 03:19 (ten years ago) link
Getting the hang of the timer setting on our old one in the states was well worth it for morning Porridge and Congee. Our one in Australia is just on and off.
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Friday, 17 January 2014 03:56 (ten years ago) link
everyone needs to have 660 curries, i have made like 100 of them now― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Sunday, April 8, 2012 6:56 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Sunday, April 8, 2012 6:56 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Ohmahgod there is a cookbook called '660 curries'. That sounds fantastic b/c curry's my favorite food. But uh does the book ask you to grind all the curry pastes from scratch? Because that would be asking kind of a lot.
― davey, Saturday, 18 January 2014 13:34 (ten years ago) link
Anyway, I got these as a Christmas present to myself, and they're all by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero, both of whom are genius. They haven't let me down, tho I'm just starting to get into these books. Surprised they haven't been mentioned already:
* Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World* Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar* Vegan Pie in the Sky* Veganomicon
― davey, Saturday, 18 January 2014 13:39 (ten years ago) link
Hey guys, I want some like ESSENTIAL CRUCIAL COOKBOOKS! Ideally ones that just totally fucking nail a specific type of cuisine. Here's what I'm thinking:
Lidia Bastianich's "Lidia's Italian American Kitchen" (but she has like 20 cookbooks -- are there other better ones?)Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"maybe something French, but not something so outdated as "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"
Also, maybe some essential food mags I could subscribe to? Bon Appetit rules, Food + Wine sucks, I am considering Saveur though but I have never read it and know nothing about it
I want to read about fooooood!!
― belami young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 13:00 (nine years ago) link
all about roasting/all about braisingmaybe one of rick bayless's books, i've had good luck with mexican everydaygrace young's books on stir-frying
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 13:21 (nine years ago) link
or maybe "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" IS worth getting? idk!
― belami young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 13:26 (nine years ago) link
i'm liking fuschia dunlop's "land of plenty" for sichuan cooking, but i've only made like two things from it so far (ma po tofu and gong bao chicken)
― gbx, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 14:02 (nine years ago) link
― belami young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, October 22, 2014 9:26 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
it's very interesting to read, not actually super fun to cook from imo
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 16:49 (nine years ago) link
Madhur Jaffrey is the go-to Indian cookbook author, but her books have been retitled and combined so it's hard to figure out which is the go-to. I have old library copies of A Taste of India and Indian Cooking.Yotam Ottolenghi's books are great - Israeli/Mediterranean/Levant food - but I haven't cooked much from them yet. Jerusalem, Plenty and the new one Plenty More (latter two are vegetarian)
Saveur is a little more fancy-pants in the written/travel section than Bon Appetit but it's still a good read IMO.You should watch The Mind of a Chef on Netflix and PBS.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 16:55 (nine years ago) link
Every time I read Food + Wine it's just like wanky bourgie resort horeseshit and not about FOOOOD, like I just want COOL FOOD SHIT
― Belami Young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 17:33 (nine years ago) link
show me some 25 year old crust punk pastry chef in Omaha covered in tattoos who talks about how much he fucking loves FOOOOOOD idgaf abt the fucking Maldives
― Belami Young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 17:34 (nine years ago) link
MTAOFC is fun as a game: Open to random page and pick one recipe with your eyes closed kind of thing. Attempt on a winter Sunday afternoon when you can just order takeout if it all goes wrong. Be prepared to eat a weird dinner with like one 3-hour-preparation dish and a side of toast.
Otherwise, nah.
― Orson Wellies (in orbit), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 17:36 (nine years ago) link
show me some 25 year old crust punk pastry chef in Omaha covered in tattoos who talks about how much he fucking loves FOOOOOOD
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 17:54 (nine years ago) link
not answering this question but yesterday I got Sean Brock's southern cookbook Heritage. I really enjoyed his take on food from The Mind of a Chef - one part delicious, one part cultural anthropology. The book is gorgeous but I haven't had a chance to look at the recipes yet.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 17:55 (nine years ago) link
stevie you could also consider getting cook's illustrated, its approach can be a little joyless but they do have cool recipes and you do learn stuff.
kenji lopez-alt's stuff on seriouseats is similar but a lot more fun imo.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:10 (nine years ago) link
If you have an iPad, the Modernist Cuisine At Home app is sweet. I assume the book is good too but they're always sealed at B&N.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:22 (nine years ago) link
Saw this as S/M Cookbooks, then disappointed by the actuality. However, gotten good recipes and shopping tips, esp. re vegetables, from Eating On The Wild Side, blanking on author's name (it's not really Wild stuff, but making the most, nutrition & tastiness-wise, of yer local grocery and non-Escoffier skills)
― dow, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:28 (nine years ago) link
I'm guilty of using the internet as my cookbook of first resort for the last few years, but these have places of honor on my shelf:
Mark Miller: Coyote Cafe John Egerton: Southern FoodSheila Lukins: All Around the World CookbookRosso & Lukins: The New Basicsthe Vietnamese and Thai volumes in the Wei-Chuan series, which I picked up eons ago and haven't seen since (haven't looked hard though)Dragonwagon/Brown: The Dairy Hollow House CookbookBreakfast at Brennan's
I like John Currence's book from a year or 2 ago - Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey - but after making a few of the pickle recipes, I haven't messed with it much.
― Pict in a blanket (WilliamC), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:32 (nine years ago) link
I have a tablet but it is not an iPad (which is annoying bcz How to Cook Everything app is IPAD ONLY, fuck that); i will check otu Modernist Cuisine at Home though!
― Belami Young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:37 (nine years ago) link
these are my standard reference cookbooks that i consider authoritative and consult almost every time i cook the cuisines they cover, they are all text- and recipe-heavy with little photography (sometimes the marker of whether i think a cookbook is any good -- the more photos, the less i tend to use it):
mexican: "art of mexican cooking", diana kennedy. this is authoritative, exhaustive and such a beautiful, well-designed book. she is so thorough and detailed and at the same time very accessible. she is very particular and doesn't tolerate bullshit and i love it. you could also probably get "the cuisines of mexico." she is similar to julia child in that her husband worked abroad and she mastered the cooking.
indian: "classic indian vegetarian and grain cooking", julie sahni. more fun and interesting than madhur jaffrey imo, even though jaffrey is great too, it's just that jaffrey has so many books and many of them are "cooking of the orient" and "world vegetarian" and with sahni i know that i am getting all india.
vegetarian: "vegetarian cooking for everyone", deborah madison. another beautiful, unpretentious book with tons of background on handling all kinds of vegetables. i'm not a huge fan of the vegan pop-chefs like the "veganomican" or "vegan cupcakes take over the world" authors. madison is a more classic vegetarian who learned her cooking at chez panisse and the san francisco zen center, then started greens (an early local-sourced, seasonally-based restaurant).
fermented foods: "art of fermentation", sandor ellix katz. this is a fucking phenomenal and exhaustive book covering fermented foods and beverages from hundreds of different cuisines. katz runs workshops all over and does intensive training sessions at this queer community in rural tennessee where he lives. it's super fun to read, too.
― marcos, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:39 (nine years ago) link
good god it's $80 for an app! EIGHTY
― Belami Young (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:40 (nine years ago) link