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Showing results for tags 'cookbook'.
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I belong to a cookbook club here in San Francisco. Our first dinner is in two weeks. It's kind of like a potluck and social thing: everyone cooks from the same book, then on the big day, brings the dish to someone's house for a get-together. It's about cooking, entertaining, belonging and making new friends. It's a groovy thing. What I am so not in love with is the cookbook that was chosen, sort of like an icebreaker, because not everyone attending is on the same skill level. There are some very accomplished cooks who will be attending, including at least one person who has his own catering business. And some newbies, I'm sure. So you need something that will not intimidate. I do appreciate that. Unfortunately, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" was the book that was chosen and reading it makes me rage. A recipe for chicken adobo (page 658) calls for 1 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup vinegar - which, if you think about it - changes it from chicken braised in vinegar with soy sauce and garlic to chicken braised in soy sauce with vinegar and garlic. A recipe for chicken biryani (page 654) calls for 4 tbsp. butter instead of ghee and saffron instead of turmeric. Ghee is butter with the water removed and milk solids are caramelized - so it has a butterier and nuttier flavor than butter, plus you don't need to use that much. I had heard Bittman's book was "basic" but I hadn't considered that his recipes were nearly unworkable from a technical standpoint. Holy fucking shit. This guy is supposed to be an authority. On what planet?
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As the Ottolenghi lover I am, I got my pre-ordered copy of his new cookbook "Jerusalem" last week. It is lovely, and the recipes look delicious. The photos are as stunning as those in Plenty, but this book has even more text backstories, which I appreciate. Sunday I made the hummus, the herb pie (like an Israeli spanikopita), and the kofte. All were very tasty. The hummus was a bit thick, but it was improved with a little water to thin it out. The herb pie was made for a picnic and the crowd devoured it in about ten minutes. The kofte were the best I have ever made, and were easy. All of this was even more enjoyable since I had to get my car serviced at Mini of Alexandria on Saturday and I took advantage of the wait to hit up the Fair Price International market near Van Dorn St. for authentic ingredients. I think their halal lamb and beef contributed to the success of the kofte. If you are an Ottolenghi fan I suggest getting the book. It's as good as those in the past, and he seems to have tamed his desire to overload with too much oil or butter.
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In Search of Fan Favorites from Marvelous Market and BreadLine
krex posted a topic in News and Media
Hi Foodies, I'm looking for the community to sound off on their favorite recipes from Marvelous Market and from Bread Line, both of which were own by Mark Furstenberg. I'm helping put together a collection of recipes from his professional baking career, and would love to know what your favorites were, and what recipe you would like to see. Apparently the brownie from Marvelous Market was to die for.... anything else? Thanks! -Kathy -
I'm sure many of you have cooked from Paula Wolfert's cookbooks, who was recently diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Now there is a kickstarter campaign to fund a biography and cookbook about her life. Participants in the project include, Emily Thelin (former editor at Food & Wine), cookbook author Andrea Nguyen, photographer Eric Wolfinger and designer Toni Tajima More information via Andrea Nguyen's food blog.
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- Paula Wolfert
- Andrea Nguyen Blog
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