The Best Cookbooks List

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Tart Love

When I heard Holly Herrick had a new cookbook coming out in October about making tarts, I asked for an advance copy to review. I don't have a hard copy, but I do have a full cookbook in pdf format in front of me that I have already marked up and started baking from.

Tart Love: Sassy, Savory, and Sweet has already stolen a place on the top shelf in my kitchen where I keep my favorites. I have laminated the outside covers so that it holds up until I get my hard copy!

You know how I love baking and sweet little things, but I have been spending time in her chapter on Savory Pies and Pot Pies---mainly because of memories of my grandmother Mimi's scrumptious little chicken pot pies. She used to order old hens from the Amish country so that her chicken stock was strong and flavorful. Her crust was flaky, her pies in demand.

Holly describes her recipe for chicken pot pie this way. It is quite different from my grandmother Mimi's, but it turned out to be equally beguiling:

 "Maybe it's because of the fronds that flutter in the late summer winds like deep green lace from the stalks of the perennial fragrant herb we call fennel, that it strikes me as a particularly delicate thing to be used with extreme care. The entire herb is used in these light, beautifully fragrant pot pies.

A whole chicken is gently poached with the stalks to lend to the stock its signature anise kiss."

Where Mimi's was hearty, bold and creamy, Holly's is an elevated chicken pot pie that echoes anise by the use of both fennel and Pernod. 

This chapter holds four substantial recipes for main course pot pies: Shepherd's Pie, Pot Roast Pot Pies, Braised Pork Shank-Fresh Fig-and Sweet Potato Pot Pies, and the Chicken and Fresh Corn Pot Pie. 

Holly amplifies the marriage of her southern roots with her culinary training in France to produce recipes that take the best from both worlds. There's a decadent Lavender Buttermilk Tart---a little bit Provence, a little bit Charleston. There's a Tuna Nicoise Tart as well as several tarts using sweet potatoes. Technique sometimes French, ingredients sometimes southern. The combination is sublime and works for American cooks who can easily find the ingredients she uses.

And why this book is especially good is that it devotes time to teaching how to perfect crust, which after all is the essence of a good tart. When I find a good crust recipe I save it with stars. I have flaky crust recipes that are great. Cookie crust recipes I use for fruit tarts. Savory crust recipes for fish and meat. Holly provides us with lengthy descriptions and hand holding so that her tart crusts come out just perfect and are totally dependable. They are also flavorful, something a lot of crusts miss out on.

You can pre-order Tart Love on Amazon now and it will be in book stores as of October 1, 2011. This is a reference book you will want to own. It is a must have book if you have tart love.

Tart Love: Sassy, Savory, and Sweet by Hollry Herrick. 

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Not Your Mother's Fondue

I was all over this book when I saw the title. It was sitting on the publisher's table at a foodie event amidst the stacks of the rest of their cookbook list. I grazed it with my eyes and entered the contest to win it. Win it I did!

Not Your Mother's Fondue by Hallie Harron turns out to be a refreshing take on what is one of my favorite traditional dishes.

I would have loved to have been one of Hallie's tasters and testers as she put together her cookbook. As most of you know, I am a cheese lover. Hallie's cheese fondue chapter has 22 mouth watering renditions using cheese. Raclette Fondue (love Raclette!). Winey Vacherin Fondue (love Vacherin!). Cucumber Fromage Blanc Fondue. Goat Cheese and Basil Fondue. 

The Getting Saucy chapter harbors other intriguing recipes. Sweet and Sour Asian Fondue (yes!). Puttanesca Fondue. Bloody Mary Fondue. Irish Pub Fondue. 

I'm not really sure what the Bourguignon Style chapter means. Does it mean you dip things other than bread in the fondues here? I think so. But I am so intrigued with the sound of the recipes it doesn't matter that I am a bit confused. How can you resist trying Shrimp in Spicy Garlic Beer Fondue? Seriously.

Shades of Shabu-Shabu chapter hold equally mysterious fondues. How about Fall Cider Fondue. Coq au Vin Fondue?

When you get to the dessert fondues you want to just put the cookbook down, run for the ingredients, and make one of them. Caramel Rum Fondue had me dreaming of dipping little cubes of cupcake into it. The ultimate for me? Liquid Lemon Curd Fondue. Oh, yes!

Obviously the author and I share a love of similar flavor combinations in addition to a love of fondue. I have mine. Now go get yours! I'm going to leave you with a recipe from the cookbook, hope you enjoy!!!

Recipe for White Chocolate Marzipan Fondue

Printable Recipe

Dippers: Coconut macaroons, panettone, strawberries, sponge cake cubes

Ingredients:

1 pound white chocolate, chopped

2 ounces almond paste, chopped

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup almond flavored liqueur

1 teaspoon almond extract

Method:

1. Place the chocolate, almond paste, half-and-half, liqueur, and almond extract in a large fondue pot.

2. Cook for about 15 minutes over low heat to melt the chocolate and bring the mixture to a simmer. When the mixture is smooth and simmering, turn off the heat. The fondue will be thin. If desired, cool to room temperature. The fondue will thicken as it stands and cools. Serve either warm as a thin fondue glaze or cooled as a thicker dip.

Not Your Mother's Fondue by Hallie Harron from The Harvard Common Press, 2010.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams At Home

 

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer

This is my new Bible for making ice cream. I live on the East Coast and can't get to a Jeni's ice cream store, but I can as of this month buy Jeni's amazing cookbook for making her inspired artisinal ice creams at home. She even suggests using the exact ice cream maker I have, making it even more encouraging.

You see, I have a lot of ice cream recipe books. I have old ones. I have retro ones. I have almost every one I could find. I also have hand-written notes from my grandmother for her favorite homemade icy concoctions. They all go to the bottom shelf for now. The only other one I am keeping close at hand is David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, also a great reference for anything frozen.

This is by far the one that offers flavors an adult would crave. This is by far the easiest to follow, makes the most sense, and is the most exciting. I was turning the corners of pages to bookmark ice cream recipes I wanted to try when I realized I was bookmarking every page. Can you tell I love it?!

Think of making Sweet Basil & Honeyed Pine Nut ice cream, Pineapple Piment d'Espelette, Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Cognac Figs, or Cucumber Honeydew Cayenne Frozen Yogurt, Sour Beer Sorbets, Star Anise Ice Cream with Candied Fennel Seeds, or Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet. I plan on starting at the front and making each and every single one. 

Those of you that follow this blog know how much I love macarons. There is a whole section on how to make your own Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches!

And what about that old fashioned favorite of mine, Baked Alaska? Jeni offers us a guided tour on how to easily make a Baked Alaska Pie. If the results are as good as the pictures look, I am going to be very very happy!

This is a heart-felt book, one written with thoughtful care, attention to detail, compassion for the uninitiated, encouragement for the timid. Jeni speaks about ice cream the way a sommelier speaks of wine. "Fudge like texture and a pleasingly dry finish" ....."cardamom, with notes of citrus and pine, adds a blunt floral perfume."

But there is more. Recipes for "Swanky Cocktails" using the ice cream or sorbets, Vino Santo Sauce, rainbow colored terrines, and the story of how Jeni came to this place in her life running throughout the book, so by the end you feel as if you have taken the journey with her. Bravo Jeni. A truly valuable and entertaining anthem to making creative artisanal ice creams at home. I am so happy to have this new cookbook!

Such a fun video to watch of them making Jeni's ice cream! Click below to watch!

Good Time from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on Vimeo.

COOKBOOK REVIEW: A Southerly Course

This lovely sweet cookbook is a special one for a northern girl. It amazed me with pictures of things I have never seen, and food I have never tasted or even heard of.

A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home by Martha Hall Foose reads well and is lushly photographed and illustrated. For those of you with a cookbook addiction, this will be one you want for your collection because it can be enjoyed as a good book or as a cookbook with recipes. 

Every picture tells a story. Every story results in a recipe. 

Where I might get some of the ingredients might be a challenge here in the north. But if I can't find fresh crawfish, I'll substitute shrimp. If I can't find pigeons, I'll use cornish game hens. No problem.

I had more fun reading the comments! "Hominy and tomatoes with a South Texas chili spice are a great change from boring potato salad. It is sort of like changing the radio dial from a typical oldies station to a fiesty, fun Mexican one."

or...."Cold beer is the thing to drink with frog legs, but it is also a great marinade to flavor and tenderize the meat."

Cool. The author's personality and her love of her roots in the south create a soft glow all around the book. Pastel colors. Fading sunlight. Billboards from her town. Pictures of Elvis. It works. You'll love it. 

Recipe for Butterscotch Pots de Creme from A Southerly Course

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons Scotch whisky

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mace.

Method:

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

1. In a large heatproof bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, and brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and keep warm.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook without stirring until the mixture becomes dark amber, swirling the pan if hot spots develop. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the Scotch whisky and 1/4 cup of the warm cream mixture, whisking until combined. Whisk in the remaining cream mixture.

4. Whisk the caramel mixture into the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and mace. String the custard through a fine strainer.

5. Ladle the custard into 6 pot de creme or 4-ounce custard cups. Place the cups in a roasting pan and carefully fill the pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up their sides. Cover the pan with foil.

6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custards barely jiggle when shaken. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and remove the foil. Allow the custards to cool in the water to room temperature. 

7. Transfer the custards to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.

p. 234, A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home by Martha Hall Foose