The Best Cookbooks List

COOKBOOK REVIEW: Sud de France

   Le Sud de France: The Food & Cooking of the Languedoc by Caroline Conran

I have over 500 cookbooks, both new and vintage. This one is without doubt one of the most thorough, thoughtful, well-researched, and interesting ones I own. It's black and white inside with no pictures, only illustrated with a few of Caroline's drawings. It's soft cover and a soft-sell, with a moody watercolor of hills rather than of food on the front. 

But within this gentle tome is a wealth of experience and food know-how.

Caroline and Terrance Conran made a name for themselves in England, first opening their design oriented Habitat shop in Chelsea, following on with a series of companies from there. Terrance then developed as an international restaurateur, opening at least 8 restaurants in London, with Caroline his partner. Although no longer together, Caroline and Terrance wrote a cookbook together, and Caroline went on to continue as a food writer to work with three-star chefs helping them write their cookbooks. She's written many of her own, including Under the Sun, a book about southern French food. 

This one, however, is unlike other cookbooks, conveying every bit of knowledge she has accumulated about food, whether it's attractive to read or not, in the interest of scholarship and because of her fascination with it.

" Boar meat is actually more easily digested than pork, but it is vital that the testicles and guts are removed immediately after it has been killed. If not, the meat, probably because of the animal's thick fur which keeps the carcase warm over a long period, will taint very quickly."

Then, you'll learn about olives:

"Growing and looking after olive trees is an art, one passed down from one generation to the next. The trees are pruned to be open in the centre, so that a bird can fly through. This allows the air to keep them free of mildew and lets the winds of late May flow through and pollinate the flowers for a good crop." 

 Or this, written as a head note before her recipe for Light Chicken Liver Pate:

"Poultry here are strong, tall birds; my neighbor Madame Galy kept a popular, if ugly, red-feathered breed with bald necks, called cou-nu, that pecked and scratched, along with several ducks, beneath a couple of large fig trees. They taste wonderful."

When I received this book and sat down with it, I found myself unable to put it down, as each of the over 300 pages are filled with interesting imagry, facts, and enthusiasm for the area she lives and the food she encounters there. Reading it makes you want to know her, to go shopping with her at the markets, and to cook with her. I hope some day I will be able to do just that. Her love of the Languedoc, its people, culture and food would be an inspiration to experience. For now, I have her wonderful new book.

 

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Sud de France, By Caroline Conran

COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Tuscan Sun Cookbook

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen by Frances Mayes

    Pull up a chair. This is a great read. More than a cookbook, it is a story about a woman's life in Tuscany that is filled with great food, friends, and her life under the Tuscan sun. Made famous from her original novel, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy, which was later made into a movie Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes updates us in this cookbook more about her life there and the food she and her husband prepare every day.

    And then you have to add in the exquisite photography by Steven Rothfeld, and you have a book worth keeping somewhere close, just to gather up and flip through when you need inspiration and some beauty in your life. I am thrilled that he was picked to do the photography for my upcoming cookbook, Cuisine Nicoise, as well. How lucky am I??!

     The recipes I have tried so far are a pleasure. Simpe, straightforward, and flavorful.  

     She begins the first chapter, "If you came to visit me in Tuscany...."

     You don't need to travel that far. Pull up a chair. And feel as if you are right there with her.  

COOKBOOK REVIEW: La Tartine Gourmande

 

La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life  by Beatrice Peltre

If it were possible to capture the glint of sun through a dewdrop on a grape, Beatrice could do it. Her new cookbook, which she also styled and did all the photography for, is an artistic tableau of exquisite food presented with all its freshness and appeal intact. La Tartine Gourmande is not only beautiful, but the recipes are healthy and light and interesting.

It is rare that I find cookbooks that I literally want to cook through each and every recipe, and this is one of those rare finds. This morning I tried Oeufs en Cocotte and it was delightful, the baked egg pairing perfectly with leeks, spinach, smoked salmon and cumin. I can't wait to try her tartines, sandwiches and soups. And I plan to make her Lavender Isle Flottantes this weekend. I have followed Beatrice's blog for a long while and now feel as if I have come full circle sitting here with her new cookbook in front of me. Her beautiful eye for detail and her inspired combinations of ingredients always make me want to cook what she has made.

Bravo Beatrice. This is one of the most beautiful cookbooks I have ever seen.You really have achieved what you set out to do: provide us with recipes for an inspired life.

La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life by Beatrice Peltre, Roost Books, 2011

COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Art of Cooking Morels

 by Ruth Mossok Johnston

This is a love story. A story of entwined lovers who share a passion for beauty, art and food. Ruth, who wrote the cookbook, and her love, David, who illustrated it. It is also, most obviously, a story of Ruth's love for morels and the recipes she has created to celebrate them.

The Art of Cooking Morels impacted me so strongly that I have placed it high up on a shelf of its own, as a treasured text to be pulled down often and paged through for the sheer enjoyment of the exquisite art and the inspired recipes. This is not a normal cookbook. It is an experience. A piece of art. A good read. Bravo to The University of Michigan Press for pushing it out into the cookbook world for those of us who so yearn to be drawn back to a connection with the miracle and beauty of food and place.

Morels are of the earth, earthy. They have a smell and texture that defy explanation.

Yes, they are not easily found in every grocery store. Could the treasure hunt to find them be part of their mythic allure? Fresh morels may be hard to find, but take heart. Here is where the everyday home cook can easily order them fresh or dried:

Fresh imported morels by mail.

Dried morels.

Now, go out and buy The Art of Cooking Morels. Order your morels if you can't find them locally. If they are dried, Ruth tells you how to easily reconstitute them. They are so delightful to cook with that you will wonder why you never tried them before.

And treasure this gem of a cookbook. If there were a museum of cookbooks, you would find this one under glass.

The Art of Cooking Morels , by Ruth Mossok Johnston with illustrations by David McCall Johnston.

 

 

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.

FRENCH CLASSICS MADE EASY: by Richard Grausman

French Classics Made Easy: More Than 250 Great French Recipes Updated and Simplified for the American Kitchen by Richard Grausman.

Can I just say how totally in love I am with this cookbook??!! I think I have to admit that right now, because I am going to regale you with my delight at owning this new updated version of the original 1998 cookbook, At Home With The French Classics.

First of all, let me tell you about the author. Richard Grausman is a Cordon Bleu trained culinary instructor and cookbook author. He is founder of the non-profit Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, and has been educating young chefs and home chefs about the culinary arts for almost forty years. He is a pro. He is a wonderful communicator. And he know exactly how to explain a recipe so that you want to drop everything and try it. 

This is my kind of cooking. I love classic French cuisine. I love whipping up souffles and terrines, or a Tarte Tatin or rows of puff pastries. However, I was merely skimming the surface. 

For instance, take souffles. I learned from Richard's book that I could prepare them in advance, and bake them at the last minute. I learned a technique where they don't necessarily need the paper collars I envelope them in. And I received a pat on the back for still using my huge copper bowl to hand beat the whites.

Next chapter: fish mousse! In all its glory and variations. Then quiches, soups, main courses and desserts. Almost every recipe is a favorite of mine and offers a different spin on how to make it, causing me to write up a long list of recipes I want to try from this book: Savory Gruyere Pastry Ring Filled With Cheese Souffle, Stretching Noodles (!), Truffled Chicken, Chicken With Riesling, Cream Puffs Filled With Chocolate Souffle,Ladyfingers, and a classic Paris-Brest. And I want to try Richard's Chocolate Genoise With Grand Marnier Ganache (plus its variation, the Sachertorte).

I love the way he explains a recipe, then provides illustrations of how to visually build it, asides that describe variations on the main dish, and short interesting bits about other ways to use the same ingredients for other dishes or the special molds or dishes needed to make the dish: resulting in a delicious discussion thread that makes each chapter a pleasure to read.

He sealed the deal when I came to his chapter containing recipes for dessert omelets, one of my weaknesses! I adore making a deep chocolate omelet for weekend breakfasts. Richard's become after dinner desserts: Orange Souffleed Omelet, Apple Omelet With Calvados, and Strawberry Filled Omelet With Cointreau. Yum!!!!!! Sign me up! Oh, and the recipe for Riz A L'Imperatrice, something you definitely won't find on restaurant menus anymore, is divine and worthy of a special occasion. And a final round of applause for Richard's recipe for Floating Island (Ile Flottante), a dish that has always eluded me (although it is a simple farm house dish) and which Richard solves by baking the meringue rather than bathing it. Easy! 

So you see, this wonderful cookbook is perfect for beginners who want to learn the basics, as well as for people like me who have "cooked French" forever and still have a few new tricks to learn!! I am thrilled with this book, the closest thing I have to a Julia Child cookbook. Interesting to read, breaking down difficult French recipes so they are totally easy to make, and appreciating that in America we have to use substitutes for a lot of the classic ingredients we can't get here. A plus: Richard takes time with each recipe to relate how he has "lightened" it up from its classic rich butter and cream origins, preserving the flavor and reducing the calories. All in all, I would say this is a just about perfect French cookbook.

 

CULINARY TEA by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern

These authors crack wide open the amazing world of tea in their new cookbook Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold & Lise Stern.

Tea is anything but the bags packed in cardboard boxes you buy in grocery stores. That pallid version misses the aroma, fragrance, color, and integrity a good tea has. In fact, if you walk into a Chinese supermarket you will see teas kept under lock and key behind glass doors, some hundreds of dollars a pound. It is this world of tea that has always fascinated me and brought me quickly to this wonderful cookbook.

One of the authors, Cynthia Gold, is a tea sommelier at The Boston Park Plaza Hotel. I had never heard of a tea sommelier! So cool. And the other author, Lise Stern, is a foodie and food writer. Together they created a masterly cook book of over 100 recipes using tea, as well as a compendium of the history of tea, bound together with luminous photography.

They even explore the many different types of teas, their flavor and aroma profiles, and how to steep tea.

"White teas are the least processed teas, and in certain ways remain the closest to the original fresh tea plant."

"Lapsang Soughong: This earthy tea is smoked with pine needles, giving it a distinctive smoky, tarry flavor that is sometimes an acquired tasted. It is very well suited to cooking and will impart its characteristic smokiness into a dish---without needing to actually smoke the food."

Fascinating! I snuggled down into a comfy chair with a freshly brewed cup of tea and kept reading.

"Creating home blends of tea is another aspect of culinary tea. You can combine a variety of teas, as well as non-tea ingredients such as spices, flowers, herbs, and dried fruits to create personal signature tea blends that you can use for both sipping and for cooking."

I decided not far into the book that I absolutely loved it. There are so many things I want to try, that I started to make a list: Tea Marbled Eggs, Jasmine Dumplings, Earl Gray Cream Tea Cake, Chai Ice Cream, Tea Toffy with Tea Smoked Salt, Salmon in Black Tea-Coconut Sauce.

I am going to share with you the first recipe from the book I am going to try. It is for Oolong Mayonnaise. I see it generously slathered on home made bread for an intriguing turkey sandwich. I can't wait!

Oolong Mayonnaise

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons loose-leaf oolong tea leaves

1 tablespoon chopped dried cranberries

1 cup steaming water (about 185 F/85 C)

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 cups canola oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine tea and cranberries in a bowl. Pour the steaming water over them and steep, covered, for 3 minutes. Strain the tea. Discard the liquid and reserve the leaves and berries and let cool, about 15 minutes. When cool, coarsely chop the tea leaves and berries.

2. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, yolk, ginger, and rice vinegar. Process to combine. With the processor running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube over the course of about 2 minutes. When all the oil has been emulsified stop the processor and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the cooled, chopped tea leaves and berries to the mixture in the food processor and continue processing for another minute. Scrape the bowl, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue processing for 30 seconds more. The chopped tea leaves will produce a mayo that looks like tartar sauce---but it will taste infinitely more interesting.

3. Use, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold & Lise Stern

 

ANCIENT GRAINS FOR MODERN MEALS by Maria Speck

I know I only review here cookbooks that I love. And I know I always use superlatives. But I simply must tell you how very excited I am about this new cookbook by Maria Speck. It has guts and a depth to it that vaults it into the upper echelons of cookbook heaven. This is a cookbook food lovers will swoon over.

More than just recipes, Maria really talks to the reader. And it is fascinating to listen. She writes colorfully about her background and upbringing, her husband's influence on her cooking, her passion for whole ancient grains and how it came to be, plus history, methods, musings, thoughts, and tons of other recipes for dishes that would go well with the whole grain ones. Her enthusiasm jumps out at you from every single page. So you see, this is a book to read and savor. I learned so much from it. Now I am crazy to get a Masala dabba like Maria's. Don't know what it is? Neither did I. And it is brilliant. 

Now let me tell you about the recipes. They totally appealed to my tastes. Wouldn't you like to try the Purple Rice Pudding with Rose Water Dates; Roast Chicken With Orange, Lavender, and Thyme; Brie Cakes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes; Orange and Lemon Couscous; or her Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling?! Yum!

I loved reading about her floating bread I can make that rises in water. When it rises to the top of the water, it is ready to bake!

This book has my over the top, total recommendation. I can't wait to try the Artisanal Fruit Bread so that I can present slices of it with a great artisanal cheese plate.

I made the Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping for breakfast, and if all the recipes are as deliriously good as this one was, then I'm going to work through each recipe in this wonderful new cookbook!

I hope Maria doesn't mind, but I am going to share with you the recipe for Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping.

Orange Polentina with Honey Mascarpone Topping

Ingredients for Polentina:

Printable Recipe

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup instant or quick cooking polenta or grits

Ingredients for Mascarpone Topping:

1 large orange

1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

Method:

1. Bring the water, milk and salt to a boil. Using a whisk, gradually stir in the polenta in a thin stream. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle bubble and whisk continuously until the polenta thickens, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Finely grate the orange until you have 2 teaspoons of zest. Pell the fruit, remove the pith, cut the fruit into 1/2 inch segments. Set aside. Using a fork, beat the Mascarpone, yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest in a bowl until smooth.

3. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cut honey and the remaining 1 teaspoon zest into the polentina. Spoon into bowls, crowning each with 1/4 cup of the Mascarpone topping, and a few pieces of orange. Serve.

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals: Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries & More by Maria Speck

 

Cookbook Review: uchi, The Cookbook

 

Every once in a while a cookbook comes along that takes your breath away. I felt that way about Charlie Trotter's Raw. I felt that way about Mark Bitterman's Salted. And I feel that way about a new cookbook I just got, Uchi: The Cookbook by Tyson Cole and Jessica Dupuy.

Tyson Cole, the chef who wrote the book, owns Uchi Restaurant in Austin, Texas. The cookbook tells his story and that of the evolution of the restaurant as much as it offers us his recipes, which makes it a hard to put down read. His story is compelling. Starting as a dishwasher in a local Japanese restaurant, Tyson was first introduced to sushi and became fascinated by it. He worked his way up from dishwasher to sushi chef in time, and became close personal friends with his fellow sushi chefs on the line.

He moved on to work as a sushi chef at the best sushi restaurant in town. One customer became so enamored with his work that he convinced Tyson to open his own restaurant, and he would find backers. Uchi was born. And many years later, this, his new cookbook, is born, celebrating his craft and his restaurant.

Uchi, The Cookbook is illustrated with luscious photography that will have you running to book a flight to Austin so you can personally taste his beautiful food.

The pictures seem unattainable, yet when you read the recipes they are very attainable. Mine may not ultimately look as beautiful as these, but I know they will taste divine if I can find the highest quality ingredients to make them with. His instructions are clear and easy to follow.

And I think when you are exposed to a work of art like this cookbook, you are inspired to raise the bar on your own cooking and its presentation.

I know I am going to start in the desserts section. Why? Because they are so incredibly brilliant looking and they intrigue me. I want to try making all the little garnishes, like the Bacon Candy, Mango Paper, and Almond Glass. I want to try making the Pine Needle Sorbet with Candied Pine Nut; the Lemon Gelato with Beet and Sicilian Pistachio; the Mascarpone Sphere with Cured Strawberry, Pea Sorbet and Mint Chips. The words are sheer poetry to me. I'm being wooed. And I am falling in love with this book.

Lance Armstrong, an Austin native, calls Uchi "the best sushi restaurant in the world". I think he may be right, judging by this exquisite book.

Uchi: The Cookbook by Tyson Cole and Jessica Dupuy

THE SHARPER YOUR KNIFE, THE LESS YOU CRY by Kathleen Flinn

 
Hi everyone!

As many of you know, I have hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks that I have avidly collected over the years, so although I like to review new cookbooks as they come out, sometimes I review my all time favorites. 

I was drawn back to this book again the other day. I started reading one page, and just couldn't put it down. 

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn is one of the best written culinary books I have ever read. It is the story of Flinn tossing her corporate job in America for a spot at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. It is a love story. It is a story about finding your passion in life. And it has recipes! What more could you want?!

She writes so beautifully that you feel as if you are right there with her, learning how to cook from some of France's toughest cooking instructors. Her triumphs and her failures, her love affair with food as well as with Paris pulls you in and keeps you wanting to read more. I even loved reading about her apartment and what she and her friends ate when they went out into the Paris night. And her boyfriend! Yes, there is the love story to follow as well.

"Today we are studying Auvergne, the coldest region of France, says the Gray Chef, with the oldest mountains in Europe. Those mountains were once active volcanoes, and as a result this is an area of high yet especially fertile plateaus loaded with volcanic soil. The hearty people of Auvergne eat a whole lot of pork and stick to the ribs food."

If you can't take the cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, you can take them by reading this book! Flinn literally spends a part of each chapter telling you exactly what she learned in class and how her dishes turned out.

"How many tears did I cry because I didn't know what I wanted?" "The sharper your knife," as Chef Savard had said,"the less you cry." "For me, it also means to cut those things that get in the way of your passion and of living your life the way it's meant to be lived."

Exactly.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn