the not so starving artist
I’m getting lots of emails asking for details of how I made Veggiewise the Clown. Because IT part 2 just came out! I can’t even wait to see it! My Veggiewise is the old-school Tim Curry version. I need to do a Bill Skarsgård version. That would be terrifying produce. I updated the post with veggie details. Happy Halloween season, everybody!
#ReemKassis @ReemKassis #ThePalestinianTable @ThePalestinianTable #Phaidon @Phaidon
Do you watch Milk Street? Christopher Kimball had Reem Kassis on as a guest to discuss her book, The Palestinian Table. She was talking about a 9-spice blend that she loves and uses in everything. I tend to really enjoy food with a strong spice focus, and Christopher Kimball gushed about the book, so I had to get my hands on a copy. I’m so glad that I did! Every dish we’ve tried has been lovely, and the dishes are pretty relaxing to prepare. Her flavors are wonderful, and it’s mostly at the nice and healthy end of the spectrum. We haven’t tried any desserts yet, but if you have a sweet tooth, she’ll tempt you for sure.
I’ll tell you all about the other dishes we tried, but first I’d like to share with you her recipe for Beef Patties in Grape Leaves. It’s a fabulous comfort food bake that will fill your home with glorious fragrance. And that fabulous 9-spice blend is part of the recipe, so you can taste that, too! Thanks to Phaidon for letting me share it with you!
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#YasminKhan @YasminKhan #TheSaffronTales @TheSaffronTales #BloomsburyPub @BloomsburyPub
I flipped through The Saffron Tales, pasting little post-it notes on all the recipes I wanted to try. So many. She had four different variations on tahdig for her Chelow. Have you tried it? Chelow is Persian rice, and tahdig is the crispy layer that cooks in olive oil and butter right against the pan. So good. It’s one of those things that makes lovely manners rather difficult. I flagged all of them, and went back to flipping through the book. Then I saw it – Chelow filled with all sorts of herbs. When we lived in New York, my friend Firoozeh and I would take turns hosting family dinners on weekends, and that’s the rice she always used to spoil us with. Since we’ve moved to Texas, there are about 1600 miles between us. This isn’t a Firoozeh hug, but its as close as I can get without a plane ticket, so I had to make that one. It was perfect. Warm fuzzies all around.
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#hmhco @hmhco @TeriTurner #NoCrumbsLeft @NoCrumbsLeft
I found the foodie’s Whole30-ish book! No Crumbs Left is such a delicious, beautiful, and interesting one! A lot of the recipes follow the Whole30 rules. You’ll see labels along the margin for Whole30, gluten-fee, dairy-free, paleo, and grain-free. Many have all of those. Melissa Hartwig and Michelle Tam compare Teri Turner’s food skills to Julia Child. I found myself wanting to try almost everything in the book, especially the super healthy ones. If you’re looking for really nourishing dishes with total foodies in mind, I think you’ll love it! She’s a strong flavorist!
There are a few base recipes that she makes at the front of the book that are ready-to-go ingredients in other recipes, like marinated red onions, garlic confit, and tomato confit. Yeah, they’re totally worth it.
I’ll tell you all about the dishes we tried, but first I wanted to share a fabulous recipe from the book, Spicy Pepperoncini Beef. Sweet and hot peppers with garlic, onions, and basil. It tastes phenomenal, yet it’s weeknight easy-breezy, and super good for you. Perfect!
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#DavidSedaris @DavidSedaris #Calypso #HalfPriceBooks @HalfPriceBooks #Fitbit @Fitbit
I scroll through my email and see An Evening with David Sedaris. It’s at the Half Price Books flagship store in Dallas, or as I lovingly refer to it, the mothership. Calypso. He’s got a new book? No. It came out a year ago. Thank God for that email, because we hadn’t heard of it. I ordered a copy and could barely stand the 24 hour wait.
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#StevenRaichlen @StevenRaichlen #WorkmanPub @WorkmanPub #BrisketChronicles @BrisketChronicles #HorizonSmokers @HorizonSmokers
Steven Raichlen’s got a new book coming out tomorrow (April 30th), The Brisket Chronicles, and it is wonderful! I’m in love with this book and wish I’d gone with the hardcover already, as it is sure to be oh-so-very well used. He’s got everything in here from barbecue brisket favorites to his family’s holiday braised briskets and even brisket dessert. Like his other books, this has that same welcoming tone and desire to teach you how to get everything just right. His instructions are casual, yet really thorough. If you want to become the brisket master, he’ll help get you there. I was delighted to see that Steven smokes on the exact same smoker that I do, a Horizon RD Marshal that I lovingly refer to as Billy Bob. Spoiler alert – No, he never tells us what he’s named his smoker.
A huge thanks to Workman Publishing for letting me share the recipe for Real Deal Holyfield Brisket Breakfast Tacos with you! I’ll tell you all about the rest of the book afterwards!
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#ZuzaZak #Polska #Polish #pierogis #QuadrilleBooks #HardieGrant
Polska is a wonderful book filled with gorgeous, inspirational photos, homey, delicious Polish comfort food, and special-occasion dishes. It filled our home with the inviting scent of marjoram and onions. Zuza’s tone is very casual and inviting, and her instructions are clear.
The simple and delicious Turkey Escalope is going to find its way to the table often in this house, but her lovely Green Springtime Pierogi with Spinach Kasza and Cheese were over-the-moon good. A big thanks to Quadrille for letting me share the recipe with you! I’ll tell you all about the other dishes we tried after the recipe.
