the not so starving artist
I’m noticing that the easy cuts of meat like burgers and chicken are sold out during the quarantine. But some of the very yummiest are still there! I needed a brisket flat to make a Jewish braised brisket, but only whole packer briskets are available. I thought I’d do a photo sequence of how to break a brisket down, bbq style into point and flat, in case that might help somebody. Nothing is wasted. And this is enough meat to feed you for days. Read More
I’d eaten store-bought lavash before, but I’d never been to an Armenian restaurant, so I really had no idea what to expect with Lavash. I can tell you now just what a travesty that was! Hauntingly delicious kebabs of fragrantly spiced meat and vegetables in homemade lavash flash baked on my grill. This was the most amazing sandwich. While lavash is served with an awful lot of dishes in the book, the book has a huge variety of Armenian recipes. And they are delicious! And many of the dishes are good for you! I’ll talk about the rest of the book in a minute, but first I want to share the recipe for that glorious grilled bread with you. It has no resemblance to the stuff at the grocery store. None. Zero. Read More
#Season #ABrownTable #NikSharma #ChronicleBooks #chocolate #cookies
Nik grew up in India, then lived in the Midwestern and Northeastern U.S., and finally settled in California with his husband from the Southern U.S. All of those influences are very present in his food, and it makes for the most delightful fusion. I was thumbing through Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food, oohing and aahing, flagging recipes to try. His spiced, roasted potato salad called for paneer and chourico as ingredients, but listed page numbers for their recipes. I’d never made cheese before and was delighted that he thought it was simple enough to be just a lead-in recipe. I hopped right in the car to go grab a gallon of milk to get started, and I’m so glad I did! It really was that easy. I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve passed by in Indian cookbooks if I wasn’t going to have time to pop by a specialty market. That wont happen again! But that’s just background preparation. His dishes have wonderfully complex, deep flavors, and are creatively inspirational. This book was a joy to explore.
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#ChronicleBooks #LeahKoenig #LindaPugliese #LittleBookofJewishFeasts #brunch #blintzes #souffle
Leah Koenig’s flavors are amazing! Just delicious! Little Book of Jewish Feasts is just a little bigger than my hand. There are 25 main dishes in it for holidays. There are no sides in it, but she does make some recommendations. The dishes are so special and are pretty easy. Some of her techniques are unusual, but absolutely brilliant for making a dish appropriate for feeding a crowd. We’ve loved everything we’ve tried and totally recommend it!
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#ChronicleBooks #CheeseBalls #DenaRayess #HeamiLee #Cheese #Dessert #ValentinesDay
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching! What to make as a dessert? How about a glorious Nutella cheese ball with big fat juicy strawberries to accompany it! Thank you to Chronicle Books for letting me share the recipe with you!
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Ever walk out of a good, traditional-style Mexican restaurant and think you wish you could do that at home? I’ve got the book for you, Mexican Dinner Parties!
The author’s mother’s from Mexico and his father’s from Hungary. He grew up in Canada. His mom taught him to cook the family dishes to preserve their family heritage and now the author created this book for his kids as a family heirloom. It’s a charming story for sure, but it makes the book very special in another way. My kids are in the kitchen with me a lot, and they learn so much that way. They get coached and always hear what they’re looking for. The author does that in this book. It shows up mostly in the opening techniques pages. He doesn’t just give you the recipe for tortillas, he shows you photos of what your dough should look like, and also what it shouldn’t look like and why. It has that personal coaching feel. You will absolutely be able to master everything in the book with a little practice. Read More
#ottolenghi #ottolenghisimple #tenspeedpress
I was flipping through the book, flagging recipes to try, and read, “This is the dish Patrick Dempsey’s character tells Renee Zellweger’s Bridget Jones that he would have brought her on their imaginary date in Bridget Jones’s Baby. “From Ottolenghi,” says Dempsey, “delicious and healthy!” And easy we might add! What sounded like a bit of product placement on our part was in fact no such thing. The recipe didn’t even exist on our menu, so this is a retrospective acknowledgment.” Okay, I was trying to steer clear of it, and cook absolutely everything else in the book, because it sounds like a one-liner. Curiosity got the better of me. Wowza! Bridget Jones’ Pan-Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa is an amazing salmon dish. lol! Read More
#milkstreet #tuesdaynights #christopherkimball
Oh, I just love what they’re up to over at Milk Street! Milk Street Tuesday Nights is filled with global recipes, but made totally doable for a week night. It’s a very relaxing book to work with. I frequently scale up the seasoning when I cook, and find that I just don’t need to with this book. There’s not an apologetically seasoned bite to be found. Our taste buds were really happy with everything. Well, I still scaled up the garlic a little, but not nearly as much as I usually do. Great stuff!
If you haven’t seen the show yet, it’s a really neat one. They have a lot of my (and probably yours if you’re reading this) culinary heroes on as guests, so you get a lot of points of view, and flavor injections coming to the party.
#johnwhaleniii #paleogrilling #cidermillpress
Paleo Grilling is a cool paleo book. It’s not strictly grilling. Some dishes are completely grilled. Others are grilled as part of the process. Some are barbecued. And then there are the supporting characters that don’t see the grill. But it’s mostly grilling. The range is neat. For beginners, there’s an opportunity to learn the nuances of different steaks. He breaks out several of them separately with minimalist recipes so you can really get a feel for different cuts. I skipped those and went for the more complex dishes.
#shanecarley #thehomebartender #cidermillpress
The Home Bartender is perfect for anyone looking for an easy peasy cocktail book. The cocktails have 4 ingredients or less (some are 5 if you count the garnish). The ingredients themselves are pretty normal, so if you have a basic bar, you wont have to hunt down a whole lot of specialty ingredients. <I had to add one bottle to my collection – strawberry vodka.> But, there’s all kinds of different drinks in here. The measurements are different from most books. Instead of ounces, he uses parts. One part lime juice, two parts rum…. I used an ounce as the unit for all the wet stuff. He does mention that if measurements are your jam, a dash is about 1 teaspoon and a splash is about 1 tablespoon. That works for liquid measures, but when he says a dash of cinnamon, use a tiny quick shake, not a teaspoon! Read More
