If I only had one cookbook the Joy of Cooking would be it!

Yes. If I had to limit myself to only one cookbook Joy of Cooking would have to be the one I would choose. Meredith, over at Simon and Schuster, offered to send me a new copy of the 75th anniversary edition, Joy of Cooking and I jumped at the chance.

And wow. I'm glad I did. Not only have they retested 4000 of the most beloved recipes in the book, but they've added 500 additional recipes. Back is butter! Pork fat and those wonderful ingredients cooks know make food taste better! This cookbook will teach you more than your grandmother! Because if your grandmother is like ours, she's forgotten techniques, or has the recipes in her head, and that doesn't help you especially if you live 500 miles away!

Do yourself a favor and add this one to your Christmas wishlist!

Some of the things I love about this book.

1. The section called Know your Ingredients. You can flip through the pages and learn about all kinds of neat ingredients. The chocolate section alone is so neat. It explains the difference between unsweetened, bittersweet, milk and white chocolates. Also the difference between a couverture and frosting.

2. Cooking methods and techniques. The section on high altitude cooking really helps one understand the problems altitude can create!

3. It has a great equivalents and substitutions section.

4. 4500 recipes! If you an't find it in here do you really need it?

Read More......

More summer reading!

Okay. Hands down the best food photography ever! The great people over at DK Publishing sent me Grill It! Wowzers! Every recipe is fabulous.

I have promised this book to the youngest one, and she is going to love it! I am trying to decide which recipe I loved best. It's between the Oysters on the Half Shell, with pancetta and bbq sauce no less! Or the Super Hot Jerk Pork Shoulder. I think the shoulder may win here because I usually do jerk with chicken. Can you say succulent pork shoulder with those wonderful overtones of jerk seasoning! Not to be missed!

The authors, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby have not missed a country or food stuff to represent. They have gone far over the top in search of every known item you can grill. Not only that, though. Their recipes are fantastic. Even desserts are better. An example is the Upside Down Banana Cake. Sweet, but not too sweet, different and impressive. Your guests will think you are a genius for thinking this up.

Go get a copy for yourself, you won't regret it. The pictures alone, are worth the cost of the book. Gizzi Erskine (food stylist) has outdone herself!

Read More......

Summer Reading

Thanks to the nice people at Penguin Books, Chronicle Books, and DK Publishing, I have had the pleasure of doing some summer reading. Who reads cookbooks? I do for one. And as I peruse a few other blogs, so do other people, so I'll share the fun I've been having of late.

First up? Food 2.0 by Charlie Ayers. Who is Charlie Ayers you ask? Charlie Ayers is the chef hired by Google in 1999 when the company was very small. Charlie is the guy who built the food empire that is Google cafeterias.

I wasn't sure I would like this book all that much. You see, when I was younger, I worked for a large food company at their headquarters. On the bottom floor of the building was the company cafeteria. It was expensive, bleh food, hardly enjoyed during the 30 minutes given you to consume a lunch.

Would Charlie Ayers' cafeteria be different. Well, for one, I know it was. I have heard stories of the Google teams efforts to feed their people and even invite the families of their employees to enjoy meals together. I heard it was a great cornucopia of world wide food selections. But was it good? Did it call out to the people?

After reading the cookbook and back story provided by Charlie, I want to work at Google, just for the food! Ayers not only shares his recipes, but his food philosophy and reasoning. And a lot of it makes sense. It is simple, easy to make food, that not only tastes good, but is formulated to be nourishing. He believes in eating local, and tells you why and how to make the decision for yourself.

I recommend this book for new cooks, wanting to learn the reasons to cook and not use take-out. He helps you build a basic pantry of foodstuffs that you'll actually use and re-use. I also recommend this book for all cooks, because we all get stuck in ruts and need something fresh to keep us excited to be in the kitchen.

My favorite recipe so far? The not to be missed Nina's Kimchi. I'm also looking forward to making myself some vanilla infused vinegar!

Second up. Meat, A love story. Not for the faint of heart. However, a great story of meat. As a food source, a passion, a career, and a tragedy. Susan Bourette takes you on a journey in pursuit of meat, from processing plant to fine dining witha few stops in between. It is a great summer read, I recommend to everyone.

She begins in a meat processing plant, and shares the trial of being a pork packing house employee. My first response was to throw the book across the room and run away, to my favorite butcher shop to be comforted by the little packages of meat. Never again to think of the story of how it actually got into that package. Isn't that anyone's first response when confronted by the harsh reality that is a processing plant? We really don't want to know where our meat comes from. The sacrifices that are made on our behalf.

However, I was drawn in. I could not put it down. I, like Ms. Bourette, am a carnivore. The journey from packinghouse to butcher shop, off to a wonderful "happy" farm, on to a fine dining restaurant. Rapt is how I would describe my two day journey through the pages.

Again, each of us has decisions to make on how we will eat. This book will help you through your process. Local farming, grass fed beef? Mass produced or happ farmed? Which choice will you make? Take the time to read the book. Susan may help you out a bit. It did confirm some things for me.

Two other books to come shortly!

Read More......

Cooking with Shelburne Farms

Cooking with Shelburne Farms, originally uploaded by foodchronicles.

Okay, so I told you I'd review another cookbook today. Yes, I am so glad Jessica sent this copy to me. It has been a pleasure to read it and cook from it. Cooking with Shelburne Farms, Food and Stories from Vermont is a delight.

Melissa Pasanen and Rick Gencarelli have a true jewel in the cookbook crown. They have documented years and years of recipe used by Shelburne Farms. Located in Vermont the farm has been serving the community since 1800s.

The cookbook is not just a compilation of recipes however. It is a history of the farms, a novel, and a way to help you understand sustainability and local farming. I enjoyed the recipes, but most of all the dialogue with the authors about the farms. The snippets of letters and archive information included make this a priceless cookbook for me. I have enjoyed reading about the Webb family and their farm, I feel like I'd be able to recognize them on the street.
The book is separated not by typical cookbook separations such as dinners, desserts etc. It is grouped through the use of ingredients. The recipes included game, duck, beef and other items typically found raised on a farm. I wish I had known Mrs. Webb. What a wonderful kitchen full of enticing aromas. I probably would have stayed for a long time.

The recipes are simple farm fare. I have tried several and not had a mishap yet. Pictured about is the roast chicken with sausage and apples. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be a winner. You see, one of my favorite combination is sausage and apples. Add a bit of sage and I 'm in heaven. It is a simple recipe to make. Once you've dressed the bird with salt, lemon and olive oil you roast it in the oven for 30 minutes. While it is roasting slice a few apples, cut your sausage into 2 inch pieces, and slice a shallot or two. At your 30 minute bell add the apples, sausage, shallots and apples, return to the oven for another 45 minutes.

It gives you a recipe for a sauce to make with apple cider once it comes out of the oven. The chicken was succulent and moist. The apples and sausage were the perfect addition. I served it with some haricot vert beans and had a nice meal. The meat was moist and had the infusion of the sage, sausahe and apples. The sauce was lightly flavored. The only change I would make is tusing pippin apples next time. Thr galas recommended lost almost all their flavor.

I recommend this cookbook. It's recipes are clear and concise, and the historical aspect puts it above other cookbook for me. It goes on the use often shelf in my kitchen.

Read More......

One Lucky Person Will Win!

Yes, you read that right. The wonderful Jessica at Penguin Books, a division of the Pearson Company, forwarded a copy of a cookbook for me to review. I love reviewing cookbooks!

My review will come tomorrow, as every good reviewer knows, you must try something at least three times, whether it be a restaurant, a cookbook or a car, before you decide to publicize an opinion. It's only fair to the chef, author, or car builder. Everyone has a bad day, and with cookbooks that includes the recipe maker - me. So in a couple of days I'll have a review for you.

"So, what are we doing here?" you ask. Well, Jessica also included another book I didn't expect. Yes, a second book! Neat. Thanks to Jessica, I am going to share it with one reader of Food Chronicles. All you have to do is make a comment and on October 7th I will randomly select the recipient with the random number generator. So what book is it?



Yes, Courtney Cochran's "Hip Tastes The Fresh Guide to Wine". Courtney is a certified sommelier and founder of Your Personal Sommelier and Hip Tastes events in San Francisco. This handy guide is everything you need to learn about wine and pairings and flavor combinations. She has her own website to learn more also at Hip Tastes. Go visit there for more info on Ms. Cochran's expertise. It is set to hit the bookstores on October 4th, tomorrow.

What's this you say? I don't drink. I don't drink wine. I don't believe in using alcohol at all. It's against my religion. Yes, I know some of you are thinking that. Pish and tosh I say. One you, you never know, you may be asked to go to a state dinner or make small talk with a visiting dignitary. You may have the opportunity to be part of a group of food lovers. You may be anywhere, anytime and be asked an opionion on something, or somewhere. You never know maybe you'll win a trip to Tuscany. Are you going to turn it down because you don't drink wine? No! Well, knowledge is a good thing. It makes you an interesting person. It helps in uncomfortable situations where you don't know what to say or how to start a conversation. There are a lot of people out there who do enjoy a glass of wine. Does that cut them off from you? It shouldn't. You don't need to drink wine to learn about it, know about the grapes, or how they're grown or what grapes are used for certain types of wine.

Are you getting it? So go ahead. You no you want to enter this contest. Leave me a comment. I don't bite, and I love comments.

Read More......