Food for Thought

Cooking the Books: A Year in Dishes

As the days of the year count down, and the numbers on the bathroom scale go up post-holiday feasting, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the delectable and sumptuous cookbooks I've encountered this year. 

Singapore Cooking: Fabulous Recipes from Asia's Food Capital by Terry Tan
This large format cookbook devoted to the Southeast Asian food mecca of Singapore uses photographs and recipes to tell the story of the historic and geographic lineage of Singapore's  cuisine, where Chinese, Indian, European, and Malaysian flavors collide. I made the Okra with Shrimp—slicing and blanching the okra first helps tame the ooze, somewhat. The final result was like a spicy Southeast Asian gumbo, good Fall comfort food.  I wish I had all day to grind candlenuts, lemongrass and turmeric by hand  to make my own curry pastes, but I cheated with pre-prepared paste (Mae Ploy makes a good line of them).  Tip: the Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street in Chinatown has many of the ingredients you might need to prepare some of these recipes and  Nyonya, a Malaysian restuarant on Grand Street in Little Italy/Chinatown is a good place to try some of the dishes mentioned in this book.  

The Pizza Bible  by Tony Gemignani
For many New Yorkers, eating good pizza can be something close to a religious experience (with the impression that any non "New York" slice borders on sacrilege...) This thorough and technical primer walks you through nine different regional and structural pizza styles—from New York to New Haven, deep dish to calzones, and more! Whether you like your crusts buff or thin, this book will show you how to choose the right dough paired with the right sauce and topped to perfection.  The focus is on the dough though, author Gemignani is a master pizza maker who provides  informative charts on flour/salt/yeast/water ratios depending on the type of pizza you wish to create. Rejoice, your pizza-making wisdom shall rise! 

The Heal Your Gut Cookbook: Nutrient Dense Recipes for Intestinal Health Using the GAPS Diet b y Hilary Boynton
After eating all that spicy Singaporean food and gluten-rich pizza, you may need to heal your gut! GAPS covers a broad spectrum of intestinal tract-related problems, and these recipes aim to steer readers away from mass-produced packaged food products towards more homemade, nutrient rich substitutes. Most notable are the recipes for condiments—mustard, mayonnaise, and salad dressings that are far healthier if you make and bottle them on your own. I tried and tired my whisking hand with the garlic aioli recipe. What an oily, delicious mess! I had to keep reviving it though as it would easily de-emulsify. A small price to pay—go with your gut! 

The Pescetarian Plan: The Vegetarian and Seafood Way to Lose Weight and Love Your Food by J anis Jibrin
I wasn't really looking to make a plan but I love seafood and this book has some great information on choosing sustainable fish, increaing Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, and just makes you feel good about making healthy food choices. The recipes are pretty straightforward and usually top out around six ingredients—good for weeknight cooking.  

Modern Art Cookbook  by Mary Ann Caws
What a feast for the eyes! This lovely book fills its pages with artistic representations of food—from impressionists such as Eduoard Manet's Asparagus  to Andy Warhol's Campbell s  Soup  Cans.  Caws draws wide brush strokes, using art, literature, and poetic references to show how a diverse range of artists depicted and celebrate cuisine. There are recipes from the artists themselves, such as Monet's madeleines, and David Hockney's strawberry cake. 

Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell
Penned by a chef from the California cuisine mecca Chez Panisse, this is an instructional cookbook written in a friendly and knowledgeable tone focusing on simple, basic ingredients. The book was inspired by trying to teach his son who had gone away to college how to cook. The title is a bit misleading as there are more than twelve recipes in this book to master, but the chapters are divided into ingredient focused lessons—such as eggs, legumes, salad dressings, chicken, and cake. The egg chapter changed my life—I have since much improved upon hard-boiling, soft-boiling, sunny-side up, and poaching techniques. Like a good father, Peternell gives solid advice, while allowing you room to be creative and find your own footing in the kitchen. 

My Paris Kitchen b y David Lebovitz
Sigh. Paris... Kitchens... David Lebovitz (another Chez Panisse alum, a pastry chef) lived the dream of many gastronomes, and in this cookbook-cum-memoir brings to life the streets of Paris, filled with boulangeries, fromageries, pâtisseries,  (insert delicious food item and add  "ies".... ) His Paris kitchen brims with classic French recipes such as Quiche, Coq au Vin, Steak frites, and a bevy of mouth-watering desserts. He'll even tell you all about his favorite French mustard that got him nods of approval on the tram in Lyon from the most traditional French madames, as it peeked out of his provisions bag...

My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story with Recipes by L uisa Weiss
Sigh, Berlin... Kitchens? Yes. Weiss's memoir fills the air with Zucherkuchen (sugar cake) and tomato sauce, the sweet and the spicy. Growing up shuttling between her Italian mother who lived in Berlin, and her American father's home in Boston, Weiss experienced a rich and somewhat topsy-turvy childhood. Settling in New York, Luisa started a blog called The Wednesday Chef, but decided to leave her fiancée and NYC lifestyle to return to the city she longed for. Read this inspiring story of a brave young woman who followed her heart and her hunger back home to Berlin. 

The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook by S herryl Woods
Yes, THAT Sherryl Woods, the romance book author of Safe Harbor, Finally a Bride, and Stealing Home (from the Sweet Magnolias series that inspired the cookbook). In this cookbook published by Harlequin Books, Woods weaves a tapestry of Southern cookery in the mythical town of Serenity, South Carolina. Enjoy her fluffy biscuits, backyard seafood boil, and red velvet cake peppered with tales of lazy days on front porches, friendship and the comforts of home.