Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Ah Josh, there is a bit of something to the Jamie as well. That said, the British do some good camera work.

M

The Glorious Pasta of Italy, by Domenica Marchetti (try to get more Italian than that), contains a couple hundred pasta recipes from the basic (Cacio e Pepe) to the unlikely (Duck Egg Fettucine with (homemade) Pickled Ramps). Includes recipes for pasta in soup, in sauce, baked pasta casseroles, stuffed pasta, quick pastas, classics, "showstoppers", and even sweet dessert pasta, as well as a 40-page introduction to making pasta and the different shapes. The one disappointment is that her 3-page listing of pasta shapes didn't have pictures.

This is an excellent "idea book" if you like pasta and are looking for new and interesting pasta recipes. I don't know that I'd buy it, given my scarce cookbook shelf space, but it would make an excellent gift book for someone you know who likes pasta (and who doesn't, after all?).

Carey, I've had cooking classes with Jeff Suddaby, of 3 Guys and A Stove, a restaurant in Ontario cottage country. His books focus on healthy eating without coming across as such. I have the first of his books, this one: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Whos-Coming-to-Dinner-Jeffrey-Suddaby/9780973500806-item.html?ikwid=jeffrey+suddaby&ikwsec=Books

My Real Canadian Superstore usually has this one in their cookbook section (that's actually where I've taken his class) and it might be worth a look. I highly recommend the curried sweet potato and pumpkin soup.

Diane Kochilas' Glorious Food of Greece is her ominbus of pretty much every Greek recipe she's collected in a decade of writing about Greek food, orgazined by region. I had her Meze and her Greek Vegetarian before, but this book takes things a step further ... it pretty much has every traditional recipe you're likely to ever need, unless you're opening a Greek restaurant.

Couple of things, though: the book could use a better index, and since it's traditional recipes, some of them are fairly bland and not the highly spiced Greek food I'm used to.

Here's the carrot-and-squash pie from that book. I actually went looking for a traditional Greek pie which was dairy-free, and Kochilas came through for me:

The Food of Morocco is Paula Wolfert's reboot of her original cookbook, "Couscous". Now that she's one of the most successful cookbook authors, this is a real production from Harper's Ecco imprint: 8lbs, full of photos, maps, quotes, colored text. Also, $45, so more of a gift-list item than a self-purchase.

Still it adds lots to Couscous. Tons of salads, seafood recipes, breads and pastries, and diagrams and pictures to help with some of the more unusual cooking techniques. Not, however, a "30-minute" recipe book; even the salads often require prepared ingredients you'll have to make a day or more in advance.

Favorite recipe title: "Berber Harira with Leafy Zegzaw".

If you want a Moroccan cookbook, I can't think of one I'd recommend over it. I'm considering buying it if I can come up with another 3 inches of room on my shelves.

So, Kris is reading the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook this week.

This one is mainly good for entertainment value; she says she's going to read it cover-to-cover. If you're not familiar with the Milk Bar, Christina Tosi makes desserts like a 6-year-old modernist gourmet chef:

• Cereal Milk Panna Cotta
• Pretzel Ice Cream Pie
• Liquid Cheesecake

Mind you, the cookbook is also full of good (if exceptionally labor-intensive) "new basics". Tosi takes the approach that desserts are mainly separate components married together (crumbs, crusts, sauces, fillings, etc.) and offers many recipes for each component. But mostly, it's a fun read.

I know Becca really loves that book. My library doesn't carry it.

I've not read her books, but have read several articles and interviews about her and the book, all very interesting.

FWIW, her Blueberry and Cream Cookies which I adapted to Apricot and Cream Cookies have been pronounced the best cookies ever every time I've given them out. They were part of a cookie plate I gave to all my "making me look and feel good folks" e.g. nails, massage, etc., and friends and relatives the year before last. There were several heavy hitters on the plate as well such as, Chocolate Crackles, Nutella cookies, Almond Clounds, 3 day in fridge Choco Chip cookies, Marylin's toffee and Penny's Caramels. Everyone wanted more of the Apricot and Cream cookies.

This week's cookbook is Indonesian Cooking by Dina Yuen. This cookbook is less traditional than the other two Indonesian cookbooks I've borrowed from the San Francisco Public Library. Instead, Yuen seems to be trying to make Indonesian cooking accessible to Americans who might be in a hurry, or not have access to well-stocked Asian grocery stores, or not much patience for odd ethnic techniques like toasting Terasi.

The book has a surprisingly large selection of salads, and a more seafood recipes than I usually see in an Indonesian cookbook, which is probably why my Sweetie borrowed it for me. It would be a good cookbook for someone who wants to get their fingers stained with Indonesian food, but doesn't want to make a big commitment in shopping and reading to learn fully traditional styles.

Inspired by this cookbook, I made Nasi Goreng: http://www.fuzzychef.org/archives/Nasi- ... -2012.html

I'm really loving "Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health". I've now read it cover to cover, twice, the 2nd time I picked out approx 30 recipes I want to try. I've renewed this at the library 3x so I imagine this might be on my gift list this year.

The other book I like a lot is "Food In Jars" which focuses on canning on a small scale - 3-4 pints per recipe. I follow Marissa's blog but really love the small scale idea. This one is also going on the gift list, for me and from me!

Nance