You’re trying to find a gift for a food-obsessed friend. Or you’re an experienced baker and you’d like to know which cookbook will take you to the next level.

T. Susan Chang, a regular cookbook reviewer for NPR.org and The Boston Globe, has come out with a cookbook ratings app, dubbed Cookshelf.

The app is easy to use and sorts cookbooks (on a scale of 1-5) by skill level, by the level of recipe innovation, by its gift-giving potential, and by whether it’s a “keeper,” with recipes that you’ll return to as favorites again and again.

For example, Chang gives All About Braising by Molly Stevens a 5 in the “keeper’ category, calling it a “forever” cookbook. Meanwhile, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook—you can try your hand at Lady Mary’s Crab Canapés—rates only a 1. “Here and gone (trendy and ephemeral”), sniffs Chang.

You can use CookShelf to sort cookbooks numerous ways, from Mother’s Day to Gluten-free. Each entry contains sample recipes, a note on how long the recipe will take, and a description of how readily ingredients can be located at your local supermarket.

Each cookbook rating is preceded by a summary of it’s pros and cons. Chang is a lively and knowledgeable writer and her intros are informative and engaging. If you want more, you can click on Chang’s full reviews in The Boston Globe.

A couple of quibbles with this otherwise outstanding app for both casual cooks and collectors. The design is a bit clunky and it would be useful when you sort through a category to have both the name of author as well as the title listed.

A few weeks ago, we trekked out to Long Island City to the Masjid al Hikmah mosque. About a dozen booths were planted around what looked to be the mosque parking lot. Down the center, was a long table. That’s where we sat after roaming the booths and sampling several dishes. Our favorites? The fried tofu, a rice noodle and fish soup, and the fabulous fish cakes. Best to eat those the second they emerge from their bath of boiling oil.

Photos by Laura B. Weiss

Who cares if there’s a half hour wait for barbecue or pint-sized cheesecakes? You’ve gotta love Smorgasburg for the scene, the food and the gorgeous views of the skyline. Extra bonus: if you’re not a Brooklynite and coming from Manhattan, take the ferry back from Williamsburg to Midtown. On a gorgeous day, the ride matches the food.

Photos by Laura B. Weiss

New Orleans ice cream lovers! Come to my book signing and talk, sponsored by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, at the fabulous Creole Creamery  We’ll be talking about NOLA ice cream history. Plus, I’ll throw in some fun facts from ice cream’s storied past as it evolved into the world’s favorite treat.  Hope to see you there!  Here’s the info:

Ice Cream: A Global History Book Signing and Talk

When: Wednesday, February 27 from 5 to 7 PM

What:  Book signing from 5pm to 7pm. Discussion at 6:00

Where: Creole Creamery (4924 Prytania Street)

Before refrigeration became widespread in the early part of the 20th century, the only way to keep foods like ice cream frozen was by cutting blocks of ice from nearby lakes and streams. This video chronicles the entire process—from the backbreaking labor involved in sawing through a frozen pond, to carting the ice to an ice house where it was stored. Thanks to Edward De Jesus for pointing out this film from the Prelinger Archives, San Francisco.

]]> http://www.foodandthings.com/1919-ice-harvesting-video-shows-what-it-took-to-keep-foods-frozen/feed/ 0 http://www.foodandthings.com/ice-cream-book-signing-at-tampast-petersburg-art-museum-jan-24/ http://www.foodandthings.com/ice-cream-book-signing-at-tampast-petersburg-art-museum-jan-24/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:25:40 +0000 Laura Weiss http://www.foodandthings.com/?p=8864

Calling all Tampa and St. Pete ice cream lovers. I’ll be signing copies of Ice Cream: A Global History at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, FL Jan. 24 from 5-7 pm.  There will be ice cream too!  Hope to see you all there. Here are the details:

What: Ice Cream: A Global History, Book Signing (with ice cream served, of course!)

When: January 24, 2013 05:00PM

Where: Book Store, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, 255 Beach Drive NE , St. Petersburg, FL, US

By gregor_y Flickr.

It’s way too cold to eat ice cream, at least it’s too frigid for me!  So why not buy yourself—or an ice cream loving friend—some ice cream kitsch? It comes in many forms–ceramics, bath towels, even Elvis ice cream cone Christmas tree ornaments! Read about it here:

It’s winter and few people are thinking about that delicious, but frosty dessert, ice cream. So I was shocked to learn that ice cream-themed kitsch seems to be everywhere. For much of its history, ice cream was a dessert only rich folks could afford. There were even elaborate ice cream dishes and utensils for serving and eating the treat. But ice cream sandwich costumes and ice cream Christmas tree ornaments? That’s definitely a recent trend. There are also ice cream towels, ice cream bowls, ice cream costumes and ice cream items that look like Elvis. It may be cold outside, but ice cream novelties are definitely hot! So you don’t need to wait until summer to make a gift of ice cream. Here are some items—some wacky, some useful— that will be sure to please every ice cream lover:

• Kids’ Ice Cream Sandwich Costume. For Halloween or any time, your child can dress up as an ice cream sandwich in this polka-dotted suit.
• Ice Cream Cone Towels. These colorful towels in chocolate, strawberry and blueberry are rolled up to resemble ice cream cones.
• Lighted Ice Cream Shop. Hand-painted, this porcelain piece looks like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.
• For Elvis fans, an ice cream cone Christmas tree ornament decorated to look like The King.
• Glowing Ice Cream Spoons: Bend the handle and watch these red, blue, pink or red utensils glow.

Concocted from corn meal, molasses, eggs and spices, Indian Pudding has long been a Thanksgiving staple. Read my story on Saveur.com about how this baked pudding came to be and click her for a recipe by Ed Brown, chef-owner of Ed’s Chowder House in Manhattan.

Photo: Saveur.com.

Paco Torreblanca puts olive oil to use in lieu of butter. Photo: StarChefs.com.

How sweet it is. The winner of the The 3rd Annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition taking place now in New York will walk away with a $5,000 cash prize. But first, the 20 chefs vying for top honors in the annual pastry contest have to get through two elimination rounds in order to make it to the finals Oct. 2.

A host of pastry luminaries have been tapped to judge the flour faceoff. “Top Chef Just Desserts” star Johnny Iuzzini will lead a team that includes Alex Stupak, Jeffrey Steingarten, Elizabeth Falkner, Stephane Treand, and Michael Laiskonis.

Pre-competition, September 29: Pastry training and prep for Round 1.

Round 1, September 30: Pre-dessert competition–20 chefs compete for 10 spots to advance to Round 2.

Round 2, October 1: Plated dessert competition–10 chefs compete for three finalist spots and prizes and advance to the final round.

Round 3, October 2: Finalists create three corresponding desserts, each showcasing a different technique–1 pastry chef wins the grand prize.

Photo: Hamilton Conservation Authority via Flickr.

Yes, I know, summer’s over. So what am I doing talking about ice cream? I should be talking about pumpkins. Or maybe turkeys.

Well, ice cream’s one of those treats that people love 24/7, 365 days a year. So even though it’s almost Halloween, I’m doing two events in the coming weeks where I’m talking about ice cream history and reading from my book Ice Cream: A Global History.

The first is in San Francisco Oct. 9 at Omnivore Books on Food. The second, part of the reading series Drink.Think, is in New York, where I’ll be part of a group reading about drinks, mostly alcoholic—except I’m reading about the sweet and innocent cream soda. (See below for details.)

Here’s the info.  Hope to see you there!

Omnivore Books of Food, San Francisco

Oct 9, 2012

6pm-7pm

3885 Cesar Chavez Street San Francisco, CA

415 282 4712

Drink: Think, New York, New York

 October 16, 2012

The bar will be open starting at 6pm – the reading starts at 7pm

Obra Negra, below Casa Mezcal

86 Orchard Street

212 777 2600