Food and Things » Cookbooks

Upper West Side JCC Hosts Mario Batalli, Amanda Hesser for Food Talk

Laura Weiss — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:21:42 +0000

One of the first evens on the 2011 celebrity chef circuit will take place at the Upper West Side JCC when chef Mario Batali and cookbook author and former New York Times writer Amanda Hesser will be talking up their new cookbooks.

Check out Hesser’s web site, Food52, in which readers get to vote on recipes that are submitted to the site.

The event takes place Jan. 12 at 730 pm at the JCC. Here are the details:

Cookbooks: Molly O’Neill’s One Big Table Surveys American Home Cooking

Laura Weiss — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:52:48 +0000

Lots of people dream about writing a cookbook. But it’s a huge undertaking, as Molly O’Neill, former New York Times Magazine food columnist and author of such classics as the New York Cookbook, told me the other day.

In fact, One Big Table—an expansive collection of stories and recipes from some of America’s best home cooks—took years to conceive and create. With its deeply felt oral histories and cherished recipes gathered from cooks across America, this is a cookbook to be read as well as to cook from.

The lavishly illustrated volume contains recipes—some regional finds, some familiar standards—that include:

The Piping and Marching Society of Lower Chalmers Street Shrimp Dip from Charleston, SC
Maw Maw’s Chow-Chow from Dallas Texas
Zach and Clay’s Brick Chicken with Yellow Squash and Tomatoes, from Washington, DC
Andre Soltner’s Roast Chicken, from New York

The book contains 600 recipes in all, culled, says O’Neill, from an initial list of more than 20,000 contributions. There are also 800 color and black and white photos, both vintage and modern.

One Big Table: A Journey from Potluck to Plate

To compile this substantial tome, O’Neill says she traveled a total of 500,000 miles over a five-year period, some by car, some by air.

The challenge, she explains, was “how to do a demographically balanced portrait” of US home cooking.

There aren’t, for example, many recipes from New York. “At one point, there was too much from New York, but the fact is New York is not the country,” says O’Neill who hails from Columbus, Ohio. “We really need to listen to and respect cooks outside major urban areas,” she added. “The idea that cuisine is being invented in major urban areas is no longer true.”

One Big Table by Molly O'Neill.

O’Neill said she “made a partnership” with hunger group America’s Second Harvest , now known as Feeding America. With a cadre of graduate students, a reservoir of recipes she had received from Times readers over the years, and time devoted to community pot luck suppers and farmers markets, O’Neill gathered recipes from Maine to California.

Gradate students, she explains, would “sit at a farmers’ market and collect names, addresses and phone numbers.”

“The first step was gathering; the second was confirming,” through one-to-one interviews conducted by O’Neill herself. One issue was determining whether recipes truly represented family or community relics—or were plucked from magazines like Gourmet.

O’Neill purged the magazine-derived recipes, but kept some that reflected the contributors’ personal adjustments and imprint.

“People don’t know the provenance” of their recipes, she said.

One Big Table
Molly O’Neill
Published by Simon & Schuster
E-book edition also available
To order, click here

Joan Nathan talks about French Jewish Cooking Nov. 11

Laura Weiss — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:20:22 +0000

It’s not that long until Hanukkah. Are you trying to think of something to cook instead of those same old latkes? Maybe some inspiration from Joan Nathan, the high priestess (or high maven) of Jewish cooking in America, is in order.

Quiches Kugels and Couscous, by Joan Nathan.

Come hear Nathan talk about the Jewish cooking of France Nov. 11. She will share recipes and stories, and at a reception afterwards, you can sample some of the dishes from the book, titled Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France

What: Talk, book signing and recepetion featuring dishes from the book.

When: Thursday, November 11,

Where: Congregation Rodeph Sholom

7 West 83rd Street (between Central Park West and Columbus)

Time: 6:30 pm Check-in and reception | 7:00 pm Lecture

$25 Culinary Historians of NY/Congregation Rodeph Sholom Members | Fee: $40 Non-Members and Guests |22 CHNY Senior & Student Members

For further information and to buy tickets securely online:

If you want to pay at the door, email Events.

Photo ID is required for entry into the event.

Learn About Immigrant Foodways at Ellis Island Event

Laura Weiss — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:34:29 +0000

Ellis Island Great Hall: NY Public Library.

It goes without saying that immigrants have contributed mightily to America’s melting pot of culinary traditions. Take my Grandma Binnie. Her matzoh balls will surely go down in culinary history as the closest food equivalent to cannonballs. To celebrate America’s immigrant heritage, you can dine in the Great Hall at Ellis Island Nov. 4 with culinary luminaries like cookbook author Molly O’Neill and New Yorker food writer Calvin Trillin.

The event will include:

A sneak asting of dishes featured in cookbook author Molly O’Neill’s new book (due out in late November) entitled: One Big Table, A Portrait of American Cooking.

The menu will feature : Behroush Sharifi’s Saffron King’s Persian Kebabs, New York, New York; Peter Nguyen’s Vietnamese Shrimp, Biloxi, Mississippi; Norma Naranjo’s Cheese and Chile Tamales, OhkayOwingeh, New Mexico; Dan Huntley’s Pulled Port and Red Slaw Sliders, York, South Carolina; and more.

Food for Thought Panel discussion with Molly and friends Calvin Trillin of New Yorker Magazine, the Food Network’s newest star Aarti Sequeira and others.

An advance copy of Molly’s 900 page cookbook – One Big Table – before it hits the bookstores

Free transportation to and from Ellis Island

Price: $130/ticket.

For more information you can visit: The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy.

New Cookbook Featuring 30 Minute Pastas Debuts

Laura Weiss — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:46:55 +0000

For home cooks of a certain age, there was Julia Child for traditional French cuisine. And for preparing classic Italian dishes, there was Marcella Hazan, author of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Carrying on the family business, Marcella’s son, Giuliano Hazan, a chef and teacher in his own right, has just issued his latest cookbook, Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes. I haven’t had a chance to cook from the collection of pasta recipes, but this volume is full of many easy-to-make dishes. They range from standards like Spaghetti Carbonara to more unusual creations, such as Spaghetti with Melon. For vegetarians, Thirty Minute Pasta is worth taking a look at. Sure, there are lots of meat and seafood pasta preparations. But a large percentage of Hazan’s recipes are made with vegetable-based sauces.

With just a few ingredients per dish and easy-to-follow-instructions, 30 Minute Pastas is appropriate for both novice and more experienced cooks.

Hazan will be signing books at Barnes & Noble E. 86th St at Lexington Avenue on Sept. 10 at 7:30 pm.

THIRTY MINUTE PASTA: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes (Stewart, Tabori & Chang; September 2009; 176 pages/Hardcover with jacket; $27.50; ISBN: 978-1-58479-807-1),

Tell me how Thirty Minute Pasta recipes work out for you.

Spaghetti with Melon

From Thirty Minute Pasta

Many years ago I remember eating with my parents at a restaurant in Venice that specialized in unusual dishes, none of which were seafood or risotto, the staples of Venetian cuisine. The restaurant is no longer there and I don’t remember the name, but I do remember a delicious dish of pasta with cantaloupe. My mother started making it a home and I often make it when we have friends over. Once it is cooked, the melon is mostly unrecognizable and it’s great fun seeing if people can guess what the sauce’s “secret” ingredient is.

Serves 4 people

3 pounds cantaloupe melon
3 tablespoons butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti (linguine is also good here)
2 teaspoons concentrated tomato paste
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.

Pare away the rind of the melon, down to the orange flesh. Discard the seeds and cut the melon into 1/2-inch dice. Put the butter in a 12-inch skillet and place over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted completely, add the melon and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the melon begins to break down and most of the liquid it releases has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, put in the spaghetti, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook until al dente.

Add the tomato paste and lemon juice to the melon and stir well. Add the cream and cook until it thickens and reduces by about a third, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.

Recipe: Coca Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Laura Weiss — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:48:20 +0000

Coke and Ribs. Photo Credit: Jeanine Dargis

On Memorial Day, you should eat something patriotic. This recipe from cook book author Virginia Willis fits the bill.

After, all what’s more American than Cocal Cola and ribs?

Not to mention, I’m a sucker for all things southern. As cookbook writer Virginia Willis points out, Coke was born and bred in the south–specifically in Atlanta.

Speaking of southern cooking–America’s greatest regional cuisine–sorry, New Yorkers, it’s tough to find anything approaching the real thing in our fair city. Baltimore is the furthest north you can go and still say you’re eatin’ southern.

Here’s the Coke and ribs recipe from Willis, who adapted it from Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis, published by Ten Speed Press.

Let me know what you think of this recipe!

Coca-Cola is to Atlanta as Guinness is to Dublin. Pork has a natural affinity for sweet, rich caramel flavors. These “nouveau” Southern ribs are by no means traditional, but they are lip-smacking good.

Scotch bonnet peppers are intensely hot, but their fire is tempered by the sweetness of the sugar and Coke. To tone down the heat, substitute jalapeños instead.

1 cup Coca-Cola Classic
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
11/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Scotch bonnet chiles, chopped
2 racks baby back ribs (3 pounds total)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the glaze, in a small saucepan, bring the Coca-Cola, vinegar, brown sugar, and chiles to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to low and keep the sauce warm while the ribs cook.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Liberally season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. Place the ribs on a broiler pan and bake for 30 minutes, glazing the ribs occasionally with the Coca-Cola mixture. Turn the ribs over and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes, glazing occasionally, or until the ribs are tender and the meat is starting to pull away from the bone.

Or, if grilling, simply treat the oven as a grill. Cook the ribs at a moderate heat, 325°F and bake with the grill covered for 30 minutes, glazing the ribs occasionally with the Coca-Cola mixture. Turn the ribs over and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes, glazing occasionally, or until the ribs are tender and the meat is starting to pull away from the bone.

When the ribs are cooked through, set the oven to broil or place on the hot side of the grill or increase a gas grill to high. Liberally spoon half of the remaining glaze over the ribs and broil until glazed a deep mahogany brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn over; repeat with the remaining glaze, an additional 5 to 7 minutes.

Serve immediately with lots of napkins.

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Madoff Cookbook: Not Too Kosher

Laura Weiss — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:38:16 +0000

The New York Times reported today that while Bernie Madoff was allegedly fleecing clients to the tune of billions, his wife Ruth found time to author a cookbook.

The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher: Over 175 Recipes From America’s Greatest Restaurants was written in 1996, according to the Times, to expose “kosher palates to new sensations by collecting dishes from famous restaurant chefs that could be prepared in keeping with Jewish dietary restrictions.”

There was only one small problem. Though Ruth Madoff is listed as a co-author, she in fact didn’t create a single recipe. Food writer Karen MacNeil wrote the entire tome.

Are we surprised? Read all about it in today’s New York Times.

Best Cookbooks of 2008

Laura Weiss — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:31:47 +0000

This is the time of year for “best of” lists. Sara Moulton, Gourmet’s executive chef and food TV personality, offers some cookbook picks. Among them are guides for making soup, for baking, and for creating and Italian dishes.

The Best Cookbooks of 2008
Get Sara Moulton’s Picks for Best Cookbooks of the Year
By SARA MOULTON

“Good Morning America” food editor Sara Moulton picked out the best cookbooks of the year.

Check out the list below and find out what recipes steamed up the pages of the best cookbooks of 2008.

Here’s the list.

COOKIES: Buy or Bake These Tea Cookies for the Holidays

Laura Weiss — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:14:53 +0000

Dana Jacobi, an acclaimed food writer and cookbook author, will be contributing posts and recipes to Food and Things. Dana has written 10 best-selling cookbooks. Her latest is The Essential Best Foods Cookbook: 225 Irresistible Recipes Featuring the Healthiest and Most Delicious Foods.

Let us know how you like this recipe

Send us your holiday cookie recipes

A good cookie helps me chill out when holiday overload approaches.

When I can get to Amai Tea and Bake House, 171 Third Ave. (between 16th and 17th Sts.), I order their Tea Sweets—superb tea-flavored shortbread cookies. Together with a tea latte, they are as restorative as a yoga class.

Each shortbread tea flavor—from buttery green tea and spicy chai almond, to fruity white tea and strawberry—is filled with aromatic flavors. The individual flavors also boast unique shapes. For instance, the green tea ones are designed to look like a tea leaf.

And Amai’s decor, with its dark wood and exposed brick, is as soothing as its baked goods. The amiable service is calming, too.

When I cannot get to Amai, I make my own Green Tea Shortbread, from a recipe in the Essential Best Foods Cookbook. Putting a batch of this indecently rich treat together takes a total of 10 minutes. And there’s a bonus— your house will smell heavenly.

GREEN TEA SHORTBREAD
Makes 8 pieces

(Get matcha powdered green tea at most Japanese market, including Katagiri, 224 East 59th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Ave.) www.katagiri.com, Sunrise Mart (29 Third Ave) or the tea and coffee counter at any Whole Foods Market.)

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon powdered matcha green tea
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup superfine or granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut in small pieces
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, tea, and salt.

3. Place the sugar in the bowl of a food processor. If using granulated sugar, whirl it for 1 minute to turn it into superfine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like pebbles. Add the flour mixture and pulse until a coarse, loosely granular dough forms.

4. Turn the dough into an ungreased 8-inch round cake pan. With your fingers, quickly work in any powdery bits then press the dough into an even layer in the pan.

5. Bake for 15 minutes. Make a border by pressing the flat bottom of the tines of a fork in a circle around the outside of the dough. With the tips of the tines, prick the dough all over. Using a sharp knife, score the dough into 8 wedges.

6. Return the shortbread to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Do not let it brown.

7. Place the pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Rescore the wedges and run a knife around the edge of the shortbread to loosen it. Invert the pan and gently unmold the shortbread. Cool and break into wedges. Serve the shortbread warm or at room temperature. The shortbread keeps in an airtight container for 5 days.