The Food 52 Cookbook
140 winning recipes from exceptional home cooks
A review by
Ryan Boudreaux
This is one big book! The hardback is 425 pages plus an index, and includes recipes for summer, fall, winter and spring, a section about the contributors, and menus.
From the book, the Best Cooks Are Home Cooks. Accomplished food writers and editors Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs had a mission: to discover and celebrate the best home cooks in the country. Each week for fifty-two weeks, they ran recipe contests on their website, Food52.com, and the 140 winning recipes make up this book. They include:
Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Secret Ingredient Beef Stew (which is shared below)
Simple Summer Peach Cake
Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter
These recipes prove the truth that great home cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or precious to be memorable. This book captures the community spirit that has made the Food52 web site and blog a success. It features Amanda’s and Merrill’s thoughts and tips on every recipe, plus behind-the-scenes photos, reader comments, and portraits of the contributors—putting you right in the kitchen with America’s most talented cooks.
This book is one of those great collaborations that only a blog could obtain with the community and sprit of great home cooks. And what I really like about this recipe and the reason for it’s "secret" ingredient is the anchovies. They really do add a wonderful background flavor for a stew like this one. I have been using anchovies as a similar flavoring ingredient for my tomato sauces, especially with meatballs.
I will share the recipe for Secret Ingredient Beef Stew by SmallKitchCara found on pages 257 – 259 from the cookbook.
Secret Ingredient Beef Stew by SmallKitchCara
Secret Ingredient Beef Stew by SmallKitchCara
Ingredients
5 – 5 ½
Lbs.
Beef stewing meat, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3
Cup
Olive oil and canola oil mixed
2
Each
Leeks, washed well, sliced thinly
1
Large
Onion, diced
8
Each
Garlic cloves, minced
2
Each
Carrots, diced
4
Ribs
Celery, diced
4
Ounces
White mushrooms, roughly chopped
½
Cup
Tomato paste
2
Each
Anchovies
1
Cup
Red wine
½
Cup
Red wine vinegar
1
Cup
Canned whole tomatoes with juice
3 – 3 ½
Cups
Beef broth
3
Each
Bay leaves
¾
Tsp
Dried Thyme
1/3
Cup
Chopped Parsley
Procedure
1.
Season the beef with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat and brown the meat in batches, adding more oil as needed. Remove the meat to a plate.
2.
Lower the heat and add the leeks, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the anchovies and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to melt and distribute the anchovies.
3.
Add the beef and its juices back to the pot. Add the wine, vinegar, and tomatoes with juice (breaking them up against the side of the pot as you go) and raise the heat to bring to a boil. Pour in the broth to cover (you may need a bit more than 3 cups) Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt, the bay leaves, and the thyme and bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is tender, 2 to 3 hours. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for several hours.
4.
When cool, skim off most of the fat from the top. Reheat over low heat, letting the stew simmer for 30 to 45 minutes before serving.
5.
Mix in half the parsley and garnish with the rest.
Tips and Techniques
Make this a day ahead-its flavor will improve and you can enjoy the stew without thinking of all the dishes you have to wash.
About the Cook
Cara Eisenpress is the co-author of the blog Big Girls, Small Kitchen and the book In the Small Kitchen.
November 21st, 2011 · Comments Off on Simply Truffles, a book review
Simply Truffles:
Recipes and stories that capture the essence of the black diamond
A review by Ryan Boudreaux
The book by celebrated journalist, author and teacher Patricia Wells who also runs a cooking school in Paris and Provence, and when she is not teaching, she can be found searching for the prized black truffle. Drawing upon twenty-five years of hands-on research in Provence, which is considered the modern world’s capital of the black truffle, Wells offers sixty well-tested recipes that capture the truffle’s exceptional and complex flavor. For any truffle connoisseurs, this book is for you!
Patricia is not new to writing cookbooks, this is her twelfth venture into the printed page, and this edition does not disappoint. The book is a solid hardback edition with 207 pages including spectacular photos, and a forward by Joel Robuchon, along with the recipes utilizing the prized ingredient including chapters covering appetizers, salads, soups, eggs and cheese, pasta, rice, and grains, fish, shellfish, poultry, vegetables, and bread. Published by William Morrow, the book lists for $27.99 USA, or is available from Amazon.com as well.
This is a great slide show which highlights several of the recipes from the cookbook.
From the Pasta, Rice, and Grains chapter on pages 114 – 177 I will share the recipe for Goat Cheese Cannelloni with Morels and Truffles, which Wells says is a popular creation in her home and is an updated version of one which she sampled years ago at the Hotel Lancaster in Paris. She uses what is known as her all purpose truffle sauce with morel mushrooms, and is a good dish for entertaining. The pasta and the sauce can be prepared several hours in advance and warmed up for just 20 minutes before serving, making for a perfect party or entertaining treat.
Goat Cheese Cannelloni with Morels and Truffles
Goat Cheese Cannelloni with Morels and Truffles
Equipment
Dampened cheesecloth; a 10-quart pasta pot fitted with a colander, four 6-inch porcelain gratin dishes, a baking sheet.
Ingredients
6
Ounces
Fresh goat’s milk cheese
2
Large
Ultra-fresh eggs, organic or free range, room temperature, lightly beaten
2
Lemons
Zested, preferably organic
Fine sea salt
1½
Ounces
Dried morel mushrooms
1
12″ sq.
Fresh pasta sheet (2 ½ ounces)
3
Tbsp
Coarse sea salt
½
Cup
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½
Cup
Truffle, Morel, and Cream sauce (page 192)
1
Fresh
Black truffle (1 ounce, cleaned)
Procedure
1.
Place the cheese on a large plate. Cover it with the eggs and lemon zest. Mash with a fork until the mixture has a thick, smooth consistency. Taste for seasoning. (The filling can be prepared up to 4 hours in advance, covered, and refrigerated.)
2.
Place the morels in a colander and rinse well under cold running water to rid them of any grit. Transfer them to a heatproof 1-quart measuring cup or bowl. Pour 2 cups of the hottest possible tap water over the mushrooms. Set aside for 20 minutes to plump them up.
3.
Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. (180° C)
4.
With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the mushrooms from the liquid, leaving behind any grit that may have fallen to the bottom.
5.
Place the dampened cheesecloth in a colander set over a large bowl. Carefully spoon the morel soaking liquid into the colander, leaving behind any grit at the bottom of the measuring cup. (The liquid can be used to prepare the Truffle, Morel, and Cream Sauce.)
6.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Arrange 3 large kitchen towels on the counter, for draining the pasta.
7.
Cut the sheet of pasta into sixteen 3-inch squares.
8.
Fill the pasta pot with 8 quarts of water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the coarse salt. Drop in as many squares of pasta as will comfortably float in the water. Cook for about 30 seconds, removing the squares with a slotted spoon while still very al dente. Transfer them to the ice water. Once all the squares are cooked, swish them around in the ice water, then transfer them with a slotted spoon to the kitchen towels, arranging them in a single layer.
9.
Place the grating dishes side by side on a baking dish.
10.
Lift a square of pasta off the towel and turn it over. (This helps ensure that the pasta does not stick to the towel as the cannelloni are prepared. With a small spoon, spread about 2 teaspoons of the filling evenly along the bottom third of the square. Do not fill all the way to the edges, or the filling may leak. Carefully roll the pasta – jelly-roll fashion – into a cylinder and place it in a gratin dish, seam side down. Prepare the remaining cannelloni, arranging 4 rolled cannelloni side by side in each gratin dish. Sprinkle with the cheese.
11.
Cover each gratin dish securely with foil, to prevent the pasta from drying out as it cooks. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the cannelloni are bubbling, about 20 minutes.
12.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the truffle. With a vegetable peeler, peel the truffle. Mince the truffle peelings for another se. Cur the truffle into thick slices, then into matchsticks.
13.
Remove from the oven, then remove the foil, and garnish each serving with the morels and several tablespoons of the sauce. Garnish with truffle matchsticks. Serve.
Note: To infuse the eggs with truffle aroma and flavor, store a whole fresh truffle and the eggs (in their shells) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 days and up to 1 week.
Truffle, Morel, and Cream Sauce
Equipment: A fine-mesh sieve.
Ingredients
1
Cup
Morel soaking liquid
½
Cup
Truffle juice
1
Cup
Heavy Cream
Procedure
1.
In a large saucepan, reduce the mushroom liquid, uncovered, over high heat by half, about 10 minutes.
2.
Add the truffle juice and cream to the saucepan. Reduce, uncovered, over high heat by half, about 15 minutes.
3.
Pour through the sieve into a bowl. (Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.) Reheat at serving time.
Variation: Replace the morel mushroom liquid with cepe mushroom liquid.
It is that time of year when fall sets in, the pumpkins are ripe, the winter squash is getting picked, collards and mustard greens are starting to take shape.
And you would think that with cooling temperatures we would need some warming libations to take the chill off!
Not today!!!
This pumpkin pie smoothie is a great way to enjoy a healthy treat! And in my new Tervis tumbler, this helps to ensure that my smoothie stays cool and that my furniture will not get all marked up with sweating glass stains either.
The Foodbuzz Tastemaker Tervis Tumbler was provided to me as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this Tervis Tumbler as part of that program.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
This fall inspired smoothie tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie in a glass, and each 8-ounces of a serving offers plenty of beta-carotene, one of the popular antioxidants known to help fight cancer.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Ingredients
1 ½
Cups
Pumpkin puree
1 ½
Cups
Skim milk
3
Tbsp
Honey
1
Tbsp
Pumpkin pie spice
¼
Cup
Pumpkin pie spice flavored creamer
Procedure Steps:
1.
Place all ingredients into the bowl of a blender, and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2.
Pour into three individual glasses.
3.
Sprinkle a dash or so of the pumpkin pie spice on top of each glass.
Several of them are in the front yard, one on the side yard, and eight in the back yard. What are these subversive plots!
Here are several of them in full summer glory…
Subversive Garden Plots
And now…how to grow a revolution in your own yard!
Gardens….of course!
Check out the inspirational video and find out how you can help change the world of fresh food today!
About the video!
Roger Doiron is founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International, a network of people taking a hands-on approach to re-localizing the global food supply. Doiron is an advocate for new policies, technologies, investments, and fresh thinking about the role of gardens. His successful petition to replant a kitchen garden at the White House attracted broad international recognition. He is also a writer, photographer, and public speaker.
Brought to you by…
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
