Category — Cookbooks
Starting With Ingredients by Aliza Green
Starting With Ingredients is a very exhaustive cookbook by James Beard Award winner Aliza Green. It is unique because it is a sort of hybrid between a cookbook, because the recipes, stories, and philosophies clearly derive from Chef Green, and a culinary reference book, because the topics and information presented is so comprehensive (the book is 1024 pages). Obviously I have not read Starting With Ingredients cover to cover but I have frequently consulted it before trying a recipe or flavor combination that pops into my head. Each chapter in the book covered one single ingredient or closely related group of ingredients. The chapter on chicken, for example, contains a preface about the history of the chicken, common uses for the bird, and its place in American and world culture. Then follows a reference page that summarizes the types of chickens you can buy (broiler vs. fryer, free range, etc.) and what the best uses for each chicken segment is. Then there is a list of recipes whose star is the chicken. Each chapter in the book is organized in about the same way. The book conveys a simple cooking style that stresses the use of quality ingredients, appropriate preparations, and a variety of techniques. Also, for a book of 1000+ pages, it’s cheap as dirt on Amazon ($27).
Links:
AlizaGreen.com
April 30, 2008 1 Comment
Raw by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein
This is a very interesting cookbook co-written by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein. It contains dishes made entirely of raw food. The concept was partly inspired by Woody Harrelson, as Roxanne Klein explains in the forward that, when on a trip with Harrelson, he explained how he only ate raw foods. Whereas this vegan type of cooking isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I do enjoy raw vegetables and the book contains a lot of interesting and simple techniques. Some recipes appear quite complex but are broken into smaller component recipes, some of which are nothing but blended vegetables, water, and seasoning to make a nice sauce. They use blended sauces, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, juiced ingredients and have interesting recipes for making “cheese” out of nuts. I have yet to try this but, according to the book, they taste surprising like real cheese (they certainly look like it). I especially liked the recipe for Bleeding Heart Radish Ravioli with Yellow Tomato Sauce which was where I got the idea for my Beet Ravioli recipe.
Other recipes include Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup with Spaghetti Squash and Portabello Mushroom Pave with White Asparagus Vinaigrette.
March 4, 2008 48 Comments
Becoming A Chef
I just finished reading Becoming A Chef by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book is filled with advice from leading American chefs on how to succeed as a chef, restauranteur, and person. Chefs interviewed include Mario Batali, Alice Waters, Todd English, Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Trotter, and Jaques Torres, among many others. The book presents how becoming a chef can be a different road for everyone. Mario Batali and Charlie Trotter, for example, never went to culinary school but had an intense work ethic, great management skills, and a passion for food. Others, like English and Lagasse, went to culinary school and worked their way through the ranks in the kitchen. All their stories shared common characteristics needed to become an excellent and successful chef. One was restaurant experience. The world’s best chefs worked in many kitchen, some for years and some for a matter of weeks (according to Dornenburg and Page, Trotter worked in 40 different restaurants in 3 years before opening his own). Secondly, the chefs all had an intense passion for food and a creative flare that they insisted you must never let become stagnant (even if it means leaving a high paying job that has deflated your creative abilities). This includes dining out, cooking, and reading about food in your free time. Chef Lydia Shire writes, “I see to many cooks who stop thinking about food when their eight hours are done.”
This book has inspired me to write letters to the chef’s at some of Chicago’s top restaurants when I begin school in the fall, asking if I could work in their kitchens, even for free for a while (this is what’s called “trailing” in the business). Although one of my quarters will be spent interning at a restaurant, I think the extra experience and long hours will train me well for a future as a chef.
March 1, 2008 55 Comments
