Prune

Prune
by Gabrielle Hamilton

There is something very endearing about a seeing a highly-acclaimed, celebrity chef's handwritten notes in a cookbook.  Suddenly, the recipes all seem approachable.  Friendly.  Fun.  Which is exactly what I need during the holiday season where there are so many potluck parties.  Not your grandmother's potluck party where you could bring any dish and your grandmother would still pinch your cheeks!  No, a foodie potluck party!  A dish foodies can or will love!

My brother is taking a leisurely drive cross country to make his way to California, so I have no idea what day he will land on my front door.   I do know that I want to cook something special for my brother, but not spend so much time cooking and shopping that we end up with no quality time together.   Also, several folks have made it known they want to meet my brother, a motorcycle racing champ and former bodybuilder.  Could I really pull together a last minute gourmet dinner and still get all my work done?

That's the other problem us foodies/home chefs have.  No one wants to come to your house and eat takeout.  Talk about mutiny.

For the record, I have eaten at Prune a few times.  I've read Hamilton's articles in The New Yorker, seen her on TV.  And it is for that reason, I bought her cookbook.   I look forward to recreating warm memories and creating new sensory experiences.  There are plenty of photos, though I wish there were more.  Most, not all, of the recipes embody simplicity and elegance.  Grilled head on shrimp with anchovy butter.  Whole grilled fish with toasted fennel oil.  Grilled rib-eye steak with parsley shallot butter.  These recipes enable a hostess spend more time enjoying her guests.

There are some recipes for whole rabbit, suckling pigs -- ingredients not so readily available to the home chef.  I'll have to go back to Prune to sample those dishes.

I received this Book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Year in France

A Year in France

A Year of Cooking in my Farmhouse

by Mimi Thorisson

Pick this book up at your own risk.  I'm serious, you will want to move to France immediately and recreate this fantasy.  This life of deliciousness where every meal and everyone is beautiful.  The photos are stunning, food porn  -- beautiful food, beautiful people. The recipes are organized by season, beginning with spring.

Are the recipes practical for the home cook?  Yes and no.  Depends who your supplier is.   Calves' Liver a la Bordelaise, Langoustines with Armagnac, Black Pig Pork Roast, Poussins, Quails, Squab, Spider Crabs.  It isn't easy.

The good news is there's plenty of inspiration to be found.  Aunt Francine's Fava Bean Soup, Roast Chicken with Creme Fraiche and Herbs.   Thorisson is half Chinese, half French, so towards the end of the book, she includes a little section devoted to Chinese New Year.   Happy Valley Wonton Soup is one of the six recipes lumped in at the end.  

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Laurent Quenioux: A Retrospective of a Master Artist/Chef

No question, Chef Laurent Queinoux is a master chef and master artist.  This is less of a review of one meal, and more of a retrospective.

Like so many others, I've been a fan of LQ since his Bistro K days.  His "foodings" are always innovative, artistic, inspiring and of course, scrumptious.  How many Chefs continue to delight their customers dish after dish?  Push, experiment, hunt, gather, procure?  In this brutal economy, so many of us are forced to scrimp and save, hunker down, cut corners someway somehow-- but Chef Laurent does not compromise his craft.  Jamais!  LQ is always cooking.  This commitment to excellence and craft only makes me love LQ more because that is exactly how I feel about my craft (writing).  I only wish I had more loyal paying fans!  :-)

Cassoulet

Go to great lengths to bring you new tastes?  Cheeses?

Eric dazzles us with cheese

Like many others, we followed LQ to Bistro LQ on Melrose in West Hollywood to Starry Kitchen to Vertical Bistro.

His pop-ups often sell out quickly.  You have to reserve fast, and sometimes that makes it challenging to invite others.  The back and forth required to pick a date, time and commit -- well, all the tables could be snapped up before a consensus is reached.  You're also torn.  You want to spread the word to support LQ near and far because he is an international treasure, but you don't want to make it impossible for to get reservations next time.  I have foodie friends who do not share new gems for precisely this reason, they don't want to sabotage their chances of getting a table.

The past two pop-ups, however, I did invite some newbies to join in the culinary experience.  Oh my, what an incredible joy it was to see their eyes light up, to remember what it was like to taste LQ's cuisine for the very first time.  Yes.  You always remember your first.

My first egg meurette

As folks enter the dining room, many came over to say hello or waved.  One guest in our party was so impressed, he asked me I knew everyone.  The host recognizes me from Vermont and walks over to say hello.   Friends from Pleasure Palate could fill the room.   I had to laugh as my eyes scanned the room.  I guess after all these years, you do begin to recognize people, make friends, exchange hugs and bisous, and share.  Delicious joy has a way of bonding you to each other, organically.  After several wonderful meals, you feel like family.  LQ's extended family.  I've always wanted to be French!   If you are what you eat, I'm getting there one dish at a time.

Some other fine LQ dishes.

Frog legs

You're drooling, aren't you?

Hope to see you at the next LQ Fooding.  Don't forget to say hello :-)

Relae

The cover alone informs you that Relae is no ordinary cookbook.  A Book of Ideas.  A wealth of information.  Christian F. Puglisi has an encyclopedia knowledge that, at first, can overwhelm most home chefs.  Most home chefs, myself included, lack the time and resources to create these exquisite dishes.  

This book is really dense, best devoured in small bites to really savor what Puglisi has to share.  I love his philosophy of Locavorism, how he includes his roots, ancestry and declares that it is his mixed background, not the color of his passport, that defines him as a person.  Wholeheartedly agree.

Each dish is a work of art.   Relae makes an excellent book for your coffee table.

Relae inspires me to plate better and think of food in new ways.  I love charred romaine lettuce, but never thought to char cucumber.  I've charred romaine, and he poaches it in butter.  I often add nasturtiums to my dishes, he adds the leaves.  Relae helps me re-think ingredients.

You will want to spend hours with this book, and then book a flight to Copenhagen.  One flaw:  the half-page dust jacket falls off every you open and close the book.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

 

Sunday Suppers

Summer afternoon -- to Henry James, the two most beautiful words in the English language.

And yes, it's hard to best summer afternoon, but Sunday Suppers comes awfully close.

It's a fantasy of mine to have a Sunday Suppers Chez Lucie -- but I've dismissed it for various reasons.  Cost is foremost.  I can't afford it without everyone pitching in.  Two, time.   Three, my kitchen is tiny, Manhattan galley style.  Even my chef friends have shaken their heads, Impossible!  I didn't want to start something I couldn't finish.  As Mordechai points out, word about her first supper spread quickly.

But still, fantasies live on, persist so I was thrilled to read Karen Mordechai's Sunday Suppers.  She makes the fantasy seem possible.  Food does not have to be overly demanding, you can vary the locales.  Her recipes reflect her philosophy that stresses less is more.   Atmosphere, quality of ingredients and people matter most.

Most of the recipes are simple and call for easily found ingredients.  Her apple and olive cake looks great except that it takes 2 C of sugar, 3 C of extra virgin olive oil, and 3 C of milk.  I remember this recipe was distributed via NY Times or Epicurious and brought a lot of outcry over the amount of sugar and olive oil combined.  I wish there were a lower calorie version.

The joy in this book comes from the well-thought out menus which are easy to mix and match, and substitute out.  By showing you what worked communally, Mordechai helps free your creativity.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Vive La Difference!

As a lifetime Francophile who lives in California, and has the joy of dining at Chez Panisse a few times, I knew I had to add French Roots to my cookbook collection.

French Roots chronicles the romance and careers of married chefs Jean-Pierre Moulle and Denise Lurton Moulee as well as the evolution of food.   How the focus on fresh, local, sustainable has evolved from the seventies.   Yes, there's quite a bit of narrative for your "typical" cookbook, but this is no typical cookbook, and the writing inspires as much as the recipes.  

The Moulles say it is very French not to waste things -- but it's also very Chinese!  Perhaps I actually am Chinese French American.  I, too, garden on a much smaller scale (Can't afford a ranch in Sonoma) and do my best to use what I grow, and what I grow often guides my culinary creativity.  

A wonderful variety of recipes, ranging from quick and easy to slow and steady.   The photographs are gorgeous.  Some recipes that I cannot wait to try include leek salad with mustard vinaigrette and egg, marinated sardines, grilled eel skewers with pancetta and possibly the prunes armagnac ice cream.  The section on the wines of Bordeaux is an added bonus.  

French Roots reminds you how important food is, and how the art of the menu comes down to the ingredients and the people.  Simplicity reigns supreme.   A votre sante, France et California!

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

 

The Slanted Door

This cookbook brings back many fond memories.  When I used to live in the Bay Area, it was such a treat to head into San Francisco and dine at The Slanted Door.  Often, the place was packed and you just had to wait your turn.  The aromas would tantalize you.  You thought, surely by the time I sit down, I could eat the whole menu.  That's how great it smelled.  How difficult it was to narrow down your choices.

Now that I live in Southern CA, I'm glad Phan relocated The Slanted Door to the Ferry Building because it seats more people comfortably, increasing the odds I can get in.

This cookbook helps me create some of my favorite dishes and discover some new ones.  The photographs are stunning, and recipes quite easy to read and understand.  I can totally see myself making his chicken watercress soup, braised ginger chicken, shaking beef, roasted lobster with butter herb dressing.  I used to treat out of town guests to my version of Phan's roasted Dungeness crab for New Year's Eve -- always a crowd pleaser.  This cookbook also includes favorite cocktails like the Royal Pimm's Cup, the Ginger Limeade and shows what pairs well with bold flavors.  

If you can't get to The Slanted Door as often as you like, this cookbook is the next best thing to being there.  More than a collection of recipes, this book is also a diary of an American Dream come true.  Charles Phan chronicles his inspiring journey from the Mission District to the Ferry Building as he shares the dishes that helped us recognize Vietnamese cuisine as world-class.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Saint Martha: I'm a worshipper!

Trying a new restaurant that has generated a lot of buzz and good word of mouth always raises the bar, and hence, often increases the chance you will be disappointed.   Fortunately, this was not the case.  

The restaurant is small, intimate.   When we arrived, it was only 1/3 full or so.  You can sit at the bar, but the plates are stacked so high, you can't really see into the kitchen or talk to staff so we chose a table.  

Amuse Bouche

Chickpea hummus quinoa

We ordered all three appetizers:  the crab and uni cream, the chicken liver mousse, and the octopus.  The octopus never arrived, so they comped us dessert -- the panna cotta.   The deconstructed bagel was interesting, the salmon was the best part and a generous portion so it need more goat cheese, pickle and the everything churro.

The crab and uni cream

The chicken liver mousse w/mushrooms and praline hazelnut

giving it that Nutella taste

Deconstructed bagel

The star was the beet sorbet and roasted beets.   It was as tasty as visually appealing.  Must learn to make beet sorbet.

Everyone raved about the brisket, how long it is smoked, that I expected it to be more tender and moist.  Unforunately, our wasn't.  Quite dry.  The hoisin was a little overpowering.  We only ate half of it.

Although portions were on the small side, food was delicious, innovative and fun.   As is the wine.  Mary, the sommelier, is a self-described wine pirate.  I am crazy about her, and her wine picks.   She has exquisite taste.  She loved how DH could recognize a lambrusco from across a crowded room.   The food is excellent, but I'd also go for her.  "Some people collect wines, I hunt wines."  And she does.  She poured us a taste of a wine from Crete, since I had heard all about it.   It was fantastic.  Far better than the Greek wines my wine club focused on several months ago.   Mary promises new wines coming from Israel, North Fork, Long Island, former Soviet Georgia, Lebanon, all over.

I love how when you go to the bathroom, there is a tape on how to speak Korean.  The bad news, there's only one bathroom.   Other "bad" news, the wine list, thought eclectic, is expensive.  Yes, I know, so is the food.  The table next to us tried to split the diver scallop three ways.   When the restaurant is full (and it was halfway into our meal) -- it is super loud.

Panna cotta

Still, you'll find me worshipping at the altar of Saint Martha.   Perhaps, this is a good time to remind everyone I will write for food.

Letter of Recommendation

As most of you know, I juggle several part-time jobs to make ends meet.  So believe me, sometimes I am quite tempted to tell my students, please buy ALL my work!

I think of all those years where my professors assigned their books to me, how big and expensive they were.  Cha-ching, cha-ching.  They were MANDATORY reading!

If I use my own work as an example, it is because I happen to know what I was thinking, what I was trying to do.  But when I am demonstrating craft at its finest, I often recommend and use Henrik Ibsen's A DOLL HOUSE. 

I love teaching, love helping students create and find their voice/vision.  Today, one of those talented students wrote me a letter of appreciation which I want to share with you.  It brought a few tears to my eyes.

Dear Lucy,

I am very appreciative of all the time and thought you gave to me and the play. I would like you to be able to use the following with prospective students and mentees should you need it.

I worked with Lucy Wang entirely over email when writing my first full-length play. She was remarkably prompt, responding to all my emails and drafts. She provided helpful exercises as I wrangled with character and scene development. She was always encouraging and supportive in all her communications and provided indispensable constructive feedback as well as structural guidance concerning how the play was progressing as I wrote it. When I sent her my "final" draft, Lucy was unbelievably generous, which is not to say that she simply praised my work. In fact, she combed through the entire text incredibly thoroughly and clarified many potential weaknesses that were already in my thoughts. She never attempted to make the work her own; her comments and feedback were written to spark and inspire my own process and voice. Although she occasionally used examples from her own work to explain her points or "homework", she never asked me to read her work as part of the process. I found Lucy to be extremely helpful and specific without pushing too much into my creative process. I would recommend working with her without reservations for anyone who is looking for insightful and inspiring guidance with writing a play.

Thank you very much,

with much warmth,

yours,

 KS

** I removed name and changed initials to preserve student's privacy.**

Skinnytaste, Skinnyportions

Skinnytaste by Gina Homolka
w/Heather K. Jones, R.D.

The cover of Skinnytaste promises a collection of recipes "light on calories, big on flavor."   Love how there's nutritional information for every recipe listing calories, fat, carbohydrates.  That's really helpful.   As you drool over the food porn, what you realize immediately...the main secret to skinnytaste is portion size and portion control.  For example, the key to enjoying the corny banana-blueberry pancakes is sticking to two pancakes (259 calories).

Skinnytaste has a lot of sweet recipes so I think this book is best for someone with a sweet tooth looking to lighten it up.   Homolka also remakes many comfort and familiar dishes including chicken parmesan and chicken marsala.  Again, the photographs look sinfully delicious, the trick lies in limiting yourself to one cutlet.  Skinnytaste, skinny portions.

The book is easy for novices with plenty of "skinny scoops" (tips) served throughout.  Tips like what to do with leftover buttermilk, how long you can refrigerate a dish, and so on.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

 

Well-Nourished

Jennifer McGruther's cookbook feels like a book of love.  Her approach to food mirrors mine so I was quite excited to read her cookbook.  Instead of advising you to swear off carbs or meat forever, she encourages you to eat local, nutrient dense, and focus on quality over quantity.  Just say no to processed foods.

The Paleo diet forbids legumes so I found the section where she lists the nutrients legumes offer quite informative and helpful.  I enjoyed reading her recipes for sardines, bone marrow, elk and anchovies -- ingredients often overlooked.  

As someone who strives to be a fit foodie and is a fitness ambassador, I wish some of her recipes used less butter, less cream, less sugar (albeit honey, maple syrup).  The art of fermentation chapter is useful for any gardeners facing an overabundance and worried about fermenting vegetables safely.  There is a fine line, and McGruther guides you.

The photographs are lovely, but the book could've used more.   Some of the most delicious sounding recipes, sadly, had no photos.  And some photos like the chicken foot broth were thumbnail.

The Nourished Kitchen makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over.  The recipes are well-written, not difficult, and with a few exceptions (e.g., dulse) ingredients are not obscure.   Nourish yourselves and your loved ones.  You only have one body, embrace your health.

 "I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

All directions point NORTH

NORTH
The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland
by Gunnar Karl Gislason & Jody Eddy
foreword by Rene Redzepi of Noma

If I thought I wanted to visit badly before, and I did(!) thanks to New Scandinavian Cooking on PBS,  -now it's imperative.  This cookbook is a gorgeous cookbook and travelogue.  The photos are stunning, stories gripping and recipes loving.  Many of the recipes, however, are too time-consuming, and call for many hours of smoking, brining/pickling, refrigeration, rehydration.   So, I doubt I will be making many of the recipes verbatim.  But you know what they say, never say never.

The chefs do make suggested substitutions for those of us unlucky to live outside of Iceland.  Bay leaf for birch, tarragon for angelica, regular thyme for arctic thyme, et al.  I love how the cookbooks include interviews with the farmers, the fishermen, the smokers -- Restaurant Dill's providers and suppliers -- it makes you feel even closer to the food.   Certainly whets the ole appetite to know a few of them welcome tourists as well.

Some of the artistically plated masterpieces and heartfelt stories make you feel close enough to taste the love, the history and the culture.  It's so palpable that you will want to book the next flight so you can eat at Gunnar's table, and tour the country.  Damn those active volcanoes.  Then again, maybe that's how you'll get to extend your stay in Iceland.

Until I can afford to travel to Iceland, I do expect these stories and recipes to inspire me as I push my culinary boundaries and imagine an untouched natural landscape.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

You Gonna Use That Pickle?

Who doesn't love a good pickle?  

I'm not sure I want to know that person.  Then again, that person would give me their pickle :-)

Karen Solomon has put together a collection of her favorite pickles from China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.  It is not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be.  It amazes me how many things you can pickle, and how good they taste.  I especially love her recipes are completely devoid of preservatives, artifical colors and flavorings.  Some of the pickles take weeks, others take an hour.  As an organic gardener, I love having this guide so I can preserve the bounty and extend the season.  

The photographs are beautfiul and look fresh, like you can reach out and taste them.   I was pleasantly surprised to see a spinach with sesame recipe -- it fit the pantry and the palate.   Simply delicious.  Plus the spinach keeps for four days  in the refrigerator, if covered and refrigerated.  My garden is long on long beans, so I also enjoyed her salt-cured long beans with ginger. 

This book is a wonderful resource and guide for the pickle lover.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

A Visible Feast

Vibrant Food
by Kimberley Hasselbrink

is so beautiful that it could serve as a coffeebook, too.  Filled with gorgeous, colorful photographs -- it's art on a plate.

It is often said we eat with our eyes first and this book is sure to stir your appetite.  The recipes use fresh, seasonal ingredients and most of recipes are not difficult or time-consuming.   She is right that many of the recipes, the artistic presentation is intuitive and all you need is a good eye and a discerning palate.  

As an organic gardener and home chef, I enjoy seeing how Hasselbrink mixes up the color and taste.  How she reminds you the dish is your palette.

There are a lot of salad recipes, lighter fare recipes, and not so many stick to your rib entree dishes.  Very California cusine.  Her photos launch a thousand ideas.  I recommend this book to anyone who believes, as Charles Darwin did, "There is grandeur in this view of life." 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

My Irish Table

My Irish Table is a beautiful cookbook with stuninng photographs, hearty recipes, and warm personal stories.  Totally relate to many of the stories, my family also never missed an opportunity to celebrate with food.   Food was and is love.

The book also feels like a travel book as it takes you all over Ireland.  Turns out I visited Ireland during the culinary revolution (1995-2007), something I learned from the Introduction.   Oh how I remember those Irish breakfasts, how filling and well they prepared me for the day's adventures.  I fished with the locals and my B & B cooked my fresh fish that evening.  I also toured a Tunisian snail farm in County Cork.

In spite of the mouthwatering photographs, this isn't a cookbook I'd use everyday.  More of a special occasion cookbook.  The ingredients are expensive -- lobster, rack of/leg of  lamb, duck, roast prime rib of beef, roast leg of pork, Dublin Bay prawns (langoustines), venison, foie gras (banned in CA) -- and many recipes are time-consuming.   I limit carbs and sweets.

I will, however, look forward to trying his potato leek soup and President Obama's Stew when fall arrives with cool brisk temperatures.   And maybe I'll be lucky enough to dine at Restaurant Eve.  My Irish table confirms that there's a little bit of Irish in everyone.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

VB6, VB Happy

A few weeks ago, I invited some friends over without knowing what a challenge it would be to please everyone's palate.  One friend, a documentary animation filmmaker, who used to be a total foodie said she'd turned vegan.  Vegan.  After having her 25th anniversary party at Gorbals, downtown L.A.

Another friend is gluten-free.  I had to read many labels very carefully. Experiment.  

No clams, no mussels.

The food taboo list was long and forbidding, and I had agreed to volunteer earlier that day at an outdoors event.  Sweltering heat.  I was in a nonkosher pickle.  

So what can you cook that's delicious, has some "wow" and mouth appeal, and still meets everyone's dietary needs.   

This question that arises more and more often, so it was with great anticipation that I perused VB6 Cookbook, by Mark Bittman.

Full disclosure, I'm trying to be a fit foodie, so much of what Bittman explains, I knew.   Many of my foodie pals say being a fit foodie is impossible, and not always empathetic or supportive of my goals.  They tempt me with luscious, rich foods.  Certainly it is a constant struggle, but it sexier if I say it's a "sensuous lifestyle."  A sensuous lifestyle is one where you love your body, you love your self.

OK, the reality.  It means I work out regularly on the gym and on the hiking trails, or I see unwanted growth on the scale.  I grow some organic vegetables, what I can in this CA drought, and I eat right 85-90 percent of the time.  I train.  But like most people, I wish I could drop a few more pounds without sacrificing too much flavor, or muscle.

Towards that end, I limit carbs and sugar.  Rarely eat dessert, junk food, processed food.  I have tried eating only fruits and vegetables in the day, but quickly found I lacked energy and focus.  Another reason I was looking forward to VB6 -- proper balance, sustained energy. 

Love the way VB6 is organized.  Unlimited pantry, limited pantry, and treat pantry.   The suggested calendar is also great since I'm one of those people who hate eating the same thing over and over.   My father took the leftovers to work so I never saw them in the house. Breakfast without fresh organic eggs from the farmers market is very challenging, Bittman's smoothie recipes are great and satifsying alternatives.  I particularly love the cherry vanilla smoothie with fresh cherries.  

There's a lot on grains and dried beans which I rarely eat, but might come in handy when I have guests.  His dinner recipes are pretty simple and perfect for weeknights.  

Mark Bittman makes healthy food make sense, and he inspires you by keeping it simple.  And offering simple, refreshing variations.  Can't wait to make the mussels in coconut broth w/fresh corn.  I started cooking when my mother abandoned us so there are days when I think that's it, I'm gonna stop cooking.  No more entertaining either.  I've had it.  Forever.  My friends laugh and humor me.  Sure, Sure.  They know they will find me back in the kitchen.  

Because people like Mark Bittman bring back the joy.  He makes it seem fun, tasty and rewarding.  Some recipes require more time and/or more ingredients than others, but he states that upfront.   And luckily, most of the ingredients are easily found and do not require shopping at half a dozen specialty stores.  

I don't know if I can be VB6 for seven years, but his story makes it sound do-able.  That he never tires of it -- well, I may be ethnically-challenged.  I am Chinese-American, and the Chinese have been known to eat everything.  It was no different in my family, growing up. 

I'll have to let you know later if I drop any pounds.  



  "I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

You can call me old-fashioned if you make me an old-fashioned

Warning, you do not have to be over 21 to enjoy this book.  Heck, you don't even have to be a "toper." Toper is English slang for a heavy drinker, author Robert Simonson tells us.  Teetotalers can enjoy this book, too.  The Old-Fashioned is well-written, well-researched, full of wit, pithy quotes, interesting facts and old-fashioned drama.

And yes, it made me want to run out to the store and buy some Angostura Bitters, Bourbon/Rye (test which one I like better), oranges.

Half of the book is history and lore.  The second half has recipes.  When updating a classic, some like to add fruit.  Purists react in horror.  "I know the difference b/w a cocktail and a fruit salad!"  "Take out the garbage!"  The fruit wars.  Spoon wars.

Simonson explains the subtle differences quite well.  Seemingly simple, the size of the ice cube matters.  The choice of bitters and the liquors.  The length of the twist.   It's in the details.  My friend from WI proudly confirmed she wants her Old-Fashioned with brandy.

Drinks have gotten so fancy lately.  Mixology is now revered as such a higher art -- as well it should be.  However, it's so common to see drinks with a dozen ingredients listed that it's refreshing to read about one that is as simple as it is delicious.

Finally understand that line in Don McLean's American Pie -- drove my chevy to the levee and the levee was dry....WHAT!?

drinking whiskey and rye.
Oh yeah.

Totally recommend.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

The Big-Flavor Grillfest Thrillfest

The Big-Flavor Grill cookbook is a Grillfest Thrillfest.

Who doesn't love grilled meat and grilled vegetables?   Whenever someone is grilling in their backyard, everyone in my neighborhood smells it.  We all contemplate following our noses and dropping by with a six-pack or a bottle of beer.   Please, we know better than to invite ourselves empty-handed!

The foodie-ization of America is great in so many ways, but in other ways, it can be downright intimidating.   As Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby point out often, you don't always have time to plan your next meal hours or days ahead.  More often than not, you want to throw a delicious meal together last-minute.

The 1% can spend all they want.  The rest of us have to be more budget-conscious.  Do we need all those fancy gadgets?  Fortunately, Schlesinger and Willoughby say most gadgets are just designed to part you from your hard-earned money.   They break down grilling to its essence which I love.  What you need, what you don't.   Recipes include a "curve ball," an option when you have more time.  Perfect.

Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat.  I usually marinate it a few days before grilling.  Indeed, I have to plan ahead.  Sometimes I even forget I've been marinating and eat out/accept a dinner invitation.  Oops!  So I especially loved that this cookbook opens with skirt steak, and gives me several variations on a theme.  Grilled Skirt Steak w/Steak Sauce Chile Butter.  Grilled Skirt Steak with Honey Mustard Ranch Dressing.  Grilled Skirt Steak with Smoky Red Onions and Grilled Avocados.  You get the idea.  Like me, you're salivating.

Schlesinger & Willoughby prefer spcie ribs over marinades so there's that bias throughout the cookbook.   They feel marinades don't penetrate very far into the meats or proteins so the flavor reamins on the surface.  There's a section on seafood and vegetables, too.  The photograph of the grilled corn with basil and parmesan looks like a must try.

The recipes are written like flowcharts, making it easy as 1-2-3.   Prep Grill Toss.  Prep Grill Top.   Simplicity rules.  Therein lies the (spice) rub.   All you need to be a grill master is to keep it simple, keep it fun, keep it spontaneous.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Kitchen Confidence

Kitchen Confidence
    by Kelsey Nixon

is a wonderful cookbook for any cook looking to bolster his or her confidence in the kitchen.  The cookbook is geared more to the newcomer to the kitchen.  But that said, there are some wonderful tips and dishes for every cook.

Some of you may recognize Kelsey from her show Kelsey's Essentials on the Food Network Channel.   If you do, you know how friendly her approach is to the kitchen.  The kitchen is your friend, on your side.  It won't surprise you, then, that her recipes are easy to follow, easy to make, with easy to find ingredients.  No drudgery here.

The photographs are mouthwatering.  The sweet pea soup that greets you when you open the book immediately whets your appetite, and to learn, this luscious soup can be made with frozen peas is a wonderful secret (sssh!) you don't have to share with your guests when they slurp mmmgood.   Pea season is so short, and if using frozen peas can achieve the same result, why not try?

In Los Angeles, there are taco experts everywhere.  Every taco stand claims BEST TACO.  Kelsey says the trick to making the best carnitas tacos, braise the boneless pork shoulder in orange juice first.  I marinate skirt steak in orange juice, so this makes total sense.

Many of her recipes are contemporary twists on classics.  The BLT with apple and cheddar cheese is such an example.  Sloppy jane sliders.  Roasted tomato soup with pesto and cheesy croutons is another updated comfort food.  Her section on homemade pickles offers short cuts so you don't have to sacrifice flavor with your busy schedule.

Entertaining can be stressful and cause much performance anxiety.  Kitchen Confidence whittles away the stress so you can have fun with your guests.   Aren't those the best dinner parties, when everyone enjoys themselves?

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Living on the Edge of a Knife

Bobby Flay once complained, Nobody cooks for me!

I remember thinking, Bobby Flay, if you're willing to come to my tiny NYC studio apt, I'm willing to put my pride on the line and cook for you.

It's scary to cook for a professional chef.  Master chef.  Celebrity Chef.  Things may have changed since his lament -- it was years ago -- but his lament resonated with me because my mother was an accomplished chef.  She had the same complaint.

And I have friends who are afraid to cook for me so they don't.

So this past Sunday, when I invited a professional chef friend over for dinner -- sort of last minute -- I thought what am I doing?

Luckily I reminded myself I cooked for her before and passed the test.

But you're only as good as your next meal?

Nervous, I told her the meal would be simple.  Fresh.  Delicious.  And healthy.  Yes, I snuck that word in.   She was elated, as she errs on the side of healthy, too.

For starters, I made a chilled carrot soup which was a hit.  Refreshing on a hot summer's day.  Carrots from the farmers market.  Topped with parsley and toasted homemade seasoned bread crumbs.  

With heirloom tomatoes being sold $5-6 a pound, I do my best to grow my own.  The nasturtiums are from my garden, too.  It was so pretty, like a painting, that I photographed it before the burrata and basil were added.

Here it is with burrata and basil.

Roasted beets and blueberry salad.  One of the beets is from my garden, and I thought I can't roast only one beet.  Naturally I had to buy a few more to justify turning up the heat in an already hot kitchen.

The piece de resistance....
Organic Rack of Lamb

To round out the meal, I also served roasted lemon, garlic, parsley potatoes, asparagus with shaved parmesan and splash of balsamic.  My chef friend brought a wonderful green salad (bibb lettuce, baby kale, baby arugula) with Korean melon (sweet but crisp as a cucumber), radishes.  For dessert, fresh cherries, fresh blueberries and a pint of Cool Haus fig, basalmic vinegar and marscapone ice cream.

It was a very delicious evening.  My chef friend said it was the best meal she's had in a very long time, and she felt very loved.

Certainly, all the dishes were cooked and conceived with a lot of love.

Summer time and the living is easy

When the temperature rises in the summer, often you want to eat light and stay out of a hot kitchen.   Summer is also the time when our garden yields a lot of tomatoes, basil, zucchini, crookneck squash.  So I thought I'd make something refreshing out of the ingredients, most fresh from my organic garden.

I usually try to bring something healthy to potlucks because so many people bring rich and sweet entrees.  People joke around with me, "You brought the kale salad, didn't you?"

Guilty as charged.

I also like to experiment with flavors and tastebuds.  Enjoy expanding my horizons as well as yours.

I can't tell you how many people haven't eaten things like my kimchi dumplings or kimchi fried rice and said, "You put kimchi in there?  If I had known, I'd never have eaten it.  But I love it!"

It's the same with my writing.   "Your play NUMBER ONE SON made me realize gay people are just like you and me."

Back to food:

  

You brought the cucumber mint agua fresca, didn't you?

You brought the blueberry lavender martini, didn't you? 

You brought the cantaloupe soup, didn't you?

Yes, all me.

I care about my body, my health and about yours.  That's why SENSUOUS GOURMET.  

I'm not especially fond of medical bills, sitting around at the hospital, waiting around for biopsy results.  

I brought this zucchini, crookneck squash, tomato, burrata, basil salad to wine club.  No leftovers.  A big hit.  The squash is julienned so you can eat it raw.  Lightly drizzled with high quality virgin olive oil, crack pepper, fleur de sel, basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Simple, fresh, delicious.   Ssssh, it's also quite healthy.   So, if you have too much squash, send it over to me.  All my friends on Facebook want some.

Onstage/Offstage interview

Well, I couldn't afford to do Ithaca Fringe Fest this year.
Next best thing, talking to George Sapio.

Catch this week's Onstage/Offstage where the guest is... playwright Lucy Wang! http://www.onstageoffstage.com  WRFI Thurs Jun3 5, 2014, 3:30pm EST 
88.1 Stream http://www.wrfi.org 

WILD, TOO

It took a long time for me to pick up and read Cheryl Strayed's book WILD.  When WILD hit the bestseller list, I was hiking in the Angeles Forest regularly and it seemed all the women hikers were reading it.  And of course, they had to share.

So I felt like I was reading it then as well.

Now I know better.

The other reason I waited is...you have to know when something is good for you.   Yes, I know, this is not always as easy as it may sound.   The deep pain that Cheryl feels about losing her mother....well, I still feel that pain acutely too.  But there are major differences.

Cheryl's mother died too young.
My mother is still alive.  But she might as well be dead b/c she abandoned us and when she reinvented herself, my brother and I became casualties of war.

http://herkind.org/articles/on-my-mind/other-mothers

Like Cheryl, I am sad on my mother's birthday.   I think of her, and wonder, how is she.    It's one of those dates I call a blackout date.  A date you don't want to travel.

Another blackout date, my birthday which is coming up in four days.  I wonder does she ever think of me?  Wonder if I'm OK?  Google me?

Movies like Philomena give me false hope.  Oh, she must think of me!   Philomena couldn't stop thinking of her son.  I must go visit my mum in Australia and try, try again!   But doing the same thing over and expecting different results -- that's the very definition of insanity -- isn't it?

Plus in this day and age, she could find me if she wanted.

When I go to the doctor's, increasingly they ask for family history.  A few doctors have urged me to call her and say, "OK, you don't want to be my mom....Fine.  But I need your medical history so my doctors know what to do."   Be aggressive, be laid back, be ______________.  My mother could help fill in the blanks.

I admire Cheryl's courage, writing, honesty so much I've decided to start a book.  Of course, it's totally different.   Inspired by my life, my one woman show CHINESE GIRLS DON'T SWEAR and a literary agent in NYC.  This agent in NYC loves my wit, my courage, my writing.  She says my story is totally inspiring and empowering.

I've been resisting because I didn't want to go "there."  It's dark, it's personal, it's sad.

I resisted because my mother once pleaded, "C'mon, grow up, you don't need a mother any more."   Because I loved her, I believed her, I thought, hey I'm super mature.  Precocious.  Tiger Cub!

I resisted because everyone wants to know about my mother, but when you tell them, they don't freaking believe you.  "Oh no, a mother would never do that!"  "Are you kidding me?"   Sadly, tragically, I'm not kidding.  Even though I excel at comedy, have done standup, and my bits about my mother never fail to bring the house down.   Time + Tragedy = Comedy.

But I understand why nobody believes -- everyone else seems to have loving, nurturing mothers.  Top Chefs, Oscar Winners, Biggest Loser Contestants.   My girlfriends often say, "My mother's my BFF!" You find posts like this all over social media.

You are never too old, too wild, for want of a mother's love.

Tired of being sad, waiting for comedy gigs, feeling pity on those Blackout Dates (Mother's Day is probably the worst blackout date!), I will set out on a journey to write my novel.  I'm hoping that by blogging about it, I can inspire and push myself.

Chicago Booth Alumna Profile

University of Chicago Booth is known for its rigorous academics, Nobel Prize winners, top notch graduates so I was thrilled and surprised when they told me they wanted to profile me.

http://email.chicagobooth.edu/bwc/Lucy_Wang_email.aspx