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."