Cook and Eat Like a Rock Star

Chris Taylor spends most of his time touring with his band, Grizzly Bear, but musicians have to eat, too.  Turns out, Taylor likes to eat well, cook with friends.   Yes, cook with, not for, friends.  This is a lovely way to bond and minimize some of the stress that comes with entertaining.  You eliminate the need to make things perfect if you cook with, but you do need to have the space/kitchen to allow more cooks in the kitchen.  I simply don't.  I have always dreamed of a large, open kitchen (and a Steinway grand piano), but have always been cursed with a Manhattan galley kitchen.

Like Taylor, however, I spend most of time writing, teaching, performing, so when I cook and entertain, I want it to be an enjoyable experience.   Not too stressful.  So I appreciate many of the recipes in here that are meant to inspire.  They tell you in the intro to feel free to tear the book apart, write in the margins, change things around, cross things out.  

Neither Taylor nor Schori are dessert guys, so credit for the desserts belongs to Lillie O'Brien.  

The book is divided by seasons.  The photos are lovely and definitely whet your appetite.  The recipes are very friendly and invite improvisation.  The pork chops and charred applesauce looks delicious, and charring the applesauce elevates this dish.  The plating in this book is artistic, and I like their philosophy about plating.  Even though we're all tempted to serve family style when we have big groups of people over with differing diet concerns, Taylor and Schori noticed that people end up eating components separately that way.  Sometimes, flavors pop and foodgasms happen when you mix dishes together.  For example, the sauteed snaps and mushrooms with soft boiled eggs might change how you compose a salad.

This cookbook is great for people who want to enjoy simple, satisfying food without the stress and aggravation.  Don't overcomplicate, overthink, second guess -- just do it.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Chinese Girls Don't Swear, The Buckeye Edition

BUCKEYES and FRIENDS OF BUCKEYES

Please SAVE the date Thursday, July 23, 7 PM and come see me perform at the Akron Civic Center. Comedy!! 

Me Make You Laugh Longtime! 

CHINESE GIRLS DON'T SWEAR. Info and tickets available at 
http://akroncivic.com/site/page.php?id=422&eventid=1865

Many moons ago, I performed ballet at the Akron Civic Theatre.  Now, I'm going to perform my one woman show, a hybrid of storytelling and stand up comedy.

I am performing the night before my official class reunion begins.  So some of my former classmates will bless me with their attendance.   It promises to be a night to remember.  I used to perform ballet at the Akron Civic Theatre.  If you told me I'd be back again then, I would have thought you were crazy.  If you go home again, make them laugh.  LeBron James would approve.

Impress Me With Your Genius

I couldn't wait to review Food52 Genius Recipes, especially when it claims on the cover, "100 recipes that will change the way you cook."  A lofty claim like that is both exciting and intimidating.

Recently, I made my first olive oil cake, but before I did, I researched the Internet to find the "best" one.  There were so many.  I had to be careful, finding "my" recipe didn't become a full time job. That's what this book is, someone has done the work of combing through similar recipes and chosen what they feel is the standout recipe.  This way, you can focus on making the dish.

There's a lot of celebrity naming in this book. Marcella Hazan, Eric Ripert, Alice Waters, Yotam Ottolenghi, et al..  If you're like me, you own a lot of cookbooks by these same celebs.   What if you combined the best of -- what would you include?  Tough, huh?  Fret not, Kristen Miglore makes it easy for you and adds her own touch of "genius."

Take something as simple as applesauce.  I've always made it on the stovetop which takes constant watch, but apparently roasted applesauce helps apples become their best.  Thanks to the late Judy Rodgers from Zuni Cafe for that revelation.  I just bought some duck eggs, to treat myself, but until this cookbook, I never thought of poached scrambled eggs.  Thanks, Daniel Patterson!  Can't wait to make Rao's meatballs.  And of course, the cover photo whets your appetite.   Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce with butter and onion may look simple, but Hazan reminds us, "Simple doesn't mean easy."  True enough, but with this book, simple is made easier, and as my father used to say (actually, he threatened), "Impress Me With Your Genius."

Bon appetit!

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Happiness is a Sprouted Bowl

This cookbook offers bowls of happiness, thanks to Sara Forte's recipes and her husband Hugh's stunning photographs.  This is how life should be daily.  Daily!  You ask, how is this possible?  I am busy, I juggle 5 jobs.  I have a family.  I am too tired.  Yes, yes, yes to all that.  But here's the thing, you still need to eat.  You still need to nourish yourself and your loved ones.

Bowls are warm, inviting, whole.  In the overview, Sara mentions that she doesn't necessarily have a favorite cuisine or speciality.  I could really relate to this.  People ask me the same question all the time.  My answer is usually good fresh food, whatever's in season, whatever looks best, so I totally identified with Sara when I read:  "What I do well is what I care most about, which is produce."

This is why this cookbook is good every day.  It's divided into morning bowls, side bowls, big bowls, sweet bowls.  There's a section on dressing and sauces.  Go ahead and let your bowl runneth over. You and your body deserve it.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Pure Food

Pure Food is an excellent primer for anyone who wants to start eating clean.  More plants, less meat.  The recipes are all vegetarian and include some vegan recipes.   The book is organized by month, and some months (July) have far more recipes than spring (March).   Wish there were more photos; there's a few in the middle of the book.

The recipes are not complicated, as the author Veronica points out early, which makes sense because eating healthier isn't rocket science.  You know the general rules.  Stay away from processed foods.  Know where you food is grown.  Organic.  Use fresh herbs when you can.  This book helps you think of ideas after a busy day at work. 

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

Under Pressure

A fellow foodie talked me into buying a Fissler pressure cooker.  It will change your life!  Curtis Stone endorses our pressure cooker!  Oh, the pressure she plied.  Perhaps now is a good time to mention that her company sells these Fissler pressure cookers.   The time you will save.  The sales pitch.  I will throw parties and show you what gourmet treats you can make from it.   She certainly posts photos of what she makes in her Fissler pressure cooker, Korean goodies....but alas, she never invited me to a pressure cooker party. These Fissler pressure cookers come with a slim manual written in stilted English.

The pressure cooker has made a comeback since our grandmothers, but until recently, there were no cookbooks for the pressure cooker with recipes reflecting how we eat now, and the abundant produce available.  Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough to the rescue.

The Great Big Pressure Cooker is a handy volume and promises 500 recipes for both stovetop and electric pressure cookers.  The authors let you know how much effort each recipe requires, how much pressure, what kind of release.  You'll find a lot of useful information and comforting recipes here.  The main drawback is the paucity of photographs.  Photographs reassure us our dishes look like they're supposed to.  Perhaps more importantly, photographs also inspire us and alight our imaginations (tastebuds).   

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

A Salad A Day

Most folks I know want to eat more fruits and vegetables, want to eat healthier -- myself included -- but wanting is not the same thing as doing.  So, what is it that stops us?  Maybe the notion of eating a salad a day sounds boring.  Or, too difficult to have enough ingredients to change it up daily.

Eating healthy is even trickier at lunch time.  You don't want something that will take too long.  You need something filling, but not too filling that it puts you in a food coma and induces sleep.  Lunch breaks are often short, an hour or less, so you have to maximize that time.  Sometimes, it's better for your career to eat with your colleagues and just go with the flow.  Everyone wants to eat at ________, why should I be the "health nut?"

David Bez decided to do something about it.  SALAD LOVE is not a cookbook, he even states that from the start.  It's more like a photo diary with ingredients listed underneath as "captions."  Bez makes it seem easier by showing us many alternatives.  Vegetarian alternatives.  Raw.  Omnivore.  Fruits and grains.  Different combinations.  Bez helps you imagine the possibilities when you feel stuck, or too exhausted to think.  His salads and the photographs inspire us to love our bodies.

I received Salad Love from Blogging for Books in return for my thoughtful review.