Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees

Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees

Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking

by Kian Lam Kho

The photographs (all 240 of them!) are stunning and it's the first thing that grabs your eye.   Kho reminds people that China has many regional cuisines, not just one and learn a little about the birth of China's vast and rich culinary culture.  He organizes his chapters by cooking methods, rather than region.  The section on frying is divided into light frying, deep frying, oil steeping, pan frying and yin yang frying.  If you're wondering what yin yang frying is, I don't blame you.   It refers to when you fry food in hot oil, then add cold oil to lower the temperature before bringing the temperature back up to finish.

Other chapters cover Boiling, Slow Cooking, Steaming, Smoking, Roasting, Soup Making.  Again, these chapters are divided into sections.   

This book is very comprehensive for lovers of traditional Chinese cuisine.

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

Lucky Peach, Lucky Me

Lucky Peach, Lucky Me!

I had the Momofuku cookbook and many of the recipes were quite involved, so I never really used it. So I looked forward to this cookbook promising recipes to dishes I might actually have the time to create.   The pantry is useful especially to novices.  For example, Hainan chicken is one of my favorite dishes, so I'm happy to have an easy tasty recipe.   The soy-braised short ribs look sumptuous and do-able, too.  My mother used to make the best lion's head meatballs so naturally I enjoyed reading Peter's version.  All the photos are worth a 1,000 calories (or more), and lucky me, all the recipes are "Chineasy."

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

Domo Donabe

Donabe (doh-NAH-bay) is clay cooking vessel from Japan with a delicious and storied history.  It's very popular in the wintertime, great for sharing and making one-pot meals.  It reminds me of hot pot, popular in Chinese cuisine.

I've been looking to buy an attractive, authentic and affordable donabe for myself.  It hasn't been easy.

As Moore explains, typical donabe require little or not fat which is terrific news for your health.  The photographs are gorgeous, inspires you to cook -- a hallmark of a great cookbook.   She explains how you can care and use your donabe in a myriad of ways:  tagine, a steamer, a smoker.The recipes are divided by rice dishes, soups and stews, steamed and classic style.

You will spend many hours exploring and your body will thank you from head to toe.  If only cooler temperatures would pay a short visit Southern California.

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

52 Ways to Love Baking

What a joy this Food52 Baking Book is, especially for occasional bakers like me.   The recipes are inviting and look easy, accessible.   The photographs are the icing on the cake, the buttercream.   The recipes that immediately cried out Make me! include:

Strawberry-Yogurt Snack Cake 

Raspberry Clafoutis

Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Plums

Balsamic Macaroons with Chocolate Chips

Nectarine Slump

What I find inspiring is that delicious doesn't have to mean complicated.  So often when I dine at a fine restaurant, the desserts require a million ingredients and steps.  

In addition to sweets and breakfast goods, there is a section on savory baked goods -- flatbreads and pizzas.

This book is great for experienced and inexperienced bakers alike.

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

Easy Vegan

The word "vegan" has been known to strike fear in many of us who consider ourselves adventurous eaters.   We want to rebel against the restrictions.   Our tastebuds think boring and bland.  Then, of course, the panic of comprising a full meal driven by vegetables that will satisfy and delight?  Gena Hamshaw takes the fear out and puts the pleasure in Vegan with her new cookbook.

The recipes are easy to follow, basic and most do not call for umpteen trips for esoteric ingredients. The subtitle says it all:  60 vegetable-driven recipes for any kitchen.  Any kitchen, folks, so let's here it for Vegan Democracy.

Gena gives you the basics in a section titled Vegan 101, putting you at ease from the beginning.  The photographs whet your appetite.

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

Homemade Kitchen: Real Food, Real People

You have a friend in Homemade Kitchen.
Alana Chernila's philosophy and approach to cooking is so warm and inviting.
Chernila comes across as someone you'd welcome in your kitchen AND as someone that would welcome you in hers.

Each chapter title nourishes you with confidence and conviction.
Start where you are.
Feed yourself.
Do your best and then let go.

At the outset, Chernila stresses that homemade food is the opposite of perfection, giving the cook freedom to experiment and explore, put his or her own stamp on the food.   This cookbook reminds you of the pleasure cooking can give.

The photographs are wonderful and the recipes are easy to follow.  Most of the recipes call for easily found ingredients.  Nothing too exotic, no cutting edge molecular gastronomy, no reinventing the wheel here.  Real food for real people.

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

Donning the Blue Apron

I usually enjoy grocery shopping and farmers markets, picking out my own produce and planning menus around what's in season, what looks best.   Now and then, I need a break from food shopping and menu planning to attend to rewrites and rehearsals, students, work.   So when a foodie friend offered me a free trial with Blue Apron, I couldn't wait to see what meals were coming in my basket.

To whet my appetite, my friend had been posting photos and sharing her experiences, comparing Blue Apron to Sun Basket.

The three meals I chose from Blue Apron were:

Pan-seared cod with pickled grapes & summer succotash 

I had to use my own tomatoes, as mine arrived heavily bruised, moldy, unusable

Pork Ramen w/fresh ramen noodles & summer vegetables

The pork was juicy

Blackened Chile-Dusted Chicken with zucchini rice & corn tomato saute

The Pros:

All the meals tasted delicious

Recipes are easy to follow

My husband willingly shared the chores and mise en place since there were clear directions

The calories are right

Fun to plate

Packaging is recyclable

The Cons:

Some of the garlic cloves on my bulb were dried out, brown 

My tomato was heavily bruised, moldy and unusable

My zucchini arrived w/pockmarks everywhere, too soft so I bought another one

No leftovers 

BOTTOM LINE:  Would I become a regular?  Semi-regular?  Well, it all depends on the menu.  Really.  Whet my appetite, Blue Apron, and up the quality control of ingredients.  We like protein and go easy on carbs.  Our diet is more paleo but not exclusively so which is why I chose the week that I did.   The menu options feature a lot of carbs -- rice, bread (sandwiches), pasta -- and less protein, which unfortunately doesn't appeal as much to us.