In Defense of Cookbooks

As much as I appreciate all the recipes, information and videos that are out on the web these days, there's just something comfortable and pleasant about having cookbooks at the ready.

A wee little bookshelf in the kitchen is a lovely thing.

My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

I marvel at how far cookbooks have come. Gone are the days of the dense, featureless tomes of my childhood kitchen. Now, instead, we have lively, colorful, engaging albums of recipes, food, stories and photographs with helpful tips and how-tos, with shopping advice and substitutions, food pairings, meal suggestions and wine tips. And because the world has become so accessible, we're able to explore and sample regional and international foods like never before. Cooking is fun again, interesting, and delicious. My current obsession is all things Paris, so of course My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz is a must for my foodie bookshelf. May I just say we've been eating very well at my house lately? Hubs and I have been diving into these recipes with gusto.

To wit...

Artichoke Tapenade with Rosemary Oil, pg 53. This is delicious even without the Rosemary oil, and who knew it would be so easy to make? We had it on crackers or as a spread on sandwiches.

Celery Root Salad, pg 105. This is crunchy and tangy and creamy like coleslaw but without being too cabbage-y. We had it with roast chicken and it was delicious.

 Celery Root Soup , pg106. A good springtime soup! This also has leeks and is deliciously light and mild. The crumbled ham chips on top are a yummy contrast. It also calls for a dollop of creamed horseradish to stir in, which I omitted because I really just wanted the taste of the celery, leeks and ham.

Duck Terrine with Figs, pg113. Oh man. This right here? This is unbelievable. It takes some prep work, yes, but the end result is a delicate deliciousness I never thought could possibly come from my humble kitchen. Put a dab on crackers or spread (crumble) on a sandwich like David does, with pickles and mustard.

French Onion Soup, pg 117. A hearty meal in itself, this. Since I don't own oven-proof bowls (I love the set David shows in several of his soup and casserole pictures, but alas) I had to assemble the bread and cheese right into the pot I cooked the soup in and then set the whole thing in the oven to brown before ladling out the portions. It's still delicious and hearty, although my portion here was not quite as cheesy as everyone else's. 

Carrot Salad, pg 123. This makes a nice accompaniment to lamb, along with... 

...Couscous Salad, pg237. This, in fact, was so good we ate it for days with a various assortment of meats and vegetables.

Buckwheat Polenta with Braised Greens, Sausage and Poached Eggs. pg158. We made this for dinner, but with all the lovely textures and flavors going on here, you could make it a substantial brunch as well. 

Chicken Lady Chicken, pg173. The name? You'll have to read the story behind it. The only thing we changed was grilling it instead of frying it on a cast-iron frying pan and it was still the most flavorful, moist and tender chicken ever to emerge from my kitchen.








I'd say we got off to a pretty decent start, here. There are a hundred or so recipes throughout so I have lots more to look forward to. And let's not forget dessert. I understand the French know a thing or two about sweet and buttery confections. But that will have to be a whole other post. Stay tuned.

Check out David's website for all things Paris, cooking, food and life. It's the next best thing to being there.

The Epicurious Cookbook by Tanya Steel and The Editors of Epicurious

Since I am a-bit-of-this and a-bit-of-that kind of cook, I especially appreciate recipes that leave room for improvisation and innovation, which is also why I like websites such as epicurious.com that allow for user comments and ratings. How exciting is it then to find out one of my favorite cooking sites just came out with a book! The Epicurious Cookbook is a book I can carry around the kitchen, scribble notes in, and dog-ear pages of favorite works-every-time recipes. I loved that the recipes are even divided up into seasons making use of what's available and freshest at the grocery store and farmer's market.  My kitchen was a hive of activity recently as hub and I got busy putting together and enjoying some delectable meals.






Here's what we made:

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Fontina, and Rosemary - pg46

This was my favorite! For being such a simple looking pizza, it was incredibly delicious. The recipe is actually for several small pizzas but I made one large one. The wine I used for sautéing the mushrooms was sake. I imagine Pinot Grigio would work well here too, but sake was what we had on hand and lent just as tasty a wine flavour.

Caramelized onions already done and set aside and a pan full of sautéing chopped mushrooms.

The ingredients are assembled and ready to put into a hot oven.

Lunch! Along with the rest of the sake and a most delicious Pear, Arugula and Pancetta Salad pg324

Next we made Grilled Citrus Chicken under a Brick - pg144 only we didn't do a whole butterflied chicken as it says to do but rather boneless chicken breasts, adjusting the cooking time down accordingly. One of the alternatives suggested is to use a cast iron skillet instead of bricks, which we tried with great success! We heated the skillet over the coals first so that when they were placed on top of the chicken they would not only flatten the meat but also help cook it from on top. We also sautéd the marinade so it could glaze the finished chicken (picture) with lovely bits of citrus, herbs and garlic still intact.

Oh man, this was so delicious. We combined this with the Roasted Cauliflower with Kalamata Olives on pg 364 to which we added a sprinkling of feta cheese, and some plain basmati rice to absorb all the juices and flavours.

Hub made himself this lovely little lunch on page 205, Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich with Arugula. He added a sprinkle of turmeric to the egg to give it a bit of colour . . . and also just because he likes turmeric.

It too was declared a delectable success.








We made a number of other very tasty recipes including Vegetarian Cassoulet on pg 329, using a combination of lima beans and chick peas; Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew on pg 330, substituting yams for the carrots; Chicken and Fall Vegetable Pot Pie on pg 249; Thai Chicken Stock on pg 362; And, finally, for dessert the Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie on pg 287, which we actually just made into an apple crumble omitting the crust altogether on account of our less-than-youthful waistlines . . . One has to make concessions somewhere (!) In spite of that it was one of the most delicious apple crumbles I've ever tasted.

The Epicurious Cookbook is full of clear and straightforward recipes, delicious pictures, and an array of   substitution possibilities. It will have a place on my kitchen bookshelf for a long time to come.