Food Thread -- HolidayChristmas Gift Edition [CBD]

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If you have a budding cook, or a kid on his own who can't afford to eat out, or just need a great reference for pretty much everything, then Joy of Cooking By Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker is hard to beat. The recipes are the baseline in American cooking. Everything is here!

This little beast is a great tool when you are chopping more than one or two onions or other vegetables. When I make anything braised I use this for the consistency of the chop. And, it cuts things besides onions...carrots, peppers and other tough skinned or hard foods (No link to Ace's Amazon page....it's a bit pricey there. Bed Bath And Beyond will probably do better).

At the risk of exposing the Moron Horde to the utter vapidness and squishy hard-left sensibilities of a born-and-bred New York City progressive, this is a glorious book about one man's journey from drinker to non-drinker. Rest assured, it is not preachy; it is a glimpse of an interesting life, well lubricated -- and damaged -- by alcohol. A Drinking Life, by Pete Hamill is a worthwhile read, especially for those interested in A NYC that no longer exists (Thank you Michael Bloomberg).

Don't be fooled by the pedigree of this chef, he has transfered his brilliant restaurant cooking to the home stage, without dumbing down the technique. He runs two of the greatest restaurants in America, and the attention to detail required of those are in clear evidence in this book. Ad Hoc At Home, by Thomas Keller, is not for the disinterested cook, but if you are interested in rigorous technique and sometimes nitpicking detail, this is for you.

Chemistry, physics and cooking are of course intimately linked. On Food and Cooking:The Science and Lore of the Kitchen By Harold McGee may be the best single source for the science behind what happens in the pot and the oven. It's also interesting in its own right, with a deceptively easy writing style and a huge amount of useful data.

posted by Open Blogger at 04:05 PM

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