For Cookbooks We Love, June 2021, we’ve found several wonderful new titles. Let’s get started.
Ciudad de Mexico: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Mexico City by Edson Diaz Fuentes, Pierre Koffmann
Growing up in Mexico City during the 1980s gave chef Edson Diaz-Fuentes a jumpstart on his palette. He spent his time visiting centuries-old open-air markets in the city’s center with his grandmothers. He continually feasted at the countless food stands that dotted the city. And he enjoyed frequent impromptu family get-togethers that always seemed to revolve around food. Diaz-Fuentes was a self-declared foodie since age five.
When he left Mexico City, he moved to New York where he made good use of the food stalls operated by Mexican immigrants. Later, he moved to London. There he eventually opened a Mexican restaurant Santo Remedio (Spanish for “holy remedy”).
Now Diaz-Fuentes recalls his native cuisine for the home cook. The 256-page Ciudad de México covers the pillars of Mexican cooking, marinades, rubs, salsas, early morning eats, breakfasts, lunchs, snacks, sundown drinks, and dinners.
The running narrative of Mexican food and culture is enchanting and Diaz-Fuentes’ ingredient substitution guides are extremely helpful.
Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes and Rituals from the Soul of Colombia by Mariana Velasquez
Our next pick for this edition of Cookbooks We Love is the spectacular Colombiana. We say spectacular because Velasquez is a food stylist as well as a recipe developer and the cookbook is filled with photos of her stunning tablescapes.
Velasquez includes recipes for Colombian classics, like arepas and empanadas. She also includes some “Colombian-ish” dishes, like lomito de cerdo al tamarindo y menta (tamarind pork tenderloin with mint).
Dada Eats: Love to Cook It: 100 Plant-Based Recipes for Everyone at Your Table by Samah Dada
Into plant-based eating? Dada’s got you covered. Dada’s food is usually vegan, allergen-free, gluten-free, and grain-free. But that’s incidental. Really, she’s after delicious, nutritious food. And she likes to use plant-based and unprocessed ingredients in unusual ways. Like a cake made from chickpeas.
While she draws on her Indian background, Dada’s dishes aren’t traditional Indian. Like masala mac and cheese. Her 100+ recipes include avocado cream pasta, salted peanut butter carmel bars, cumin-roasted carrot salad and peanutbutter cookie sandwich.
Dada includes lots of ingredient substitutes so if you have some dietary concerns, you can easily remove dairy, grains, or gluten.
At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes by Carolyn Phillips
Twice a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards, Carolyn has written and illustrated three books. Her work and recipes have appeared in many major publications including The Atlantic.
That’s the easy stuff. Her real trick was becoming the much-loved eldest daughter-in-law in a traditional Chinese family. That’s no easy task for an American. But Phillips (aka Madame Huang) used her love of food, learning everything she could about the vast and varied cuisines of China, to win over her in-laws.
She also learned Mandarin Chinese along the way. Now considered an expert on Chinese food, Phillips details her unexpected life in At the Chinese Table.
Check out her recipe blog here. (By the way, the multitalented Phillips painted the cover of At the Chinese Table.)
Frosted: Take Your Baked Goods to the Next Level with Decadent Buttercreams, Meringues, Ganache and More by Bernice Baran
Ready to master buttercream, meringue, cream cheese frosting and ganache? You need Bernice Baran’s Frosted. It includes everything from frosting basics and base frosting recipes to foolproof tips and tricks for the perfect frosting.
Baran, the creator of Baran Bakery, writes for beginner bakers and buttercream connoisseurs, both.
Breads for Beginners: Easy Recipes for Yeast Breads, Quick Breads, Muffins and More by Ginger McKinsey
Ginger McKinsey’s Breads for Beginners starts with super-easy, no-knead bread. With four ingredients and about five minutes of mixing time, you can get rustic loaves, pizza, and focaccias. She moves on to basic white bread, whole wheat brown bread, multi-grain breads, and flavored bread, each with easy, step-by-step recipes.
Feeling like an advanced beginner? McKinsey’s got your covered. There’s the iconic French bagguette and sourdough basics. McKinsey finishes up with several pop-over recipes. Oh, and did we mention fool-proof cinnamon rolls? Yeah, cinnamon rolls.
5-Ingredient Vegan Cooking: 60 Approachable Plant-Based Recipes with a Few Ingredients and Lots of Flavor by Kate Friedman
The title to Kate Friedman’s new cookbook tells you everything you need to know “60 Approachable Plant-Based Recipes with a Few Ingredients and Lots of Flavor.” Yep, we’re in. Her recipes include roasted beet and farro salad. There’s also minimalist chocolate-espresso mousse. Need something sweet? Try the chickpea chocolate chip cookie dough.
Whiskey Rebels: The Dreamers, Visionaries & Badasses Who Are Revolutionizing American Whiskey by John McCarthy
In 2003, the US had 60 craft distilleries. Now we have more than 2,000 and 500 of them are making whiskey. John McCarthy tells us about the entrepreneurs, visionaries, and oddballs are behind the current craft whiskey craze. He’ll also tell us why they hate the term “craft whiskey.”
American History Through a Whiskey Glass: How Distilled Spirits, Domestic Cuisine, and Popular Music Helped Shape a Nation by Harris Cooper
The one thing you need to know about American History Through a Whiskey Glass author Harris Cooper is that he’s an Executive Bourbon Steward and has visited over sixty distilleries throughout the United States. The other stuff, like his being Dean of the Social Sciences at Duke University, is extra.
While Cooper is a bonafide academic, he takes a more lighthearted approach here. It’s pop culture at its finest.
Starting with the Mayflower, he talks about who drank what when, and what music they listened to while they did. He digs into the role whiskey played in the founding of America (George Washington was a distiller), and much more.
Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy: Scientific Foundations, Educational Practices, and Culinary Applications by Róisín Burke, Alan Kelly, Christophe Lavelle , and Hervé This vo Kientza
This is the first time a textbook has made it into an edition of Cookbooks We Love, but the Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy deserves a nod here if for nothing more than its scope. And heft. The handbook checks in at more than 2,300 pages!
Molecular Gastronomy covers the underlying science and technology of molecular gastronomy. That’s the “physical and chemical transformations that occur during cooking.” (Thanks Britannica!) That means the physics, chemistry, biology as well as technology involved in cooking and eating. It also takes a deep look at ingredients, tools, and methods of cooking.
Information is presented in an encyclopedia format, with a section devoted to recipes by noted chefs.
The hardcover price is $250. We suggest the much more affordable Kindle version priced at only $39.99.
What’s Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients by Peter Hoffman
Peter Hoffman introduced New York City to farm-to-table cooking with his Soho restaurant Savoy, and later Back Forty. In What’s Good?, Hoffman continues his passion for ethically and locally sourced food. One of his main ideas is that a restaurant should be a nourishing place for everyone involved, from customers to staff, farmers to support personnel.
The memoir also includes the backstory to some of his most popular creations including pork shoulder with pimenton rub, rabe with garlic, chiles and parmesan, and his wife’s peach and raspberry pie.
Visit Cookbooks We Love – May, 2021 here.
