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Culinary Arts.One of the many neat features of studying at Cornell University is that, even if you're not enrolled in its famous School of Hotel Administration, you can attend one of the cooking and wine tasting classes organized especially for non-Hotel School students, and get at least a flavor of the five star culinary instruction provided by the chefs teaching at that school. (That is, you can do so if you're willing to get up an extra hour or two early on the morning of non-Hotel School student enrollment, and if you're lucky enough to beat the crowds or at least slip in as a substitute participant.) In addition to numerous recipes and pieces of valuable advice, information and memories – particularly of the last night, on which we had to put together a four-course meal, fine dining style, complete with menu, garnishments and perfectly laid table – Cornell's "cooking class" has enriched my kitchen by two items I have since found it very hard to do without: A professional grade chef's knife, and Sarah Labensky's and Alan Hause's "On Cooking, which we used as our textbook.
Much more than that, however, "On Cooking" is in fact a near-complete reference on everything related to the culinary arts, from the history of cooking to new foods developed in the 20th century, from sanitation and safety to nutritional values, from recipe writing to menu composition, from knifes and other pieces of equipment to edible kitchen staples, from the principles of cooking to various techniques and food presentation – and of course, on every conceivable kind of food, from coffee, tea, spices and condiments to dairy products, stocks, sauces, soups, red and white meats, charcuterie, fish and shellfish, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, grains, pasta, salads, fruits, sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, breads, pies, pastries, cookies, cakes, custards, creams and frozen desserts. Along the way, numerous tables, diagrams and pictures illustrate and exemplify the given information, making it easy to digest and memorize. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography and recommendations for further reading, and a detailed glossary of essential culinary terms.
Recipes are chosen to match individual chapters, and provide both a practical application and a more profound understanding of the respective chapters' subject matter. They include everything from American and international classics to numerous more unusual dishes.
At 1100+ pages a veritable brick, despite its size "On Cooking" has become as much a key part of my kitchen as my chef's knife, my tea strainer and various other pieces of equipment. I don't harbor any intentions of becoming a professional chef (nor any aspirations to even remotely that level of culinary skills), but I love to cook, and this is one of the cookbooks I'd be least likely to part with – ever.
"Cookery is become an art, a noble science; cooks are gentlemen." – Robert Burton, British author (1621).
Themis-Athena's guide to (North) American cooking
Around the World in 350+ Recipes."Holidays in far flung places have increased our awareness of different foods, and restaurants on every street corner now offer dishes that no so long ago would have been unfamiliar," the editors of this volume say in their introduction. And indeed: This is nothing less than a lavishly illustrated and marvelously edited culinary trip around the whole world, with stops in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, India, the Middle East, Italy, Spain, France, North America, the Caribbean and Mexico.
All recipes are broken down into small, easy to follow steps, demonstrated in numerous photos. Ingredients are listed with quantities given both in the American and the metric measuring system, thus making the recipes easily accessible wherever you live. Numerous cook's tips add to the cooking experience and ensure its success. Most of the ingredients are easy to come by, although some may require a trip to a specialty food market. You'll find plenty of now well-known favorites from the regions represented here, as well as rare and new creations you might not have thought of yourself.
All in all, the book includes more than 350 recipes. If you're interested in one regional cuisine in particular, you may want to get specialized cookbooks from that particular country or region in addition. But as an introduction and a primer, this volume is very hard to beat. An excellent complement are the titles contained in the Book of ... Cooking series.
Themis-Athena's guide to European cooking
Themis-Athena's guide to Latin American and Caribbean cooking
Themis-Athena's guide to African cooking
Themis-Athena's guide to Asian and Pacific cooking
Fast and Furiously Delicious Recipes.I'm a Cornell grad, and one thing I remember with particular pleasure about my time in Ithaca, NY are those occasional forays down the Hill for lunch or (more likely) dinner at Moosewood, for years one of the local standout restaurants. Although not a vegetarian, I try not to eat meat every day of the week; and for a tasty, healthy alternative, there just isn't anything better than Moosewood's recipes. No question that I had to get their cookbook – several of them, actually – before I finally left town.
"Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home" begins with two short introductory sections about the use of time and nutritional analysis. The recipes are then grouped into individually introduced sections covering soups, dips, spreads and quick breads, salads and sides, dressings, salsas and sauces, main dish salads, gains, beans, pastas, stews, stir-fries and sautes, fish, sandwiches, filled tortillas, and pizzas, eggs and pancakes, and desserts. The book closes with a pantry list, a guide to ingredients, chapters on preparation and techniques, fresh herbs, menu planning and quantities (including liquid and dry measure and temperature conversion tables – particularly helpful for those of us who live in a "metric system" country); as well as a number of special lists, grouping the featured recipes according to their qualification as nondairy and vegan, kid-pleasers, recipes preparable in 30 minutes or less, and recipes suitable for entertaining, buffets and pot-lucks. What I like most about this book – besides the overall outstanding quality of the recipes and the fact that most of them are very quick and easy to prepare – are the countless little insider tips regarding the shopping for as well as preparation and storage of idividual dishes and their combination with other dishes or ingredients, in addition to the background information on the names, provenance and cultural context of the many Non-Western recipes (not to mention that so many of those recipes are included in the first place).
It's hard for me to pick a personal favorite; there are so many ... for soups, I guess I'd pick the Mexican tomato lime soup, for dips the spicy peanut dip, for sides the mushrooms in lemon marinade, for dressings either the creamy pine nut vinaigrette or the lemon sesame dressing, for sauces the hazelnut and red peppers sauce, for main dish salads the sweet potato salad, for grains the herbed lemon pilaf with almonds ... and for salsas, pastas, stews, tortillas, pizzas, eggs, pancakes and desserts, every single one! (Sorry, really can't make up my mind there; it's more a question of mood and, of course, what ingredients I happen to have handy.) But whether you're just cooking for yourself or for family and friends, there should be something for everyone in this book; regardless whether you are vegetarian/vegan or not. Highly recommended!
The Moosewood Restaurant website
Themis-Athena's select annotated bibliography of vegetarian cookbooks for non-vegetarians
A great resource for anybody interested in a healthy diet.Coconut oil once used to have a good reputation, but was swept up in the 20th century's anti-saturated fat wave which summarily blamed all saturated fats for promoting high cholesterol, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and a plethora of modern society's other medical scourges. It now seems to be making a comeback, however, because research is beginning to show this particular oil's very own, unique health benefits: most importantly, the fact that unlike other oils, coconut oil contains a group of fats known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are not digested like other fats but go into the liver and are converted into energy virtually immediately after consumption, thus stimulating the metabolism and reducing body fat and weight even if a person's total calorie intake otherwise remains unchanged, and reducing cholesterol – more specifically, the dreaded LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol – by a rate almost triple that of olive oil (13% as opposed to 4.5% in olive oil). Unsurprisingly, therefore, heart disease, cancer, colon disease and obesity rates in societies whose diets continue to substantially rely on coconut oil – for example those in the Caribbean – are substantially lower than those in North America and certain Western European countries.
Coconut Island is a website providing information on everything from the benefits of coconut oil to book recommendations, links to further published research, cooking tips, recommendations regarding the use of coconut oil in skin care ... and, yes, they do sell the stuff, too. So this is a commercial and informational website, not a medical or scientific one. But neither does it pretend to be the latter (in fact, there are not one but two disclaimers to that effect at the bottom of the front page), nor are the claims made regarding the benefits of coconut oil in any way, shape or form mere hype used to advertise a product; indeed, every statement is backed by the solid research performed by respected scientists. Moreover, the coconut oil they sell is "virgin" oil, i.e. oil that has not been refined, bleached, deodorized, hydrogenated or otherwise significantly altered by commercial processing, and therefore retains all of the fresh coconut's essential properties, without containing any of the (highly toxic) trans-fatty acids typically resulting from hydrogenation. The site also provides information on their supplier and the processing methods used by those.
Through a side bar, the site is easily navigable, and it loads without any problems. Orders are handled via Paypal or by check (must be made out in Pound Sterling, as this is a British site – they do ship internationally, however); and they are up front about expected delays, if any. As a resource for all those caring about a healthy diet, the website comes highly recommended.
"[Coconut oils] are the health oils for the next millennium." – Jon J. Karbara, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University.
New England Cooking at Its Best.How do you combine traveling and cooking if both are your hobbies? Very simple – after you've savored the local cuisine of the place you have visited in restaurants, you take home a cookbook to try and prepare some of those dishes at home.
I bought the "Old-Time New England Cookbook" during my first visit to the region, and it fast became a staple in my cooking, whether for friends and parties or just for myself. This book, an unabridged republication of 1958's "Rain, Hail, and Baked Beans" (Ives Washburn, Inc., New York), is a wonderful introduction to traditional New England cooking, from classics such as clam and other chowders, lobster and Concord grapes, to bear marinade (a mixture of cider, orange juice and spices) and Governor Bradford's plum pudding. Arranged not by dishes but by seasons, the book introduces the reader, in addition to the flavors of the local cuisine, to those of the region's particular atmosphere and, through numerous little anecdotes, describes the origin and the popularity of individual dishes, and traces their development to the products available at any given time of the year. A particular treat are the recipes from New England inns reproduced at the end of the book – I have found the Bangor House Fish Chowder to be a particular crowd pleaser, but every dish I have tried so far went over very well with my guests. All recipes are well-described and easy to follow, and none contains ingredients that are hard or impossible to come by. If you're looking for a well-done and yet very affordable introduction to New England cooking, written with obvious love for the region's people, nature and seasons as well as for its cuisine, you should definitely give this book a try.
Themis-Athena's guide to American cooking
Invitation to the Brownstone"I beg you not to entrust these dishes to your cook unless he is an artist. Cook them yourself, and only for an occasion that is worthy of them. They are items for an epicure, but are neither finicky nor pretentious; you and your guests will find them as satisfying to the appetite as they are pleasing to the palate. None is beyond your abilities if you have the necessary respect for the art of fine cooking – and are willing to spend the time and care which an excellent dish deserves and must have. Good appetite!"
The above quote from the account one of Nero Wolfe's first investigations ("Too Many Cooks," 1937) serves as one of several introductory notes to this compilation of recipes from Rex Stout's famous mystery series involving the New York epicurean, orchid lover and heavy-weight detective whose exploits have long become as indelible a part of literary history as those of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Lord Peter Wimsey. And the quote not only sums up to perfection Wolfe's view of the meals served in his house; it also – consequently – provides a taste of the approach one should adopt in using this cookbook. For unlike many other literature-related recipe collections, "The Nero Wolfe Cookbook" need not rely on a great many third-party sources to determine what the great detective might have consumed; a key part of the mysteries themselves are the descriptions of Wolfe's meals, and Wolfe's (as well as his Swiss chef Fritz Brenner's) attitude towards food in general.
All of the recipes presented here were initially developed by chef Michael S. Romano and tested personally by Rex Stout and New Yorker food critic Sheila Hibben. And it's all there, from Eggs au Beurre Noir, griddle cakes, and apricot omelet to Fritz Brenner's various duck, duckling, and pork dishes, Wolfe's "relapses," and even the complete menu served by Fritz on the occasion of the annual Ten for Aristology dinner in "Poison a la Carte:" Blinis with Sour Cream (of course without the fatal dose of arsenic someone had added, to Fritz's eternal horror and shame, to one of the guests' plates!), Green-Turtle Soup, Flounder Poached in White Wine, Mussel and Mushroom Sauce, Roast Pheasant, Suckling Pig, Chestnut Croquettes, Salad with Devil's Rain Dressing and Cheese. As you would expect with cuisine as refined as this (and given that we're talking, after all, about the culinary arts of the early and mid-20th century), not all ingredients are easy to track down or even still available; turtles being the obvious example – and frankly, I don't quite share Wolfe's predilection for such things as starlings and marrow dumplings, either. But even foregoing those recipes, there are plenty of others to try your hand at, and to get a flavor of the culinary delights that fueled Wolfe's and his "legman" and chronicler Archie Goodwin's investigations.
In addition to the recipes, the book is lavishly garnished with quotes and excerpts from Rex Stout's – err, excuse me, Archie Goodwin's – narrations, providing the context in which individual dishes were served, as well as an array of photographs by renowned photo artists such as Norman and Lionel Wurts, Roy Perry, Samuel Gottscho, Andreas Feininger, John Muller, and Bernice Abbot; displaying the New York of the 1930s through the 1950s (by many considered the city's golden years, and the heyday of Wolfe's and Archie Goodwin's career), with brownstones like Wolfe's on West 35th Street and other fashionable residences (seen both from outside and inside), 5th Avenue, the Financial District and Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park and other green spots, Madison Square Garden, Fulton and other markets, the Staten Island Ferry, Grand Central and Penn Stations, and New York restaurants of various degrees of elegance and refinement. Thus, this is much more than "just" a cookbook – in fact, it's an introduction to Wolfe's entire world and style of life; tastefully uniting the essence of Archie Goodwin's manifold accounts in a single volume.
"I have not a great hope that many people will eat superior meals because they buy this book and use it," cautions Fritz Brenner in his own foreword. "The facts about food and cooking can be learned and understood by anyone with good sense, but if the feeling of the art of cooking is not in your blood and bones the most you can expect is that what you put on your table will be mangeable. ... But I do not think this book will make your food any the worse. At least it should help with some of the facts." And that, after all, is plenty already, I think. So savor, enjoy, and, in Wolfe's words – good appetite!
Themis-Athena's Rex Stout page
Themis-Athena's guide to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries
Rex Stout biography at the Kirjasto Authors' Calendar
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of mystery tie-in cookbooks
Themis-Athena's guide to American cooking
The Book of ... Cooking series
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of literature and movie tie-in cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of holiday cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of breakfast cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of fruit cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of soup and starters cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of salad cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of vegetable cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of herbs and spices cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of fish and shellfish cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of meat and sauce cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of comfort food cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of cheese cookbooks (including cheese cuisine accessories)
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of dessert cookbooks
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of picnic cookbooks (including picnic accessories)
Themis-Athena's select annotated tea list and bibliography of tea books and accessories
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of nut cookbooks
Themis-Athena's tea guides: Part 1 (The Basics), Part 2 (Individual Teas) and Part 3 (Scented Teas)
Themis-Athena's select bibliography of cocktail guides and accessories
Themis-Athena's guide to party hosting
Themis-Athena's guide to restaurants and bars in Los Angeles and San Francisco
Copyright 2001-2007: Themis-Athena, all rights reserved.
