In the restaurant world, chefs are rockstars. Through their cookbooks, they are teaching all of us including you enthusiastic home cooks, how to eat better. Most professional chefs and cooks are working away from their families everyday. They spend so much time in their kitchens that Continue reading
Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas isn’t here, but, as always, we need to eat. Since we must feed friends, and we want to feed them well, we need to know how and what to cook, even if we aren’t experts. This is were Max and Eli Sussman come in—saving our kitchens from utter disaster with their easy-to-use, straightforward cookbook, This is a Cookbook:Recipes for Real Life. Continue reading
What do home cooks, food bloggers, and cooks in professional kitchens all have in common? They all have a love for food and want to make delicious meals over and over again. The home cook and the food blogger both share recipes and hope to engage people through food, just as the professional cook would. Continue reading
That time of year is upon us once again. Just a few short weeks ago, it was iced teas and summer salads, enjoying the hot, sunny days of 
eating outdoors, and cooking light recipes for friends. Now, it’s the time to come indoors and take on the daunting task of planning and preparing Thanksgiving dinner for our guests.
Will the turkey be frozen when I slice it at the table? Will the stuffing be dry? Who’s going to wash all these dishes? Thankfully, Sam Sifton, former New York Times restaurant critic, has come to our rescue by compiling a well thought-out holiday game plan with his new highly-anticipated book Thanksgiving: How To Cook It Well.
Sam Sifton has taken the panic attack out of preparing Thanksgiving dinner and has provided us with a step-by-step, easy-to-read 50 recipe guide covering everything from the proper knives and tools, to cleaning up as you cook to eliminate a pile up of dishes, to that awaited leftover turkey sandwich. Because, lets face it— you will need fuel for Black Friday shopping.
For many people, the turkey is the centerpiece—the pride and joy of the dinner table. Days (or maybe even months) before Thanksgiving, the fear of picking the wrong turkey comes over us. According to Sifton, being able to distinguish between fresh, frozen, Kosher, free range, organic, and heritage is all you need to understand how to pick the perfect Thanksgiving bird. Knowing the basics will help everyone, from the cook hosting his or her first Thanksgiving to the experienced entertainer.
There are several things in the book that will help me in the next couple of weeks, and there are great recipes I plan on adding to my menu this year (the roasted cauliflower with anchovy bread crumbs, for one).
We’ve included a preview of one of Sam’s great recipes in Thanksgiving:How to Cook it Well. Take a look at this pear cobbler dessert recipe; it is sure to wow your holiday guests.
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9- inch cast- iron skillet or 8- inch square baking dish. Place the fruit in a large bowl, and add 1⁄2 cup sugar and the lemon juice and zest. Gently mix until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to the skillet and top with candied ginger, if using.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add the butter and, using a fork, work it together with the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarse. In a separate bowl, stir the egg and milk until combined. Pour over the flour and butter mixture and stir to combine into a smooth
dough.
3. Using your fingers, place clumps of dough the size of golf balls on top of the fruit mixture, pressing down slightly to create a rough- textured, cobbled crust. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
** Picture and recipe from Thanksgiving: How to Cook it Well by Sam Sifton. Copyright © 2012 by Sam Sifton. Excerpted with permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. **
Every now and then you come across something that you can’t stop eating– something so good and unique that after you have it once or twice, you tell everyone you know. It’s a domino effect of deliciousness that slowly spirals out of control until you find yourself eating this new craving by the spoonfuls. I eat this quick and easy 5 ingredient lentil salad by the box full.
When I first tasted this lentil salad, the abundance of flavor had me convinced that it contained a ton of ingredients. I was thinking something red like tomato or roasted pepper, and I swore there was also some type of Italian dressing. The first bite brought me to the realization that although I can live without lentils, I can’t live without having this lentil salad.
Let’s be honest, no one really has time to pick through and cook lentils, so don’t feel guilty about buying pre-cooked ones from your local supermarket. With the time you save by using pre-cooked lentils, you’ll have all the more time to enjoy this tangy lentil salad, scooped onto a pita chip or served as a side dish with your next entrée.
Bonus: you can make this recipe for $20 or less.
1 package cooked lentils
1 container Mediterranean style crumbled feta cheese
1 small onion, minced
juice of 1 whole lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix together and enjoy with pita chips or as its own side dish.
Note: Make 1 day in advance to allow the lemon juice to “cook” the raw onions.
Today we chat with Bonnie Slotnick, owner of the beloved West Village shop, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, which stocks thousands of out-of-print and antiquarian cookbooks. Here, she tells us about the most expensive cookbook she’s ever sold, bizarre recipes, and what Hugh Dancy bought for Claire Danes.
October also marks 15 years Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks has been in business, and to celebrate, Bonnie is offering 15% off all month on items purchased in-store. This includes her beautifully curated selection of vintage kitchen items, postcards, and linens.
Cookbook Create: Where did you grow up? Did you know you wanted to be a bookseller at a young age?
Bonnie: I grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey, which is enough to make some people stop reading [laughs]. It was just a sweet small town back then. I never thought I would be a bookseller but I started collecting books because of Publisher’s Clearinghouse—they would send us their catalogues of discounted books, which I took so much pleasure in perusing. Most of the books were just a dollar or two, and pretty soon I had a little collection.
Growing up, watching cooking shows on TV was part of my daily regimen. I knew every channel, date, and time, and you could always find me with pen and paper in hand, tuning into one of my favorite cooking programs like, “Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen,” hosted by Chef, restauranteur and cookbook author, Lidia Bastianich. On the show, Lidia would make these mouth-watering recipes from both her Italian culture and her growing family’s favorite things to eat.
Today, Lidia’s 9th cookbook “Lidia’s Favorite Recipes: 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes” debuts. This updated cookbook of her go-to meals for her family showcases a clear, concise list of recipes that are accessible, affordable, and seasonal. Dishes range from the popular Zuppa di Pesce (seafood stew) to realistic recipes for Veal Ossobuco, cheesy baked shells, and my favorite, Potato Gnocchi. The bright photos alone make you want to start cooking immediately.
“What’s important is that these are all easy and delicious, and the warm, familiar flavors will bring your family straight to the table.”
Title: Lidia’s Favorite Recipes: 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes, from Basic Sauces to Irresistible Entrées
Release Date: October 16th, 2012
Available at Amazon
Curran Family Cookbook given to Anita Curran in 1969 by her sister Peggy.
In 1969 my Aunt gave my mother a Cookbook with several family recipes hand written in the first pages of the book. The rest of the pages were blank, ready for my mother to add to over the years. She added dozens of recipes but mostly by folding clippings and sheets of paper into the back of the book.
Thanks to that cookbook, I have the famous recipe for my maternal grandmother’s iced tea (it may be all the sugar that makes it so famous), and some other favorites like Gillian’s Tuna Salad. (When’s the last time your tuna salad got raves?)
Having my mother’s cookbook and making the recipes it contained makes think of the people who have shared these recipes. One of the dishes my mother used to make when I was young, Cherry Clafoutis, always brings me back and makes me feel special.
When Nana’s name (my father’s mother) comes up in conversation it’s hard to avoid the subject of her legendary chocolate drop cookies. As it turns out the version of the recipe that were written down didn’t yield the delicious treats that my father fondly remembered from his childhood. I’ve tried to re-create the recipe, but so far no luck. How I wished that I was able to learn the trick from my grandmother while she was able to teach me.
And then there are all of the recipes that friends have shared with me over the years. Every time I make cornbread pudding, I think of my dear friend Karolyn, who makes the most amazingly tasty treats. Her recipe has become one of our family favorites. Kim’s mother is an unbelievable chef– maybe because of her french heritage. She taught me how to make classic Madeleines. It is time for me to get my own Madeleine tin and stop borrowing hers!
So what’s in a cookbook? Every cookbook is a representation of a way of life; Recipes are an expression of how people celebrate, congregate, and console. Each cookbook is a collection of the recipes that matter to the creator. It’s what they want to share with the world. Reminders of loved ones, memories of good times, and holiday traditions that’s what’s in a cookbook.
CookbookCreate 