Filed under: Parties, Books, Trends, Lists, Cookbook of the Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, WinterHow about some good news from the business world for a change? That sound you hear is the collective sigh of immense relief from workers in office towers and business parks country-wide, for it turns out that this year many offices are choosing to forego their annual office holiday party. But wait, it gets better -- for, in many of those offices that are still having parties, the event is not just being scaled down financially but scaled up culturally. Welcome to the phenomenon of the...
Filed under: Cookbook of the DayWalking into my office building this morning, I was greeted by a cacophony of holiday decorations. There wreaths on the walls, three life-sized reindeers grouped around a Christmas tree and a giant Menorah perched on the security desk. The holiday season is here! I realize that Thanksgiving only just wrapped up, but one glance at The Christmas Table by Diane Morgan will have you itching to get started on your Christmas menu-planning and cooking. Full of elegant holiday-appropriate recipes and gorgeous pictures, this book offers you a variety of ways to make your holiday parties,...
From Serious Eats Eat Me Daily has some nice words for and pix of Heston Blumenthal's Big Fat Duck Cookbook: "Referencing children's literature throughout, Blumenthal is clearly trying to develop some sort of mythology explaining both himself and his restaurant. The biblical journey through 'The Valley of Hell' to L'Oustau de Baumaniere in Provence, the Harry-Potteresque self-training, the dreamlike realization of each coveted Michelin star—these are events that actually happened, of course, but each plays on basic dramatic tropes in such a precise, premeditated way." The Big Fat Duck Cookbook, $157.50 from Amazon...
Wow. Last week it was cooking with paste, and this week, actual balls. The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking with Balls is completely uncalled for and contains many delicious rocky mountain oyster recipes. An excerpt from the 'About The Author' section: Ljubomir Erovic has been cooking testicles for over 20 years. When not cooking or eating testicles, or helping others to do so, he now runs a company involved in the maintenance of medical and dental equipment. He is married with one daughter and one testicle. *HORF* When will the insanity end? I completely understand the "waste not, want not" mentality...
From Serious Eats Check out this great comic by Chicago-based artist Lucy Knisley illustrating her and her boyfriend's 13-course meal at Alinea in all its pupil-dilating glory. If her drawings of the courses weren't enough—from the lamb stew in a bottomless cup to the dehydrated caramel dust with salt—she says, "the meal was probably the best meal I've ever eaten in my life." Considering that she wrote a book about exploring and eating in Paris, French Milk, she seems to be a food lover. Related Grant Achatz' Alinea Cookbook 'The New Yorker' Profile on Grant Achatz Alinea's Most Exciting Food...
From Serious Eats Theo, a self-proclaimed five-and-a-half-year-old (at the prime age when half ages matter), has trouble pronouncing "agar" and needs a step stool to see over the counter, but he can cook from the Alinea cookbook (previously reviewed on Serious Eats). His brother James (nine-years-old) isn't professionally trained either, but doesn't fret over a recipe with pheasant, gray shallots, and burning oak leaves. While some home cooks have expressed frustration with the unapproachable quality of the Alinea cookbook ("it took seven hours and produced eight bites of food") these two munchkins have proved them wrong. It doesn't hurt that...
Filed under: Television/FilmThis Top Chef recap is a little late because I just recovered from my Thanksgiving induced food coma (Marisa sure can cook!). It is appropriate, however, to be writing about this third episode of the season during Thanksgiving weekend because it was all about Thanksgiving (it is as though that was planned somehow!). And what says 'the holidays' better than a little product placement? The QuickFire Challenge featured the Top Chef cookbook as a key ingredient. I don't want to ruin this episode for anyone who might have recorded it, so I'll continue the recap after the break.Continue...
Filed under: BooksI know people swallow it (note that I will not reveal my own preference - this is not one of those sites), however the concept of cooking it up into a gourmet meal is totally new to me. I'm speaking, of course, of semen and the new book, "Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes" by Paul Photenhauer.In the book, Paul tell us that, "Semen is not only nutritious, but has a palatable texture and wonderful cooking properties." It's a widely available ingredient and the flavor is complex like a fine wine. Depending on the male's diet, the...
With the Thanksgiving turkey behind us, here's something else you don't eat regularly: meaty balls. Check out The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking with Balls by Serbian chef, Ljubomir Erovic. This multimedia cookbook tells you how to peel and slice animal testicles to make such wonders as Testicle Pizza - just add your own toppings! Wouldn't you know *it* tastes like chicken. But *it* works like Viagra! Ever since I was a little boy I listened to the elderly talking about testicles, when well prepared and cooked, can stimulate sexual activities. It seemed funny and stupid to me then, until as...
What is the first thing that most people associate with Thanksgiving? Well, probably turkey, but pumpkin pie comes in a close second. As I am not a fan of the traditional pumpkin pie, I set out on a quest to find a delicious alternative this year. My search led me to a robust cookbook sitting on my kitchen shelves. Sheri Yard's Desserts by the Yard is an amazing compilation of a pastry chef's career spanning from coast to coast. What I found in that book turned out to be the most fluffy, decadent, flaky, scrumptious pie I have ever tasted....
From Serious Eats It's no surprise that the American patron saint of molecular gastronomy wouldn't be satisfied with a humdrum oven-roasted turkey. Alinea's Grant Achatz walks us through a sous-vide Thanksgiving (this is just part one; another is on the way). When his business partner Nick Kokonas first suggested the oven, Achatz responded with a stunned "No!" Psh, are you kidding him? It wouldn't be the holidays without a vacuum sealer and immersion circulator! Actually, Achatz says Ziploc baggies will work just fine. He even assures NFL lovers that sous-viding will not inhibit football-watching. Video, after the jump. Cooking Sous-Vide...
Filed under: Snacks, Dessert, Slashfood Ate, Thanksgiving, FallMy family used to have Thanksgiving dinner with just me, my parents, and my two younger brothers. We'd eat roasted chicken (since 5 is too few for a turkey) and then toast marshmallows in the fireplace for dessert. I always crave s'mores around Thanksgiving as a result, and I've been trolling the web for recipes/articles about this delicious snack. Here are a few of the best:1. Inside-out s'mores from Foodaphilia2. S'mores bread pudding from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody4. Pumpkin spice marshmallows from Serious Eats (for putting into s'mores!)5. S'mores maker form Kitchen Contraptions....
This is the world's worst cookbook. It's called Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes. I just puked in my mouth a little bit. Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to...
These are some of my archaic technology books that I use to buy. Now I just read everything at safari.oreilly.com! You can also read Safari books on your iphone/ipod touch using the new Safari Bookbag app. I have yet to try it out. I’ll be sure to review it once I do! Currently, I’m reading The iPhone™ Developer’s Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK. You can view a list of my tech books at goodreads. I’ll be updating this list soon! What old tech books do you have lying around?...
FOOD BUZZ: A cookbook actually exists that contains recipes using semen, an underrated nutritious ingredient. Just in time for Thanksgiving! If you happen to be getting any, it's probably the one thing you're thankful for. Contribute: Add an image, link, video or comment » The Best Links: Get the Cookbook Online A Recipe for STD? Semen: Great for Your Nails and Skin Add This to Your Roster of Holiday Foodbooks!...
You ever spent time in the kitchen making confectionery love to a Wookiee? Ha, me neither then. But now you can whip up Star Wars-y dishes (sans Wook hair) in no time thanks to this two cookbook set. Volume 1 * 60 wipe clean pages with over 25 recipes * Recipes include: Greedo's Burritos, Twin Sun Toast, Tusken Raider Taters, and more! * Concealed wire-O binding - so each page lays flat while you cook * Includes 13 foil stickers to label your completed creations Volume 2 * 62 wipe clean pages with over 25 more recipes * Recipes...
Filed under: Restaurants, RecipesLast night, I had dinner at Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It's a restaurant that is a throwback (but in a very good, comforting way) to the 1980's. It takes up the bulk of an old brick rowhouse on the edge of the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, the downstairs dining room is lined in wood paneling and mirrors (thus the eighties feel) and diners are perch on scarred chairs or along a padded built in seat that runs the length of the wall. Neither fancy, nor cheap, the food is the sort of stuff that you might make at home...
Filed under: Cookbook of the DayThe first thing that struck me about The Paley's Place Cookbook is how accessible it is. I am so accustomed to restaurant cookbooks that contain esoteric ingredients and many-step recipes, that when I open a book that offers dishes like Spicy Greens with Fresh Cherries, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese (contains 8 ingredients, including salt and pepper), I pause and am forced to reconsider my previous attitudes. Other notable recipes include Braised Red Cabbage and Soft Polenta with Rosemary. I think that this is the sort of cookbook that will one day be counted among the...
