Archive for March, 2008
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Tuesday, March 18th, 2008In honor of St. Patrick’s day, Cooking the Books dipped into the “side dishes” chapter of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics and made a large, starchy dish of colcannon. What is colcannon? It’s an Irish dish of boiled potatoes mashed with leeks, cabbage, milk and butter. According to my favorite reference book ever, […]
Currying flavor
Monday, March 17th, 2008Apologies for brief hiatus — last week was not a good week in the kitchen, what with my cold and also guinea pig, er, I mean, husband, away, but Cooking the Books is now back with another edition of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics! Today’s recipe is southern Indian chicken curry with mustard seeds, which […]
Did you taste your food?
Thursday, March 13th, 2008It’s back! I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s episode (though I did find myself getting a little weary during the introductory section – is it just me or are there too many contestants?). And, I’ll make a confession — I didn’t know what chicken piccata was. Yes, I knew about the lemon-butter-caper sauce, but I had no clue […]
Five Items: Tofu steaks
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
Tofu is great, isn’t it? I won’t expound upon its healthful benefits (of which there are many), but will say that when I don’t feel like cooking meat (sometimes it’s just too slimy) a square cube of tofu (pictured above au naturel) is a perfect protein punch.
But how do you transform the bland, cool slab […]
When you don’t speak the language
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
I’m feeling a bit under the weather and not in a very posty or foody mood. But thanks to a recent comment from Emigre on my post Rome vs. Paris vs. New York, I’ve been thinking about language, travel and dining.
About my opinion of less-than-stellar food experiences in Italy, Emigre writes:
“If you don’t speak italian this is […]
Dining Out and About (New York): Momofuku Noodle Bar
Monday, March 10th, 2008Last night, I finally got a chance to dine at wunderchef David Chang’s New York noodle bar, Momofuku. Now housed in a new location, East Village hipsters are flocking to the 1st Avenue spot to slurp up Chang’s ramen. The crowd at 8pm on a Sunday night spilled out the door, yet thanks to a stroke […]
Rome vs. Paris vs. New York
Friday, March 7th, 2008
Which is the best food town? On his blog, Bitten, Mark Bittman has some interesting posts (also here and here) on his recent travels to Paris (and, geez, is the guy a prolific blogger! He sometimes has 3-4 posts a day. Long ones, too.) Essentially, he experienced several bad meals in Paris and is wondering — has the City of […]
Martha, Martha, Martha!*
Thursday, March 6th, 2008*Pronounced as on the Brady Bunch.
Welcome to another edition of Cooking the Books: The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics (yawn). In an effort to review this cookbook more fairly, I’ve decided to try to make at least two recipes from each chapter (I can already cross out “soups and stews,” yay!). Hence, from the […]
Introducing: Trading Tastes
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
Welcome to a new blog feature, Trading Tastes, in which we feature guest bloggers and their favorite cookbook(s). Today’s guest is Victoria Klein, who creates beautiful kitchens (and, indeed, homes) through her gorgeous interior design work, and is also an intrepid cook and discerning connoisseur of food, drink and books! (Full disclosure: Victoria is also Chris’s stepmother.) Victoria suggests:
June Platt’s New […]
Two soups
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
Welcome back to another edition of Cooking the Books: The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics (every time I type that title I think how boring it is).
I have been industrious the past few days, making not one, but two, soups from the book’s “Soups and Stews” sections. The first, spiced red lentil soup […]