Cooking
Yesterday I shared some new cookbooks that focus on a particular meat such as pork, brisket or goat, in today's installment I'm recommending four more books that are much more general.
One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year was the Molly Stevens book All About Roasting The book is amazingly comprehensive covering mostly meat--beef, lamb, pork, chicken and poultry but also fish and shellfish, vegetables and fruits. Learn how to choose the best cuts of meat, the basic roasting methods and temperatures, how to carve and more. I love that her recipes also include convection as well as conventional oven temperatures!
Recipes you'll want to try include: Quick deviled rib bones, oven roasted porchetta, one-hour rosemary rib roast, roasted buffalo wings, crispy butterflied roast chicken
Another roast focused cookbook is sure a surefire winner for Francophiles. Rotis, roasts for every day of the week. This charming book follows a certain format, Monday is roast beef, Tuesday is roast veal, Wednesday is roast chicken and game, etc. Each chapter features French and Mediterranean style recipes that generally feel very classic, though some recipes like roast pork with Earl Grey tea feel decidedly modern. While a book about meat, the vegetable sides are equally delectable.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Roast chicken with anchovies and rosemary, roast pork belly with coriander, roast pork loin with endive and orange, lamb shanks with cannellini beans, 4 ideas for stuffing chicken (Boursin cheese? hello!)
Contrary to popular opinion, farm-to-table does not just refer to zucchini. Our own local butcher extraordinaire Ryan Farr has written Whole Beast Butchery which is a visual guide to "breaking down" beef, lamb and pork with recipes as well. If you've ever wanted to take a butchery course, this is the book for you! The tone and style of the book is much like Ryan is in person, friendly, helpful and approachable.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Beef tongue pastrami, pork belly and garbanzo soup, braised lamb shanks with curry (keep in mind, recipes are limited; this is a butchery book, not a cookbook)
If your budget is a little more quesadilla then crown roast, From the Ground Up by award-winning author James Villas is for you. The most versatile of all meat, ground meat, is featured in hundreds of recipes that use beef, chicken, pork, seafood and more. From the humble and economical meat come recipes from around the world ranging from home style sloppy joes to elegant beef tartare sandwiches. Interestingly some of the recipes use raw meat and some leftover cooked meat that is then shredded, chopped or ground.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Mexican duck quesadillas, Tex Mex sloppy joes, Greek minted meatballs, Spanish eggplant stuffed with lamb, Shanghai lion's head
- Cooking Turkey For Small Gatherings
I've cooked whole turkeys when developing recipes for clients, but a Thanksgiving feast? I’m most thankful that I can spend the holiday at my parents house and let them take care of cooking the bird. Some years I return home with leftover turkey,...
- Savory Roasted Pears Recipe
I am an impatient person. I hate to wait. While some of the pears my mother gave me from her trees are ripe, others are not. Is there something you can do with not quite ripe pears? Yes! I discovered you can roast them. Pears are sometimes added...
- Cooking Resolutions
How are you doing with your new year's resolutions? Every year I tell myself I'll cook more whole grains, eat less meat and more vegetables and fruit and try more new recipes. I know plenty of people just want to cook more, which is a worthy...
- Meaty Cookbooks Part 1 -- Specialty Meats
I eat a lot less meat than I used to. But I am buying it mostly from butchers I know and trust, usually from Bryan's in Laurel Village. So when I do cook meat, generally a couple times a week, I want it to be something special. My guess is that I...
- Easy & Impressive--leg Of Lamb
Looking at the recipe index on this site, I realize I have only written one lamb recipe. That's a shame. I like lamb a lot. I think it's a well-kept secret that lamb is actually very easy to cook. I used to have a friend who made leg of lamb...
Cooking
Meaty Cookbooks Part 2 -- Cooking Techniques
Yesterday I shared some new cookbooks that focus on a particular meat such as pork, brisket or goat, in today's installment I'm recommending four more books that are much more general.
One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year was the Molly Stevens book All About Roasting The book is amazingly comprehensive covering mostly meat--beef, lamb, pork, chicken and poultry but also fish and shellfish, vegetables and fruits. Learn how to choose the best cuts of meat, the basic roasting methods and temperatures, how to carve and more. I love that her recipes also include convection as well as conventional oven temperatures!
Recipes you'll want to try include: Quick deviled rib bones, oven roasted porchetta, one-hour rosemary rib roast, roasted buffalo wings, crispy butterflied roast chicken
Another roast focused cookbook is sure a surefire winner for Francophiles. Rotis, roasts for every day of the week. This charming book follows a certain format, Monday is roast beef, Tuesday is roast veal, Wednesday is roast chicken and game, etc. Each chapter features French and Mediterranean style recipes that generally feel very classic, though some recipes like roast pork with Earl Grey tea feel decidedly modern. While a book about meat, the vegetable sides are equally delectable.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Roast chicken with anchovies and rosemary, roast pork belly with coriander, roast pork loin with endive and orange, lamb shanks with cannellini beans, 4 ideas for stuffing chicken (Boursin cheese? hello!)
Contrary to popular opinion, farm-to-table does not just refer to zucchini. Our own local butcher extraordinaire Ryan Farr has written Whole Beast Butchery which is a visual guide to "breaking down" beef, lamb and pork with recipes as well. If you've ever wanted to take a butchery course, this is the book for you! The tone and style of the book is much like Ryan is in person, friendly, helpful and approachable.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Beef tongue pastrami, pork belly and garbanzo soup, braised lamb shanks with curry (keep in mind, recipes are limited; this is a butchery book, not a cookbook)
If your budget is a little more quesadilla then crown roast, From the Ground Up by award-winning author James Villas is for you. The most versatile of all meat, ground meat, is featured in hundreds of recipes that use beef, chicken, pork, seafood and more. From the humble and economical meat come recipes from around the world ranging from home style sloppy joes to elegant beef tartare sandwiches. Interestingly some of the recipes use raw meat and some leftover cooked meat that is then shredded, chopped or ground.
Recipes you'll want to try include: Mexican duck quesadillas, Tex Mex sloppy joes, Greek minted meatballs, Spanish eggplant stuffed with lamb, Shanghai lion's head
- Cooking Turkey For Small Gatherings
I've cooked whole turkeys when developing recipes for clients, but a Thanksgiving feast? I’m most thankful that I can spend the holiday at my parents house and let them take care of cooking the bird. Some years I return home with leftover turkey,...
- Savory Roasted Pears Recipe
I am an impatient person. I hate to wait. While some of the pears my mother gave me from her trees are ripe, others are not. Is there something you can do with not quite ripe pears? Yes! I discovered you can roast them. Pears are sometimes added...
- Cooking Resolutions
How are you doing with your new year's resolutions? Every year I tell myself I'll cook more whole grains, eat less meat and more vegetables and fruit and try more new recipes. I know plenty of people just want to cook more, which is a worthy...
- Meaty Cookbooks Part 1 -- Specialty Meats
I eat a lot less meat than I used to. But I am buying it mostly from butchers I know and trust, usually from Bryan's in Laurel Village. So when I do cook meat, generally a couple times a week, I want it to be something special. My guess is that I...
- Easy & Impressive--leg Of Lamb
Looking at the recipe index on this site, I realize I have only written one lamb recipe. That's a shame. I like lamb a lot. I think it's a well-kept secret that lamb is actually very easy to cook. I used to have a friend who made leg of lamb...