Cooking With Ideas

Coming Soon to a Blog You Read . . . .Yep, Right Here

Well, life is filling in too much of my time and so I am a bit slow here. But, coming soon:

Reviews of several cookbooks which arrived by mail -- including the Tuscan Peasant Food promised before and an interview, something that has not happened in a while -- this time with a chemist from Hobart and William Smith who has offered a course on food chemistry. His name? Justin Miller.

So, keep an eye out for this and more -- and stay dry today in the rain rain rain

BIllsboro Pizza Nights

I once lived in a tiny little town where . . . . to indicate how unsophisticated or un-something-or-other it was, I would say "they think pizza is an ethnic food." I have eaten (a guilty pleasure) at Pizza Hut -- and I like it. And I definitely like both Ciccino's and Cam's Pizza in Geneva. Yep, once in a while, I like a pizza. I even like it, once in a while, delivered to my door (hopefully) piping hot. 

That's not what I am writing about here at all. What I am writing about is Billsboro's pizza nights. While there are always imperfections, these nights are among the most wonderfully magic of all. The pizzas -- well, there are only so many inches in that out door pizza oven, and so they do not come quickly -- are delightful. There are always a few options, and often the dough comes from Dustin at Normal Bread. And, if you're wise, you order the appetizer plate -- often with charcuterie of some sort, pickled thiese and thats, a bit of cheese, and whatever seems to cross someone's mind. The wines -- well, Vinnie makes very good wines -- and my dining delight partner is a big fan of the Syrah -- I like the pinot and some of the whites. (Who knew a dozen or twenty years ago that I would like ANY of the reds from our area, let alone several from one winery. The world has changed. And not all of it in bad ways.)

The vibe is great too. Even though you might be waiting quite some time, you are most definitely having a blast. The view through the trees to Seneca Lake is splendid, especially when the sun moves just into the right place to make you smile. The music is enticing and different each time. (I loved the accordion player, for example). The smells of food cooking wafting around are also dandy. And, the combination of locals and not-so-locals makes for good conversation at the tables where often strangers sit together. The folks who run Billsboro, Vinnie and Kim, help make for a good vibe too -- as do their children who are out and about. The parking is an adventure when it is busy -- enjoy it.

Yep, I might quibble -- maybe they really do need to have salt and pepper chakers around though we keep trying to remember to bring some with us -- and once in a while if you call too late you miss the event because the reservations are limited (hint). But, every single time I have been there someone has said (and not always me) -- aren't we lucky to live here?

50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker

This is one of those books that comes along unsolicited in the mail. And, I have to admit it has been a blast to read. There are loads of great ideas for soups here but, the problem is, I do not own a slow cooker and do not intend to run out and get one. So, Lynn Alley's 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker is not for me. The author seems to write for Wine Spectator, and to have lots of things going for her. And I do like slow food. . . But, I do not have a slow cooker. Did I say that before? Yes, I imagine I would like eggplant soup and I definitely like garnet yams. But, there is a but here. So: Is this book for you?

I am "releasing it" using Book Crossing, so go to this link and look up Geneva and find out how you might find it. For free. Somewhere on the campus of Hobart and William Smith. . . . 

Tacos Redefined?

When I think of tacos, I think of one of two things: (a) a long given up guilty pleasdure -- Taco Bell and (b) ground beef and lettuce and tomatoes and . . .  tacos. Yes, I have had others -- lovely duck tacos once and various variations. In Mexican and related restaurants I often get mole, and I have even made tacos with left over chicken mole. But, I think of various meats and tortillas . . . not chard. Most definitely not chard. But, I was wrong. There I was some time ago, reading a cookbook I like a lot entitled The Organic Cook's Bible by Jeff Cox and right there on pages 98 and 99 is a recipe for . . . chard tacos. I read the recipe I read it again. I thought about how much I have always wanted to go to one of Rick Bayless's restaurants and how I never have. For, yes, the recipe was from Rick Bayless. I read it again. And, I thought, we have most of the ingredients. So: I got hte remaining ingredients and then. . . I made them -- and I have done it again and again because these are great. They redefine tacos and they redefine chard. While I like both, this is a whole new thing.

So, here's how, with a bit of commentary, with thanks to that lovely cookbook:

1. Buy chard (a bunch; I have used rainbow chard and regular green chard). And buy 3-4 pobalno peppers. I bought my first set at Wegmans, and they were okay. But, then, I bought my second set at the farmer's market and let me tell you -- they were loads better. Also buy the rest of the ingredients -- a white onion (Ok, I have used shallots and once a red onion), dried oregano (he calls for Mexican; I have no idea what I had and used), dried thyme (I have never had this on hand so left it out), tortillas, chicken stock, red potatoes (he calls for 3-4), garlic 2/3 cup of heavy cream, and some cheese (I used paneer -- an Indian cheese, the first time because that's what I had and then cojita because I wanted to; he calls for queso fresco or salter farmer's cheese).

2. And what should you do with the ingredients? Here's a modified version of what it says in the cookbook (on pages 98-99):

    Roast the poblanos and peel them and then slice into thinnish strips.

    Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oils and saute sliced onion (about 1/4 inch thick) or whatever you are substituting for a while and then add finely schopped garlic (2 cloves or so), oregano and (if you have it) thyme. Once you feel good about all this, add the poblano strips and remove the whole thing from the heat

    Cook the potatoes you have chopped into 1/2 inch cubes in 3/4 cup (I use ore) chicken stock until almost done.

    Return the poblano/onion mixture to heat and add potatoes and stick they cooked in. Add chard, which you have chopped into 1/2 inch strips, likely removing the stems unless they are pretty small. Cover for a tiny bit so that they cook down and fit into your skillet (if you are like me and use too small a skillet sometimes). Cook until chicken broth is evaporated. Add the cream and boil until reduced to a thickish sauce. (NOTE: Some people who I feed really like it more runny than Bayless's recipe might lead one toward. In my case, I actually add some more broth and some times more cream. But, do what you want!) Sprinkle some salt o, though. These definitely want some salt. 

    Bayless via Cox says to warm your tortillas ahead of time by steaming them and keeping them warm under a towel in the oven. Me, well, I throw some salt in a skillet, and cook them til they're a little crunchy/brown, and serve.  You can put the cheese (chredded) first, add chard mixture, and if you happen to be lucky, add some home made tomatillo salsa.

Caution: these are addictive and slightly messy if you do go with a somewhat more runny mixture. But hey, this addiction can pretend to be a tad healthy given the chard, right? And potatoes have a lot of vitami C and. . . .

Wowzers. Tacos redefined.

Coming Soon to a Blog You Read . . . .Yep, Right Here

Well, what will show up here soon? Hmmmm? Besides your comments, which do help make this an interesting read, a few things that may occur include:

1. A review of a newly received via mail cookbook on Tuscan peasant food

2. What has bibliochef been cooking? Chard and potato Tacos? A Rick Bayless recipe.

3. Billsboro Pizza nights reviewed

And, of course, much much more.

The Cookbook Collector

The Cookbook Collector is a novel. And, it was a wonderful read. Authored by Allegra Goodman, the novel brings together environmetnal concerns, the dot.com/high tech bubble, September 11, and, yes, a cookbook collection. And this is not even to mention Jewish mysticism, family dynamics and family histories, a bit of romance, and . . . much more. I loved the way the book wove together various stories, without trivializing any of them, and the ways that the binaries of, say, book/computer, tree huggers/high tech, big sister/little sister, rich/poor, humanities/science or art/science and even maybe male/female get challenged as simplistic without the novel itself seeming simplistic at all. In many ways this is a book about lived experience, life -- you know. Life as lived and as thoughtfully or thoughtlessly lived. The characters are each more than a caricature (though there are moments when they seem to veer in that direction) and the places evoked are also wonderful in the ways they function as settings but feel almost like characters themselves.

Goodman is (according to the bio on her site) a child of academics, having a parent who teaches at Vanderbilt and another who was the Dean of Arts and Sciences there. This does not seem to lead her to be unduly sardonic about academia though there are a lot of graduate students in the book, and people who left academia for various reasons. A major character is a philosophy grad student. And, of course, Goodman has written more than a few novels. This one does, in fact, involve a cookbook collection -- inherited by someone who needs to sell them. They are found (ok, a tiny bit of a SPOILER ALERT) in various places in a kitchen (the stove, cabinets, everywhere) and are apparently an absolutely amazing find. The details provided by Goodman make clear she has done loads of homework -- without hitting readers over the head with too much didacticism. Both the collection as a whole and individual books descroibed in the novel are, for the collector who is a character and his "assistant" (the philosophy graduate student), over the top intriguing. Between the books themselves and the bits of ephemera contained therein, there is a bit of a mystery, and a lot of love. Not to mention some foodie fun.

The book made me think about where my cookbooks will go when I disappear from this earth. What, if anything, will strangers make of the ways I sometimes write in them and often drip food on them. In my case, of course, no one will really care -- but I love the fact that these people are curious about the prior owner(s). And, I love the intertwining of love of books, the language of food and cooking, and other matters.I liked the way the discoverers of the collection see it as a collection; one wonders if the heaps of books in my office and elsewhere areally do tell the story of a life. Hmmm. Meanwhile, I also came to think about the nature of collecting and collectors; I met someone recently who is a collector (most definitely not the same as a hoarder) and I have been thinking about how I get on themes for gifts and so collect by proxie sometimes, but do not think of myself as collecting some particular kind of item. I like a lot of things-- iron doorstops, bakelite napkin rings in the shape of animals and more, but I do not collect them. I wonder what the difference is between collectors and the rest of us. (And yes, I have lots of cookbooks, but still I do not think of myself as a collector. I have even more books if I count them up; but still, again, yet, I do not see myself as a collector.) Did you know there is a national association of collecting clubs? Who knew? (For more information, try here.) If you get into googling the way I do sometimes just to procrastinate, you too will discover a whole set of material on the psychology of collecting, ranging from Orhan Pamuk on the topic to the Frieze Foundation on the topic to. . . well, you know. Hmmm.

The book of course raises other topics. Bookstores, for example. Some book stores seem to have personalities like the one described in this novel -- stores where the collecting of the stock is as important as the selling of the stock, where one can wander and read and feel very very happy. This is indeed something I could identify with.  There is no such bookstore in Geneva, NY. Alas. And, the book is also about food -- the words that make foods seem wonderful (or not).

Anyway, and also, this book is one of few I have read where September 11 appears as part of the historical backdrop -- and it feels ok. Not a memorial, just a huge event that shaped our lives in huge and varied ways, embedded in the everyday. (Did I say huge? Maybe also tiny.)

Here's Allegra Goodman's blog. And here's an interview with her on BookSlut. For the video obsessed, here's Goodman on the book and here she is at the National Book Awards for 2010. And, for the traditionalist in all of us, here's the NY Times book review of The Cookbook Collector.