You all surprised me.
Last week, I asked you for nominations for your favorite comprehensive cookbooks.
My request was in honor of the upcoming publication of The Essential New York Times Cookbook: The Recipes of Record.
Edited by Amanda Hesser, this book is truly a marvel. If you are a regular Times reader, you will know that authors, chefs and other cooks regularly share recipes there, in both the daily paper and the Sunday magazine.
This complete update of the last such Times cookbook, published a decade ago, includes many, many familiar food figures.
It runs 1,000 pages, and it goes against the trend among cookbooks, which is to specialize on one subject, and include around 100 to 150 recipes.
But many of us learn to cook from more wide-ranging books, as you told me.
The most mentioned book by CulinaryWoman readers is How To Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman.
It was published in 1999, and essentially kicked off an entire career for Mark, as an Everyman (or Everyperson) cooking instructor. Mark is so easy to follow, and easy to relate to - for many years, he cooked in the tiny kitchen of his New York apartment.
I’ve given this book as a gift and I easily see why it’s so helpful.
A hit from the 1980s received several nominations: The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukens. Everybody’s mum had this cookbook, and later gave it to us as presents.
When you went to someone’s house for dinner in the 80s and into the 90s, the chances were good that you would be served Chicken Marbella. My mum made their apple cake, and they helped popularize pesto, tapenade and Caprese salad.
My friend Chef Jason Goodenough is a huge fan of The Silver Spoon, the Italian basics cookbook that is a staple with many European readers. (Jason has recently launched a cooking experience in New Orleans that sounds amazing.)
This encyclopedia is like going to culinary school, with a concentration on Italian food.
Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone taught people like Samantha Storey how to expand their vegetable expertise.
“This was so helpful when I moved from just steaming all vegetables to building flavor and center piece dishes,” Samantha says.
The 1,400 recipes are even more helpful now that many of us are moving away from meat, except occasionally, and embracing more plant-based eating.
Thanks to all who wrote in! I am keeping a running list and will include more in future issues.
Updating A Cookie Classic
Speaking of cookbooks, Dorie Greenspan’s Baking With Dorie comes out on Tuesday. Last week, she gave her fans a surprise: a new version of her famous World Peace Cookies.
If you don’t know them, they are discs of chocolate, both sweet and salty, and the kind of cookie that puts a smile on everyone’s face. Dorie’s original recipe was inspired by Parisian baker extraordinaire Pierre Herme.
Dorie discussed the update in a delightful Instagram Live with David Tamarkin of King Arthur Baking. The secret ingredient in these cookies is freeze dried raspberries, and she also chops her chocolate versus using chips.
Congrats to Dorie! Let me know if you try WPC 2.0. And be sure to buy Baking With Dorie.
Men In The Spotlight on GBBO
Chigs, Jurgen and Giuseppe.
These are the bakers who have grabbed the spotlight, three weeks into the new season of the Great British Bake Off. Spoilers ahead.
Last week was dessert week, and it didn’t seem as interesting as previous episodes, maybe because the desserts aren’t as commonly made in America.
The signature was a Pavlova, a baked meringue concoction named for ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is supposed to be crisp on the outside, marshmallow on the inside, and topped with fruits and fillings.
I love Pavlovas, which are hugely popular in Australia and the U.K., but they are temperamental: over bake, and the meringue turns into Styrofoam. Under bake, and it’s a squishy mess.
There are some unusual ones - a Passover themed version and a vegan version made with aquafaba, the leftover liquid from cooked chickpeas.
There’s also an uncomfortable moment where Paul tells Jurgen to sing while he eats his Pavlova, so he can wait for the black pepper flavor that Jurgen says will come out at the end of a bite. Jurgen complies, and Paul says he tastes it.
Chigs - real name Will Chirag - received the second Hollywood handshake of the season for his tropical Pavlova. But wait, there’s more.
The technical is sticky toffee pudding, which I have made for years, but is a quintessentially British dessert. Think of gingerbread with dates and a somewhat gooey texture.
These sticky toffee puddings are served with creme anglaise (vanilla sauce) and caramel. Maggie, the oldest baker, forgets to add flour to her pudding, and given her close escape from elimination last week, you know instantly that she will be a goner.
The showstopper is complicated. Bakers are told to make an imprime dessert, which has a design or a motif on an edible collar surrounding it.
We’ve seen these printed collars before on Bake Off, but they were always optional and seemed ingenious. Now, they are part of the assignment.
Giuseppe turns in a beautiful red fruit and pistachio imprime that Paul says could be served in a five-star hotel, and convinces me he could have a culinary career, if he wants to leave engineering.
Chigs (above) completes a Black Forest imprime that wins him star baker. Maggie’s cake collapses in a dripping mess, and she is sent home, but she remains upbeat regardless.
Next week is German week, and the pressure will definitely be on Jurgen. But he seems to be able to handle it.
Farewell to Felidia
When I was getting to know the New York City restaurant scene in the early 2000s, one of my favorite places was Felidia.
It was the first restaurant opened by Lidia Bastianich, now a familiar face on PBS. The atmosphere was cozy and she was personally welcoming.
Felidia was the kind of Italian comfort cooking for which Lidia is now known. Her restaurant lasted 30 years, but sadly has now closed.
The pretty building has been sold and will now become a Korean BBQ place. Thank you, Lidia, for lovely food and memories.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Covid cases are spiking once again here in Michigan, and several vaccinated friends have gotten break through infections. Please be careful with your health.
See you next week!