Nigella Express, Answer Me Yes!

January 18, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as Celebrity Chefs, Cookbook of the Day, Cookbooks at 4:53 pm | Comments »

I apologize if the title of this post confused you. I’m obviously a child of the 80’s, and think that the rock musical Starlight Express is the bomb. Moving along: today I want to post about one of my favorite cookbooks, the lovely Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast by the lovely Nigella Lawson.

I have nearly all of Nigella’s cookbooks, but because I’m constantly in a hurry/flurry, this is the one I pull out the most. The titular “Express” refers, of course, to fast food- not the sodium-drenched kind, but quick and easy meals you can make yourself at home, whatever sort of hurry/flurry you find yourself in.

Like this Pea and Pesto soup. I never thought to marry peas and pesto, but a few days ago I found myself staring at the photo of creamy green soup in the book, imagining how such a combination- the fresh mushiness of the peas, the garlicky pepperiness of the pesto- might taste in my mouth. And so I made it:

Pea and Pesto Soup
from Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast

3 cups water
3 cups frozen peas
2 scallions
1 teaspoon Maldon salt or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) fresh pesto (not jarred)

The quickest way to proceed is to fill a kettle first and put it on to boil. When it’s boiled, measure the amount you need into a pan and put on the stove to come back to a boil.

Add the frozen peas, scallions, salt and lime juice and let everything bubble together for 7 minutes.

Discard the scallions and blitz the peas and their liquid with the pesto in a blender.*

Pour into a thermos flask that you’ve left filled with hot water and then emptied and make sure you screw the top on securely.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

The verdict? Delicious. Almost gloriously so. And so, so comforting.

Cookbook Love: The Secrets of Baking

November 5, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Cookbooks at 3:29 am | Comments »

My dearest friends and family know how much I adore all cookbooks, but those I love the most are the ones that delve deep into the science of cooking and baking. Which is why I was so pleased to receive a copy of Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts!

Yard is the executive pastry chef at the famous Spago, so she obviously knows what she’s talking about… but what appeals to me the most about this book is how instead of the usual “Cakes, Cookies, etc.” chapters, she’s created her chapters based on 12 “Master Recipes”. For example, one of these is Pate a Choux- once you’ve mastered it (and it’s actually very simple), you’ve opened up a world of possibilities, from eclairs to profiteroles to gougeres.

I’ve already made several of the Master Recipes, including her Ganache (perfect) and Genoise (needed some work- but come on, it’s Genoise after all!) A cookbook I love. Available at Amazon for $23.73 »

Cookbook Review: Back of the Box Gourmet

February 9, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Cake Recipes, Cookbooks, Cozy Comfort Food Recipes at 1:00 pm | Comments »

Nostalgia never goes out of style- especially in the kitchen. Who of us doesn’t crave the food we were brought up with- whether we got it from our moms, our grandmothers, or our family cooks?

And that’s the “why” behind the cookbook Back of the Box Gourmet, an absolute gem of a book I was lucky enough to pick up at a used books sale recently. “Back of the box” refers, of course, to the recipes that “have appeared on the backs of boxes, bottles, and packages”- yes, the very same recipes our moms and grandmothers and family cooks reached for when wondering what to make for dinner. From original Toll House Cookies, to Fluffer-Nutter Sandwiches, to Lipton Onion Burgers- these are American “classics” that don’t pretend to be fancy, and frankly don’t need to be.

On a particularly lazy afternoon last week, I tried out one of the recipes in the book: the Original Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake, which was first created by the wife of a Hellmann’s Mayonnaise sales distributor in 1937. Not quite as exotic as it sounds, the mayonnaise here replaces any eggs, oil and salt one would usually use in a chocolate cake recipe. The lemon juice in mayonnaise also adds tenderness to the cake- much as buttermilk (or the old buttermilk-replacement standby of milk and lemon juice!) would. The resulting cake? Deliciously moist, and extremely pleasing- especially because of the added dates and walnuts. I share the recipe with you here:

Original Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1 cup coarsely chopped dates

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup sugar

1 cup real mayonnaise (please use Hellmann’s or Best Foods)

6 tablespoons grated unsweetened chocolate (I used regular baking chocolate, but you could use a bittersweet bar and remove part of the sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups unsifted cake flour

Grease and flour a 9×9x2-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, stir baking soda and boiling water together until dissolved. Stir in dates and nuts. In a large bowl with mixer on low speed, beat sugar and mayonnaise together until well mixed. Add grated chocolate and vanilla; beat until blended. Add date mixture; beat. Gradually beat in flour until smooth. Turn into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this cookbook, though, is author Michael McLaughlin’s “Gilding the Lily” notes at the end of each recipe. In them, he suggests additions or changes to the recipes. For the HERSHEY’S Hot Fudge Sauce, for example, he suggests stirring in 2 or 3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier, dark rum, or Kahlua, into the finished sauce. Yum.

Back of the Box Gourmet is available at Amazon.

Give The Gift Of Cooking

December 23, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Cookbooks, Gift Ideas at 12:09 pm | Comments »

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Woman standing with a glas of red wine and a book in the kitchen

Tis the season for giving – are you still looking for the perfect gift for someone? Well here is a pretty delicious idea for you. Why not give a cookbook for the holidays? For recipients who love to spend time in the kitchen, a cookbook would be the best gift. But among the countless cookbooks available in the market, which one should you give? Here are some tips for you.

Restaurant cookbook
You know how sometimes, you just crave for food that only a certain restaurant serves? What better gift to have than a cookbook featuring the recipes of that restaurant? This should be easy enough with all the chefs making their own cookbooks these days.

Regional cuisine
From the US to France, there are certain dishes that are known to come from a certain region. If you know that your recipient likes a certain way of cooking, then a regional cookbook would be a great gift.

Novelty cookbooks
This might be the hardest choice. Novel and unique is always good but how to choose which is novel? You have to know your food well and the recipient’s preferences as well. If I were you, I’d go for remakes of old recipes – that always works.

Cooking style
Make sure that you know your recipient’s cooking style. If a person likes working with pork and not chicken, then don’t choose a cookbook that features chicken! On second thought, you might want to give a “chicken cookbook” just for the fun of it!

Fun – that’s the keyword here. Choose something that you think will be fun for your recipient and who knows, you just might get to enjoy the fruits of your labor (or gift, if you wish)!

5,000 cooking tips

February 26, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Cookbook of the Day, Cookbooks, Tid Bits & News at 12:01 am | (3) Comments »

Get 5,000 tips and shortcuts with Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks The tips are organized alphabetically, from “Acidity” to “Zucchini” with every entry broken into “Basics,” with “Problem Solvers,” “Time Savers,” “Flavor Tips” and “Healthy Hints.” There are also some recipes, with more difficult techniques broken down into illustrated step-by-steps.

This book is a wonderful gift for a new bride just learning how to cook for her family, though even seasoned kitchen godesses can pick up handy shortcuts and tips.

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