Here at Tattered Cover, We All Wait To Get Gerald's Cookbook Recommendations. He's Never Wrong.

"I can hear my Mom ask 'why everybody has to use foul language', but, language aside, anyone who has more than 5 cookbooks, even a Paleovore, should have a vegetarian or vegan cookbook--and this choice has mouth-watering but uncomplicated offerings."

 "A lot of folk who say they hate to cook like to bake.  Honorable mention in this category goes to Baking Chez Moi by one of the best recipe writers ever, Dorie Greenspan."

"However, intriguing savory recipes drew me to give the nod to Pastry by Nick Malgieri, a fine cooking teacher himself."

"Admittedly, very few people need a preserving cookbook, but if the holiday season of the French Laundry taught us anything, it is that cookbooks are sometimes for lusting and reading and learning."

"Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry takes us from "cornichon imposters" to duck fat and preserved meats, Smoked Oyster Chowder and beyond.  It is one of the most intriguing cookbooks to peruse I've seen in a while."

This Acclaimed NY Chef Left Culinary Fame for the Farm

In this extraordinary new book Suvir merges his highly refined spice sensibility with the great produce of his adopted land. He also harvests favorite recipes from friends and worldwide travels such as the Farmhouse Crispy-Creamy Potatoes roasted with herbs, which he cleverly calls Herbes de Hebron as a riff on Herbes de Provence. And I was overjoyed to find the recipe for Manchurian Cauliflower, one of my favorite dishes at his New York City restaurant Devi, guaranteed to convert a professed detractor of the vegetable. Also gracing the book is a very special biscuit recipe—one that Suvir made for our breakfast along with his home-made jams. The secret to these exceptionally tender and buttery biscuits is that compared to most, they have half the cream and double the butter! Consummate host that he is, Suvir sent my father home with an ample supply of biscuits and jam, extending the visit back to the comforts of his own home.

This book is blessed with many glorious photographs, by the brilliantly talented Ben Fink, which illustrate the recipes and lifestyle that Suvir and Charlie share with sincere and engaging eloquence. For me every word rings true because it perfectly reflects my two visits to the farm. Once again I saw the huge golden white rooster who prefers to hang out with the bucks (male goats) to his own hens but sits trustingly and contentedly in Suvir’s embrace, and the alpacas whose lovely beige and brown furs become exquisitely soft yarn for knitting in the cold winter months and about whom Suvir says: ”They protect the goats and sheep, amuse us with their personalities, and enrich us with their fiber.”

Suvir is one of those rare individuals who possess a magnetic personality. All are drawn to him and want nothing more than to remain by his side to bask in the dynamic warmth, humor, generosity, and love that he radiates. But there is another side to Suvir—that of a sharply clever and playful master of the tease and please. He is full of surprises and his recipes reflect all of these enticing qualities. How wonderful to have this book by one’s side to cook from and to dream of an idyllic Masala Farm existence.

--excerpt from the Forward to the book, written by Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible and 8 other cookbooks

Read an interview with Suvir Saran from Top Chef Masters.

Jackie says:
"This is an absolutely beautiful cookbook, with eclectic recipes and plenty of farm stories making a tasty side dish to the clear culinary skills.  I can't believe he got thrown off of Top Chef!"

Dispatch From The Field: Joe Advises You To : "Buy this book, give it to a friend, make these recipes and watch your world get a little better."

When Jennifer Reese lost her job, she was overcome by an impulse common among the recently unemployed: to economize by doing for herself what she had previously paid for. She had never before considered making her own peanut butter and pita bread, let alone curing her own prosciutto or raising turkeys. And though it sounded logical that “doing it yourself” would cost less, she had her doubts. So Reese began a series of kitchen-related experiments, taking into account the competing demands of everyday contemporary American family life as she answers some timely questions: When is homemade better? Cheaper? Are backyard eggs a more ethical choice than store-bought? Will grinding and stuffing your own sausage ruin your week? Is it possible to make an edible maraschino cherry? Some of Reese’s discoveries will surprise you: Although you should make your hot dog buns, guacamole, and yogurt, you should probably buy your hamburger buns, potato chips, and rice pudding. Tired? Buy your mayonnaise. Inspired? Make it.

With its fresh voice and delightful humor, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter gives 120 recipes with eminently practical yet deliciously fun “Make or buy” recommendations. Reese is relentlessly entertaining as she relates her food and animal husbandry adventures, which amuse and perplex as well as nourish and sustain her family. Her tales include living with a backyard full of cheerful chickens, muttering ducks, and adorable baby goats; countertops laden with lacto-fermenting pickles; and closets full of mellowing cheeses. Here’s the full picture of what is involved in a truly homemade life—with the good news that you shouldn’t try to make everything yourself—and how to get the most out of your time in the kitchen.

 

Joe says:

"Just days before I received this book in the mail, a few friends and I were sitting around, over wine, making grand plans for all of the bounty this year's garden was about to bring. We were talking relishes, pickles, jellies
& jams, salsas and other goodies, picked at their peak of flavor, and stored on our pantry shelves until some point this winter, when we'd open them up, and recall these lovely late-summer days... As our talk progressed, it became clear that 1) our dreams might be a little unrealistic, and 2) is it really better, or cheaper to make these things on our own. If only we had a guide to definitively say whether homemade ketchup is better than store-bought (especially now that it's made without high-fructose corn syrup?) And along comes Make The Bread, Buy The Butter by Jennifer Reese.

Jennifer Reese is the Tipsy Baker, a blogger (check out the blog here) who regularly writes about her adventures in the kitchen. Here is a book that is going to take a treasured place in my kitchen bookrack. Part memoir, part Consumer-Reports-style testing, this book is chock-full of recipes and good advice in the kitchen.

There are a few things Jennifer Reese does in this book that make it particularly indispensable: before each recipe, she tells her story of why she wanted to tackle it. I mean, who has really thought of making their own pop tarts? Once she's done that, generally with the voice of a friend sitting in your kitchen over coffee, she then tells you whether you should make it or buy it, breaks down the cost difference between the homemade and the store bought, and lists whether this project is going to be easy or difficult (often one of the funniest parts of the recipe...) Her recipes are easy-to-follow, and often include diagrams and pictures to get through the more difficult parts.

I would highly recommend this book if you are thinking about embarking on the adventure that is backyard chicken raising. Here, Reese offers a humane and very funny look at what that project brought to her family. I would recommend this book if you, like me, spend a lot of time thinking about what goes into your body and wondering where did so many of these so-called "conveniences" come from, and are they really worth it? I've suspected making my own bread is the way to go for a long time, but in this book, Jennifer Reese cements it for me. Her recipes are tried-and-true, her reasoning makes sense to me, and her personality makes it believable. Buy this book, give it to a friend, make these recipes and watch your world get a little better..."

--Joe 

20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto

Rare is the cookbook that redefines how we cook. And rare is the author who can do so with the ease and expertise of acclaimed writer and culinary authority Michael Ruhlman. Twenty distills Ruhlman s decades of cooking, writing, and working with the world s greatest chefs into twenty essential ideas from ingredients to processes to attitude that are guaranteed to make every cook more accomplished. Whether cooking a multi-course meal, the juiciest roast chicken, or just some really good scrambled eggs, Ruhlman reveals how a cook s success boils down to the same twenty concepts. With the illuminating expertise that has made him one of the most esteemed food journalists, Ruhlman explains the hows and whys of each concept and reinforces those discoveries through 100 recipes for everything from soups to desserts, all detailed in over 300 photographs. Cooks of all levels will revel in Ruhlman s game-changing Twenty.

Ruhlman’s Twenty: The Ideas and Techniques That Will Make You a Better Cook

Jackie says:
"This may be the cookbook I've been waiting for all my life.  The quality of the writing, the photos, the recipes--you really can't ask any more from a single volume.  Make room next to Bittman's How To Cook Everything, because this book is going to become a modern kitchen library staple."

Jackie's Shelf Safari Has A Tasty Conclusion This Week

Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Addictive flavors—and a breakthrough method for making creamy, scoopable ice cream at home.

Unique flavors, prepared from top-quality ingredients combined with minimally processed milk from grass-fed cows, transformed Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a small artisanal scoopery in Columbus, Ohio, into a nationally acclaimed (and beloved) brand.

Now with her debut cookbook, Jeni Britton Bauer is on a mission to help foodies create perfect ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets—ones that are every bit as perfect as hers—in their own kitchens. Frustrated by icy and crumbly homemade ice cream, Bauer invested in a $59 ice cream maker and proceeded to test and retest recipes until she devised a formula to make creamy, sturdy, lickable ice cream at home. Her recipe for a milk-based American-style ice cream contains no eggs, which allows her amazing flavor combinations to shine. Filled with irresistible color photographs, this cone-tastic book contains 100 of Jeni’s signature recipes—from her Goat Cheese with Roasted Cherries to her Salty Caramel to her Bourbon with Toasted Buttered Pecans. Fans of easy-to-prepare desserts with star quality will scoop this book up. How cool is that?

Jackie says:

"I LOVE this book.  She tells you what basic equipment you need and then gives you recipes, with variations,  based on season.  How about Chamomile Chardonnay Ice Cream in the Spring, then perhaps Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry in the dog days of summer.  Warm up with Baked Apple Sorbet come autumn, and try some Gucci Muu Muu (which contains curry, coconut and chocolate--yum!) to spice up winter.   There is Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Roasted Red Cherries for those looking for a new flavor, and comfort for the sick in Influenza RX (oj, lemon juice, sugar, honey, ginger, cayenne  and Maker's Mark are involved in that cure).  All of the recipes are mouthwateringly tempting and promise amazing taste combinations to excite just about anyone's palette.   There are even great recipes for candies and baked goods that compliment the ice creams, as well as instructions for making your own cones.  Absolutely delightful!"

Check out this recipe for Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk Ice Cream.

Jackie's Fantastic Find

I was killing some time waiting on a ride home from work when I stumbled over this gem of a cookbook:

The Italians have a secret. Over the centuries, they have pioneered more than 300 shapes of pasta, each with a history, a story to tell, and an affinity for particular foods. These shapes have evolved alongside the flavors of local ingredients, and the perfect combination can turn an ordinary dish into something sublime. The Geometry of Pasta pairs more than one hundred authentic recipes from critically acclaimed chef Jacob Kenedy with award-winning designer Caz Hildebrand's stunning black-and-white designs to reveal the science, history, and philosophy behind spectacular pasta dishes from all over Italy.

Packaged in a crisply designed black-and-white hardcover (complete with a dust jacket that unfolds into a poster of pasta shapes and patterns), The Geometry of Pasta is a one-of-a-kind cookbook unlike anything you've ever seen!

Needless to say, this was love at first sight for a pasta fiend like me. And just the casual flip-through told me I HAD to have this book. It tells you the history of each pasta in alphabetical order, some quirky details about it, some great recipes for it, and gives suggestions for other ingredients that would also be fantastic with it. Plus, I was childishly please that the dust jacket folds out into a poster of pasta shapes. Brava!!!!

--Jackie

For the Joy of Learning, Cooking, and Eating

This witty cookbook featuring recipes from the famous Italian-American restaurant will seduce home cooks with shortcuts and insider tricks gleaned from years spent in gourmet kitchens, easy tutorials on making fresh pasta, and an amusing discourse on Brooklyn-style Sunday sauce.

Jackie says: "This has got to be one of the most beautiful cookbooks (gilded edges, embossed cover) I've ever owned (and I own a lot). Too bad it's gonna get splashed with goo as I use it over and over again to make these absolutely irresistible, gem like recipes. And the commentary throughout the book makes it almost impossible to put down whether you are cooking or not. It should come with a bib since every recipe makes you drool!"

Learn more about the Franks in Food and Wine's article "Radical Comfort Food in Brooklyn".