Hello everyone! I’m off to Australia in a few hours but wanted to let you know that I am thrilled to feature the return of Book Reviews from the one and only Kristina Gill! It’s such a great way to discover new titles and I always appreciate Kristina’s curating. Enjoy this installment and I’ll be back soon after a very long, long long plane ride! – Matt

Kristina: I am sorry.  I am SOOOO woefully late on my cookbook reviews, that I will spend time over the next few weeks to catch up.  I’m still not so convinced that wrapping up the end of the year, going home for Christmas and New Year’s, starting the new year,  and getting unexpectedly snowed into my house for seven out of the past ten days, are good excuses for my absence.  But I hope you’ll let me make it up to you.   There isn’t any rhyme or reason to this grouping of books because I just couldn’t wait to dig into my stack and let you know just what you’re missing (and what you’re not missing).   I know I say this a lot, but just when I think that I can’t get passionate about another cookbook, one comes along that changes my mind.  There are a couple in this week’s reviews.

My Family Table by John Besh (Andrew McMeel Publishing, 2011.  Photography by Maura McEvoy)
Well-known New Orleans chef John Besh has put together an unforgettable collection of Southern recipes that anyone passionate about Southern cooking, or even just curious, should want to read.  I like it because they are the staples from my childhood and therefore recipes that I really would eat at home and can prepare on my own, without any special skills or knowledge, as “chefs at home” books often are.  It has the corn pudding, two recipes for fried chicken, fried catfish, cheese grits, angel biscuits, drop biscuits, buttermilk pancakes, sloppy joes, baked beans… with a few little ‘inspired’ recipes thrown in for good measure.  I would love a paperback version because this bound version is large and heavy (and beautiful).  I am biased when it comes to Southern cooking, so I think everyone should have a copy of this.

Small Adventures in Cooking by James Ramsden (Quadrille Books, 2011.  Photography by Steven Joyce)  

For those not in the UK, and those in the UK who are unfamiliar with Quadrille Books, I think it is probably one of the best producers of cookbooks in the UK, rivaled perhaps only by Murdoch, which I consider Australian, and which is an entirely different beast.  Quadrille is a small publisher which punches way above its weight in the quantity and quality of cookbooks it publishes each year.  Two years ago, breaking with the name-brand authors typical of cookbooks, they started a series called “New Voices in Food” which debuts cookbooks by up and coming food professionals.  The books are paperback,  a little smaller in dimension than an iPad, beautifully photographed, and attractively designed.  James Ramsden’s book, Adventures in Cooking, is the third in the series of which four have been produced so far.  All of the books have quite easy recipes, tending toward British-y and international recipes.  James is one of the best of the four because it’s not too simplistic, but not so complicated you’d never use it.  (Any book which has recipes for English Muffins and also Homemade Baked Beans gets an A+ from me!).  The recipes evenly cover savory and sweet, with notes in the margin occasionally suggesting how to change the recipe up with minor “tweaks” and what to do with the leftovers.  Ramsden also experiments with hashtags for recipes, which don’t convince me, but the rest of the book is great.

Kitchen Simple by James Peterson (Ten Speed Press, 2011.  Photography by James Peterson)  

While we’re on the subject of basics, I thought I’d do a couple more titles aimed at the “basic” repertoire of recipes for quick and easy meals.  There is nothing extraordinary in this book, unfortunately.  I will say that the chapters on Salads and Vegetables are the most inviting, though nothing innovative.  Vegetable gratins, glazed vegetables, tomato and mozzarella salad (better known as a caprese), Moroccan spiced carrots… you get the point.  I guess if you like James Peterson, and you want a book that has recipes of food you’ve probably had in a restaurant somewhere, this is the book for you.  If you’re looking for a twist on a favorite, or something new, this isn’t for you.

Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food by Sam Mogannam and Dabney Gough (Ten Speed Press, 2011.  Photography by France Ruffenach)  

Now this is a good basic cookbook.  It is perfect for beginners but also for seasoned cooks who like to keep a reference book on food on the shelf.  What I like about this book is that it explains how to select, store, and prepare everything from herbs to meat.  There are recipes included throughout, but this book is more about the food itself and the community which produces it.  Stories about the producers and the people involved in bringing the food to the Bi-Rite Market also make the book seem very familiar.  This is an amazing book, and I think it is a book everyone should keep on their bookshelf.  It will quickly become your most used cookbook, I bet.

The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen by Laura B. Russell (Celestial Arts, 2011.  Photography by Leo Gong)

As with most Asian cookbooks, you will need to make a small upfront investment in some items which you may not already have in your pantry–  dry sherry or Chinese Shaoxing rice wine, mirin, miso paste, sake, rice vinegar.  Buying these items is a tiny price to pay to be able to make fabulous Asian food thereafter, however!  This is a beautiful cookbook with an abundance of recipes, starting with a section on sauces and stocks, and going through all my favorites:  skewers and snacks, dumplings and savory pancakes, noodles, rice (bibimbap, hello!), vegetables and tofu…  The sweets chapter isn’t very Asian, and some of the recipes are clearly Americanized but I’m not one to nitpick with authenticity or leave room for dessert when I am enjoying a great red curry soup, minced duck salad, spicy pork with kimchi and tofu, mu shu pork, or salt and pepper squid.  Speaking of mu shu pork, there is a recipe for the mandarin pancakes to go with!(which you can freeze for up to a month!)  Most importantly are the opening pages of the book which contain a chart and valuable information on identifying sources of gluten in Asian cooking, including which brands are gluten free.  I recommend this book to anyone looking to add variety to their usual diet (if it doesn’t contain Asian food), regardless of gluten tolerance.  Is an excellent book to keep if you have other Asian cookbooks (like Bill’s Everyday Asian) you’d like to be able to use with gluten-free products also.

It was my sister Angela that texted me first.

“Did you know you were a question on Jeopardy?” she wrote.

Soon after the facebook posts and messages started coming in. Mostly from the other side of the country from friends who were settled in for the night and enjoying some gameshow tv time.

“What the hell!?” I thought. There’s been a mistake. I don’t get it. It must be someone else, it could happen. So I waited for the Jeopardy broadcast here on the west coast and there it was.

Under the cookbook categories in all its glory.

Mr. Trebek pronounced it correctly. Hallelujah.

The answer…

And Drew got it! On A Stick!  That’s why he is this week’s big winner, after all.

Oh life, you are really really funny that way.

Big thanks to my editor Margaret McGuire at Quirk for helping me enter Pop Culture via a giant blue flashcard. You rock. Really you do.

Hi folks! Just a little quick post to tell you know about this month’s Everyday Food Magazine! I’ve got a quick little feature as well as a new favorite holiday side dish that I will be serving this year! It’s Sweet Potato Fries with Brown-Butter Marshmallow Sauce and you can find it on page 33 of the November issue!

There’s also a few extra questions in the ipad version of Everyday Food as well as the blog, You can read it here! As usual the magazine is filled with fantastic recipes appropriate for the season and I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to make the Turkey & Mashed Potato Potpie that is on the cover. Heck to the yes.

A very special thanks to Anna Last and Merritt Watts! And thank you to Monika Dalkin of Fifty One And A Half for the gorgeous handmade platter!

I think I can say that my love of cheese is no secret. It’s my favorite food group (yes, I consider it a group that must be eaten regularly). I was excited when Kristina told me her next book round up would be all about cheese. BRING IT. Oh, and bring me some wine while you’re at it. Take it away, Kristina! — matt

Kristina Gill: I read on Twitter that it is National Cheese Month, so I thought I’d bring you guys a small selection of the books I have on my shelf about cheese.  Something old, something new, but infinitely useful to cover all the bases from buying it, making it, cooking with it, pairing it with other foods.  Last year, Matt did a brief video providing tips on cheese plates.  You should check it out again if you missed it the first time.  (You can just see me sitting at the table at 2:29, then I got sent upstairs!!  But I was allowed to hoover up all the leftovers afterward!)  I must say that after having written these reviews, I sooooo wish I had a cheese plate.

Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins (Workman, 1996) and Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager by Max McCalman and David Gibbons (Clarkson Potter, 2009)  Two books you could consider your cheese atlases.  They take you on a trip around the world of cheese.  The Cheese Primer is 90% about individual cheeses and how to choose and serve them, spanning Europe and the United States.  Mastering Cheese on the other hand is the opposite.  It’s about the food itself, cheese from A-Z, with 25% about the cheeses of Europe and the United States, a little by country a little by type.  The Cheese Primer is a very useful reference book for when I want to hone in on a specific cheese.  When I got the book in 1996, it was so exciting to read, now that I think about it, maybe that’s why I moved to Italy…  I’ve tasted almost all the Italian cheeses in the book, but not many of the others.  And though Nancy Silverton likes to say that it was LA that put burrata on the map in the United States, Steven Jenkins did indeed have burrata in his book in 1996 (and he includes my favorite castelmagno from Piedmont)!  I would highly recommend either (or both) of these books if you want to know about a lot of different cheeses, where they’re from, and what they’re about.

 (Matt’s notes: I don’t think you could find a greater example of mid 90′s graphic design than Cheese Primer’s book cover. Whoa.)

Artisan Cheese Making at Home:  Techniques and Recipes for Mastering World Class Cheeses by Mary Karlin (Ten Speed Press, 2011; photography by Ed Anderson)  I have never used this book because there are three farms not too far from my home which make their own cheeses.  One makes only mozzarella, one makes an entire range of raw milk cheeses including very good mozzarella, and a third organic farm specialized in aged cheeses, up to 8 years.  If I didn’t live so close to these three farms, I might indeed be tempted to do some experimenting.  This book is beautiful (Ed Anderson’s photographs are wonderful) and goes from the beginning to the end of the cheese-making process.  It has recipes for traditional cheeses, like provolone, queso blanco, whole milk ricotta, and chèvre.  It also covers rubbed cheeses (cocoa, honey, etc) and more advanced bloomy rind, surface-ripened, smeared-rind, and blue cheeses.  I am curious about everything and I find even reading about how these cheeses are made fascinating, and understanding the process only increases my respect for the artisans who make good versions of them!  This is a book for that person you know would love to try out cheese-making, or for someone who is just really curious about how cheese is made.  There are also recipes in the book that use cheese as a featured ingredient.

Fiona Beckett’s Cheese Course (Ryland Peters and Small, 2009; photography by Richard Jung)  Now that you know everything there is to know about cheese– where it’s from, how it’s made, how it should taste, how to choose it, and how to serve it, enter British food journalist, Fiona Beckett, with her book on cheese and how to pair it and serve it.  Beckett has cheese covered, from the explanation of the types of cheeses to wine/drink and cheese pairing, cheese boards, and recipes.  Richard Jung has beautifully photographed it all, and it really is torture looking at the photographs if you’re trying to keep a low-fat diet (hello leek and blue cheese quiche with hazelnut crust…lavender honey and vanilla cheesecake anyone??).  This is a book for someone who loves putting together cheese plates and boards.  This is perfect if you don’t need to know too much about any single cheese, but you like to have a general guide on pairing different types of cheese with each other and with other items.  If you need the reader’s digest version, watch Matt’s video!  [There is a recipe in this book for oat crackers, divine with cheese, or you can use my favorite recipe from Richard Corrigan's Clatter of Forks and Spoons].

This week sees the return of my dearest Kristina Gill. I always love her reviews and they receive accolades from authors and book lovers alike! Yay! And as I prepare to embark on an entire month of cookbook and recipe photography with the world’s best team this seems super fitting. Take it away, Kristina!

I have been MIA.  I am sorry.  I always have great plans for projects during the summer, and then oppressive heat and other crises get in the way.  The crises take up my material time, but they don’t stop my daydreaming of  “If I won the lottery” vacation destinations.  Honestly, except for a few war torn places, and places that Americans aren’t welcome, I’d go anywhere if you handed me a sweaty wad of cash and said “Go travel for a year.”  And to be truthfully honest, I’d probably go those other places too, if it were possible!

This week’s books are my way of getting to the places I’d like to go, but haven’t yet had time (or money) to get there and see the country the way I’d like to!  They are a second round of Non-Western cookbooks.  The first round we did back here.

The Japanese Grill: From Classic Yakitori to Steak, Seafood, and Vegetables by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat (2011Ten Speed Press Photography by Todd Coleman and Jun Takagi)  One look at the cover, and if you’re a meat eater, you’ll be sold on this book.  {Only about a quarter of this book is vegetarian}.  Why I like this book?  It goes through different foods and offers Japanese preparations:  Yakitori, Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Yai Onigiri, and Side Dishes.  It starts with an explanation of ingredients, secrets of grilling and a temperature chart.  If you don’t have access to a store which sells ingredients like Yuzu kosho, sansho, tobanjan, ume paste, karashi mustard, shiso, you won’t be able to get the maximum out of the book, but you can still get loads of satisfaction.  The Crispy Chicken Wings with Seven-Spice Powder Marinade uses just sesame oil, shichmi togarashi (red pepper blend), soy sauce, and salt.  This book is for someone who loves to grill and wants different flavors, someone who loves Japanese food, and definitely someone who loves beautifully photographed meat.

Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibañez with JJ Goode and Shelley Wiseman (2011 Wiley; photography by Romulo Yanes)  I really shouldn’t be doing this review, Matt should.  But lately I’ve gone on a Mexican food hunt.  I started in London with the chain Wahaca by Thomasina Miers (whose book and TV program Mexican Food Made Simple is a perfect complement to Truly Mexican because hers is more street food).  And then I picked up Paletas by Fany Gerson and can’t put it down.  And then I saw Truly Mexican.  It’s everything I could ask for in a Mexican cookbook.  Because I avoid preparing foods I perceive to be complicated, I was happy to see how this book breaks it down into something so simple for me (I found a video from the book! and he’s using a mud australia pebble bowl!!).  It is comprehensive, including every single detail on what you need to know from choosing ingredients, substitutions, storage, cleaning, and preparation.  The recipes focus on the sauces of Mexican cuisine and how to use them.  Recipes have notes on where you may have difficulty and how to avoid those pitfalls.  The chapters are:  Basics, Salsas, Guacamoles, Adobos, Moles and Pipianes, More Ideas for Using Mexican Sauces, Sides.  Within each chapter there are recipes which use the salsas, guacamole, adobos, etc.  The carnitas tacos are calling me!    This is a book for anyone who wants a comprehensive book on Mexican flavors, in particular the sauces. Photography in this book by THE Romulo Yanes.

A Month in Marrakesh:  A Food Journey to the Heart of Morocco by Andy Harris (2011 Hardie Grant; photography by David Loftus)    Andy Harris is the editor of Jamie Magazine.  I love his work on the magazine, and was intrigued by the concept behind the book.  It’s a travelogue.  He and David Loftus went to Marrakesh for a month and documented their food, went to the markets, tried their hand at making traditional recipes and other their own recipes inspired by the ingredients they found.  The result is an amazing collection of Moroccan recipes accompanied by photos which make you feel as though you were walking through the markets yourself.  As with many of my cookbooks, as soon as a colleague saw this one, he took it home, made the lamb artichoke and broad bean tagine, came back to the office and ordered the book.  I have my eyes set on the stuffed potato croquettes, roast pumpkin salad, chickpea dip, and stuffed baby vegetables.  This is the kind of food that is even better the next day.  For a look at the design process of the book, visit this blog entry by InterState graphic designers.  I found it quite interesting to know what went into making the final product.  This is a book for anyone who loves North African cuisine, anyone who wants to be inspired for their next travelogue, and of course, David Loftus photography fans.

Turkey:  Recipes and tales from the road by Leanne Kitchen (2011 Murdoch; photography by Leanne Kitchen)  Murdoch Books has had a very strong cookbook collection for the past few years (although their newspapers don’t seem to be faring well…), and I’ve reviewed a few of them here.  I am therefore very interested in any large recipe volume they produce because I know it will be a quality job.  I was also intrigued by the title because I do not have a book of Turkish cuisine!  Quite similar in style to A Month in Marrakesh, Turkey is Leanne’s travelogue of her journey through Turkey.  Not surprisingly, the food is a mix between Mediterranean and more ‘Middle Eastern’ cuisine.  There are small ravioli, topped flatbreads (very similar to pizza), pickles, fried fish, kebabs  (hello Swordfish Kebab with Celeriac, Orange and Walnut Salad!).  Even more interesting to me is the section on desserts (though I’ll skip the candied watermelon!).  Leanne has beautifully photographed her book as well.  In the US, you will probably have to order from the UK.  This is the perfect book for anyone who has a hankering for Turkey, or someone like me who has never been, would love to go, and wants to get a head start on what to look for when I finally do go!

Whispers from a Lebanese Kitchen: A family’s treasured recipes by Nouha Taouk (2011 Murdoch Books; photography by Johan Palsson)  Ever since Bethany Kehdy, the food blogger behind Dirty Kitchen Secrets, started her Taste of Lebanon culinary tours, I have agonized in envy at everyone who has been able to participate.  I’ve read a a handful of features over the past few years about Beirut being the must-stop destination in its region for food. This book, by a Lebanese-Australian author, is a nice balance between personal story and recipes.  Like my Turkey book, I was so intrigued by the topic of Lebanese food that I couldn’t resist a peek at Whispers.  There are recipes for falafel (no leavening agent!), fried turnovers, kebab, salads, pickles and cheese.  The style of the book is to me quite evocative of what it was like growing up in the author’s family.  I like it when there is a very personal feel to a cookbook.  This is a book for anyone interested in Lebanese cuisine, and anyone who enjoys the personal side of recipes.

Paletas by Fany Gerson (2011 Ten Speed Press; photography by Ed Anderson)  If I had to tell you what books to pick up for the summer, and were forced to choose JUST three, I’d recommend: On A Stick! by Matt, Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson, and Paletas.  I’m not going to write too much about Fany’s book, except to say that the recipes are wonderful, it is beautiful beautiful beautiful, and I use it every week.  It is a very nice simple popsicle book, but also has aguas frescas and raspados.  Who knew you could make rice based refreshing drinks like these!  My husband even shows the book to everyone who comes over, and tells them they must make something from the book.  I enjoy these books so much, I have ordered multiple copies to give to people I know will enjoy them.

I’m happy to announce the return of book reviews from Kristina Gill. Her book review column has proven to be quite a great lil resource for books, her selections knock it outta the ballpark each and every time. And having just released my own book, well, I’m realizing that one must share the booklove as much as possible. Take it away, Kristina!

I stumbled across a nice book 15 years ago called Sua Maestà, il Raviolo (“Her Majesty, the Raviolo”). It was a book about ravioli from every region in Italy. That book, in 1996, introduced me to Slow Food, and the Slow Food publisher in Italy. I have been a member of Slow Food Italy off and on since…longer than I can remember. I have slowly bought most of the Slow Food recipe books, as they’ve been released, region by region (most of them anyway), including the four monothematic volumes. A new one on Pasta was just released. I think these books are, hands down, the best Italian cookbooks out there (they have no pictures). They are thin paperback volumes, and include socio-cultural notes about the origin of the recipes, ingredients, and people. Nothing excessive, just a sentence or two, here and there explaining what’s what. The recipes are often from the osterie which appear in the Slow Food annual restaurant guidebooks. If you can read Italian, or even feel your way through it, they are worth having a look at, especially the monothematic or raviolo book.

If you can’t read Italian, but are looking for something authentic or just inspirational, there are a few choices out there which I believe produce great results that you will be happy with. That’s what this week’s reviews are about: great Italian cookbooks. This list is by no means exhaustive!! I have many others, but today, these are at the front of my section.

Italian Cooking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America by Gianni Scappin, Alberto Vanoli, Steven Kolpan (Wiley 2011; photography by Francesco Tonelli)

Wiley has been doing the “At Home with the Culinary Institute of America” series for a while now. I think they are excellent books. This Italian cooking one is no different. It is a comprehensive collection of the most common Italian recipes– carbonara, ragù, polenta, gnocchi, antipasti of all sorts, soups, fresh pasta. This is a big book, kind of formal, but right on the money for your classics. This is for someone who wants a solid reference of Italian cooking.

The River Cafe Classic Italian Cook Book by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers (Michael Joseph, 2009; Photography by various photographers, including Jonathan Gregson and David Loftus) This book offers a similar range of Italian classics, but a bit more modern if I may. The classics are interspersed with “typical” Italian preparations, mainly Tuscan. It goes beyond the sampling of dishes that a one time traveler may know and gets into the boiled octopus with potatoes, penne con stracotto (penne with beef braised in Chianti), and roast guinea fowl stuffed with lemons. That is to say, it gets into what you might find on the table for lunch on a Sunday afternoon at your Italian mother-in-law’s house (not my Italian mother-in-law, though). Of enthusiastic note, this has a section on gelato (gelato al gianduiotto anyone?) and desserts including strudel, panettone, and ricciarelli the Siennese almond meringue! Again, this is for someone who wants a solid reference of Italian cooking, home style.

Two Greedy Italians by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo (Quadrille, 2011; Photography by Christopher Terry)

This is a book to accompany the BBC series of the same name, which I’ve never seen. However, how can anyone resist an Italian cookbook with a perfectly baked Neapolitan margherita pizza on the back cover?? Two giants of the Italian cooking scene in the UK take readers on a feeding frenzy around Italy. In addition to the recipes which have little overlap with the previous two titles, you have lots of notes on socio-cultural aspects of Italy and its food and dining culture. Like The River Cafe Classic Italian Cook Book, this book has a very ‘home cooked’ feel to it, which I like a lot. This doesn’t have the range of recipes that the River Cafe book has, but it has an excellent and numerous selection. This would be the perfect book for someone leaving on a first time trip to Italy, or someone who has just returned and wants to keep the memory alive.

Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph 2005; photography by David Loftus).

This book is Jamie’s interpretations of the food he ate and cooked with people during a trip around Italy. I wouldn’t say it has an “authentic” feel to it, at the same time, I think it is solid enough to stand in this round up of reviews, and because of Jamie’s ability to transmit his enthusiasm, it’s one of my favorite non-Italian Italian cookbooks. Jamie’s no-nonsense style of cooking and Italian food are a natural marriage. That’s why I recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel quite at ease about trying out Italian food, but who doesn’t want to get bogged down in detail. Jamie is also fun, has a great writing style, and David Loftus shoots all his books. What’s not to like? This is a great book for anyone interested in good food (and great pictures of good food).

Eat Ate by Guy Mirabella (Hardie Grant Books, 2010; Chronicle Books in the USA; photography by Earl Carter).

I felt like including this book because it is a very nice book, especially aesthetically. It is by an Italo-American-Australian cafe-owner and artist named Guy Mirabella. Honestly, I think the most Italian thing about the book is the author’s set of maternal grandparents from Sicily. But I love his spirit for telling his family history and childhood memories related to extravagance, generosity, love, tradition, life, and food, the chapters of the book. This is probably a more “modOz” take on Italian food, but that shouldn’t detract from the great flavors the author puts together in his recipes: pumpkin, ricotta and herb pizza, chicken, capsicum, and leek couscous, roast pumpkin and asparagus lasagne (lots of pumpkin in this book), chargrilled calamari, fennel, and Asian herb salad. This is a book for anyone who wants to serve ‘grown-up’ food that you won’t find on any other table.

My sister Angela got her book yesterday. Thanks Amazon!

Well whatddayaknow? Today is the relase of our first book, On A Stick!

I’m thrilled, elated, a bit nervous but happy that this book hits store shelves today. It was an incredibly fun project that required some state fair visits, tons of research and plenty of taste testing and you should know I gave 150% of myself to this book. Especially the tasting part

On A Stick! is a book about – wait for it, wait for it – FOOD ON A STICK. Ok, I’m being silly and knew you’d figure that part out, but this book is where high brow meets low brow, where favorite recipes meet new fangled ideas in some fun and silly ways. Are you seeing the parallel between me and the book? God I sure hope so!

When I began to discuss the idea with Quirk, my publisher, I knew there’d be so many fun moments in store but I also knew it’d be quite a bit of work to produce a cookbook. While I’ve photographed several books for others, this was the first that landed on my shoulders but you should know it was a team effort. None of it would have been possible without my rock, my live-in stylist and my husband Adam. And the same goes for Jenny Park, my tester, writer and assistant stylist. And also to Haley White, my intern at the time, who kept me company and provided valuable assistance and feedback during the process.  And also to our friend Eddie Vasquez who helped me sample item after item after item at a State Fair last year. Who says I don’t take my work seriously?

Top: Adam and Eddie conduct serious research at the San Diego State Fair last year and yes, they are Fine Art. Bottom: Adam enjoys a Hot Dog Covered In French Fries in Seoul, South Korea last week. The work never stops!

But back to the book!

I did my best to cover all my favorites on a stick, from party food to street-fair food to appetizers and desserts. And because there’s that natural thing that happens when you have food on a stick – you simply must dunk or dip it – I included several recipes for dips, marinades and sauces.

And then there are the photos. Fresh off of Susan Russo’s The Encyclopedia Of Sandwiches, I began to rub my eyes and pound my fists a few times as the challenges of photographing food stuck on sticks began to wear me down. It wasn’t easy! Luckily Margaret McGuire, Editor Extraordinaire, was there every step of the way to assist and inspire me with words of encouragement. And with Adam’s styling I think we pulled it off.

Let’s have a look at a few of the book’s images, shall we?

Chicken and Waffles On A Stick.  If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Chicken & Waffles then you need to get up on this! Based on the dish I love at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles I wanted to put it on a stick and drown the whole thing in syrup. Oh. My. God. No, you shouldn’t eat this everyday but for something different on a stick I do love it.

Coconut Shrimp. Not everything in the book is on a giant long stick reminiscent of state fair cuisine. These tender shrimp are dipped in shredded coconut and fried, a flavor combination creation in Heaven above. Serve with mango salsa and you have yourself a cute little appetizer. They pair wonderfully with cocktails, I’m telling you.

Fried Pickles. Oh puhleeese quit looking at me that way. You know you want some. And if you love them already then you know where I’m coming from. Again, excellent with cocktails or beer. Not that I drink all that often.

This Panzanella on a stick was the very first recipe I wrote and tested. I took them to a 4^th of July bbq last summer (it’s been that long already!?) to test on a crowd and you know what? They loved them. It’s fresh, summery, with enough chewy croutons to give these skewers some substance. Secret admission: I was kinda hoping people didn’t like them so I could eat them all myself. I’m serious.

Popcorn Balls. Is there anything better than a sticky face and sticky hands? Not really. When we shot these I told Adam to leave them on my computer stand just in case I needed to photograph them again. I AM SUCH A LIAR! I left them there to eat over the course of the day which I did. Sticky camera and mouse be damned.

Fruit Salad Skewers. These make me happy. They’re easy to assemble and great for kids, but you know the best part about them? The fluffy sweet sauce that they’re dipped in. I’m going to leave it at that and encourage you to make them. And invite me over.  I’ll bring extra sauce.

Spaghetti & Meatballs On A Stick. When I traveled around with my advance copy of the book this photo was always met with laughter. Was it good laughter or bad laughter? No one would tell me. But go ahead, laugh if you want, this dish is delicious, silly, a bit labor intensive but guaranteed to make you, um, smile. C’mon, it’s on a stick. Enjoy and delight in the silliness of it all! Besides, it’s the only time you’ll be able to eat spaghetti and meatballs with one hand while holding a glass of red wine in the other. Another drink reference, must I see someone about that?

There are so many more recipes in this book, not all silly, either.

To celebrate the release of On A Stick!, I’ll be giving away 5 autographed copies! All you have to do is leave a comment below, it can be stick related or you can tell me how much you love corndogs, I’m easy! Just leave a comment and next Monday, May 9^th I’ll pick 5 winners and write sweet nothings in your book and mail them to you! EASY! Unfortunately you must be in the United States to win and must leave your comment by 9am PST time on Monday the 9th. I’m so excited to send some lucky winners a book that I may just throw in a few secret surprises!

Visit Amazon.com to buy your copy today!

I met Sara a few years ago in the Bahamas and quickly discovered she is the kind of person everyone knows. As the owner of Foster’s Market in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Sara is the author of several cookbooks and has numerous appearances on Martha’s show as well as the Today show. I have yet to make it to her market but in the meantime I’m so happy to have this book. Her latest, Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Soulful, Traditional, Seasonal, is filled with traditional Southern favorites as seen through Sara’s kitchen. It’s a book that you can’t help but get hungry from just looking at it as it’s packed with Southern favorites that I want to eat this very second. All the classics are there with contemporary twists like Shrimp Jabalaya, fried chicken, brisket and spare ribs. Now can you see why I’m all about this book?

Because I’m anticipating summer mode I wanted to try a few things so I could hit the ground running once it warms up a tiny bit. I’m in love with Sara’s skillet-fried corn and can only imagine how fantastic it will be when I make it with summer’s best corn. Still, even using the corn I used it was still delicious and remarkably simple. Corn, butter, basil, salt, and pepper (plus a few pieces of summer squash and zucchini just like the photo in the book) are so delicious that I really can’t wait to serve this outside with some ribs, a few burgers, I can bet it’s fantastic with just about anything. And the combination of basil and corn is completely new to me and it’s fantastic. Make sure to check out the recipe at the end of this post.

Sara’s familiar tone in writing really makes you feel as if you’re there and have known her for years, which I love. I also love her glossary of Southern pantry essentials, should you need a brush up. But the thing about Sara’s Southern Kitchen that really makes me hungry is the food photography from Peter Frank Edwards. The food is gorgeous, real, and captured in such a way that it truly feels as if you’re just sitting down to enjoy a meal with Sara and the family.

Luckily for us Sara’s husband Peter created this video as they were working on the book. I knew I had to share it!

Skillet Fried Corn from Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen: Soulful, Traditional, Seasonal
Shuck 6 ears fresh corn and cut the kernels directly into a bowl. After removing the kernels, hold each stripped cob over the bowl and scrape with the back of the knife to release the juices. Cut 4 fresh basil leaves into thin strips and set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until foamy. Add the kernels and their juices, rinse the bowl with ¼ cup water, and add the rinsing liquid to the skillet. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and cook and stir until the kernels are tender and the liquid thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the basil and serve warm.

Matt says: You can add sliced of summer squash and zucchini to this dish for color. It’s heavenly. Photo by me.

I’m at a loss for words as I sit down to write a very quick review of Heidi Swanson’s latest book Super Natural Every Day. There is nothing that could come from me that would tell you what you don’t already know about Heidi and her writing and photography.

It’s perfect.

For once I’m not trying to speak in superlatives here and I really mean it when I say this book is perfect.  I’ve been carrying it around showing it to friends and family and find myself saying something over and over again.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?”

When I think about it, I’m not sure how to explain my statement. There’s the tactile element, similar to her last book in that the soft coated stock wraps around the beautiful images printed on uncoated paper. There’s the graphic design and typography that adds but never distracts, and then there are the photographs.

Oh, those photographs.

They inspire me. They take me places. They make me dream of soft light and quiet conversations, something I’m all too short on as I try to do way too many things all over the world.

This book makes me catch my breath.

And of course there are the recipes. Heidi writes recipes that are blend of comforting flavors and good-for-you ingredients, all with dashes of global influences that keep me (and millions of others) yearning for more. There’s nothing I don’t want to eat from this book, and I’m not the least bit embarrassed to tell you that I began with the alcoholic beverages first. Ok, maybe I’m slightly embarrassed.  But light Heidi says, they’re light and fizzy, not hard and heavy. I like that.

There are no ways around this next sentence: YOU NEED THIS BOOK. You must have this book. If you don’t already, that is. It inspires me and I hope it does the same for you. I’m pretty confident it will.

Chickpeas & Dandelion Greens
One of the first recipes I made from Super Natural Every Day was the Chickpeas & Dandelion Greens. I’m a greens freak and I’ve been on a chickpea kick lately so it seemed like a natural combination. It’s simple yet filling, and anything with lemon zest, salt and red pepper flakes is going to make me smile. Heidi recommends using any green that looks tender and fresh so if you can’t get dandelion greens then don’t worry.

2 cups / 10 oz / 280 g cooked chickpeas (see page 215), or 1 (15-ounce / 425g) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Fine-grain sea salt
3 or 4 handfuls of young dandelion leaves, stems trimmed
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Put the chickpeas in a medium bowl.

Take out a large skillet, and, while it is still cold, add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 2 big pinches of salt. Stir over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle; it should not begin to brown. Toss the dandelion greens into the skillet and stir until they begin to wilt, 15 seconds or so. Stir in the lemon zest.

Pour the greens over the chickpeas and toss. Taste, and add a bit more salt if needed. Transfer to a platter and seve warm or at room temperature.

serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish

Tinto de Verano
Heidi calls this drink sangria’s “dressed-down cousin”.  Made of only three things, cheap red winem, sparkling lemonade and plenty of ice, I knew I had to give this recipe priority in anticipation of plenty of summer entertaining. It does not disappoint and is the perfect warm weather sip.

Ice cubes
1 (750ml) bottle inexpensive Spanish red wine
Sparkling (naturally sweetened) lemonade or any not-too-sweet lemon-lime beverage
Fresh lemon slices

Heidi says: Fill each glass with as many ice cubes as will fit. Add 1/2 cup / 120 ml wine and 1/2 cup / 120 ml sparkling lemonade to one glass, then stir. Taste. It should be light and refreshing and not overly “juicy.” Sometimes the cheap wine you get here in the States is very concentrated and grape-y. If that is the case, you’ll need to dilute your tinto with a bit more sparkling lemonade. Fill the remaining glasses, stir, garnish with lemon slices, and serve.

serves 4 to 6

Both recipes reprinted with permission from Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

This quick book review will most likely be biased. I’m cool with that. And I’m owning my bias in a big way, here’s why:

1. My husband works out of state several weeks a month.
2. I am from Texas. Mr. Yonan is from Texas.
3. Mr. Yonan is affable, sweet and smart, and has a chapter on tacos.
4. Tacos.

While 1 through 4 are major reasons why I love this book so much, they’re not the only reasons why Joe Yonan’s Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures In Cooking For One. is currently rocking my kitchen. I met Joe, the Food & Travel editor for The Washington Post, in person last year at IACP when I was presenting a talk on food photography. You can imagine my surprise when we started chatting about being from small Texas towns, and if you’re from a small Texas town there are some things that only others could from Texas could understand and appreciate. Plus Joe spent time in Austin, my 2^nd hometown, so you can see the affinity I have for Joe.

But let’s talk about his book. Beginning with a very amusing story about a Facebook comment Joe received about his “Cooking For One” column in The Washington Post, this book celebrates something many of us do on a regular basis when we sit down to a meal created for ourselves. And I’m of Joe’s mindset: there’s nothing wrong with having a wonderful group of friends and family to share meals with, but when you are alone you needn’t be without good food. And this is why (along with #1 above) that this book resonates so much with me. I cook for myself more than you would possibly realize.

For me, cooking solo relies on some of my favorite things to cook: stir fries, grains and beans, anything with tortillas and plenty of roasted or grilled vegetables. Now that Joe’s written a book on this subject, well, I’m elated that I’ll be able to cook from it and still be treated to so many of my favorites: sandwiches, tacos, a whole chapter on eggs (YES!) as well as pizzas and pasta. I’m a huge fan of making pizzas when I’m home alone and plan on diving into the pizza chapter today while the other half is working in Chicago.

And yes, the recipes are written in quantities meant for one, with plenty of information on ways to put leftovers to great use and how to dress up the meal with condiments.

Did I mention there’s a chapter on tacos?

I still haven’t decided what I love most about Serve Yourself: the variety of stellar recipes or Joe’s humor that opens and closes the book. I couldn’t stop laughing about the stories of his relationships past, all shared with humility and humor and I’d probably be the first person to buy a book he wrote on that subject alone. Joe is hilarious.

Joe’s Spicy Hummus

With all my banter about tacos you’d think I’d pick a recipe from that chapter. Nope. I can’t get past his recipe for Spicy Hummus which I not only had at the studio when I photographed it for this post but have made 2 times since then. It’s delicious with a slight kick, I’ve been digging it with sliced cucumbers as my choice of dipping vessel, spread on toasted lavash and also on everyday sandwiches. I am officially in chickpea mode and this hummus is perfect.

Makes about 2 cups

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika)
2 cups cooked chickpeas, preferably homemade (page 45), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chickpea cooking liquid or water, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons tahini, plus more as needed
Juice of 1 lemon
1 plump clove garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Pour the oil into a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and pimenton. Cook, stirring or shaking the pan frequently, until the spices are very fragrant, about 30 seconds. (Be careful not to let the spices burn.) Turn off the heat and let cool.

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, cooking liquid, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Pour in the oil and red pepper flakes from the skillet. Process until smooth. Taste, adjust the salt if necessary, and add more cooking liquid or water if you want the hummus thinner or more tahini if you want it thicker.

Eat immediately, or cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.