10 gift books for cooks
If you like to cook, or if you just like to read about food, a new cookbook is a welcome gift.
For the giver, however, whether you shop for cookbooks online or go into bookstores, you'll be amazed at the array of choices. Thus, we offer up 10 Top Picks for Christmas 2008.
In selecting the best books this year, my primary considerations were practicality and price. While the price of the pick for chefs and culinary students is high, it is defensible because this work truly moves beyond cookbook into textbook status. I wasn't surprised when last Sunday's Post and Courier article about regifting did not include cookbooks on the list of items likely to be regifted. I don't know if that is because the givers chose carefully or because an unwanted cookbook is easily exchanged for a desired one, but I was comforted that cookbooks will serve us well as gifts that are keepers.
Inspired home cooking
"Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor From Simple Ingredients." Food Network star Ina Garten's food is simple, seasonal and 99 percent from scratch — think 1 percent time-saving use of commercially produced products such as puff pastry. Her dishes are very approachable, yet infused with Garten's special style. The tops of her Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits are brushed with egg white and sprinkled with sea salt. Her Oven-Roasted Vegetables combines fennel, fingerling potatoes, haricots verts and asparagus. And in her twist on an old Lowcountry standby, she coats fish fillets with a mixture of creme fraiche, Dijon and whole-grain mustards, shallots and capers before baking them. A fine example of elevating familiarity with flair. Hardcover. Clarkson Potter/Publishers. $35.
Baker's bible
"BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking." You may recognize author Shirley Corriher from her legendary cookbook, "CookWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking," a well-worn copy of which can be found in many of our kitchens. Though it has a long chapter on baking, we've been longing for this baking sequel.
Corriher, who worked as a research biochemist at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, is famous for her technical culinary knowledge. Why did the cake fall? Why isn't the cookie crisp? Why is the brownie dry? These answers are so helpful, and that's what this book is all about. Theory, recipe, desired result, problem-solving. A baker's must-have. Hardcover. Scribner. $40.
Young and trendy
"Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book." Ray's back with an "ultimate collection of all new 30-minute meals, vegetarian dinners, meals for one, kosher meals, holiday meals, and much more!" What's more? Entree burgers, family meals, starters and snacks, and "a little more than 30 minutes, but worth it." Why "Big Orange Book?" Because orange is her favorite color.
Who would want this book? Believe it or not, I tested other Rachael Ray recipes on teens' cooking classes last summer and they were big hits, so I'd say, if they like to cook — 12 and up. As easy as BLT Guacamole Dip, fun as My-Oh-Mahi! That's a Good Fish Taco and trendy as Bourbon Orange Skillet BBQ Chicken with Corn Bread Topper. Paperback. Clarkson Potter/Publishers. $24.95.
Italian pizazz
"Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites." When Giada de Laurentiis filmed one of her Food Network shows in Charleston, everybody who met her loved her. In this, her fourth book, you'll catch a glimpse of her personality in her new culinary style, as it has evolved from her Italian family heritage. "These days," she writes, "my palate responds to clean, vibrant simple flavors, and my eyes can't resist the undeniable freshness of great ingredients and bursts of bright colors." This is easy to see in the recipes, such as her refreshing Cantaloupe, Red Onion and Walnut Salad, delicate Roasted Halibut with Grapefruit Fennel Salsa and lightest of light Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti. An added plus: a chapter on cooking with children. Hardcover. Clarkson Potter. $32.50.
Comfort food for foodies
"Second Helpings of Roast Chicken." Simon Hopkinson's first cookbook, "Roast Chicken and Other Stories," deemed the "most useful cookbook ever" by a panel of his fellow Brits, was last year's sleeper when finally published in the U.S. market. "Second Helpings" follows the same template. The 47 sections are set by subject and run alphabetically, in this case from almonds to vinegar. Each contains a charming essay and couple of recipes, making it a good read as well as a cookbook. Hardcover. Hyperion. $24.95.
Eat local
"Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life." There have been several cookbooks this year directed toward the farm-to-plate movement, so why this one? Jamie Oliver's is one of the newest, and the lessons he delivers in this book are on the gentle side, making it a particularly good one for a gift. A longtime proponent of sustainability, Oliver practices what he preaches about eating locally and seasonally, as this book is basically a how-to for cooking from his garden. Dividing it by the seasons, and the seasons by the fruits and vegetables, he talks about them, tells how he grows them and gives recipes for cooking them. Additionally, the fall section includes segments on game and preserving. Hardcover. Hyperion. $37.50.
Culinary travel
"A Day at elBulli." Arguably the most famous restaurant in the world, elBulli is on the northeast coast of Spain near the town of Roses. Open only six months a year, it has more than 2 million requests for the 8,000 reservations available during that time. Its chef, Ferran Adria, is one of the originators of the molecular gastronomy movement. In this 500-page book with 800 pictures, the armchair traveler will have a day at elBulli that the luckiest diner will never have — backstage in the creative workshop, behind the scenes in the kitchen and an insight into the step-by-step making of an Adria 30-dish menu. A fascinating journey. Hardcover. Phaidon Press. $49.95.
Culinary history
"Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages." There is a tremendous interest today in the path of food from source to plate. Author Anne Mendelson wrote "Milk" as "a geographical-historical exploration of the world's milky ways, including those that have shaped the American milk supply." Beginning her study between 8000 and 6000 B.C., and including cream, butter, cheese and fermented milk products such as yogurt, Mendelson combines her history with a "dairy-chemistry-for-cooks primer" with recipes and intriguing results. Hardcover. Alfred A. Knopf. $29.95.
Chefs and students
"Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide." Thomas Keller, chef/owner of The French Laundry in Napa Valley, Calif., and Per Se in New York City, among others, is the IT of American chefs, and his book, "Under Pressure," is the IT book in this category. Unlike his previous two books, this one won't be of much use to the home cook because the subject is a technique best practiced in the professional kitchen with professional equipment. It has been embraced by chefs such as Keller and, locally, Sean Brock of McCrady's because it is a method of precision. If you have a chef or culinary student on your Christmas list, this is the gift of choice. Hardcover. Artisan. $75.
Chocoholic dream
"A Year in Chocolate." Master chocolatier Jacques Torres has built a beautiful calendar of 80 chocolate delights for holidays and special occasions such as graduations and weddings. All the traditional chocolate dishes are included, but I like it for the surprises: Chocolate-Covered Matzo, Chocolate-Coated Brittle With Pumpkin Seeds and Cranberries, Chocolate Caramel Corn, Chocolate Creme Brulee. Hardcover. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. $35.
Marion Sullivan is culinary programs specialist at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. Send your cookbook questions to Booksforcooks@bellsouth.net.
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