Things Cooks Love Reviewed On Cooking by the Book

A glowing review from Suzi O’Rourke on her Cooking by the Book blog:

Things Cooks Love
Implements. Ingredients. Recipes
By Marie Simmons for Sur la Table, Sur la Table

I know it sounds obvious but a cookbook is only as good as its author. The first good thing about Sur la Table’s cookbook is Marie Simmons. Marie is one of this country’s finest cookbook authors (list book titles link to amazon). By that I mean that her recipes work as written, which is, as far as I’m concerned, the most important element for any cookbook. I dare say that I will try hard not to recommend any cookbook on my blog where the recipes do not work. It is a real pet peeve of mine.

The Sur la Table cookbook offers a distinctively new perspective. It works backwards, it suggests that the reader look in their kitchen and see what implement has been sitting on a shelf or hidden in a box because you haven’t use it in a long time, or you might not use it at all because you don’t know what to do with it. This is the book’s starting point. Use that thing you bought but….

I have tons of stuff in my kitchen that I have put away and haven’t used for years. After reading Sur la Table’s book, I decided to take out that old stove top smoker and give it a whirl again. I tested the prosciutto wrapped smoked shrimp on page 100 loved it! Easy and fun. I also chose cauliflower and sweet potatoes in spicy tomato sauce with cashews, this one recipe is worth the price of the book. I would suggest people roast the cashews separately and then toast the spices. When I added the cumin and mustard seeds to the hot pan they jumped and sputtered, I jumped to cover the pan quickly. So be careful; aside from that, this recipe was an absolute favorite. Finally I tested the ground lamb kebabs with ginger and mint yogurt sauce. The results were very tasty, particularly refreshing with the yogurt sauce.

One of the reasons I chose to test Marie’s Indian recipes is because I know how much she loves Indian food. Although Italian by birth and delightful as an Italian chef, Marie has traveled to India and passionately describes her trips and love of Indian cuisine.

Finally, I decided to show Marie’s cookbook to friends who love to cook and are on the beginner/intermediate side. I gave them the book and asked them to take a look. Michael, a graphic/video guy with a weekend passion for food, loved the way it looked and was intrigued by the concept. Cynthia, a very detailed person, enjoyed all the photos and the contemporary nature of the recipes. Both Michael and Cynthia gave the book an enthusiastic positive opinion. Cynthia already has the book on her cookbook wish list. Marie Simmons has created a must-have cookbook.

A Stingray Bit My Nipple! Featured in USA Today

A Stingray Bit My Nipple! True Stories From Real Travelers

One of three travel books featured in USA Today:

37 imperiled places, 80 dinners, 1 bite

Iconic destinations posed for change, embarrassing incidents on the road and a cuisine-propelled global jaunt are among new offerings on the travel bookshelf. USA Today’s Jayne Clark takes a look:

A Stingray Bit My Nipple! True Stories From Real Travelers

“As the title of this compact book indicates, the anecdotes within are hardly a collection of wish-you-were here moments. Culled from Budget Travel magazine's popular "True Stories" reader feature, the book is testimony to the notion that the most memorable travel experiences are often embarrassing, uncomfortable or just plain baffling.

Many incidents involve linguistic gaffs — "Who knew toalla was slang for maxi pad?" wrote one red-faced reader who only meant to request a towel rom her host in a Costa Rican beach town. Some relate happy accidents; others are just weird — take the woman who accepted her Australian guide's invitation to lick the rear end of a green tree ant.

As Budget Travel editor Erik Torkells notes in the book's forward, ‘When we travel, we aim for the sublime. It's the ridiculous stuff, however, that we tend to treasure the most.’”

Andrews McMeel Publishing Authors Featured on iGoogle Artist Themes

Get Your iGoogle AMP Artist Theme

Andrews McMeel Publishing is proud to have four of our authors featured on iGoogle's new Artist Themes. Choose from Anne Geddes whose imagery captures the beauty, purity, vulnerability, and preciousness of children; Edward Monkton whose distinctive style, combining naïve, heavy linework with lyrical, playful wording; Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker, created this theme from cartoon characters that have appeared in the magazine; or Michael Leunig a cartoonist, poet, painter, philosopher, columnist and public performer.

The Grandmother Book On The View, Friday May 9th

The Grandmother Book
by Andy and Susan Hilford
will be featured on
“The View”
with Barbara Walters
on a show that is scheduled to air May 9.

The Grandmother Book On Good Morning America

The Grandmother Book:
A Book About You for Your Grandchild
by Andy and Susan Hilford

will be featured in the Mother’s Day segment of “Good Morning America” tomorrow, May 6, in the last half-hour.

Things Cooks Love Profiled On The Global Gourmet

The consensus among cooks is that the dividing line between having fun in the kitchen and not having fun in the kitchen is whether you have the most suitable tool for the job. Having the right equipment makes cooking easier, and the results often taste better. Unlike any other book on the market, Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes., the first in a series of titles by trusted culinary authority Sur La Table, champions the kitchenware that cooks of all levels are passionate about.

Whether it's the gorgeous new copper pot you received as a gift, a rice cooker you have always wanted to try, or your grandmother's well-aged cast-iron skillet, this book celebrates the deep connection between cooks and the cookware they love.

Things Cooks Love opens with "Essential Cookware and Tools," which includes The Basic Kitchen, detailed descriptions of everything from baking dishes and braisers to tongs and toasters, and The Well-Stocked Global Kitchen, the ultimate wish list to take your kitchen to a new level of sophistication. It is both an easy reference for setting up a new kitchen and a convenient checklist for when it's time to add new items. Things Cooks Love gives all the information you need to confidently select the best and most durable implements.

Once you've explored the basics, it's time to put them to use in "Cooking with Kitchen Essentials," which offers tips for use and care, and recipes for everything from whisks to stove-top smokers. The recipes put your new or refreshed knowledge to work with dishes such as Sea Bass Poached in Orange, Basil and Wine with Citrus and Herb Sauce; Corn on the Cob with Flavored Butters; or Smoked Shrimp Wrapped with Prosciutto. And because this is a book for both the beginning cook and the gourmet, it also offers alternatives for kitchens that are not stocked with the exact cookware or tools.

For further inspiration, the final section of Things Cooks Love, "Globe-Trotting Kitchen Essentials," explores the cookware, ingredients, and recipes of Asia, Mexico, France, India, Italy, Iberia, and Morocco. It spans the globe, visiting the world's favorite pantries and kitchens to experience the luscious tastes and simple techniques for using tools from the versatile Mexican stove-top pepper roaster and the elegant, clam-shaped Portuguese cataplana to the practical and handsome French cocotte and the iconic Spanish paella pan. A quick read on Morocco will embolden the home cook to try a Lamb Tagine with Artichoke Hearts, Dried Apricots, and Preserved Lemon or Classic Chicken Bisteeya.

Recognizing that a beloved cooking collection is the foundation for good food, Things Cooks Love is more than a reference tool or collection of recipes, more than a cookbook; it is a cook's book. It is for everyone who has not only a passion and enthusiasm for all things culinary, but also a sense of adventure. And just as your kitchen equipment can last a lifetime, this book will serve cooks well time and again as they continue to expand their recipe repertoire and cookware collection.

www.globalgourmet.com/food/cookbook/

Things Cooks Love Reviewed By Shelf Awareness

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.
by Sur La Table and Marie Simmons
is reviewed by Shelf Awareness

...Another "equipment" book comes from Marie Simmons and the folks at Sur la Table: Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, and Recipes (Andrews McMeel, $35, 9780740769764/0740769766, May 2008). They say that cooking is easier and more fun with the right tools, and they help you figure out what you need for your style, from basic essentials to global essentials (a Portuguese cataplana, a Moroccan couscoussière, a tortilla press.) Not everything is that exotic; the chapter on cast-iron skillets is excellent, explaining not only how to season them, but what they are good at, and what they are not. But the cookbook is not just a tool book, it has more than 300 pages of scrumptious recipes, like Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce, Sautéed Fish Fillets with Herb Butter and Mango, Fresh-Fruit Quesadillas. The only thing missing is dessert, but that leaves more room for Cornish Hens with Basil and Mint, and Pommes Anna.

Things Cooks Love Reviewed by Cooking With Amy Blog

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes. by Sur La Table and Marie Simmons
is currently featured on the home page of the Cooking With Amy blog. Amy Sherman is a food writer and recipe developer in San Francisco.

Last month I was raving about the new Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniques book. It's the book I wish I had when I was first learning to cook. On the other end of the spectrum, if you are much more confident in your culinary abilities, Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes from Sur La Table is the book for you.

I already know that I want a paella pan and a couscoussiere, and this is the book that fuels my desires with descriptions, amazing recipes and gorgeous photography. You too may want do a little shopping or at least dust off your pizza stone after perusing it. Having 2 -3 recipes to go with each item is what really helps you justify your purchase of a food mill or clay cooker or tagine or whatever it is that strikes your fancy. Wondering what else you can do with the chefs torch you bought but never used? Forget creme brulee, the book has recipes for Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes with Bubbling Mozzarella and Toasted Goat Cheese, Roasted Beet and Pear Salad.

In the beginning there is a section on equipping your kitchen, and then the recipes are divided into "kitchens" as in Asian, Mexican, French, Indian, Italian, Iberian and Moroccan. Each "kitchen" has a discussion of essential pantry ingredients, tools and tantalizing recipes written by Marie Simmons, a two-time winner of the James Beard Award. The book is 300 pages long, has 100 recipes along with 125 detailed descriptions of kitchen implements from the common to the obscure. It's not a comprehensive book, but a great resource for using the "things you love" in the kitchen and a wonderful introduction to the cuisine of many lands. For $23 on Amazon this is a terrific book to add to your collection. Get a sneak peek at sections of the book here.