I received a complimentary copy of a new cookbook done by a vibrant and charming woman Chef I met through Facebook. It is filled with simple recipes to feed your family and friends.

Marcela Valadolid grew up in Mexico. She lived in California for most of her life and she learned how to cook in Paris. Knowing this, you will not be surprised to hear that her recipes are Mexican at heart but have been influenced by other cultures. One example is her Baked Cod with Anchovies and Lime.

Marcela’s recipes are refreshing. Her book is filled with lots of easy to make recipes to serve at casual dinner parties. I loved to serve a Chilled Avocado soup because you can do it in advance. She makes one topped with a grilled scallop. You can serve it in a soup bowl, or be bolder and serve them in shooter glass. Cut the scallops in four if you go for the shooter glass option.

I cannot wait to try her Tilapia Ceviche. I love ceviche. Since we are in the middle of the corn season, give a twist to your grilled corns on the cob with Jalapeno Butter. Low in fat, her White Bean and Grilled Octopus salad should be a hit. Marcela indicates in her cookbook, which recipes are low in fat and which ones take less than 30 minutes.

Fresh Mexico contains 100 recipes and 50 photos. I think it would be a nice addition to your cookbook library.

SOURCING:
+ For Americans: Fresh Mexico by Marcela Valladolid $15.30 USD
+ For Canadians: Fresh Mexico by Marcela Valladolid $16.37 CAD

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It may be too late but I still want to publish the info, just in case. Laura will do two signings for her latest book French Taste at Appetite for Books on today, May 30, 2009. Sadly, there is no words on the time. Apparently, you need to book your presence. To see if it is still possible for you to show up, call the bookstore at 514.369.2002. I wish they had a simpler system. Check out her datebook for details.

I will review French Taste in a few days.

SOURCING:
+ French Taste by Laura Calder $25.17 CAD at Amazon.ca

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Save time by getting a complete Easter Egg Decorating Kit. This one contains everything you need. Plus a video will show you how to craft amazing Easter eggs that will stay fresh longer. $24.95 USD

The highlight of your Easter hunt for kids may be the Easter Egg Browniepops. Reading the description, I believe adults will be willing to made a trade to taste their own. $26 USD for 6 browniepops

Bake the cute Easter Egg Nest Cupcakes with an Easter Egg candy for decorating. Shredded coconut strips form a cute nest. The recipe is adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski.

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I am delighted that I discovered earlier today a bakery in San Francisco called Tartine Bakery. I am sure if I told you that San Francisco is my favorite US cities; then, it is New York and the Los Angeles area.

I spot this charming bakery and café while reading the fabulous Black Eiffel blog. It sounds delicious.

Until my next trip to San Francisco, I can try to bake at home their recipes. Acclaimed pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and master baker Chad Robertson, who is a married couple, published the Tartine coobook in 2006.

The couple also co-owns Bar Tartine. It is a restaurant where Chef Jason Fox runs the kitchen. Jason was one of the 8 persons named “Best People of the Year” in the Best of San Francisco 2008 issue by San Francisco Magazine.

Your Own Favorite Places

Whenever I am traveling, I prefer eating at places where locals go. I try to keep a record of the best local restaurants. Having a blog is one way to build my collection but I felt I needed to do more. It was my motivation behind launching Places, the Praized community connected to my blog. I also want to know what are the places are people with whom I have things in common.

Why not do the same by becoming a member to enjoy for FREE the benefits of Places? You would not receive spam emails from AHWKV or Praized. I wish to be able to find the best spots to hang up, know what to order when I eat at a restaurant and shop at the best local stores. Help me by sharing your favorite places.

SOURCING:
+ Tartine cookbook by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson $23.10 USD
+ Tartine Bakery and Cafe – get directions p 415.487.2600
600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94110
+ Bar Tartine – get directions p 415.487.1600
561 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94110
+ Via Black Eiffel

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This morning as I ate breakfast and did my morning house cleaning, I watched an old episode of Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag. They tested recipes from Cookie with Jamie cookbook. I own this book and love it. Anna and Kristina also gave their seal of approval to Jamie’s book.

This made me think about what to look for in a cookbook. I assume that you have a busy lifestyle. Your husband or your kids may give you a hand from time to time, but typically you are alone preparing the meal. This is how it is at my home.

Keep It Simple

History thought me to stay away from cookbooks by Chef restaurateurs. I own a few but never made one recipe from these cookbooks. The Chefs say it is simple but their recipes often involve too many steps. I like recipes that are not long to prepare. It fits my lifestyle.

For stress-free entertaining, it is best to be familiar with the recipes or at least to have tried before a few recipes from the cookbook. These facts enable you to adapt the recipes to your personal taste with an excellent chance of success.

Appealing Food Plates

How you present the food is as important as the taste. You will find eye-catching recipes on Vegetarian Food with Friends. I did not try any recipes but the cookbook inspires me with well-presented colorful dishes.

SOURCING:
+ Vegetarian Food for Friends by Jane Noraika on sale at $12.95 USD at Crate and Barrel
+ I wrote: Making the Asparagus Risotto from Cookie with Jamie

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The main course, the Bay Scallop Gratins is a recipe from her latest cookbook of her Barefoot Contessa series, a book titles Back to Basics.

If you wish to test run the book before buying it, try the Bay Scallop Gratins since the recipe is published on FoodTV.com.

Cooking Tips

Several people who did the recipes suggested to reduce the amount of salt. For all recipes, except desserts, I adjust the salt to suit my taste buds. Seasoning is a personal choice and should be viewed as guidelines not absolute. Moreover, when the recipes contain salty ingredients like pancetta or capers, it is normal to reduce the amount of added salt.

A few people notice the garlic taste. One trick I used is to cook longer your garlic at lower temperature. The more you cook garlic, the more its taste will sweeten.

For desserts, serve homemade candies with whole fresh pears.

• Fleur De Sel Caramels – Do not attempt without a good candy thermometer. Digital thermometers are more precise. Beware that you need to adjust the amounts of sugar and water. Readers say the recipe turned out wonderfully if they 1 1/2 c. sugar. Some readers also increase the water to 1/2 c. water while others did not.
• White Chocolate Bark was a hit with her guests on the episode. I am not a huge fan of white chocolate so I may try a marbled chocolate version. But really, without trying it I cannot be sure about how it will turns out.

Back To Basics

Back to Basics concentrates on the techniques she used. Plus, you get nearly a hundred new recipes. I discussed the book during the Holidays with a few girl friends. Everyone loves it!

Ina’s dinner party menu was so easy to make that I suggest you prepare it for your family this weekend.

SOURCING:
+ For Americans: Back to Basics $21 USD
+ For Canadians: Basic to Basics $25.20 CAD

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It is a pasta dish. In fact, many pasta sauces are quick to prepare but my favorite is a recipe that I called Spaghettini alla Giorgio. I discovered the recipe watching a British cooking TV show back in 2003. Tony and Giorgio played at BBC Canada. The cooking of Giorgio appeals more to me in the show. If you visit London, UK, Locanda Locatelli is Giorgio’s restaurant.

It is my version because I updated it over the years to suit our taste. It started as Spaghetti with Tuna in White wine with anchovies. I put red wine because my husband prefers red wine and we drink the rest of the bottle with our meal. I add more tomatoes because I like it and the red white can sustain it.

I googled chef Giorgio Locatelli. This is how I found on Amazon his 2007 award-winning book Made in Italy: Food and Stories. This is a 624-page brick. It is supposed to be fill with vibrantly illustrated Locatelli’s recipes, insight and historical detail about Italian food. It will be delivered early January but the price is a bargain at Amazon.ca so I ordered it.

My Recipe for Spaghettini with Tuna, Anchovies and Caper in Red Wine (Kim’s Version of Spaghettini alla Georgio)

Tonight my husband and I will eat this for dinner. I like it because everything you need is stored in your pantry. There is bad weather in Montreal, so it feels nice not to have to go to the grocery store.

If you have picky eaters in your family, know that I served this recipe to people who typically dislike anchovies and they did not notice the anchovies. I knew they were not allergic. I guess that the fact that they do not see them makes a difference.

If you can find a jar of tuna in olive oil, go for those. They taste better than the typical canned white tuna available in North America. Amazon sells the Ortiz Bonito Del Norte Reserva De Familia Aged Tuna in Olive Oil.

Ingredients for 2-3 portions

Your favorite Italian brand Spaghettini

• 2 cloves of garlic, pealed and sliced
• 6 anchovy fillets
• 3 big tablespoons of capers, rinsed and drained
• 9 ounces / 250g premium solid canned tuna, ideally in olive oil.
• 60% of large can of whole Italian tomatoes, without the juice
• 2 to 3 ounces (about 80 ml) of red white
• 10 basil leaves roughly chopped by hand
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil
• Optional:
• Freshly ground pepper
• Freshly ground Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as topping.

How to make it?

1. Heat well salted water to cook your pasta. Prep your ingredients. I schedule everything so that the sauce and the pasta are ready at the same time. Start cooking the sauce once the water is boiling.
2. Heat in a large pan the olive oil at low-medium heat. Cook the garlic for a minute. Then, put the anchovies and capers. Cook for a minute or two until the anchovies have melted.
3. Add the tuna as a whole piece in the pan. Separate in three large parts and drizzle some olive oil on the top of each tuna piece to remove some dryness. Increase the heat at medium to medium-high and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. In the meantime, perforate the tomatoes to drain most of the juice. Put the drained tomatoes in a bowl. Roughly cut each tomato in 3 or 4 pieces into the bowl. Keep in the remaining juice. Reserve.
5. Add the red wine to the pan to extract all the favors that sit at the bottle of your pan. Cook until the alcohol is evaporated. It will take 3 minutes on average.
6. Add the tomatoes and the basil leaves. Cook until the tomatoes have warmed up – 1 to 2 minutes is plenty.
7. Remove the pasta just before they get al dente (tender but still firm to the bite). Keep a small glass of the pasta water before draining the pasta – use it if the sauce is too thick after you mixed the pasta and the sauce (often not necessary). DO NOT RINSE your pasta.
8. Toss the pasta to the sauce, add the basil leaves and gently mix. You can season with pepper, if you like. This recipe does not need salt due to the presence of the anchovies and capers.
9. Serve on the pasta bowl and top with freshly ground Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Savor!

Giorgio Locatelli is really good at explaining cooking techniques. He tells us what is important and which actions make a difference.If you wish to get an idea of how good Giorgio Locatelli is at teaching cooking, check out this video which is an excerpt of a recipe in the book Made In Italy: Food and Stories.

SOURCING:
+ Anchovy Fillets by Scalia $18.99 USD for 8.5 ounces
+ Ortiz Bonito Del Norte Reserva De Familia Aged Tuna in Olive Oil $13.99 USD
+ For Canadians: Made in Italy: Food and Stories $37.77 CAD
+ For Americans: Made in Italy: Food and Stories $59.95 USD

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I received my copy this morning from Amazon. The book delivers over 365 pages of beautiful photography, lifestyle and recipes.

David defines dolce vita as “being present in those moments in life that bring you joy.” So basically it is about happiness. And happy moments often happen with friends and family over a meal. Remember this fact as you prepare your Thanksgiving dinner.

Pure and simple

Italian cooking relies on simple, fresh ingredients. Italian recipes enhance the flavours in a few steps. This is because the Italian cooking that survives the passage of time are the cooking of the farming class. David Rocco’s Dolce Vita cookbook is filled with such recipes.

The text is written over different backgrounds. Although it is charming, it can be harder to read on a few pages. But most of the time, the contrast is more than enough. Fans will recognize several shots for the TV series. There are also new pictures.

Food and Drinks

There are a few cocktail recipes including my favorite: the Negroni which is equal parts (typically 3/4 ounce) of sweet Vermouth, gin and Campari.

I learn of a variation that I will definitely try. Negroni Sbagliato replaces the gin by Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine that is not made with the “champenoise” method.

Both drinks are build as a short drink over ice and garnish with an orange slice.

You can meet David next Saturday, November 22, from 1 pm to 2pm at Costco, Woodbridge. Get directions

For my part, I will try his hot version of Spaghetti Al Limone tomorrow. I already have a bottle of white wine that pairs well with the citrus taste.

SOURCING:
+ For Canadians: David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Cookbook – $25.17 CAD
+ For Americans: David Rocco’s Dolce Vita Cookbook – $39.95 USD

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Last Spring I told you that French people could learn How to Cook on their DS. After Japan and Europe, the interactive cookbook comes to The United States.

Personal Trainer: Cooking will be released on November 24, 2008. The interface lacks style but it is the concept and the functions that make this product interesting.

There is approximately 245 recipes plus the demonstration videos of techniques. You specify the number of portions and maneuver within a recipe with voice commands. You create your shopping list while you build your menu.

Selecting a recipe is a breeze. You can search for recipes by cuisine origins, ingredients, calorie count, cooking time, difficulty and more.

You can put a stamp on the calendar, marking when and what you have made. A fun and practical gift idea of Christmas for new cooks or for someone who wishes to get back into the habit of home cooking.

SOURCING:
+ Personal Trainer: Cooking – $19.99 USD
+ Nintendo DS Lite – price: $129.99 USD

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Since a copy of this book does not sit yet in my cookbook library, I will tell what it is all about from the own words of the writers, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

Baked: New Frontiers in Baking was released October 1st, 2008. If you are already a patron of Baked, you will be thrilled to won that you get access to the recipes on which Baked NYC built their reputation.

You will be able to recreate at home bakery favorites like The Sweet & Salty Cake, the Peanut Butter Crispy Bar, the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf, and our very own Cheddar Chipotle Biscuits.

In total, you get 80 detailed Baked recipes. The book is divided in sections: Breakfast, Cakes and Cupcakes, Pies and Tarts, Brownies and Bars, Cookies, Confections and Chocolates, and Drinks.

Not every recipe has a picture since the book only contains 40 color photos from New-York photographer Tina Rupp.

Where to Buy

If you wish to send this book as a gift, pay the suggested price and order it directly from Baked. You will receive an autographed copy wrapped in brown butcher paper for $29.95. Otherwise, Amazon sells the book for sell.

SOURCING:
+ Baked Autographed and Gift Wrapped Copy – $29.95 USD
+ For Americans: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking – $19.95 USD
+ For Canadians: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking – $20.76 CAD

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I received Dishing with style by Rori Trovato for my birthday from a modish girl friend and her husband. She knows that I prefer cooking books with lots of beautiful pictures. I am visual girl after all.

I read the book this morning. Wow, Dishing with style fits like a glove into my entertaining philosophy. And more importantly, the book delivers on its promises.

The chef and food writer Rori Trovato started up this project by acknowledging that no cooking book on the market:

teaches you how to do the one thing that has the greatest impact: to combine great-tasting food with great-looking food, to make guests say “Wow” as soon as they sit at the table, and then again when they take their first bites.

One thing that differentiates Dishing with style from other cooking books is the fact that:

Nearly every recipe includes two stunning options for presenting the dish to your guests. One is more casual, often family-style, perfect for Sunday suppers and backyard get-togethers. The other option is more elegant, usually served in individual plated portions, for dinner parties and more formal affairs.
- these are two excerpts from the publisher text

Cleary if you are looking for food presentations that you can easy reproduce at home, take a look at Dishing with style. Rori Trovato encourages her readers to think outside the box and to experiment new ways to plate the food. Nothing is revolutionary but the book is actually stimulating. View this book as a source of plate inspirations that you can adapt to your own dinnerware, cooking skills and budget. Use the book as a tool to freshen up your party themes and even push you to try new entertaining styles.

If the latest culinary artistry is what you are looking for, you will be better served with a book like Working the Plate: The Art of Food Presentation by Christopher Styler. Make sure to read the user’s comments on Amazon.com to know what you are getting yourself into. Culinary artistry requires lots of tools, perfect techniques and times on your hand.

If you want culinary artistry, I suggest to most people that they go out to a top notch restaurant where they can enjoy a unique dining experience with their friends. Or you can hire a chef at home for one night that will even clean everything up before he leaves.

For my part, I am satisfied with a book that shows me how to make impressive plate ideas and recipes that leave me time to have fun with my guests. What are you looking for: culinary artistry or easy to do stylish dishing?

Sourcing:
Buy online: Dishing with Style: Secrets to Great Tastes and Beautiful Presentations

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