Under the Covers: Exploring Below the Dust Jackets of Cookbooks

I’m not sure what compelled me to get under there. Maybe it was a lustiness that arose from the shirtless, tanned, fish-tossing-in-a-rough-ocean photo towards the beginning of the book that make me remove the dust jacket on Chef Ludo Lefevbre’s first book, Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses. Since that first time, I’ve wiggled my hands under the cover of many a hardcover cookbook to see what I might find or quickly bent back a front over to peek between the glossy paper and cardboard cover. Often enough the results are uninspired, a design space forgotten. But once in a while I hit the jackpot and discover lush photographs or gentle textures and reap my reward by carefully running my fingertips over the book with a glassy-eyed gaze. My heart swells, my stomach growls and my grin widens.

Chef Ludo’s interior is elegant enough, a blacked-out background with khaki-colored text. Organic swirls mimic the title on the cover, the black and off-white print play up his then edgy-rockstar cooking style:

Others simply utilize the space to mimic their cover art, such as Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, Paula Wolfert’s The Food of Morocco, and Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home. Not exactly inspired, but better than nothing:

Some go as understated and tasteful as desired… not just on book covers…

New Year's Eve 2012: Jazz, Drinks, and Hors D'Oeuvres

New Year's Eve 2011 was a night longed to recapture throughout the entire year following it; the first party I threw on my own. So as New Year's Eve 2012 (and my birthday) rolled around again I was excited to celebrate in style and aimed to match or top last year's Moroccan fête. The Moroccan bug had bitten me hard last year. There was no turning back once I'd set the menu - full of tagines and salads. I waffled a lot over this year’s theme but finally decided on “Jazz” and opted to serve only appetizers. The idea carried through tremendously well.

This year's party was in my new apartment, which is luckily a lot bigger than my old place . Throughout the course of the night almost everyone that had been invited, plus guests of theirs showed up! My home felt full and joyous, never crowded and stuffy. Everyone brought sparkling wines, and their own beverages of choice. A few of my friends even brought a signature cocktail - the Wild Hibiscus Royale made with whole hibiscus flowers in syrup, rose water, mint and topped with sparkling wine. Floral and bubbly - just my style! As the jazz music improvised and played on a full and vibrant menu was served.... 

To start, I decided I had to have a homemade vegetable platter – done in my style. The ladies of my family always make their own vegetable platters for parties; why pay someone to breakdown and arrange raw produce? My way includes: celery and carrots (never baby carrots), red pepper (no need for gassy green or other colors), cucumber spears (better than crinkle cut rounds), green beans (a favorite of my Aunt Maureen’s vegetable tray), and finally cauliflower (a different splash of color than broccoli and one of my favorite things to eat everyday). The arrangement was done by alternating the green selections amid the rainbow of colors around a dish of homemade (but admittedly rather flavorless) yogurt and herb dip:

Next was creating a fruit platter I’d want to see served at a party. In general I avoid fruit salads when I’m out and about in the world. So much melon! Damn filler fruit! My guests deserved a mix of luscious fresh and dried (it is winter, after all) fruits. Blood oranges made an appearance last year in the romaine and orange flower water salad so they were in, along with navel oranges. Grapes, watermelon, blueberries and strawberries are always party pleasers so they joined, too. Then I happily found cherries at Fairway so they made the cut and for dried fruit I chose apricots and cranberries. In all, it was the most colorful platter on the table:

For the main appetizers I went with a mix of hot and room temperature choices to make for easy timing throughout the evening. Last year’s planning happened quickly and organically way ahead of December 31st thanks to Paula Wolfert’s wonderful tome on Moroccan cuisine. Literally a few days before this year’s party I found myself scrambling for hors d’oeuvre ideas I could easily make without too much preparation. I hit the cookbooks hard and came out with a stellar mix of recipes from some of my go-to cookbook authors and a few creations of my own.

Cheryl Sternman Rule’s Ripe became one of my favorite cookbooks in the time it took me to get home on the 6 train from the IACP Book and Blog Festival this past April. I’d made her Watercress Butter over the summer and saw it spread on water crackers and being gobbled down by my guests. My predictions were spot on and full mouths questioned “mmm, what is this!?” The garlic and lemon laden appetizer was a total pleaser.

A Very Macaron Giveaway!

I've been promising this giveaway since summertime. Plenty has been keeping me busy, and unfortunately from writing here, but holiday time is always a great time for a giveaway!

So here it is, a copy of I Heart Macarons AND a stationary set handmade by me! In late November I stopped into Paper Source on my way home from work to browse Christmas cards but instead of choosing any I learned about embossing and suddenly picked up a new hobby! It started with a Christmas wreath stamp and some red embossing powder and a green ink pad and has already progressed into a growing collection of crafting supplies.

One day I stopped in to the store again to consider a new stamp and found one with a single macaron- how perfect I thought! I chose a pink ink pad to pair it with and tested it out when i got home. So to add something special to the book giveaway and to continue my cruasade to get people to send more personalized mail I've made a set of eight macaron embossed note cards to go with this prize!

To win the book and stationary leave a comment (or email me,  if the comment form doesn't work for you: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com) telling me who you would send one of the macaron cards to if you won! 

I will choose someone at random next Friday, the 14th, and announce the winner. If you win you may choose to have your prize mailed as a gift, since it is holiday time! 

The contest will close Thursday December 13th at 11:59pm EST. The winner must provide an address within the US where the book will be mailed. 

Bonne chance! 

Un Petit Peu de Paris en SoHo: Cocotte

A few weeks ago my co-worker texted me a photo of a business card, asking me "Free drinks tomorrow?" Of course this is an offer I try to never refuse. So we stopped by the pre-opening of the new French bar/small plates restaurant called Cocotte around the corner from work on Thompson Street below Prince in SoHo. The petite place was jam packed with friends and neighbors the first night we went but we could still feel a good energy and were already making plans to return sometime soon.

Finally tonight, after Sandy and busy schedules, we decided to stop in for some drinks after work. What we found was a relaxed Sunday night atmosphere and stellarly flavored food. Starting with deux verres de crémant (that is to say, French sparkling wine not from Champagne) we worked our way through a couple small plates, a silky dessert and my shoddy French conversation with the gracious staff. 

To begin we chose the champignons farcis - tiny mushroom caps filled with a delicate, earthy-colored chorizo stuffing and garnished with orange tomatoes. The portions are meant to be small, but they go a long way in terms of flavor. This is a good way to start a succession of assiettes at Cocotte because the savoriness of the mushrooms will have you primed to try more. 

Next we allowed our server/bartender Guillaume to select a dish. As he had mentioned his fondness for the hanger steak with bordelaise and shallots, I was not surprised when it was placed in front of us. I personally love hanger steak thanks to Chef Ludo's Meatopia creation. I've cooked the cut myself at home and have had great results. A quick cooking but very flavorful piece of meat. This is done delicately so as to not overcook the beef then sauced with the bordelaise that demands to be soaked up with the fresh bread it arrives with. 

Lastly, we couldn't end the night without dessert - especially after Raphael (co-creator/maitre d'-extraordinaire) brought me back to the kitchen to meet Sophie, the pastry chef (after a discussion of my macaron making) and Chef Sébastien Pourrat. We went for the made-that-day gâteau Basque. The pastry cream was smooth and the crust was salty-sweet with a gentle, sandy crumb. A great way to end a work day.

Cocotte, named for Chef Sébastien's nickname for his wife Sophie, is a warm, welcoming place for anyone looking for good wine, good food and equally good company. Francophiles and expats will feel right at home with the French-English menu and the sound of franglais in the air. I look forward to returning to Cocotte to explore the rest of the small plates, hopefully score a seat at the back-of-the-house Chef's table seats (in the most charming New York restaurant kitchen I've ever seen), and even just to stop in for a coffee or a glass of wine after work. If you generally like what I like, odds are you will love Cocotte! 

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Cocotte

110 Thompson Street (below Prince)

SoHo, New York

212-965-9100

Holiday Shopping in NYC: Ingredients

From Halloween through the New Year there are tons of recipes floating around for ways to get cooking in this cozy holiday season. All the November and December issues of our favorite food magazines beg you to cook the perfect bird, amazing sides, stunning desserts and decorative cookies and treats to gift. But sometimes it can be difficult to find what you need when making a recipe for the first time, especially when its for seasonal items. The cold weather lately had me in a restocking mode – with a full kitchen I can avoid being out in the cold after work shopping. I have a short list of places to shop in my left hand column (over there <) but I thought this would be a good time to tell you about some of my favorite places to find special ingredients in the city and most often at good prices, too.

International Grocery

Boy do I love this place! I just stopped in yesterday to refresh my grain supplies and a few spices, too. This is a little specialty food store with huge bags and full bins of grains, spices, beans, flours, nuts and more to purchase in bulk. Buying in bulk is my favorite way to stock things like arborio rice (for risottos), cornmeal (for endless dishes of polenta), dried black beans, unique flours, and nuts. Since I’m usually cooking only for myself I don’t like to buy huge supplies of things and I try to avoid packaging whenever possible. At International Grocery you’ll find things like high-gluten flour and 6 different kinds of couscous with the option to get only as much as your recipe requires. Go with a list, go with cash ($10 credit card minimum), and don’t be shy in loading up on supplies and taking notes for the future. The gentlemen working at the store will assist you in scooping and weighing everything, so a list helps expedite your visit. Also, since the shop is not too large, ask if you don’t see something you think they would have – they probably do but it might not be obvious (like octopus or yogurt stored in the cooler).

543 Ninth Ave 10018 | 212-279-1000

Kalustyan’s

International Grocery has a number of options for bulk spices, but at Kalustyan’s you’ll find a seemingly endless supply of ground, whole, mixed and unexpected spices, herbs and seasonings. The prices are excellent on most things – you can buy 3oz. packets of tons of spices at a price that is still less than buying them in a jar at the grocery store (most spice jars hold 2oz. give or take, $3-5 depending on the spice [in Manhattan at least!]). If you like to use your own spice jars or tins this is a great place for you, too, since the spices come in little plastic bags. They also have a TON of other specialty items. Come here first with your list, go to International Grocery to fill in the gaps. Also, for my Moroccan/New Years/Birthday party last year I bought nearly all of my supplies from Kalustyan's and International Grocery.

123 Lexington Ave 10016 | 212-685-3451