Les Petits Macarons: The Book Party!

On an uncharacteristically balmy November night under the glow of a nigh full moon a party was held to celebrate a new book on one of my favorite topics: macarons. We gathered in a candlelit room filled with the heady scent of freshly baked breads and pasties at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) to give Les Petits Macarons by Chef-instructor Kathryn Gordon and Anne E McBride a proper welcome to the world of cookbooks. Though the book came out October 4th I was waiting to buy my copy and have it signed by the authors at the party. The invitation promised plenty of macarons and champagne- which was just what I got! Since its release the book has been receiving some high praise for superior comprehensiveness. As a macaron book connoisseur I must say I agree with this proclamation. I have a handful of books which are all good in their own right but this book is the most extensive in its exploration of the macaron in addition to being visually stunning. 

Not only do you get the detailed basics on how to make almond (that is to say unflavored) shells in the French, Italian, Swiss and "Kathryn's Easiest French Macaron" styles you also get a variety of ways to flavor the shells for both sweet and savory macs. Think your basic vanilla and rose but also ancho chile, saffron and wasabi. The variety doesn't stop with the shells either. The many filling choices include the typical buttercreams, ganaches, caramels and jams but also a chai flavored ganache, popcorn pastry cream, oatmeal cookie buttercream, a few ice milks, then things like chile-pineapple-kumquat marmalade and S'mores! Finally the amazing savory fillings: hummus, tomato confit, chicken mole and even foie gras with black currant gastrique, and more! This is the ultimate macaron lover's cookbook! The combinations are endless and exciting. 

Four Kitchens: Traveling the World with Lauren Shockey

Over the last few months of summer Lauren Shockey's Four Kitchens kept popping up on my radar- on my favorite blogs, in tweets, as giveaways, etc. Who was this young woman, just a couple years older than me, who I kept hearing about? Turns out Four Kitchens is the first book from a great new writer in our food-loving midst. Even though I had read a few posts about the book and some excerpts I wasn't sold on the book at first. Since there was no promise it'd be a homerun, not coming from a well-known and seasoned writer, I didn't buy Shockey's book right away. 

Luckily Lauren was one of the authors at the Freerange Reads event I attended at the beginning of September, throwing out a second line for me to catch. After she read us her stomach-churning experience eating dog meat in Hanoi I was effectively hooked and knew I would enjoy her book. But she didn't fully reel me in until last month's book launch party for Kathleen Flinn. At the September event I was able to hear the quality of her reading, but at the book party she was able to speak candidly to a small audience in a discussion about home cooking. After that I knew it would be worth my time to spend 300-pages or so with Lauren. So that was the night I bought the book and jumped right into it after finishing the books I had already queued up at the beginning of the month: Flinn's The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me With Apples.

The comparison to Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and Four Kitchens has been made a few times, for valid reasons. Both are memoirs about women who travel alone to multiple countries with set goals in mind, eating along the way and ending with a final revelation. As Lauren said at the Flinn event her book is really just 'Eat, Eat, Eat, Eat- and wasn't that everyone's favorite part of the book anyway!?' Her journey to four countries and her work in four different restaurants is very interesting. As a chef-loving nation, getting into the kitchens anywhere is always a bit foreign and exciting for us. To get an insider's peek at one of the nation's most interesting kitchens, the molecularly focused wd~50, in addition to kitchens across the globe makes Shockey's story captivating to a broad audience; to lover's of Bourdain as much as those who loved reading (and watching) Gilbert's trek. 


After completing her degree at the French Culinary Institute and while working on a Masters in Food Studies at NYU Lauren comes up with her plan to be a stage (aka unpaid kitchen worker) in kitchens in New York (because that's where she's from), Hanoi (because Vietnamese cuisine fascinates her), Tel Aviv (because she is Jewish) and Paris (because of its gastronomic importance). 

Confidence in the Kitchen: Kat Flinn's Kitchen Counter Cooking School

When I heard Kathleen (Kat) Flinn was working on her second book I was very excited. Her first book, The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry, moved me to tears and made me laugh as I read over her astute descriptions of Paris and school at Le Cordon Bleu. After finishing Sharper I was hungry for more of her work. I had connected with her emotionally from reading Sharper at a time when I was particularly vulnerable to missing Paris, having returned from my semester abroad just the year before. Whatever she would be offering next, I knew I would be reading. What I found is a great book that tells a good story, teaches basic kitchen skills and above all encourages fearlessness in the kitchen, just as Julia Child would.

After completing her degree at Le Cordon Bleu, Flinn kept hearing the same question over and over: "Where is your restaurant?" At a few points throughout the book Flinn mentions being in the "foodie bubble-" a place where people can mention somewhat obscure foods (namely, ramps) and be understood by fellow members of the bubble. When I read that people asked repeatedly about restaurant work I found myself, a foodie bubble member, wondering why? In this day and age when the food industry extends so far beyond restaurants, why would so many people still think finishing culinary school equals a restaurant career? 


In The Kitchen Counter Cooking School we see one of the many paths that can start with culinary school. We begin with a little grocery store voyeurism. On a shopping trip at the grocery store Flinn spots a cart full of packaged foods- pasta sides, ready-to-make rice and jars of gravy without any unprocessed, whole food in sight. After finding the owner of the cart, Flinn offers some advice and to take the shopper around the store showing her some kitchen basics that would replace some of her packaged foods. Flinn even buys the woman a copy of her book and makes margin notes on the recipes for her to keep and use at home. The woman is receptive, and grateful, and the experience stays with Kat. 

8 Things to Love About and Learn From Melissa Clark (aka A Good Appetite)

A few Fridays ago I had the pleasure of attending Melissa Clark's pre-release book party at The Brooklyn Kitchen for her brand new cookbook Cook This Now. Melissa has written tons of cookbooks, many with highly-regarded chefs and television celebrities, but this is one that is all hers (In The Kitchen With A Good Appetite is on my Christmas List). The book is a fresh journey through the 12 months of the year, emphasizing the great local produce the seasons provide. Her year begins just where mine does - January (my birthday is January 1st so its the start of my year in every way possible). Some people might think this is an odd time to start a cookbook based on the seasons, thinking March or April when the growing season begins would be a wiser time (as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle does), but Melissa introduces us to Cook This Now with farmer's stomping their feet at the cold January farmer's market. She tells us the winter market is for the "hard core," then makes a spot on comparison of the winter market to a "small town," populated by people you get familiar with and learn their quirks, versus the "big city" of the summer market when everyone is hustling and bustling with little time for small talk. Its a great way to start. Clark beautifully shows the bounty of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. 


It is rather recently that I came to be such a great fan of Melissa Clark. Her name is one I've heard plenty in the past few years, previously always tied with The New York Times. Now she stands entirely on her own for me. After making her fast, fresh ratatouille for the Slow Food $5 Challenge I was hooked. She has great kitchen tips, mouth-watering recipes and when you read her writing it feels like she is talking to you as a friend. 


All that being said, I want to share 8 things to love about and learn from Melissa. Her book party at The Brooklyn Kitchen/The Meat Hook was an impromptu cooking class and chat with the attendees. I came away from the evening ready to wake up and head to the Union Square Greenmarket the next morning and get in the kitchen right after. May she inspire you as much as she inspires me. 


1) Learn: A gorgeous cookbook doesn't need to be filled with glossy pages with a photo for every recipe. Cook This Now is lovely; the pages are a natural pale color (not bleach white), the font is fun and expressive, and the two sections of photos are breath-taking. This isn't an extra-heavy $40-50 cookbook and I love it even more for these facts. 


2) Love: The Recipes section of Gilt Taste because it is replete with Melissa's recipe that use Gilt Taste's amazing products. Check it out, especially that Honey Roasted Duck.
(While you're there be sure to read Jonathan Dixon's piece Miles Davis' Chili)

The First Lamb Jam Masters - Do EWE love Lamb?

You could say I'm developing a flair for meat-centric events. First there was the Duckathlon in May, then Meatopia in July and now you find the CL at Lamb Jam in September. What can I say, I like meat! 2011 marked the first year that the winners of regional Lamb Jam competitions came together in New York City to compete in the first Lamb Jam Masters competition. Hosted by the American Lamb Board, the lamb-tastic event was held at City Winery on a muggy Sunday afternoon. The finalists from competitions held earlier this year in Boston, DC, San Francisco and Seattle came in with their best lamb forward. 

Sunday was my first visit to City Winery, but I doubt it will be my last. The warm spacious venue uses wine for its decor; the walls are artistically covered with wine glasses, bottles and barrels. It was the perfect place to hold Lamb Jam because it allowed the fans of lamb to graze the event at their leisure. The atmosphere was livened, also, by the musical stylings of Gotham City Bluegrass Allstars. In addition to the four chefs serving, each dish had a local (to them) wine, beer or cider pairing. Locally, the Meatball Shop, Pera, Dickson's Farmstand and The Little Cakes showed up to celebrate the goodness of lamb. The Meatballers served lamb meatballs (naturally) with basil pesto and a corn and tomato salad.  Dickson's sliced up some lamb charcuterie to taste. Little Cakes had adorable lamb cake pops but sadly I didn't get one in time! They were presented on the cutest little patch of green grass. And finally Pera had a perfect little piece of lamb adana/kebab spiced with sumac and rolled in a freshly made lavash which was like biting into a tasty thin pillow filled with warm and gently spiced meat. Memorable. There were also some specialties from farther afield by way of Louisville's Jefferson's Bourbon Coke Slushies (dangerously good) and the Hudson Valley's Old Chatham Sheephearding Company's Camembert. 

Of course I had to taste each lamb dish from the competitors and vote for the People's Choice. We'll lead up to my favorites:

First Chef Jason Santos from Blue Inc. in Boston, MA served poached lamb loin with black truffle, cauliflower espuma, bee pollen and fried garlic. The dish was served in little plastic shot glasses, presumably in its poaching liquid. The taste was good but the little cup was so hot it burned my hand to hold and I also detected some plasticy taste which was unpleasant. Had the lamb in such hot liquid been presented differently, or even just in glass instead of plastic shot glasses, I think the flavors would be have been much better and I'd have been less distracted by the technicalities of presentation. 

The poached lamb loin was paired with Harpoon Brewery IPA or UFO White. I tried some of the UFO White and really enjoyed it. It is similar to a Blue Moon but it has a nicer finish and there is no bitterness to it. It is a beer I could see myself ordering next time I am at a bar or bringing to a party.