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MarcelNL

MarcelNL

deleted the professional part....so blame taker
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I imagine that it belongs more here than in Off Topic, so let's start a thread about cookbook. I suggest we list them with a brief description who wrote it (as translated books may be hard to find based on numbers or name alone) and a sentence or two three why you like it and which recipes you like best.

I'm a bit spoilt as we have a pretty decent book shop specializing in cookbooks in Town and we have gone through quite a few already so by now we know what we like in a book; background, description of new ingredients and gear, recipes in chronological order, pictures to go with the recipes (not per se for all, but for more than just a few), good readability (font size and contrast), most important ... an author who can cook and clearly has made the recipes more than just for dreaming them up (or just ate them).

Too many books have content that cannot possibly work, wrong order, clearly wrong amounts, wrong ingredients etc...

drawback; I have a hard time finding some ingredients like gian:oops:t red Ants from the Thai book.
 
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Sichuan cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop, reworked book based on her early 2000s book.
original recipes that work, great introduction on ingredients and methods, recipes that sometimes seem so simple yet flavors that are so complex.
Starting out my tip is to do a proper mis en place as I got severly lost in all the new ingredients and order things go in the first few times cooking, for very experienced Asian cooks/Pro's probably not needed.

Abs fave:
Twice cooked pork ( but then using Iberico shortrib meat -no bones) and cooked in water with some star anise and sichuan pepper and a touch of salt.
Chicken Gong Bao
Chicken with preserved black beans
Veggie Chicken Gong Bao, made from dried Tofu curd strands
 
I'll narrow it down to two:

Bill Neal's Southern Cooking

9780807842553-us.jpg


This one is personal for me. Bill Neal was a local chef & writer who had a massive influence in the restaurant business where I'm from. This was really important for me as a young cook because it was the first time I had seen someone take an almost academic approach to cuisine - really breaking down the geographical and cultural roots of classic dishes. If you're familiar with this type of cuisine there won't be too much that is revolutionary or mind-blowing. Also keep in mind it was written in 1989. But his philosophy towards food and passion for understanding why and where dishes come from had a big impact on how I think about food. I have given away four copies to fellow cooks and friends - about the highest praise I can give a cookbook. His shrimp & grits recipe is one of my all time favorite dishes and the definition of comfort food for me.



Here is a short documentary that was done by SFA talking about Bill Neal, if anyone is interested.

My second pick is a restaurant cookbook and way less practical for cooking at home. Hell, it's not even really practical in 99.9% of the professional kitchens you might be working in either.

9781553653912-us.jpg

Au Pied De Cochon cookbook

I love this cookbook. Every time I read it, it takes me back to being a young, green cook and being in love with rustic, rich French food. It's beautifully illustrated & put together, and at the time the restaurant's philosophy resonated with me. I don't think I have ever cooked anything from it (and I've owned it for over a decade) but it's a wonderfully Gonzo & punk rock-ish love letter to a restaurant, region, and cuisine (and foie gras too ;))
 
nice, I was not by anu means narrowing it down to one, just for the post. 1 book per post seemed more logical to me, but hey, bring em on!
 
I just found out that over half of the books is in storage.....AAAAARGHHH. No Charlton Heston at Home, so far I've cooked the two easiest one of which is a Mushroom soup that is mind blowing stuff and all others pale in comparison!
 
The Professional Cook - Culinary Institute of America

Lays a good foundation with recipes that are easily accessible.

Also good reads:

The French Laundry - Thomas Keller
This one steps up the game. More advanced techniques. Somewhat fancier ingredients that aren't ridiculously hard to find or super expensive.

Le Guide Culinaire - Auguste Escoffier
A bit outdated in general. But good resource for stocks and other old school french food and techniques. Recipes for the most part are easily accessible.
 
I have questions rather than a suggestion. I'm wondering about opinions about both the Japanese Culinary Academy texts and James Peterson's myriad of books. I have earlier editions of both the Peterson Sauces and Fish & Shellfish books. I probably don't refer to either of them as often as I should. I'm curious about his other books as well as how much has changed between the 2nd edition of Sauces and the current (4th?) edition.
 
A bit of change of pace from the "high brow" semi-professional to professional targeted books: Clothilde Dusoulier French Market

The (short and on point) vegetarian (and no cheese! But french! I promise!) cookbook that turned me from "I sometimes like to look up a fancy recipe at home" cool to "I want to systematically improve my cutting, cooking, presentation, and recipe design"

The idea of the book is to give you seasonal (organized by what's in season in France) rustic, but with some new influences, vegetarian french recipes that avoid cheese. Recipe difficulty is quite a bit beyond what most home cook targeted "french" cookbooks in the US have -- and it really shows in the usually amazing end result. Still obviously nowhere near, say, Escoffier (which I have since started browsing).

So far, each recipe I tried has worked well, all pictures are beautiful, and instructions mostly very clear and realistic. Ingredients mostly easily obtainable.

My favorite is the pear chestnut cake. The chestnut flour is unobtainable anywhere near where I live, but it's worked out really well just grinding precooked chestnuts (thanks, Costco!)


------------------

Request: south-east asian cook book ideas please! I have had a bit of a Japanese obsessed phase (thanks Elizabeth Andoh and Shizuo Tsuji) and my wife is getting bored. So I want to shift focus geographically.

What's an authentic, ideally veggie and fish focused, cookbook that teaches the philosophy and methods, not just a list of recipes of any of the south east asian cuisines?
 
Bro, Southeast Asia is ten separate countries with very different religions, languages, histories and to some extent cuisines. You should start with one first as there's no such thing as a regional cuisine. The best way of doing it is to start with Singapore and save Malaysia for dead last.

Gordon Ramsay has some nice videos poking around in Indonesia.
 
josemartinlopez said:
Bro, Southeast Asia is ten separate countries with very different religions, languages, histories and to some extent cuisines. You should start with one first as there's no such thing as a regional cuisine. The best way of doing it is to start with Singapore and save Malaysia for dead last.

Gordon Ramsay has some nice videos poking around in Indonesia.
Click to expand...

I know it's super diverse and many different cultures and cuisines! Sorry, I didn't mean to be the white dude who says "I want authentic south east asian. That's one country right?"

I just meant to express that I am happy with recommendations for ANY individual south east Asian cuisine -- be it Malay, Thai, Indonesian, ...
 
VicVox72 said:
Request: south-east asian cook book ideas please! I have had a bit of a Japanese obsessed phase (thanks Elizabeth Andoh and Shizuo Tsuji) and my wife is getting bored. So I want to shift focus geographically.

What's an authentic, ideally veggie and fish focused, cookbook that teaches the philosophy and methods, not just a list of recipes of any of the south east asian cuisines?
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Veggie and fish focused is a severe limitation, although my own preferences match those qualifiers/limitations. I find David Thompson's books to be about as good as it gets, at least in English, for Thai cookbooks. I also recommend Sri Owen's The Rice Book. I haven't read her other books so if you investigate those please report. None of these are vegetarian or pescetarian. So far I haven't found a Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, Burmese, or Indonesian cookbook that has really impressed me but James Oseland's Cradle of Flavor is at least worth a look.
 
LostHighway said:
Veggie and fish focused is a severe limitation, although my own preferences match those qualifiers/limitations. I find David Thompson's books to be about as good as it gets, at least in English, for Thai cookbooks. I also recommend Sri Owen's The Rice Book. I haven't read her other books so if you investigate those please report. None of these are vegetarian or pescetarian. So far I haven't found a Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, Burmese, or Indonesian cookbook that has really impressed me but James Oseland's Cradle of Flavor is at least worth a look.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your recommendations! Will definitely check then out.

To be honest, even if I don't end up cooking almost any of the meat based recipes, a cookbook that is sincerely interested in expositing the intricacies, principles, and ideas behind a regional cuisine would be worth it to me.

I love reading Marcella Hazans Italian cookbooks even if they are very meat based, because she tries to teach Italian cooking, not just list recipes.
 
MarcelNL said:
Sichuan cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop, reworked book based on her early 2000s book.
original recipes that work, great introduction on ingredients and methods, recipes that sometimes seem so simple yet flavors that are so complex.
Starting out my tip is to do a proper mis en place as I got severly lost in all the new ingredients and order things go in the first few times cooking, for very experienced Asian cooks/Pro's probably not needed.

Abs fave:
Twice cooked pork ( but then using Iberico shortrib meat -no bones) and cooked in water with some star anise and sichuan pepper and a touch of salt.
Chicken Gong Bao
Chicken with preserved black beans
Veggie Chicken Gong Bao, made from dried Tofu curd strands
Click to expand...
D
MarcelNL said:
Sichuan cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop, reworked book based on her early 2000s book.
original recipes that work, great introduction on ingredients and methods, recipes that sometimes seem so simple yet flavors that are so complex.
Starting out my tip is to do a proper mis en place as I got severly lost in all the new ingredients and order things go in the first few times cooking, for very experienced Asian cooks/Pro's probably not needed.

Abs fave:
Twice cooked pork ( but then using Iberico shortrib meat -no bones) and cooked in water with some star anise and sichuan pepper and a touch of salt.
Chicken Gong Bao
Chicken with preserved black beans
Veggie Chicken Gong Bao, made from dried Tofu curd strands
Click to expand...
How does it compare to every grain of rice?
 
almost all recipes from every grain of rice are copied in Sichuan cooking, with loads more added.
Her Shang Hai book is nice too, different flavors though.
 
dafox said:
D

How does it compare to every grain of rice?
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I think both books are pretty terrific. You can’t go wrong.

@MarcelNL Every grain of rice has a recipe from hunan, black bean chicken, that’s wonderful. It uses fermented black beans.

EGoR is more an overview of different regional styles, Sichuan Cooking more focused.

I started with EGoR and found it useful to put together a starting pantry.
 
rickbern said:
I think both books are pretty terrific. You can’t go wrong.

@MarcelNL Every grain of rice has a recipe from hunan, black bean chicken, that’s wonderful. It uses fermented black beans.

EGoR is more an overview of different regional styles, Sichuan Cooking more focused.

I started with EGoR and found it useful to put together a starting pantry.
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same here, EGoR first, Sichuan cooking lately, and YES black bean chicken is on the short list here too, problem is picking a recipe, as we like all of them...maybe perhaps except the Tofu and Avocado which is a bit of a clumsy dish.
 
I’m a big fan of the saffron tales by Yasmin Khan.

https://www.amazon.com/Saffron-Tales-Recipes-Persian-Kitchen/dp/1632867109
I’ve been after a Persian cookbook that introduced an outsider to the culture for years, and this is the best one yet. I’d not call it comprehensive but more a focused group of recipes that exposed me to a great slice of cooking.

there’s a dish called fesenjoon that I believe I posted a recipe for here which is chicken braised in a walnut sauce. Love it. I’ve made the dish from several sources, hers is demonstrably the best tasting of all.

As requested by op, the book helps in putting together a Persian pantry.
 
rickbern said:
I’m a big fan of the saffron tales by Yasmin Khan.

https://www.amazon.com/Saffron-Tales-Recipes-Persian-Kitchen/dp/1632867109
I’ve been after a Persian cookbook that introduced an outsider to the culture for years, and this is the best one yet. I’d not call it comprehensive but more a focused group of recipes that exposed me to a great slice of cooking.

there’s a dish called fesenjoon that I believe I posted a recipe for here which is chicken braised in a walnut sauce. Love it. I’ve made the dish from several sources, hers is demonstrably the best tasting of all.

As requested by op, the book helps in putting together a Persian pantry.
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sounds great, just picked it up for 5 Euro, thanks for the tip!
 
I’m gonna go way off the farm here. My absolutely favorites are Charles H. Baker’s “The Gentleman’s Companion” and “The South American Gentleman’s Companion” published in 1946 and 1951 correspondingly. Both are two volume sets of one culinary and one mixology.
Although neither haute cuisine commentaries nor intricately detailed recipe collections, the anecdotal yet unpretentious writing style immediately transports me to the era in which these books were written. Recipes use ingredients, techniques and equipment available at the time and there are more than a few surprises to pique your interest. If I ever need to do a ‘nostalgic’ themed event, this is my go-to reference material.

For a more current selection,”Gran Cocina Latina” by Maricel Presilla is really top notch.
 
My favorite Indian recipes come from a website instead of a cookbook - Manjula's Kitchen. Her spices are a bit basic, so I'll often take her recipes and substitute with spice mixtures from The Indian Vegetarian. That book has the opposite problem, the recipes aren't great (she relies too heavily on yogurt) but her masalas taste very authentic. Gives me an excuse to use my weirder spices.

https://www.manjulaskitchen.com/
 
I've mentioned these in prior cookbook threads but I am a fan of the Ottolenghi cookbooks, which are more-or-less nouveau Middle Eastern (he is originally Israeli, his business partner is Palestinian). Plenty and Plenty More are vegetarian, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi are for omnivores. Recipes range from fairly simple to mildly involved but none I've encountered are particularly technically demanding. There is also a desserts book, Sweet, which I do not own but Yotam Ottolenghi was originally a pastry chef (Michelin starred restaurants and elsewhere) so I would expect it to be good. He has another book coming out this fall, Flavor, which is described as plant-based. There is also Nopi (a brasserie he owns), co-authored with the head chef. Sami Tamimi, his Palestinian co-owner and collaborator, has a new book out, Falastin, which I haven't seen yet. Since my skills aren't all that and I'm very rarely willing to sink much more than two or three hours (usually far less) into meal preparation I tend to gravitate toward cookbooks that don't overly strain those limitations.
 
Highly recommended (if I had to rank my books this would be nr 2 on the list):

from India by Kumar and Suda Mahadevan, https://www.amazon.com/India-Recipes-Celebrate-Family-Tradition/dp/162686523X (available elsewhere too, I'm no great fan of Amazon)

The family restaurant in Sydney,from what I can tell placed in the higher ranks, is the source for the book. Mind you, the recipes are quite labor intense but bring stellar flavors and combinations that work.
I messed around a bit in the beginning, and found out that adding spices in the wrong order actually DOES affect taste...

Favorite dishes ;
Paneer with pees
crispy pork glazed with Tamarind and ginger
Stuffed Aubergine (egg plant)
Spinach Dhal
Chicken 65
Chicken in Coriander-mint sauce
Pakodi Kadi (fried dumplings with yoghurt sauce)

be prepared to buy some exotic ingredients like asafoetida, Ajowanseed, curry leaves, fenegreek leaves. If you can source all ingredients you are in for what I think are very elegant yet spicy (not hot, spicy) dishes. I've eaten around quite a bit while traveling for work and these dishes are way up with the best Indian I ever had.
 
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MarcelNL said:
be prepared to buy some exotic ingredients like asafoetida, Ajowanseed, curry leaves, fenegreek leaves. If you can source all ingredients you are in for what I think are very elegant yet spicy (not hot, spicy) dishes.
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All of these (and more) are readily available here at any Indian supermarket/store. Check Google for Indian grocers in your area.
 
Michi said:
All of these (and more) are readily available here at any Indian supermarket/store. Check Google for Indian grocers in your area.
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for those of you living in Australia or the UK with a large Indian population, sure...I can tell you I can more easily get some of the 'stranger' Indonesian ingredients (like fresh Peteh -stinky- beans) than some of the Indian stuff. Online is often the easiest solution for me if I don't want to travel 100Km one way, but if I have to I will... as I know the effect those magic ingredients have. Our spices collection shows it, our next kitchen will have a dedicated mass storage system...I'd much like a pharmacy robot storage system, key in a name and it wizzes up.
 
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