Cooking tips, tricks, and advice from professional kitchens
Cooking Books and Magazines
The Herb Companion Magazine
Mar 1st
I just got a chance to take a look at an issue of The Herb Companion. No, it’s not the sister publication to High Times. The Herb Companion is a magazine about cooking with, growing, and the (alleged) medicinal benefits of herbs. If you saw my posts a few months ago about the Aerogarden, you may have gathered that I have a thing for fresh herbs.
Half of the publication seems to be comprised of ads for natural remedies and herb growing videos/kits/seeds. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if those products target you. but I quickly flipped by them. A good portion of the articles in the magazine were dedicated to growing medicinal herbs, and in the January 2010 issue, there was a great writeup on planning a low-water garden – their monthly “Design Challenge”/”Garden Spaces” would help those like me who are completely oblivious as to how best to optimize garden space.
The food related articles were really where my interest in The Herb Companion lay. The January issue had a writeup on Chai Tea (a happy coincidence considering one of the latest Culinary Tips posts), herb infusions, and herb butters. Basic techniques, yes, but the articles were clear, well written pieces with easy to follow instructions.
I enjoyed flipping through The Herb Companion. It is very heavy on herbal healing and gardening, with a dusting of food/cooking articles, but it was nice to let my mind wander to non-food related places for a while. Maybe I’ll even plan a ‘Exotic Herb Spa Day’ myself – might take a few more issues though. If you’re not up for a subscription, request it at your local library. It’s a tough time for paper publications these days, and even though a lot of information is available online, magazines provide professionally written, well researched articles, so support your oldschool pulp and paper media.
Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets on BBC2
Feb 28th
Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets is a cookery program which premiered February 15 2010 and airs on BBC2 in the UK. The show features Michelin Starred chef Raymond Blanc showing off some of his favorite recipes relating to the episode’s given theme.
The premiere episode, Chocolate, featured four tantalizing recipes: simple mousse, chocolate delice, chocolate and caramel fondant, and a really neat cafe creme in an edible chocolate cup and saucer.
Now, I must say the show was quite ‘cheffy’. This isn’t Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals. Raymond Blanc doesn’t talk down to his viewers, expecting a certain level of ability to listen to instructions and repeat them. The show was also filmed in his Oxfordshire restaurant kitchen, not a studio, which is a nice change for a food program.
If you watch carefully, and appreciate kitchen torment, you’ll get a few laughs as chef Blanc scolds his sous chef (or commis?) Adam.
This show is definitely worth watching if you’re interested in professional cooking tips – there is a lot to learn from this program, and I’ll definitely be following it.
Update: Raymond Blanc’s website RaymondBlanc.com has the recipes for the show in PDF format. Currently up are: Chocolate Mousse , Délice de Chocolat, Chocolate Fondant with Salty Caramel, Café Creme, Fillet of Mackerel with Fennel & Rocket Salad and a Soy & Lime Dressing, Fillet of Pollock Grenobloise with Pommes Purées
, and Braised Fillet of Turbot with Scallops and Cucumber . Fish Soup, and Braised Fillet of Turbot with Scallops and Cucumber.
Martha Stewart Hors d’oeuvres Handbook.
Dec 3rd
I love the Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook. Whatever you may think about Martha Stewart as a person, you’re probably right, but her brand is excellent. I have a few Martha books, and I’ve found all the recipes well tested with good descriptions and not overloaded with crazy ingredients (meyer lemons, or certain weird types of specialty cheeses…). Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook is no exception.
The first quarter of the book is all glossy photos, some of which have aged better than others (the book is from 1999 and plays up crudites with spreads piped onto them), but 95%+ of the recipes and ideas are still relevant today. The other three quarters is all the recipes with the usual amount of detail and instruction. What I found made this book far and away the best hors d’oeuvre book I’ve found to date is the sheer scope. For each idea, for example stuffed boiled eggs or mini pizzas, there are numerous variations on the theme. There is also a large section at the beginning devoted to the building blocks of canapes which is helpful if you want to mix and match ideas from various places in the book. There aren’t too many sweet canpes, but they are quite rare to find anywhere. There are also a few pages dedicated to theme parties such as cheese night or Spanish tapas which can help with party planning.
If you’re looking for one book about canapes and hors d’oeuvres to buy this entertaining season, make it the Martha Stewart Hors D’oeurvre Handbook.
