A Good Foodie Read

This is the season for poring over cookbooks , looking for new recipes for the holidays. Yesterday's New York Times Dining section had an excellent review of some of the fall's best cookbooks. Some are old favorites , like LaRousse Gastronomique. some are new spins on old cuisines such as as How To Roast A Lamb :New Greek Classics. All are worth adding to your bookshelf. There are some great ideas here not just for you but also for the other foodies on in your life.

The article, written by Julia Moskin lists a variety of books.She mentions Larousse Gastronomique, which is a must have for any foodie out there. This is the ultimate go to book , first created in 1938. It is an encyclopedia of food rather than a cookbook. My Mom still has hers and it is worth every penny. Clarkson Potter is the publisher and it now cost $90 but worth the steep price. LaRousse will give you explanations on everything from simple boiling to creating a perfect croquenbouche. It has detailed drawing of meat cuts along with fruits and vegetables. There is also the down to earth Damned Good Food by Mitch Omer and Ann Bauer, (published by Borealis books). This is a foodie's cookbook with recipes that are redolent with butter, cheese, bacon and brown sugar.. Greek and Italian cooking are also here with the books How To Roast A Lamb : New Greek Classic Cooking written by Micheal Psilakis and published by Little Brown and the Italian Why Italians Love To Talk About Food written by Elena Kostiokovitch. These have new spins on traditional recipes and would be perfect to dig through for some holiday dishes and desserts.

Dessert recipe books are also mentioned in the article. There is the great macaroon or macaron book entitled I Love Macarons written by Japanese pastry chef Hisako Ogita. It's not really a cookbook but a how to about how to tint and create fillings for these little treats. Another baking book , The Craft of Baking cowritten by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox is a great book for any kind of baker or cake lover. It also encourages them to be creative and innovative with the recipes as well.

This is the season to pick up a good cookbook. The ones listed here will certainly help you in preparing and making a good holiday meal or even a dinner for friends. Stroll through your bookstore to look over them at them .Hopefully after a good browse you'll be inspired to buy them. They're worthy additions to any foodie' s library collection.

Foodie On Vacation

Yesterday’s New York Times featured an article about cooking while on vacation. It’s a great idea and the article offers some suggestions. You don’t; really need to take aloof supplies with you. Just enough to make do for a week or two.

The article, brilliantly written by Jhumpa Lahiri features what to bring and what to make. Lahiri is a big proponent of keeping it simple and she recommends that you only should bring along a skillet. This is great for cooking eggs in the morning, grilled cheese for lunch and cod and potatoes for dinner. You can also make a crisp in it too. I wouldn’t bring a skillet, myself, but a stock pit for making ratatouille and boiling lobsters and corn along with a sauce pan. I would think about buying a small fry pan for making eggs, bacon and the occasional burger.

If you’re lucky enough to rent a house or even an efficiency for your holiday , I’d recommend my suggestions along with some microwavable containers. Let’s face it, you’ll be eating out a lot and you may want to bring home leftovers for the next day’s lunch. I would also bring some along some basic knives and forks and a good chef’s knife . Other extras would be just sturdy paper plates plastic utensils for beach picnics and hot and cold cups.
You don’t have to haul your entire kitchen when you go away. Just take what you think you’ll need the most. After all you’re on vacation to relax - not to cook,