A Harvest Of Cookbooks Part One

 One of the best aspects of fall is that it produces harvests. There are apples and pears along with pumpkins. Yet the best bounty of all is the plethora of cookbooks   that comes with the season. There are some great ones , perfect for fall cooking and baking.

The New York Times Food section gave a very good analysis of what's coming off the presses these days. A wide range of Food contributors such as regulars Julia Moskin, Melissa Clarke  and Kim Severson along with Vaughn Vreeland, Margeaux Laskey, Alexa Weibel and even Pete Wells reviewed and recommended these  must buy cookbooks. There's books for everyone. Ina Garten fans will love her Modern Comfort Food (Clarkson Potter) has her classic recipes as tuna melts, risotto and corn muffins. Ms. Severson who reviewed the book clains it's a a bit Hamptons and not diverse. Yet' it comfort dishes from everyone 's favorite TV cook, and that's what we need right now. Another famed chef, and also a New York Times Food contributor is  Yotten Ottolenghi , has cowritten Ottolenghi Flavor (Tenspeed Press). He and his writing partner, Ixta Belfrage has such interesting dishes as coconut and turmeric omelet and sticky rice. Science also makes an appearance. Nik Sharma's The Flavor Equation (Chronicle) has interesting theories about how the interplay of  emotion, aromas, textures , visuals and even sounds affect the way we eat. There's also striking photography too.

International cooking is also seen here. Xi'an Famous Foods : The Cuisine of Western China from New York's Favorite Noodle Shop ( Brams)  is by Jessica K Chou which features the New York City's restaurants chain's most iconic dishes like biang biang noodles.Meera Sodha switches it up from her native Indian cooking to  including Chinese in her latest  cookbook East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes From Bangalore to Beijing (Flatiron Books) has everything from baos or breads stuffed with peanut butter and mushroom fillings to tamarind slathered eggplant to a tomato, pistachio and saffron tart. Indonesian cooking is represented in Coconut and Sambal: Recipes From My Indonesian Kitchen (Bloomsbury) by Lara Lee who's Australian, Chinese and Indonesian. There is beef rendang and a bright green pandang cake in her book. African and African-American cuisine is also represented in In Bibi's Kitchen :The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from Eight African Countries That Touch The Indian Ocean ( Ten speed Press) by Hawa Hassan and The Rise : Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food (Voracious) by the always great Marcus Samuelsson have such interesting vegetarian recipes from the first while Chef Samuelsson has a mix of essays and recipes from black chefs and writers. Then there are the baking themed ones. They'll be covered tomorrow.

 These cookbooks features the best of fall cooking  They'd be a great addition to any kitchen., Buy them and expand your kitchen's library

The Taste of Tamerind

Tamerind is a comforting and exotic  flavor all at once.It's tangy  and sweet, perfect for all sorts of dishes. It's great as an addition for summer dishes and drinks.

Nik Sharma, creator of the award winning  A Brown Table that highlights Indian cuisine  wrote an interesting piece about this fruit(?) in yesterday's New York Times' Food section. Tamarind is actually a hard wood, not unlike teak and it produces pods. Those pods contain a sticky sweet and sour pulp that's made into a syrup. The Italians mix it with either mineral or even tap water for a refreshing cola like drink. It's also used in Worcester sauce for that unique flavor yet it's the Africans and Indians that have made the most use of it. It grows well in hot climates, originating in Africa and migrating over to India. Tamarind is great for any pantry since it lasts for months. Use it now or use it for baking and cooking in the fall and winter. You can make the extract at home by  boiling the pulp, then steeping  and softening it for a few minutes.  Buy the packaging that says "SOUR" which is the best for cooking and baking. You can get the sweet  as Mr. Sharma does but that's just for eating out of the package.There is also the liquid concentrate. This also can be heated up to reduce its' volume but it will lose its' fruity flavor.

There are several different recipes. Try the roasted new potatoes with garlic and tamarind. It's a sweet and savory side that has new yellow potatoes flavored with the pulp along with date syrup (although you can also use honey or maple syrup). This is a syrup poured over the potatoes after they've been oven roasted with olive oil and salt.  Cumin and serrano chiles are added for fire and bite so it's not too tangy. Seafood can also benefit from tamarind. Mr. Sharma gives us shrimp, cilantro and tamarind soup.The last is only a tablespoon so it doesn't over power the briny seafood taste. There's also a yellow onion and tomato paste added along with green chile and black pepper along with cilantro.A sweeter dish is an almond, black pepper and fig cake  drizzled with a tamarind paste glaze. The cake combines these diverse flavors with the figs being dusted with the black pepper. The batter is made from almond flour which has a delicacy that works with the other intense flavors. The glaze is unusual because it combines olive oil the tamarind paste and confectioners sugar. Usually water is added to make a glaze but the olive oil gives it more heft. Water can be added to thin it out of it is too thick.

Tamarind is a wonderful flavor , perfect in a refreshing drink or interesting dish. Try it in a savory side or soup. Use it  to give more flavor to a homemade almond, black pepper and fig cake. It's a great add in for any savory or sweet recipe.