Short Stories, Film Reviews, and Recipes

Author: cbays30 (Page 4 of 5)

Basil’s Recipe #3: Cilantro Aioli

Ingredients

4 Cloves Roasted Garlic

½ cup Fresh Cilantro

4 Lemons juiced(zest from 1 lemon)

Pinch of Salt

1 cup Sour Cream

4 cups Mayonnaise

Instructions

1) Roast the unpeeled garlic cloves in a skillet on medium heat. Turn cloves over after a few minutes to toast the other side. Remove cloves when all sides are cooked and remove peels.

2) Place cilantro, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a food processor and mix for 30 seconds.

3) Add remaining ingredients to the processor and mix for 1 minute.

4) Store and in a plastic container and refrigerate for 1 hour until ready to use.

I introduced this recipe in 2010 when we served Fried Green Tomatoes. It complements fried seafood and vegetables, but it can also be used as a sandwich spread.

Rather than using mustard or mayonnaise on your sandwiches or burgers, try using Cilantro Aioli. Fresh lemons are much better to use in this recipe than bottled lemon juice.

Parmesan & Black Pepper Bread

Ingredients

½ tbsp Instant Yeast

2 ¼ cups Warm Water

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1½ tsp Kosher Salt

4 ½ cups Sifted All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Shredded Fresh Parmesan

1 ½ tsp Cracked Black Pepper 

Instructions

1) Mix yeast and warm water in a large metal bowl with a whisk.

2) Add olive oil and 1 tsp salt.

3) Add flour one cup at a time. Use a whisk for the first two cups, then use a rubber spatula to add remaining flour.

4) Fold in parmesan and cracked black pepper.

5) Form the dough into a ball. Remove dough from the bowl, spray the bowl with baking spray, and return the dough to the bowl.

6) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour.

7) Press dough down and fold into a ball. Return the dough to the bowl with the seam side down.

8) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

9) Place dough on a lightly-floured counter and fold into a long cylinder. With a sharp knife, score the top of the dough. Sprinkle the remaining ½ tsp salt over the dough. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Allow the dough to rise, uncovered on a greased pan, for 20 minutes.

10) Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

This bread is perfect for sandwiches and Italian pasta. Most bread recipes require a separate bowl to mix the dough and one for rising.

As long as all of the flour ends up in the dough when you mix it, you don’t have to put the dough in another bowl for rising. Save yourself the trouble of cleaning two bowls and just use one.

I made this bread for my cousin Amy and her husband when they visited last year. They enjoyed it, and I hope you will too.

Pumpkin Bread with Streusel

The Streusel adds a sweet crunch.

Ingredients & Instructions

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter

15 oz. can Pumpkin Puree

1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon

¾ tsp Nutmeg

1 cup Light Brown Sugar

Stir all of the above ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, frequently stirring, until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce to low, continuing to stir, and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Mix the following in a large measuring cup or bowl:

2 eggs

1 tbsp Half and Half

1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix the following in a large metal bowl:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

½ tsp Salt

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Mix all ingredients in the large metal bowl. Place the mixture in a greased 9-inch bread pan. Mix the following in a bowl to prepare the streusel:

1 tbsp Melted Butter(salted butter)

¼  cup Ground Pecans

2 tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 tbsp Brown Sugar

¼  tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp All-Purpose Flour

Spread streusel evenly over pumpkin mixture and bake 50-52 minutes. Check to make sure the bread is done by inserting a toothpick. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

I tested this recipe on people, including myself, who dislike pumpkin pie. They loved it.

Be sure to use a pumpkin puree rather than a fresh carving pumpkin. Pumpkin puree is made from sugar pumpkins, which have a much sweeter flesh and are not as stringy as Halloween pumpkins.

Unlike other Pumpkin Bread recipes I’ve made, this one requires cooking the puree. It may seem like a pain and an extra step, but it removes excess moisture from the puree and brings out the sweet pumpkin flavor.

If you’re worried about losing some of the streusel topping when you pop it out of the pan, I have a solution.

First, use a rubber spatula to loosen all four sides of the bread from the pan. Next, place a piece of wax paper over the top of the bread. Last, invert the pan and pop it onto a cutting board.

It is a sweet bread, but it isn’t too sweet to place a scoop of vanilla ice cream beside it. I hope you enjoy it! I did.

Film Review: Anna

Continuing his tradition of featuring strong female characters, Luc Besson makes another attempt with Anna. Sasha Luss plays the assassin Anna, and her performance is the highlight of the film.

Anna is a drug-addicted prostitute who, after the death of her pimp/boyfriend, becomes a superhuman KGB killer. She works as a supermodel in the daytime and kills her targets at night.

The story takes place in Moscow in 1985. KGB agents race around the city and arrest several suspects. A CIA agent identifies one of the suspects when someone sends a severed head to his office.  

Don’t you miss the Cold War? It was a simpler time with well-defined enemies and blood-soaked packages.

The film quickly shifts its focus to 1990. Anna decides to leave her job selling Russian dolls to become a fashion model. The scenes of Anna posing for her fashion shoots are incredibly long and dull.

I’m not sure why the director chose to spend so much time with the fashion scenes. Maybe he wanted to prove that Sash Luss, who is a successful model in real life, can play a supermodel. Can a tall, beautiful, blonde supermodel play a tall, beautiful, blonde supermodel in a film?

After boring us with fashion, Anna shifts back to 1987 and displays Anna’s rough life as an abused prostitute. Then, once again, the film shifts forward to 1990.

Time after Time

For a movie that has nothing to do with time travel, there are countless flashbacks and flash-forwards. There are so many that you become oblivious to the film’s location or time.

I like films that follow a non-linear path, but Anna’s time shifts seem unnecessary and frustrating. The poorly developed plot is hindered even more by this gimmick. The plot can use all the help it can get.

Strangely, the film never focuses on the year that Anna trains with the KGB.

I would like to know how a reformed addict, with only one year of training, becomes the most lethal assassin in the world.

She’s a cold-blooded killer who rarely shoots her pistol without hitting someone in the head. She cuts through bodyguards and soldiers like they’re butter, and she uses broken plates, bar railing, and dinnerware to dispatch victims when she’s unable to shoot them.

The one time she shows emotion during her killing sprees is when she frantically stabs a large man with a fork. The action scenes with Anna are exciting and the only reason to watch the film.

Sasha Luss looks natural when performing fight scenes, and her acting is not too bad. Her character is hard to dislike, but her frequent complaints about her life as a model/killer become annoying.

Anna is tearful when she talks about gaining her freedom from the KGB, but she doesn’t shed a tear after killing fifty men in two days. She’s a complicated woman.

Luc Besson Blues

I hesitate, for a moment, when I decide to watch a Luc Besson film. He has disappointed me so many times that I always fear the worst. Anna is not the worst, but it’s close.

Besson has a talent for using beautiful, statuesque women in his action films. I commend him for promoting female empowerment, but I wish he could back it up with better writing and directing.

His plot twists and weak dialogue often prevent his Valkyries from achieving greatness. Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, Milla Jovovich in The Messenger, and Sasha Luss in Anna are all examples of strong women who perished under Besson.

I like parts of his films, but most of them involve action sequences.

His most critically acclaimed film, The Professional, is the one I dislike the most. I like Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, and Gary Oldman, but they’re not impressive in Besson’s overrated romp.

The story centers around a sensitive hitman who takes in his neighbor’s teenage daughter while he avoids a cartoonish, dirty cop played by Oldman. Although it’s loved by many, I won’t waste any more time complaining about it.

Mirren needs a Beach House

One of Besson’s worst crimes in Anna is how he uses Helen Mirren. She plays Olga. She’s a strict, KGB officer who handles Anna’s cases.

Her Russian accent is slightly believable, but her brown wig is unintentionally funny. She looks like one of The Turtles and doesn’t seem happy about it.

The head of the KGB makes a crack about her appearance when he says, “We only keep the ugly ones.” Helen Mirren? Ugly?

I’ve never thought of those words fitting together, but I’m biased toward Helen Miren. Ever since I watched Caligula in college, I’ve loved her. In Anna, there’s not much to love.

Olga is more of a caricature of a despotic, Soviet boss than a real character, and her dialogue sounds like the fourteen-year-old version of Luc Besson wrote it.

She delivers memorable lines such as “Anna, no one f#*%! with KGB”. Her broken English won’t win her the Oscar this year, but everyone needs a paycheck.

Oscar winners can’t always perform at a high level, and I don’t have a problem with that. I only wish that Natasha from The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle didn’t come to mind when I saw Mirren in Anna.

There are many theories as to why actors decide to star in bad films, but Sir Michael Caine gave the likeliest answer. When a journalist asked him why he starred in Jaws 4, he said, “I needed a beach house.”

Basil’s Recipe #2: Spinach Dip

Ingredients

2 lbs. Frozen Spinach

1 ½ cups Sour Cream

¾ cup Diced Red Onion

2 ½ cups Mayonnaise

1.4 oz(I packet) Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix

Instructions

1) Place Spinach in a colander and run cold water over it to thaw.

2) Mix Sour Cream, Red Onions, Mayonnaise, and Vegetable Soup Mix in a metal bow.

3) Press Spinach in a colander to remove water. Spinach should be only slightly moist.

4) Mix Spinach with the rest of the ingredients with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

5) Serve with Toasted Pita Bread, French Bread, or Crackers.

Spinach Dip, the only dip served chilled, is one of Basil’s oldest recipes. It’s best when you serve it with toasted pita.

If you don’t have pita in your kitchen, you can use any type of toasted bread. French bread, Italian bread, French baguette, and Ciabatta are types of bread I recommend.

Fried Air and California Raisins

Do you own an air fryer or an Instant Pot? Right now, they’re two of the hottest kitchen appliances. Before Christmas, if you found out that the instant pot was Amazon’s most popular product, you might have been tempted to order one.

The instant pot is a compact, pressure cooker that can cook meat, steam rice, make yogurt, cure all disease, and improve your general well-being.

Marketing is a powerful tool in our world, and it’s particularly effective in the food and beverage industry. Appliances, produce, and products that have been around for decades or centuries are suddenly reintroduced to the public as essential items.

The convection oven, first available to the public in 1945, uses a fan to circulate hot air around your food to cook it faster. The oven’s use is not limited to culinary endeavors but is used in a variety of industries.

The aircraft industry uses car-sized ovens to manufacture parts for planes and helicopters. Convection heating isn’t a new technique. Until recently, amateur cooks had to shell out several hundred dollars for a new convection oven.

Now, you can buy one for under seventy dollars. The expensive convection ovens are still available, but their compact, economical cousins are all the rage.

These baby convection ovens are called air fryers. When I saw a commercial for an air fryer, I thought it was a gimmick that wouldn’t last.

The name seemed so ridiculous that I couldn’t believe that anyone would buy one. Fried air?

What does that mean? Is there a miniature nuclear reactor in the little fryer? Is it safe to leave it alone in your kitchen when it starts frying the air?

Like all products marketed to the general public, I was completely wrong about the air fryer. It’s a useful tool that can save you time. Since I was a kid, I’ve seen a lot of products that I thought were garbage become big hits.

The only one I was right about was New Coke. New Coke was sweeter, less carbonated, and more disgusting than any other soda on the market.

Coca-Cola managed to save themselves from a catastrophe by introducing Classic Coke. Eventually, all New Coke was replaced by Classic Coke, and the public forgot about the company’s blunder.

All of us, including myself, are influenced by marketing more than we like to admit. When I was 10, I owned a California Raisin T-shirt (it enticed bullies to beat me up).

The raisin was not a new product in the ’80s, but a marketing campaign from California made raisins seem cool and essential to all Americans. Marvin Gaye’s version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine played in commercials featuring dancing raisins.

Toy stores stocked their shelves with a variety of loveable raisin characters. I don’t think it was a bad idea to promote healthy food that is beneficial to your diet, but I think it’s strange that a clay raisin dancing to Motown influenced our eating habits.

The song, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, is about a sad guy who finds out that his woman is unfaithful to him. Why was this song used to sell delicious raisins?

Since the word grapevine is in the song, why wouldn’t you use it to promote dried grapes from California? A great song about infidelity is as good as any to use to promote healthy living.

Hoover could have increased their sales if they’d used Another One Bites the Dust to sell vacuum cleaners. Who would care if a song about a psychopath with a machine gun helped sell a record number of Hoovers?

Steve walks warily down the street

With the brim pulled way down low

Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet

Machine guns ready to go

Are you ready- (for a Hoover?)

Are you ready for this- (house to be clean?)

Are you hanging on the edge of your seat

Out of the doorway, the bullets rip

To the sound of the beat—

Freddy Mercury’s corpse shudders at the thought!

Advertisers take risks that may seem crazy when you analyze their motives as much as I do. I’m surprised by and respect the strange ways they push their products.

Many advertising campaigns that I thought were strange or creepy became incredibly successful. If I worked for a marketing firm, I would make all the wrong decisions.

Pillsbury-1985: Poppin Fresh commercial: That obnoxious Dough Boy will not help you sell biscuits. You want people to poke him in the belly to make him giggle? Who wants to buy biscuits after seeing Poppin Fresh molested by a human finger?

Wrigley-1983: The Juicy Fruit Ski commercial: What do acrobatic, skiers have to do with Juicy Fruit chewing gum? Will a rock song with mild, sexual overtones entice people to pop that gum in their mouths?

NFL-1996: Are you ready for some Football? Commercial: Hank Williams Jr. will not help you increase ratings. I feel like he’s screaming at me to watch football. Let’s get James Brown instead. He’ll put some funk into football.

I don’t believe that most advertisers are immoral or unethical, but they are smarter than we realize.

Pomegranates, avocados, and pistachios are more popular than ever. Twenty-five years ago, no one craved the juice from a pomegranate.

Their popularity is driven by clever marketing campaigns. Avocados are so popular that emergency rooms have seen an increase in avocado-related injuries.

I used to think that avocado was simple to cut open with a knife, but some people stab themselves while attempting culinary surgery.

I think that instant pots and air fryers are fine products, but I don’t have the physical space in my kitchen to include every appliance that is trending. I’m a sucker for advertising like everyone in America.

However, I try to consider if a new appliance will improve my life. Most of the time, the answer is no. For the time being, my life and kitchen are happy without fried air and digital pressure cookers.

Gluten-Free Potato & Cheddar Fritters

These potato and cheddar fritters closely resemble those made with all-purpose flour. You can use mashed potatoes and leftover corn in place of the boiled potatoes and canned corn.

I experimented with different recipes for potato fritters, but this one produces a superior golden-brown crust. It doesn’t have a sandy texture like many other gluten-free fritters.

They taste best when you serve them immediately. I tried reheating them after they were refrigerated for 2 days, but they weren’t the same.

The fritters have a firmer texture when they’re reheated. Rice flour mixes tend to toughen the fritters when they’re refrigerated. If you want to save some for later, it’s best to freeze them before they’re cooked.

I topped mine with a tablespoon of sour cream on each fritter, but Cajun Remoulade and Stone Ground Mustard are also good toppers.

Ingredients

½ cup Brown Rice Flour

1 tbsp Xanthan Gum

¼ cup Tapioca Starch

1 tbsp Coconut Flour

1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp White Pepper

1 ½ tsp Fresh Thyme

1 tsp Mustard Powder

2 tsp Brown Sugar

2 cups White Cheddar

2 tbsp Half and Half

3 eggs

2 lbs. boiled white potatoes

3 tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients except potatoes and cheddar in a metal bowl with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, mash the potatoes and mix in Half and Half, 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, and 3 beaten eggs.

Stir in dry ingredients and fold in cheddar last.

Form into balls, then flatten in disks that resemble hockey pucks.

Heat 2 tbsp Olive Oil in a non-stick pan and cook 4-5 minutes a side.

Top with Sour Cream

Basil’s Restaurant Recipes for Your Home

Recipe #1: Basil’s Sausage Dip

16oz Softened Cream Cheese (2 packs)

12oz Spicy Italian Ground Sausage

¾ Cup Diced Vine-Ripe Tomato

¼ cup Diced Pickled Jalapeños

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Form Ground Sausage into small patties. Sauté the sausage in a cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan for 4 minutes a side on Medium-High heat.

Drain oil from sausage and allow to cool. Blend sausage in a food processor (using the pulse function 8-10 times should be enough).

Flatten cooked sausage evenly on a non-greased baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 Minutes (Sausage should turn a darker-brown).

Mix all ingredients thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Place dip in a small ceramic baking dish or metal pan and bake at 450° F for 15-17 minutes.

Top with grated Fresh Parmesan and Fresh Parsley. Serve with toasted Pita Bread or toasted French Bread.

With permission from the owner of Basil’s Restaurant, Jeremy Spengeman, I’m posting some of Basil’s most popular recipes.

These recipes have been scaled down for the home chef.

The first recipe, Basil’s Sausage Dip, is an old favorite. In 2005, the kitchen prepared the dip with a mixture of red and yellow tomatoes.

You’re welcome to do the same. You can also add more Diced Jalapenos if you like it Caliente. Hope you enjoy it!

Film Review: The ‘Burbs

The ‘Burbs ꙳꙳꙳꙳

“Hey, one of the Huns came out of the cave.”  Bruce Dern

“In Southeast Asia, we’d call this type of thing Bad Karma.” Bruce Dern

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. A week in Jonestown.” Carrie Fisher

The ‘Burbs is an underappreciated classic. The director, Joe Dante, managed to pull off a rare feat in Hollywood. He made a comedy/horror movie that’s not terrible. It’s not violent or gory but has the feel of an old-fashioned horror film.

Ray(Tom Hanks) fears that his new neighbors, the Klopeks, are up to no good. At the opening of the film, he wakes up and walks to the edge of his yard to investigate the strange noises coming from the Klopek’s house.

He turns and sees his militant neighbor, Rumsfield(Bruce Dern), watching him and lighting a cigar in the darkness. The theme from Patton quietly plays in the background. When Ray steps into his neighbor’s yard, a heavy wind picks up and nearly knocks him down. When he steps back into his yard, the wind stops.

The Neighborhood

The ‘Burbs never leaves its suburban setting. It’s a typical, American neighborhood(for the upper-middle class) filled with green lawns, healthy trees, and dogs that run to the neighbor’s yard to do their business.

The Klopek’s house is a decrepit, gothic mess with dying trees and a brown lawn. It is the sore eye of the neighborhood; many of you have likely experienced your own Klopek house. Hopefully, none of you are unfortunate enough to have neighbors like the Klopeks.

The Klopeks

The Klopeks are  Dr. Werner(Henry Gibson of Laugh-In fame), Hans(Courtney Gains), and Uncle Reuben(Brother Theodore). Hans is the young, skittish Klopek who’s seen driving his garbage out to the curb and beating it with a shovel.

He has beady eyes, inconsistent facial hair, and a penchant for Pinocchio fashion. His uncle Reuben is a gruff man of few words and probably the scariest of the Klopeks.

He represents the horror stereotype of the scary German, but he does it well. Dr. Werner appears amiable and witty and tries to show his neighbors that his family isn’t completely crazy. Henry Gibson is perfect as the friendly, demented doctor.

Ray’s obnoxious neighbor Art(Rick Ducommun) presses Ray to confront the Klopeks. Art is a fast-talking, heavy eating, goofball who, along with Rumsfield, tries to convince the skeptical Ray that the Klopeks are pure evil.

Although Tom Hanks is the star of the film, the supporting characters steal the show. Hanks is believable as an average family man who dislikes confrontation, but he can be whiney and overly dramatic when faced with the crisis.

I like Hanks best as a comedic actor, and in 1989, his Oscar-winning reputation had yet to materialize. He was known for Splash, Bachelor Party, Turner and Hooch, and Big, but his dramatic roles in the late 80’s received less praise or attention.

Bruce Dern plays a slightly, crazed veteran who helps Ray and Art investigate their strange, new neighbors.

He wears military fatigues throughout the course of the film and carries a night vision scope, but he’s more comical than dangerous. In one scene, while standing guard with his rifle, he falls off the roof and shoots out a car window. As a goofy Rambo, he’s hilarious in every scene.

Carol(Carrie Fisher) tries to discourage her husband from spending his vacation in the ‘burbs, and she’s the sarcastic voice of reason in the film. She loves her husband but doesn’t hesitate to point out the absurdity of his actions. Carrie Fisher is charming and funny, and although her role in the film is small, she deserves more recognition for her talent. 

The ‘Burbs is a silly film, but it’s what I consider “good” silly. The camera moves around in a grander fashion than most comedy/horror movies.

When the tension builds, the camera captures the reactions of the neighbors in extreme close-ups. After cutting between these stunned reactions, the camera falls on a close-up of Queenie the poodle. Joe Dante doesn’t take his horror too serious, and that’s good.

The slapstick, dark humor, and above-average acting help create an extremely entertaining film. There is a fair amount of 80’s cheese, mostly supplied by Corey Feldman, but it doesn’t detract from the fun.

Five Cookbooks to Own for Life

The Joy of Cooking

By: Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker, and Megan Scott

If you only have room on your shelf for one cookbook, purchase The Joy of Cooking. The new 2019 edition includes 600 new recipes and 4000 updated favorites.

Most online reviews are positive for the latest edition, but some people complain that the small print is hard to read. I own the 1997 edition, and this synopsis will focus on it.

I’ve used the 1962 and 1975 versions which I also recommend. The Joy of Cooking is a cooking manual for anyone interested in cooking.

In addition to the recipes, the book includes metric conversions, menu suggestions, and detailed instructions on cooking methods.

Each recipe includes an introduction of the dish and simple instructions. Its first publication was in 1931, but subsequent editions have modified versions of the classic recipes.

The recipes are updated to reflect present-day trends such as gluten-free dishes, keto, and vegan diets.

At the beginning of each chapter, the authors include a lengthy section on cooking techniques and essential tools. If you’re curious about the correct way to cut a whole chicken, the JOC explains how with clear illustrations and easy instructions.

I learned how to make Chicken Gumbo, Shrimp Étouffée, Negi Maki, Banana Bread, Cacciatore, and many others.

Bread Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen

The bread recipes in Bread Illustrated are excellent. The recipes have step-by-step instructions illustrated with color photos. A long introduction explains the methods and reasons for using specific tools and techniques.

It is one of the few books I’ve used that requires little modification of the ingredients or cooking times. However, it’s not a book for a lazy cook. The more complicated recipes require a lot of time and effort. Some of the best bread takes 18 to 22 hours to complete.

My favorite recipes include Pita Bread, Pane Francese, Monkey Bread, Cheddar and Black Pepper Bread, and Pretzels. If you love tasty bread and have plenty of time on your hands, Bread Illustrated is for you.

The Professional Chef by The Culinary Institute of America

*You will need a digital scale to use this cookbook*

The authors of this cookbook/textbook designed it for both aspiring cooks and professional chefs. The edition I own is the 7th edition from 2002.

It includes several chapters on cooking instruction and proper equipment use before you see a single recipe. It contains handy guidelines for food safety including the proper techniques for preventing cross-contamination and food-borne illnesses.

Its full-color illustrations are helpful when you attempt a complicated process for the first time. Although it is more technical than The Joy of Cooking, it won’t overwhelm an amateur cook.

But beware, it’s a huge book. The book has 1036 pages and weighs nearly seven pounds( I weighed it). The hefty brute can serve as a weapon against home invaders if you leave a copy near every window and door of your home. That will only cost you around $1200.

Larousse Gastronomique  by the Gastronomic Committee, President Joël Robuchon

The classic, French reference book/cookbook has been around since Prosper Montagné wrote the original text in 1938. The book isn’t divided into chapters containing appetizers, desserts, or entrées.

It takes the alphabetical approach. It will define a subject like chocolate in a small paragraph, and then it provides numerous recipes with C-grade instructions. The instructions are short, vague, and sometimes unclear.

The descriptive paragraphs, however, are well written and informative. The publishers likely used separate authors for the recipes and subject descriptions. It includes an exhaustive supply of cooking instructions and culinary history, but it is not well suited for beginners.

The Professional Chef is more accessible to beginners and pros.  LG has simple recipes for Mustard Sauce and complicated(and disgusting) recipes for calf’s brains. I’m sorry Gastronomic Committee, I’m not fond of brain matter.

If you enjoy cooking calf or lamb brains in court-bouillon, you’ll love this book. It includes 13 recipes of brainy delights. Bon appétit!

The How Can it Be Gluten-Free Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

This is the best gluten-free cookbook on the market today. The recipes produce delicious, gluten-free dishes and will actually impress gluten lovers.

I don’t have an allergy to gluten or wheat, but I really like this book. My favorite recipe is Brazilian Cheese Bread Rolls. The rolls are cheesy, fluffy, and somehow mostly composed of tapioca flour.

Their all-purpose flour blend recipe is superior to the premixed blends you can purchase at the grocery store, and the dessert recipes are incredibly satisfying to someone like me who sleeps with a Give me Gluten or Give me Death pillowcase. I also own a Flour Power bathrobe and an autographed ’45 of Wheat Christmas by Weird Al Yankovic. Ok, I’ll stop now. Wheat to Victory!

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