Quick Take Tuesday

Bon Appétit – January 2009

BA Foodist – “What cookbooks do you consider best?”
BA Foodist Andrew Knowlton answers the question above with The Good Cook Series from Time Life books published between 1979-1985. He recommends the cookbooks not only for their detailed photos and cooking methods, but also for their recipes from out-of-print books and famous author/chefs. These cookbooks are out-of-print, but I looked online, and most titles are available on EBay and Amazon. I don’t know where I would put a collection of 24 books, but I’m a sucker for cookbooks. Maybe I can check them out from the library!

Cooking Life
Molly Wizenberg from Cooking Life in Bon Appétit and her blog Orangette could make braised rocks with a side of gravel sound delicious, and she does it again with her recipe for pate. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of either meatloaf or pate, but I am going to try her recipe Pate de Champagne. Hmm…now I just need to find a reason to make 20 servings of pate. Pate anyone?

Ricotta Cheese
Bon Appétit shares New York Chef Andrew Carmellini’s method for making fresh ricotta cheese, and his recipes using the cheese. I need to go buy cheesecloth. I must try this recipe and the Fig and Onion Bruschetta you make with the fresh ricotta. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Eggs
Both Bon Appétit (1/09) and Food & Wine (1/09) have recipes for pasta dishes with eggs on top. I think I’ll try BA’s Fettuccine Carbonara with Fried Eggs. The recipe has pancetta and broccoli rabe and sounds great for a weeknight meal. It is the cover recipe, and looks like a comfort food meal.