Favorite Cookbooks

Since we've done a number of cookbook posts now, I figured that I would put together a little index page for the sidebar. This is that index page.

As I'm sure is the case with most foodies, we have a lot of cookbooks. The picture above shows a cross-section of just a couple of the shelves we have devoted to this obsession. We thought it might be fun to highlight some of our favorite cookbooks and recipes from them that we like.

Holiday Food - Mario Batali Italian celebrity chef and über-restaurateur Mario Batali has quite a few cookbooks out these days. This one is probably our favorite. A collection of recipes traditionally served during Christmas and New Year, it isn't a very large cookbook but there are some real gems in it.

Mexico One Plate at a Time - Rick Bayless Bayless is one of the more prominent voices heralding the delicious diversity of regional Mexican cuisine. All of his cookbooks are good, but this one, designed as a companion cookbook to his PBS series of the same name, is the one we use most frequently.

Charcuterie - Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn A great starting point for anyone looking to take a step into the wonderful world of cured meats. And trust me - you do want to take a step into the wonderful world of cured meats. Warning, though, this hobby can easily become an obsession.

The Balthazar Cookbook The signature cookbook of the famous Manhattan restaurant. We've never been to the restaurant, but we love the book. In particular, we love it for its selection of excellently detailed recipes for delicious fish dishes.

The Balthazar Cookbook

The Balthazar Cookbook is perhaps our single favorite cookbook for fish recipes. Named after the well-respected restaurant in Manhattan, it is certainly not specifically about fish, but for us it is those dishes that really shine.

It also happens to be one of the best written cookbooks we have. By that I don't mean it is full of witty banter (not that I am at all averse to color commentary in a cookbook), but rather that the recipes themselves are superbly detailed and easy to follow. Not the hurriedly mal-adapted and underspecified instructions you often get in a restaurant cookbook.

When making fish dishes from these recipes and others, we do not generally worry about using the precise fish specified. Instead, we use what we can get locally that fits the style of the dish.

Favorite Recipes:

Cod Mitonnée This was our first go-to dish from the book. The rich broth is what makes it - reduced until it is very intense, full of flavor and reminiscent of a French onion soup. It is like getting a soup and a main course all in one.

Roasted Halibut with Crushed Potatoes, Almonds and Tomatoes A dish we keep coming back to. There is something super-satisfying about the way the potatoes, tomatoes and almonds taste together and how they accent a perfectly cooked piece of fish.

Cod and Cockles with Parsley As tasty as it is beautiful. The intense green from the parsley dominates visually, but doesn't overpower the other flavors.

Black Bass with Caramelized Onions and Corn The sweetness of the corn and caramelized onion is wonderful. We are looking forward to corn season to again be able to make this dish with freshly-picked corn. Maybe from our own garden, this year?

Braised Short Ribs Just to prove that there are non-fish dishes in the book. Short ribs may be a bit cliché these days the way they seem to be strewn across most every restaurant menu. This is for a reason, though - they are fantastic. They also make for a very good short rib pot pie...

Charcuterie - Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn

It will come as no surprise to those of you who have been following the blog that one of our favorite cookbooks is Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. When we got the book it was like receiving a personal invitation into the world of magical meats transformed by salt and smoke. It is a comprehensive guide to the subject, easy enough for a beginner to use, and everything we have made from it thus far has been fantastic.

These are a few of our favorite recipes from the book. If you click on a picture or recipe title, you can view a more detailed post on the subject.

Homemade Bacon The first time we made homemade bacon it was a revelation. It looked beautiful, tasted even better, and wasn't at all hard to make. Ever since that first batch, we've been making all of the bacon we eat. No comment on how much that is...

Headcheese (Testa) Not a cheese at all, but rather a pig-face terrine of sorts. Great stuff, whether served as a nice warm slice, or cold on toast. As an added bonus, the leftover gelatinous stock that you get as a byproduct makes a good base for a take on Pho'.

Pancetta This was the first recipe we ever made out of Charcuterie. It just requires a simple cure and can dry under conditions that do not require special equipment (or a cellar). Making pancetta is a perfect way to get started curing your own meats.

Smoked Andouille We have always loved making sausages, but these were our first ones cooked in the smoker and they remain one of our favorites. The deep, intense flavor is great all by itself, but it really shines as an ingredient in other dishes (Jambalaya, anyone?)

Smoked Salmon We've made both cold and hot-smoked salmon from recipes in the book and both have turned our really nicely. The cure has allspice, bay leaf, cloves and mace. Initially we were a bit skeptical of using such bold flavors, but paired with a mild smoke they work well.

Mexico One Plate at a Time - Rick Bayless

If Mario Batali is our go-to source for Italian cooking, Rick Bayless plays that role when we turn to Mexican. Mexico One Plate at a Time is the book of his that we have used the most - it is a great overview of authentic regional Mexican cooking. Each recipe has a lengthy, yet interesting discussion of the dish and its numerous potential variations.

Favorite Recipes:

Cochinita Pibil (Slow-Roasted Achiote Pork in Banana Leaves) The Mexican province of Yucatan embodied in a dish - sour orange and achiote marinated pork slow-cooked wrapped in banana leaves. It makes great pibil tacos.

Salsa Verde (Green Tomatillo Salsa) We use this salsa in all sorts of things, including our Huevos Verdes. The 'Roasted Version' is especially good.

Sopes (Masa Boats) Thicker than a tortilla and cooked until crisp on the bottom, but softly chewy inside, these have a addicting toasty corn taste. We've filled them with anything from the traditional (spicy Salsa Roja topped with sharp queso anejo) to the rather nontraditional (pulled pork).

Pollo Adobado con Papas (Red Chile-Marinated Chicken Roasted with Potatoes). The marinade for this chicken is a bit of a pain to make, and definitely somewhat messy (you should see the red splotches spattered over the recipe page), but the result is well worth it. The deep, spicy - not hot - flavor of the toasted chiles permeates the chicken and gives a terrific burnished color to the potatoes roasted alongside.

Sopa de Tortilla con Chile Pasilla, Queso Fresco y Aguacate (Tortilla Soup). We've been making this version of tortilla soup for years, however I always thought the idea of avocado in a hot soup was odd and so omitted it - without giving it a try, strangely enough. During our travels in Mexico this past year we were often served soups dotted with cubes of avocado. I learned that it's delicious! I guess there's usually a good reason for the ingredients in a recipe...

Arroz Blanco (Classic Mexican White Rice). We call this 'Lime Rice'. The rice is loose and fairly soft with a lovely savory base of chicken broth, onions and garlic, and an unexpected fresh lime scent and light tang.

Holiday Food - Mario Batali

We've been fans of Mario Batali ever since we first saw his show Molto Mario on the Food Network (back when there used to be cooking shows on the Food Network). Now he's a celebrity and über-restaurateur, but has still managed to keep his success from turning him completely lame.

We own a number of Batali's cookbooks and like them all, but Holiday Food was our first and remains a favorite. It is a collection of recipes traditionally served during Christmas and New Year, but there is no reason not to make these dishes year-round.

Favorite Recipes:

Basic Tomato Sauce Not really a recipe on its own, but a component in many other dishes. This simple tomato sauce (which we now just call "Mario Sauce") has become our household standard. You can find the recipe here.

Uova In Purgatorio (Eggs In Purgatory) Eggs poached in a fiery-red tomato sauce with caramelized onions and sprinkled with fresh basil.

Ravioli Alla Spigola (Sea Bass Ravioli with Marjoram and Potatoes) After making this dish initially according to the recipe I have to admit that we are now often lazy and omit the fish. Instead we add some cheese and have dubbed the modified version "Raviogies".

Polpette Alla Napoletana (Neapolitan Meatballs). Pecorino cheese and toasted pine nuts make these hefty meatballs truly different from any other meatball recipe we've tried. And the tomato sauce they simmer in becomes extra rich - perfect for a simple side of penne.

Broccoli Soffriti (Braised Broccoli). The Broccoli in question here is Broccoli Rabe, a somewhat bitter, more leafy version of the vegetable. Historically we've shied away from bitter greens, but this recipe, with it's garlic and salty anchovies has gotten us past that aversion.