The Cookshelf Spring 2023
“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” —Leo Tolstoy
Bliss on Toast: 75 Simple Recipes
By Prue Leith
Bloomsbury, $26
Toast. It’s basic but oh-so-reliable. Just fine plain with a spot of butter and jam. But toast can be dressed up—and with more than avocado and radish! It’s a canvas to be painted according to your mood, appetite, and budget. Need some ideas? Consider this beautifully photographed, compact book by Great British Baking Show judge, cookbook author, and novelist Prue Leith. While the Poached Eggs, Harissa Butter on Multigrain Toast aims for comfort, Broiled Eggplant with Smoked Cheese on Toasted Baguette, with the charred notes, feels bold. Classic Bruschetta on Artisan White Bread, a recipe with just five ingredients, reminds us that simplicity is sometimes best. If you’re in need of a meal, there’s Scallop Caesar on Fried Bread, or Peppered Steak & Salsa Verde on Sourdough Toast. For that ultimate indulgence? Filet Mignon with Café de Paris Butter on Brioche. The heavenly butter, consisting of capers, Dijon mustard, shallots, herbs, and citrus zest, is shaped into a small disc to put on top of the cooked steak. Toast for dessert? Absolutely.
Rice: Recipes and Stories Celebrating the World’s Most Essential Grain
By Caryl Levine and Ken Lee of Lotus Foods
Chronicle Books, $29.95
The idea for this book, and California-based heirloom rice company Lotus Foods, was inspired by a meal Caryl Levine and Ken Lee ate during a trip to China more than two decades ago. That meal included something they had never eaten before: black rice. Today, we have access to many varieties of rice, and this book will inspire you to try some of them. Recipes trend toward global flavors, and there is a nice balance of vegetarian and meat-based dishes. Spring Minestrone with White Beans and Black Rice features leeks, peas and seasonal asparagus in a warming broth. For a weekend night, there’s smoky and spice-forward One-Pot Red Rice with Mussels and Swiss Chard. For all things green, go for Jade Rice Bowls with Broccoli, Tofu, and Avocado “Ranch.” Noodles are also featured. Cold Ramen with Chicken, Egg, Snap Peas, and Carrots uses rotisserie chicken. The vegetables can be whatever you have on hand. Spicy Noodles with Bok Choy and Pork or Tofu boasts stronger flavors, including gochujang and smoked paprika. In addition to the colorful pictures of each dish, there is an array of beautiful photographs to accompany the stories about the regions where the rice is grown and the farmers who grow it.
Great Scoops: Recipes from a Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop
By Marlene Haley and Amelia Ryan of The Merry Dairy
Figure.1 Publishing, $30
What started in 2012 as a food truck offering nut-free frozen custard in Ottawa (they didn’t want to have to turn down any child with a nut allergy) has become a successful business with multiple trucks, a brick-and-mortar store, and a continued pledge to create “ice cream for all.” Luckily for us Americans, The Merry Dairy has adapted their innovative flavors for at-home churners. With clear instructions and lots of helpful tips, you can prepare a creamy egg yolk custard-based or coconut milk vegan ice cream that is ready by supper. The recipes are divided by seasons. Nothing says spring like Toasted Coconut (vegan), Roasted Rhubarb, or the Damn Good Vanilla. The ice cream is wonderful on its own but can be dressed up with Haley’s recipes for fresh fruit, chocolate, and caramel sauces. The flavor wheel will take home churners beyond the book’s recipes and onto creating their own unique combinations. Additional chapters feature desserts like ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cakes, and ice cream pies. Recipes work with a variety of ice cream makers, from those requiring ice, salt and a lot of muscle, to machines that do the work for you.
Bar Menu: 100+ Drinking Food Recipes for Cocktail Hours at Home
By André Darlington
Running Press, $28.00
My grandparent’s basement included a hand-built bar adorned with Christmas lights yearround. From an early age, I was drawn in by the intimacy of sitting at a bar rather than a table. Combine my Pennsylvania Dutch heritage and the era (1970s), and you’ll get a menu that looked something like this: hand fried potato chips with Lipton’s onion soup dip mix, smoked baloney with grainy mustard, pickled red beet eggs, cheeses, and chow-chow, all chased down with Rolling Rock (for me, cola in a beer glass). It’s no wonder that I was inspired and feeling nostalgic for André Darlington’s Bar Menu. Tasty and sophisticated drinks are paired up with a vast array of bar bites that get progressively more substantial. There are eleven sections to peruse (sandwiches, meat, seafood, noodles, and more). Quick starters include American Cocktail Pecans or Citrus and Fennel Olives. Vodka cocktails compliment Eggplant Caviar, easily scooped onto toasted pita chips. If you’re in for a long evening, fill up on heavier offerings, like the Cacio e Pepe Frittata. And if you’re pining for the old days, there’s The Cheese Ball, Reimagined (mascarpone and blue cheese in this one!). Adventurous palates will appreciate the global flavors in dishes like Japanese-style Turkey Tsukune (Meatballs), Cauliflower “Wings” with Gochujang Sauce, or Garam Masala Cocktail Puffs. Sample party menus round out this comprehensive stay-at-home “bar menu” book.
Browseabout Books
133 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE; (302) 226-2665
