I Love My New Toys

I finally turned my back on decades of Cuisinart food processing and asked for a KitchenAid for my birthday this year. Ain’t it handsome? My main problem with the Cuisinart was that the bowl wasn’t as durable as the early models, and after a couple years of use the switch/latch assembly would degrade, and finally get to the point where I had to hold down the lid with one hand and operate the buttons with the other. This KitchenAid bowl is thick and heavy, and the switch is simpler. It also has a mini-bowl that stores inside, for small jobs. I usually do those small jobs with a knife, but this is cute. I used the big bowl to make chorizo this week and it mixed powerfully and evenly, without my having to stop and scrape the sides. I’m delighted with it.

I also received four cookbooks for Christmas and my birthday this year. They are all spread out on the countertop along with my shopping-and-menu notebook, and every meal I cook I’m becoming more intimate with them. This has been a wonderful couple of weeks to experiment with new recipes, partly because of the cool weather, but also because of the lull between the holidays and the piano teaching season (spring competitions, festivals, etc.)

The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking by Susanna Hoffman
This book is fun to read because the pages are filled with sidebars and inset boxes about Greek history, customs, and ingredients. I wondered if the recipes would be secondary, but they are indeed delicious and well-written. Last night we had Chicken Kapama--chicken browned and braised in an intensely dark red sauce containing coffee, tomato, red wine, brandy, honey, and herbs—kind of like a Greek barbeque sauce. With it I served a bulgur and vegetable pilaf, and tzatziki (thick Greek yogurt, Persian cucumbers, lots of garlic chopped with salt, and fresh mint and dill). I put fava beans in the pilaf. Did you know that after you shell the fava beans, you then have to blanch them and remove a tough outer membrane from each bean?

The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
I am most fascinated by the fish recipes in this book. By far the best fish I have made this month is her Pan-Cooked Fish with Preserved Lemon, Green Olives, and Capers. Many of the fish recipes are made in a single skillet. The salad and cold vegetable chapter is intriguing. I hope to try the lentil salad next, because we bought beautiful red lentils at the Caravan Market. I am thinking of starting a movement: Promoting World Peace through Eating the Foods of Other Cultures. This movement badly needs an acronym before it can catch on.

Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop
Sautéed Fennel with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Garlic! What more can I say? Tonight I am making his grilled eggplant which is first marinated in garlic, oregano, and lemon. I have consulted this book for information every time I’ve cooked a vegetable lately. I am looking forward to Zucchini, Corn, and Red Pepper Sauté—cream and cilantro are added at the end, doesn’t that sound delicious?

La Cocina de la Frontera by James W. Peyton
To read this cookbook is to dwell in the world of sunshine and chiles. If I ever had to move to Siberia or Seattle, I would take this cookbook to bed with me every night. I love the simplicity of the recipes: green chile enchilada sauce made with just the addition of garlic, onion, and tomato, for instance; and the wonderful Border Town Margarita. Peyton offers both traditional and modern versions of many of his recipes, as well as information on how popular dishes vary from Arizona to New Mexico to Texas. At present I think this is the most satisfying Mexican cookbook I own. I think I told you that your copy came from the Panther Junction gift shop at Big Bend National Park. Everyone should head down there and pick one up. (Or order it on the Internet.)

If there’s anyone out there that would like to give me a job reviewing cookbooks, please call.