I bought Alice's Tea Cup's cookbook quite a while ago. As I said when I first reviewed it, the book is glitchy. The recipes are obviously scaled down from restaurant quantities to make reasonable quantities for a home cook--such as a dozen scones. The problem is, I don't think they are all scaled down properly. For example, I love Alice's granola and recently got around to making it at home. The recipe for a single batch come out well, but much crumblier than I would have liked; having eaten their granola in the restaurant I know it shouldn't be musli-like but that's what my batch was bordering on. It was still delicious so I didn't mind. The next time I made it, I was more careful flipping it half way through and I added a little more honey at that point. It helped, but I still wasn't getting something approximating the texture of the restaurant's granola. My mom, not having eaten it at the restaurant, was oblivious to the fact that it wasn't perfect and continued to demand more. I was happy to oblige and made a double recipe. I wasn't expecting better results, I just figured a double batch would keep my mom happy a bit longer! Then the oddest thing happened: even though I was using the same small baking sheets (and therefore baking off the same size batches) the granola came out better. I don't entirely know why it happens when you double the quantity of everything in the recipe, but everything holds together better. My only thought is that, in the process of scaling it down, they scaled it down so far that their just wasn't enough honey and butter to hold the dry oats, nuts and fruit together even allowing for the smaller amount of dry ingredients. That scaling issue, I'm guessing, is the problem with many of the recipes.
Happily, it isn't a problem with the pumpkin scone recipe. A side note for those of you who have never been to Alice's Tea Cup: their pumpkin scones are the only scones that are available any day you go (the other flavors rotate daily) as they are so delicious that they are constantly in demand. I bought the cookbook for two recipes; this was one of them. (The other was the slightly disappointing recipe for Jean's not-yet-but-soon-to-be-famous mocha chocolate chip cake, photo here.) This recipe did not disappoint. The scones came out just right!
A quirk of this cookbook (and the restaurant for that matter) is that almost everything is flavored with tea--the granola has ground vanilla tea in it, the chicken salad uses llapsang souchong, and there is a lavender earl grey scone, to name a few. This isn't bad, it just is. So if you aren't a tea fan, this may not be the book for you (but I bet you got that from the title, Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook, didn't you?)
In case you were wondering, the book has a number of scone recipes, a good sized breakfast section, some sandwiches and soups, a few cocktails (including mar-tea-nis), and a handful of non-scone sweets. I haven't tried any of their savory recipes (I don't think granola counts as savory) but they look nice and I can't imagine scaling down can mess up a BLT recipe. By the way, the BLT at the restaurant is delicious, so I have high hopes for the recipe.
All in all, I'm happy with the book and I will definitely keep making that granola (even if it never ends up quite right).
My recommendation: If you are a lover of Alice's pumpkin scones then go buy this immediately. If not, I recommend this but with the caution that not every recipe is perfect. You shouldn't end up with a total disaster, but you may want to try out a recipe before you make it as the only dessert for guests you are trying to impress.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Nigella Kitchen
I love Nigella Lawson; she is a domestic goddess! I have never found a recipe in any of her cookbooks (and between me and my mom, we've got them all) that hasn't worked. Of course this review isn't about all her cookbooks, though I do plan to review more of them soon, it's just about Nigella Kitchen.
Technically Nigella Kitchen isn't part of my cookbook collection. As I mentioned my mom owns some of our Nigella cookbook collection (and this was a gift for her) but since I currently reside at home, I have 24hr a day access to it. I really quite like it. It's a bit of a back to basics type book (I've noticed a lot of well-known chefs with multiple books to their name have been putting out this type of book recently.) What I mean by this back to basics generalization is that she has recipes for staples like chocolate chip cookies and almost plain bread pudding (and of course many basics in the savory department.)
Unlike many of my cookbooks, this is not exclusively baking related. In fact, I'd venture to say that it is a little cooking heavy. That isn't a bad thing. Actually it is probably good! I find Nigella's recipes simple and easy to follow, so I quite like her cooking recipes.
She has included a lovely version of Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and a really excellent section on cocktails. There's a nice variety to the recipes. Obviously they all have the homey quality that I expect from Nigella--and love about her recipes, by the way--but there are Mexican fajitas, a Tomato Curry with Coconut Rice that surprisingly calls for 1 1/2 cups of peas, and African Drumsticks. There is also a fair smattering of Italian inspired dishes--especially pasta based ones, yum--and a good helping of English dishes--lamb with mint sauce, fried fish with tartar sauce, etc. As I mentioned above, the desserts are good staple desserts like Everyday Brownies--it's a great weeknight brownie recipe, by the way. But even these have a nice diversity with dishes such as Swedish Summer Cake and Lemon Polenta Cake making appearances.
As with all Nigella's cookbooks, this book is easy to read with a nice size font--who wants to squint at a cookbook?--and lovely full color pictures. I believe there is at least one picture per recipe, so you never have to guess at what something should look like.
I do have a bone to pick about the format though; I dislike the way the recipes are organized. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I like things to be well categorized and then placed in the proper order. I almost never like how that is done in Nigella's cookbooks and this is one of my least favorites. I like a book where I can flip through a section titled salads or meat or breakfast or--well you get the point--and see everything from the book that fits in that category. Nigella's books tend to organize things in unusual ways--by cuisine or speed of preparation or sometimes a bit of both--and it almost always annoys me--it does work for Feast, which is organized by type of feast (Passover, Christmas, etc) for the most part. This is, unfortunately, one of the more annoying ones. Chapters are titled "What's for supper?," "Cook it better," "A dream of hearth and home," and "Off the cuff," for example. That's cute in a quirky sort of way, but even the subtitles don't exactly help clarify what makes a dish from "Easy does it, How it's possible to feed friends when you're frantic without losing your temper or sanity" different from one found in "At my table, Or how I found culinary contentment by banishing the dinner party from my life so that I could enjoy both the company and the cooking." Both seem to be chapters on entertaining, but what exactly makes them different? These chapters have nearly 200 pages separating them, which makes the process of flipping through chapters relevant to my current recipe needs harder--plus I have to admit I'm not sure why these specific recipes are more suited to entertaining than many of the other ones in the book. Additionally there is a chapter on dessert half way through. I bet you are thinking I'm about to say it should go at the end--this is a horribly picky point and one I stick to, but it is not actually the issue here. The issue is that other chapters also desserts thrown in. I like having all recipes of one type together and the fact that these are so scattered annoys me even more than the randomness of two entertaining chapters.
Happily this book does have a good index, so if you are looking to make something specific or use a specific ingredient, you shouldn't have a problem finding the relevant recipe. I suppose this helps to make up for rather nonsensical order of the recipes.
Regardless of my issues with the organization, I really like this book and when I eventually move out I'll be buying myself a copy (or stealing my mom's--shhh don't tell!)
To get an idea of the recipes, here are links to a few of the desserts I've tried out and discussed on my other blog.
Technically Nigella Kitchen isn't part of my cookbook collection. As I mentioned my mom owns some of our Nigella cookbook collection (and this was a gift for her) but since I currently reside at home, I have 24hr a day access to it. I really quite like it. It's a bit of a back to basics type book (I've noticed a lot of well-known chefs with multiple books to their name have been putting out this type of book recently.) What I mean by this back to basics generalization is that she has recipes for staples like chocolate chip cookies and almost plain bread pudding (and of course many basics in the savory department.)
Unlike many of my cookbooks, this is not exclusively baking related. In fact, I'd venture to say that it is a little cooking heavy. That isn't a bad thing. Actually it is probably good! I find Nigella's recipes simple and easy to follow, so I quite like her cooking recipes.
She has included a lovely version of Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and a really excellent section on cocktails. There's a nice variety to the recipes. Obviously they all have the homey quality that I expect from Nigella--and love about her recipes, by the way--but there are Mexican fajitas, a Tomato Curry with Coconut Rice that surprisingly calls for 1 1/2 cups of peas, and African Drumsticks. There is also a fair smattering of Italian inspired dishes--especially pasta based ones, yum--and a good helping of English dishes--lamb with mint sauce, fried fish with tartar sauce, etc. As I mentioned above, the desserts are good staple desserts like Everyday Brownies--it's a great weeknight brownie recipe, by the way. But even these have a nice diversity with dishes such as Swedish Summer Cake and Lemon Polenta Cake making appearances.
As with all Nigella's cookbooks, this book is easy to read with a nice size font--who wants to squint at a cookbook?--and lovely full color pictures. I believe there is at least one picture per recipe, so you never have to guess at what something should look like.
I do have a bone to pick about the format though; I dislike the way the recipes are organized. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I like things to be well categorized and then placed in the proper order. I almost never like how that is done in Nigella's cookbooks and this is one of my least favorites. I like a book where I can flip through a section titled salads or meat or breakfast or--well you get the point--and see everything from the book that fits in that category. Nigella's books tend to organize things in unusual ways--by cuisine or speed of preparation or sometimes a bit of both--and it almost always annoys me--it does work for Feast, which is organized by type of feast (Passover, Christmas, etc) for the most part. This is, unfortunately, one of the more annoying ones. Chapters are titled "What's for supper?," "Cook it better," "A dream of hearth and home," and "Off the cuff," for example. That's cute in a quirky sort of way, but even the subtitles don't exactly help clarify what makes a dish from "Easy does it, How it's possible to feed friends when you're frantic without losing your temper or sanity" different from one found in "At my table, Or how I found culinary contentment by banishing the dinner party from my life so that I could enjoy both the company and the cooking." Both seem to be chapters on entertaining, but what exactly makes them different? These chapters have nearly 200 pages separating them, which makes the process of flipping through chapters relevant to my current recipe needs harder--plus I have to admit I'm not sure why these specific recipes are more suited to entertaining than many of the other ones in the book. Additionally there is a chapter on dessert half way through. I bet you are thinking I'm about to say it should go at the end--this is a horribly picky point and one I stick to, but it is not actually the issue here. The issue is that other chapters also desserts thrown in. I like having all recipes of one type together and the fact that these are so scattered annoys me even more than the randomness of two entertaining chapters.
Happily this book does have a good index, so if you are looking to make something specific or use a specific ingredient, you shouldn't have a problem finding the relevant recipe. I suppose this helps to make up for rather nonsensical order of the recipes.
Regardless of my issues with the organization, I really like this book and when I eventually move out I'll be buying myself a copy (or stealing my mom's--shhh don't tell!)
To get an idea of the recipes, here are links to a few of the desserts I've tried out and discussed on my other blog.
- Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, description here, photo here.
- Chocolate Chunk Brownies, description here, photo here.
- Guinness Gingerbread
Monday, September 3, 2012
Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook
I love Alice's Tea Cup's pumpkin scones and have often wished I had the recipe. Apparently I wasn't alone, because recently Alice's released a cookbook including most of their most popular recipes. I was so excited I bought it right away.
Unfortunately after using it, I have mixed feelings about this cookbook (as I explain in depth in my post about the mocha chocolate chip cake). It is a good cookbook but this recipe, and others from the look of things, aren't quite right. That's not to say they aren't good, they just have little glitches. However, as far as I know, you can't get their pumpkin scone recipe (glitchy or not) anywhere else, so it's worth it just for that!
I made their Vanilla Scones, their lemon poppy seed scones, and their earl grey scones (well technically they are meant to be lavender earl grey, but I only had the normal stuff.) I've made other scones and have them come out perfectly, so I don't think that the reason the latter two came out too flat and tough (and had dough that was far too damp) was my fault. The vanilla scones came out quite well though.
Don't know Alice's Tea Cup? Check out my review of the restaurant here.
Unfortunately after using it, I have mixed feelings about this cookbook (as I explain in depth in my post about the mocha chocolate chip cake). It is a good cookbook but this recipe, and others from the look of things, aren't quite right. That's not to say they aren't good, they just have little glitches. However, as far as I know, you can't get their pumpkin scone recipe (glitchy or not) anywhere else, so it's worth it just for that!
I made their Vanilla Scones, their lemon poppy seed scones, and their earl grey scones (well technically they are meant to be lavender earl grey, but I only had the normal stuff.) I've made other scones and have them come out perfectly, so I don't think that the reason the latter two came out too flat and tough (and had dough that was far too damp) was my fault. The vanilla scones came out quite well though.
Don't know Alice's Tea Cup? Check out my review of the restaurant here.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Testing Blogsy
I know that blogsy is not a book. But I have to test somewhere and this seemed like a good place.
I just bought blogsy for my new iPad. I'm very happy to have an iPad and I'd like to be able to blog from it so I don't always have to get on my laptop. The online interface is a little bit difficult with the iPad and the blogger app is only for the iPhone--which is stupid, if you as me--and not great anyway. I did a bit of research and found two apps that sounded good, they were the same price and Both seem to have good and bad points. In the end it became a decision between an app I could use on my iPhone as well or an app with better customer service, apparently, and potentially slightly wider (but less straightforward) functionality. I decided that I rarely use my iPhone to blog and if I must I can use the blogger free app so I opted for the latter. Hopefully that was the right choice, because I'm not buying another app.
Now that I'm getting to get used to typing on this thing (not too bad in landscape view, by the way) here goes the testing. This should be fun. Or very annoying. I reserve judgement.
I think I'll try adding a photo. Apparently this app went up in price recently because they made this feature much better. Let's see how it works:
So far so good. I'm not sure how to put a caption on the photo. That's a bit annoying. I'll check their FAQ and tutorials before I declare it impossible. I'll live if I can't. On a side note, the photo above happened to be the first one on my food album on my iPad. It's orange pound cake with royal icing flowers and berry sauce--I made it for my cousin's bridal shower years ago. She and her husband are now married and have a lovely daughter, by the way.
Hmmm, what other functionality do I need. Links, I suppose. I'm not sure how to do this. Oh, I figured it out--click and hold like you are trying to copy or paste text and a link option pops up. Let's see if this works:
I will link to my main blog. Well that took me three tries to get right, but I think I have the hang of it now. One more time, this time to... Hmm. I was trying to use the "title" feature, which presumably lets you create a link and the text that it links from all in one fell swoop. Either I'm using it wrong, I actually don't think I am, or it doesn't work that way. Ah well highlight text then click link seems to be the way to go for now. One last time, this time to my restaurant reviews. Okey dokey. That one worked!
For the hell of it here's some font fun:
Italics, bold italics, just plain bold, underline, strikethrough, and back to regular but in purple!
I'm impressed. It's a bit difficult to work with, because I can't seem to tell when the buttons are pressed. But I suppose it isn't that much of an issue.
I'm happy with this so far, just one last thing to test--does it publish properly?
Actually it didn't publish. Apparently I have to specify a photo upload destination...I thought that was my blog. Hmm...settings...upload destination not set... No explanation of how to set it. Okay that's interesting.
By George I think I've got it! Blogger is a google service, as is picasa. There's a picasa icon on the little media dock in the app. Please let that be it!
Well let me set that up with the same google account I have for my blog. Will this publish now?
I just bought blogsy for my new iPad. I'm very happy to have an iPad and I'd like to be able to blog from it so I don't always have to get on my laptop. The online interface is a little bit difficult with the iPad and the blogger app is only for the iPhone--which is stupid, if you as me--and not great anyway. I did a bit of research and found two apps that sounded good, they were the same price and Both seem to have good and bad points. In the end it became a decision between an app I could use on my iPhone as well or an app with better customer service, apparently, and potentially slightly wider (but less straightforward) functionality. I decided that I rarely use my iPhone to blog and if I must I can use the blogger free app so I opted for the latter. Hopefully that was the right choice, because I'm not buying another app.
Now that I'm getting to get used to typing on this thing (not too bad in landscape view, by the way) here goes the testing. This should be fun. Or very annoying. I reserve judgement.
I think I'll try adding a photo. Apparently this app went up in price recently because they made this feature much better. Let's see how it works:
Hmmm, what other functionality do I need. Links, I suppose. I'm not sure how to do this. Oh, I figured it out--click and hold like you are trying to copy or paste text and a link option pops up. Let's see if this works:
I will link to my main blog. Well that took me three tries to get right, but I think I have the hang of it now. One more time, this time to... Hmm. I was trying to use the "title" feature, which presumably lets you create a link and the text that it links from all in one fell swoop. Either I'm using it wrong, I actually don't think I am, or it doesn't work that way. Ah well highlight text then click link seems to be the way to go for now. One last time, this time to my restaurant reviews. Okey dokey. That one worked!
For the hell of it here's some font fun:
Italics, bold italics, just plain bold, underline,
I'm impressed. It's a bit difficult to work with, because I can't seem to tell when the buttons are pressed. But I suppose it isn't that much of an issue.
I'm happy with this so far, just one last thing to test--does it publish properly?
Actually it didn't publish. Apparently I have to specify a photo upload destination...I thought that was my blog. Hmm...settings...upload destination not set... No explanation of how to set it. Okay that's interesting.
By George I think I've got it! Blogger is a google service, as is picasa. There's a picasa icon on the little media dock in the app. Please let that be it!
Well let me set that up with the same google account I have for my blog. Will this publish now?
Friday, June 8, 2012
Fat Witch Brownies' Skinny Cookbook
This cookbook is entirely devoted to brownies and the occasional non-chocolate bar cookie. I've never actually eaten a Fat Witch brownie from the bakery, but I'd heard good thing about them (and I love brownies) so I thought this cookbook would be a wonderful addition to my bookshelf. I was right. Their recipes are, in general, simple and well thought out. They have some really nice basics (many different chocolate brownies, for example) and some really interesting, more unique flavors as well.
My one complaint is that this book is very skinny. It doesn't have a ton of recipes and it's printed on flimsy paper (though the hard cover and dust jacket are sturdy), for the price anyway. Then again, how many brownie recipes can you possibly have? At least they made the most of it being a small cookbook. It's just shy of being 9 inches square. This is important because, as they note in the book, that makes it the perfect size to fit in a 9x9in brownie/cake pan--the size pan that is called for in all of the recipes (the fact they they all use the same pan does make things simple...no need to by specialized equipment to make the recipes in this book). That way you can put the book in the pan, tie a bow around it, and voila the perfect gift for a baker! The reason I like this so much is not because it makes an easy gift, but because it reflects an attention to detail--maintained throughout the book--that I too often find lacking in cookbooks.
I've made quite a few recipes from this book and all of them have been delicious. My favorites are the Cocoa Brownies, both for their ease and their taste, and the Earl Grey Brownies, which have a complex flavor and the moistest (spell check isn't having a problem with the word moistest, but I am, gosh it doesn't sound like a proper word at all) texture.
My one complaint is that this book is very skinny. It doesn't have a ton of recipes and it's printed on flimsy paper (though the hard cover and dust jacket are sturdy), for the price anyway. Then again, how many brownie recipes can you possibly have? At least they made the most of it being a small cookbook. It's just shy of being 9 inches square. This is important because, as they note in the book, that makes it the perfect size to fit in a 9x9in brownie/cake pan--the size pan that is called for in all of the recipes (the fact they they all use the same pan does make things simple...no need to by specialized equipment to make the recipes in this book). That way you can put the book in the pan, tie a bow around it, and voila the perfect gift for a baker! The reason I like this so much is not because it makes an easy gift, but because it reflects an attention to detail--maintained throughout the book--that I too often find lacking in cookbooks.
I've made quite a few recipes from this book and all of them have been delicious. My favorites are the Cocoa Brownies, both for their ease and their taste, and the Earl Grey Brownies, which have a complex flavor and the moistest (spell check isn't having a problem with the word moistest, but I am, gosh it doesn't sound like a proper word at all) texture.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Cookies, Martha Stewart Style
Martha Stewart Cookies is a really good cookbook. As the name implies, it is all cookie recipes (including some bar "cookies" like brownies). I've always find Martha Stewart's recipes straight forward, well thought out, and precise; the recipes in this cookbook are no exception. Granted, some of them are pretty unrealistic for the average home baker. I mean come on Martha, who (other than you) has a springerle mold? I know I don't! Still, it is an really good book with 175 different cookies to make and color photos of each one (next to or, at their furthest, quite near the recipe). I like when cookbooks have photos of what you are making, there's something reassuring when you can actually visualize what you are making and see that it comes out right.
So far I've made about a dozen recipes from this cookbook and all of them have come out well. Some I've loved--the Earl Grey Cookies, the Orange Mocha Cookies (photo here), and the variations on Coconut Macaroons come to mind--while some I've merely liked--the Chocolate Nut Biscotti, for example, were nice but nothing special.
The coolest thing about this cookbook, though, isn't the clarity or simplicity of the recipes or the fact that I've loved almost everything I've made from it and still enjoyed the rest. Instead, it's the table of contents. I know what you're thinking, "the table of contents...that's something I usually flip past without even noticing, how could that be cool?" Well, I promise you it is cool! The cookies are divided up into categories based on their texture (i.e. light and delicate, or rich and dense,) which is a novel and very-nearly-cool way of doing things. Under each category, there are names and page numbers of each cookie (as is typical). What is atypical and so very cool is that each of the cookie names is paired with a small, color photo of the cookie...in the table of contents. See, I told you, cool!
So far I've made about a dozen recipes from this cookbook and all of them have come out well. Some I've loved--the Earl Grey Cookies, the Orange Mocha Cookies (photo here), and the variations on Coconut Macaroons come to mind--while some I've merely liked--the Chocolate Nut Biscotti, for example, were nice but nothing special.
The coolest thing about this cookbook, though, isn't the clarity or simplicity of the recipes or the fact that I've loved almost everything I've made from it and still enjoyed the rest. Instead, it's the table of contents. I know what you're thinking, "the table of contents...that's something I usually flip past without even noticing, how could that be cool?" Well, I promise you it is cool! The cookies are divided up into categories based on their texture (i.e. light and delicate, or rich and dense,) which is a novel and very-nearly-cool way of doing things. Under each category, there are names and page numbers of each cookie (as is typical). What is atypical and so very cool is that each of the cookie names is paired with a small, color photo of the cookie...in the table of contents. See, I told you, cool!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Welcome
I love cookbooks! Every time I get a new one I sit and read through it and mark recipes I want to make or think are especially interesting...of course I'd probably save sticky notes if I just marked the pages with recipes I don't want to make. I also read them for specialized tips and tricks, funny stories, interesting flavor combinations, or just plain old, general knowledge.
Currently I'm finishing up the Classic Pastry Arts program at the French Culinary Institute (a.k.a the International Culinary Center.) I love to bake (and cook) and I love trying out new recipes--both new to me and newly developed by me--and perfecting old ones. That's where cookbooks come in. I've amassed quite a collection of cookbooks--mainly devoted to sweets, but don't worry there's plenty of others too--and I want to share it with you.
When I'm not cooking or planning what I'm going to cook, I enjoy reading. I'll admit that I don't read all that much when it comes to food outside of cookbooks and the dining section of the NYTimes, instead I tend towards mystery novels--classics like Sherlock Holmes, as well as more the more thriller type like John Le Carre novels--non-fiction books about science--mainly astrophysics--and the plethora of politics books I read to keep up on my studies (when I'm not being a pastry chef, I'm studying political science). However, from time to time I'll read a memoir or biography of a chef or some other food-related book. When I do, I'll let you know what I think about it.
I digress. You haven't come here to listen to me talk about books generally, you want to read reviews of specific ones. Well here goes...
Currently I'm finishing up the Classic Pastry Arts program at the French Culinary Institute (a.k.a the International Culinary Center.) I love to bake (and cook) and I love trying out new recipes--both new to me and newly developed by me--and perfecting old ones. That's where cookbooks come in. I've amassed quite a collection of cookbooks--mainly devoted to sweets, but don't worry there's plenty of others too--and I want to share it with you.
When I'm not cooking or planning what I'm going to cook, I enjoy reading. I'll admit that I don't read all that much when it comes to food outside of cookbooks and the dining section of the NYTimes, instead I tend towards mystery novels--classics like Sherlock Holmes, as well as more the more thriller type like John Le Carre novels--non-fiction books about science--mainly astrophysics--and the plethora of politics books I read to keep up on my studies (when I'm not being a pastry chef, I'm studying political science). However, from time to time I'll read a memoir or biography of a chef or some other food-related book. When I do, I'll let you know what I think about it.
I digress. You haven't come here to listen to me talk about books generally, you want to read reviews of specific ones. Well here goes...
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