Cookbook giveaway: Food for the Soul

Monique Y. Wells should have done a little research before naming her cookbook: It shares a title with at least a half-dozen others. But her subtitle is unique: "A Texas Expatriate Nurtures Her Culinary Roots in Paris."

It could have been an interesting book, and I had high hopes for it. Some of the stories are touching, some shed light on historical events and all are well-told, but they are hard to read, having been placed on pages with stripes. The recipes are defiantly non-French; they could come from any community cookbook published in the South, with a few notes on where to find Crisco and catfish in Paris. Her substitutions are grand: She suggests using the Dutch cheese Mimolette for Cheddar, the outer leaves of young cabbages or broccoli for collards, smoked chicken for ham hocks, TUC for Ritz crackers. She didn't find a substitute for Cool Whip, however.

The full-color photographs by Daniel Czap are professional and mostly on full pages in this large 9x12-inch book. The pastries show off Wells' French cooking school education and are as beautiful to look at as they probably are to eat.

If you'd like this cookbook, which originally sold for $45 in 2000, leave a note below (click on the word "comments") and send me an email (lori.korleski.richardson@gmail.com) on how to get it to you.

Here's an example of the recipes in "Food for the Soul."

Biscuits
Makes 10-12 biscuits
Oven: 475ºF

Monique Y. Wells writes: According to my mother, cream of tartar is the key to producing wonderfully light, tasty biscuits. Some of her friends have taken to adding it to just about anything they bake, apparently with great success.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Instructions
Sift the dry ingredients together. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour the milk into it. Blend with a fork until the flour is moistened and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. knead lightly (10-12 times), then roll out to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a clean, floured cutter with a sharp edge, cut the dough into rounds. Do not twist the cutter or you will seal the edges and inhibit the rising action. Re-roll scraps lightly to make more rounds. If you want crusty biscuits, place the rounds 1 inch apart on cookie sheets; for soft-sided biscuits, place the rounds just touching into 2 well-greased round cake pans.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

A little knowledge = danger

The City Cook, Kate McDonough, often rambles her way to an interesting column, and today's was definitely a winner.

When I left The Sacramento Bee, one of the notes I stuck on my calendar was to keep an eye out for Nathan Myhrvold's cookbook that was in the works. Well, it took three more years, and at $625 for the six volumes, I had neither the budget nor the time to review it when it finally did appear. But I've been keeping up with the press on it, and it's been interesting.

Here's a bit of what Kate had to say today:

In a Q&A about his book in Fine Cooking magazine, Dr. Myhrvold included a recipe from Volume 5, this one for a hamburger. It requires (his words) "...a bun toasted in beef suet; the glaze on the bun is made from suet, tomato confit, beef stock, and smoked salt. Then comes layers of maitake mushrooms and sous vided (Me: is that even a verb?) romaine lettuce that's been infused with liquid hickory smoke. Next, a vacuum-pressed tomato, a slice of cheese made from Emmental, Comté, and wheat ale; and a beef short rib patty that's been ground to vertically align the grain. Next a layer of cremini mushroom ketchup with fish sauce."

Reading this made me want a peanut butter sandwich.

To read the full item, click here. 

Cookbook Giveaway: Pacific Grilling

If I had to point to one way Californians are different from the rest of the country, it would be the importance of patio culture. The casualness Californians are so famous for extends from there. The grill is set up for cooking year-round, and used except in the most inclement weather (high winds, heavy rain).

Denis Kelly has captured the essence of this culture in his 2000 book, "Pacific Grilling." It's a small, softcover volume, but it's 239 pages are packed with excellent ideas, techniques and recipes. It has two drawbacks: Softcover books are hard to cook from since they do not easily fold flat without damaging their spines, and it has no photographs, only scattered illustrations by Kurt D. Hollomon.

Kelly wrote, with sausagemeister Bruce Aidells, one of the best books ever on cooking most every kind of meat, "The Complete Meat Cookbook." "Pacific Grilling" also has great meat recipes, but with more of a Pacific Rim flair, and rounds out a cook's meal with plenty of yummy vegetable dishes, numerous ways to grill fish and poultry, and even desserts to grill later as the coals cool a bit.

Here's a recipe from the book for ratatouille, which I've made many times and adore. Ratatouille is extremely versatile and gets even better a day or more later as the flavors co-mingle and intensify. Chopped, it makes a great topping for grilled bread appetizers; rinsed of its dressing and puréed, it can be mixed with a little broth and heated to make a hearty soup. Tip: If you make the marinade in a blender or food processor, it will come out homogenized and creamy.

(I called this post up on 25July2021 and the recipe was replaced by a non-functioning video. Thanks, Google. I will look for it on my old computer and repost if I find it. I no longer have the book.)

If you want this book, which is in like-new condition, leave a comment (click on the words below this post that say "0 comments" and it'll bring up a box for yours) and a way to contact you. If you want a copy of the recipe to print out and use, email me. I hope someone who has enjoyed this blog will claim this book that has given me so much enjoyment.

Cookbook giveaway: Mod Mex

Mexican food is among my most favorite cuisines, and it's really hard to give up a cookbook with such delicious recipes for old favorites and new twists, but this week's offering is "Mod Mex: Cooking Vibrant Fiesta Flavors at Home" by Scott Linquist and Joanna Pruess. It has recipes from Dos Caminos Mexican Kitchen in New York.

I know this post is dated April 1, but it's no joke! The book is from Andrews McMeel Publishing, published October 1, 2007, 224 pages and has about 125 recipes. It's hardback and has lots of great photographs.

If you want this week's book, "Mod Mex," be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail. Offer good in the United States only at this time. You don't need a PayPal account, but you will need a credit card to pay with the button.

If this isn't the book for you, keep checking back on Fridays. I offer a different cookbook each week. I'll edit the post to indicate when a book is no longer available.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

To give you an idea of the recipes in "Mod Mex," here is a sample recipe.

Wild Mushroom and Huitlacoche Sopes with Queso Fresco and Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

Makes 12 (2 ½-inch) sopes

The most difficult part of this delicious recipe is actually finding the huitlacoche (also spelled cuitlacoche). This corn fungus, also called "Mexican truffle" or "Mexican caviar," is greatly revered in Mexico. The kernels have a smoky-sweet flavor. It is best fresh or frozen, but it is also available canned from some online Mexican food suppliers. Your best option is to purchase it frozen, but even that may be hard to find. Otherwise, try a trip to Oaxaca in the fall! If you can’t find the mushrooms listed here, use portobellos or any combination of mushrooms that you like.

Ingredients
Sope dough (masa)
1¼ cups corn flour for tortillas
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
½ cup water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
½ ripe avocado peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 cup salsa verde

Mushroom-Huitlacoche Filling
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup mixed sliced mushrooms (such as shiitake, cremini, and oyster mushrooms, but any variety may be used)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ to 1 teaspoon ground arbol chile powder
½ cup huitlacoche
1 tablespoon chopped fresh epazote or a combination of flat-leaf parsley and oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crumbled queso fresco
¼ cup crema or sour cream
3 radishes, trimmed and cut into thin strips

Instructions
Make the Sopes: In a large bowl, mix together the corn flour, lard, water, and salt, and knead gently until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. Roll about 3 tablespoons of masa into a ball, and then flatten the ball using your thumb and the palm of your hand to form a 2½-inch-round disk, approximately ¼ inch thick. Repeat until you have 12 disks. Set aside while preparing the salsa and filling.

Make the salsa: In the jar of an electric blender, combine the avocado and salsa verde, and purée until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Make the filling: Heat ½ tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms and ½ tablespoon of the butter and sauté until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, turning often. Transfer the mushrooms to a small bowl.

In the same pan over high heat, stir in the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil along with the onion, garlic, and remaining ½ tablespoon of butter. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté until the onion is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chile powder, huitlacoche, and epazote. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Return the sautéed mushrooms to the pan and cook just to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 or 3 masa disks and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, turning once, just to firm them slightly. Remove the disks from the pan, let them cool slightly, and then gently pinch the edges to resemble a small tart shell. Return them to the griddle, and continue cooking for 5 minutes more. Remove, wrap in aluminum foil, and keep in a warm oven.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa onto each sope, and then add 2 tablespoons of warm mushrooms. Top with 1 teaspoon of queso fresco, a dollop of crema, and a sprinkle of radishes. Serve warm.

—from MOD MEX, page 24 · Andrews McMeel Publishing

Cookbook: The Art of the Dessert

We have a winner - Janice Dean of Charlottesville. Check back next Friday for another cookbook giveaway.

Although I love to cook, I have always been frustrated by baking. As the years have gone by, I have come to realize that they are two distinct disciplines and success at one does not ensure great results at the other.

But I do appreciate a good dessert and the pastry chefs who make them. Ann Amernick is one of these. While the rest of us poor slobs are trying to do our best with cup measures and tablespoons, she's expertly measuring out her ingredients with a gram scale for consistent results. But in "The Art of the Dessert," she also has tips for the home cook, and shares her techniques for getting the best out of your recipes. And then there are her recipes, nearly a hundred of them: cakes and tortes, pies and tarts, cookies and candies, cold desserts, warm desserts, and dessert sandwiches to impress your guests.

 If you want this week's book, "The Art of the Dessert," be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail. Offer good in the United States only at this time. You don't need a PayPal account, but you will need a credit card to pay with the button.

If this isn't the book for you, keep checking back on Fridays. I offer a different cookbook each week. I'll edit the post to indicate when a book is no longer available.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

To give you an idea of the recipes in "The Art of the the Dessert," here is a sample recipe.

Triple Chocolate Terrine
Yield: 1 9x5inch loaf

Ingredients
5 ounces white chocolate
5 ounces milk chocolate
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 3/4 cups heavy cream

Preparation
Lay a length of double thickness plastic wrap large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan on a work surface. Smooth out any air bubbles. Fit the plastic wrap into the loaf pan, lining the bottoms and the sides and allowing it to extend over the sides of the pan. Press the plastic wrap in well to get rid of any air bubbles. Set aside.

Instructions
Chop the white, milk and bittersweet chocolates separately and place each in a microwave bowl. Whip 3/4 cup of the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Microwave the white chocolate on medium power for 20 seconds, then 10 seconds, stirring between each interval. As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, decrease the interval time to 5 seconds. The chocolate should be warm and completely melted without being burned. As soon as the chocolate is melted, fold in the whipped cream quickly, so as not to solidify the chocolate with the coldness of the cream, until no streaks of chocolate show. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a 2-inch wide offset metal spatula. Refrigerate.

Whip another 3/4 cup of the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. Repeat the melting process with the milk chocolate, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour over the white chocolate and smooth. Refrigerate.
Barely whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups cream to less-than-soft peaks, until the tracks of the whisk are just visible in the cream. Remove 1/2 cup of the cream and set aside. Melt the bittersweet chocolate using the same method as the white and milk chocolates. The chocolate should be very warm to best mix with the whipped cream.

Working very quickly, pour the very warm chocolate into the remaining whipped cream and immediately begin whisking the mixture very quickly and thoroughly to combine the chocolate and cream, until no chocolate bits are visible. (This step must be done quickly so the chocolate goes in smoothly.) Add the reserved 1/2 cup whipped cream, whisking it in thoroughly until blended.
Pour the bittersweet chocolate mixture over the milk chocolate mixture in the pa and smooth the top.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Turn the terrine out onto a serving platter, remove the plastic wrap, and cut into 1-inch slices.

Place a slice on each plate and surround with raspberry coulis, a blend of 2 pints mashed fresh raspberries, 1 tablespoon framboise, and 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste).

Cookbook giveaway: Coming soon

I couldn't decide which dessert cookbook to offer. I'll have it up next Friday.

Cookbook giveaway: Cooking From Above: Classics

Do you like pretty pictures? Are you a visual learner? The "Cooking From Above" series may be the cookbooks for you.

The books, published in England by Hamlyn in 2009, were originally $24.99 retail. "Cooking From Above: Classics," the book I'm offering this week, is written by Keda Black, described as "a French home cook and food writer. She was born in Zambia and is of a thoroughly mixed Scottish, Bourguignon, Spanish and Italian descent. Her cooking tends to go beyond the boundaries of traditional French cuisine but is never complicated or labored."

The biggest drawbacks to them is that they are paperbacks, they don't fold flat, and the pages aren't spill-proof. One reviewed also noted that some recipes have ingredients left out, and I noticed that some techniques are not fully explained, especially in the more involved recipes. It would not be a good book for a beginning cook.

If you lean more toward Italian food, I will be offering "Cooking From Above: Italian" at a later date. But this book does have a considerable number of Italian recipes.

Because you are a loyal reader of this blog, I'm offering this book to you, not for sale, but just for shipping and handling, $11.95.

If you want this week's book, "Cooking From Above: Classics," be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail on Monday. Offer good in the United States only at this time. You don't need a PayPal account, but you will need a credit card to pay with the button.

If this isn't the book for you, keep checking back on Fridays. I offer a different cookbook each week. I'll edit the post to indicate when a book is no longer available.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

To give you an idea of the recipes in "Cooking From Above: Classics," here's a sample recipe.

Béarnaise Sauce
Serves 2 * Preparation: 5 minutes * Cooking: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 small shallots
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar or white wine
4 peppercorns
3 tarragon stalks
2 egg yolks
5 ounces soft butter, cut into cubes
Salt

In advance
Peel and finely chop the shallots

Instructions
Put the shallots in a small pan with the vinegar or wine, peppercorns and tarragon.
Bring to a boil, let it reduce, then remove the peppercorns and herbs.
Put the yolks in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.
Add the reduced vinegar and whisk to combine.
Whisk in the butter, one cube at a time. Turn off the heat once half the butter has been added.
Continue to add the butter off the heat. The sauce should become rich and thick. Season with salt.

Cookbook giveaway: Tapas

This cookbook went to Lynn Pribus of Charlottesville. Look for a new cookbook next Friday!

Love tapas? Want to make them at home for your next party?

"Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America" by José Andrés with Richard Wolffe may be the cookbook you are looking for. And because you are a loyal reader of this blog, I thought I'm offering this hardback book to you, not for sale, but just for shipping and handling, $11.95.

If you want this week's book, be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail on Monday. Offer good in the United States only at this time. You don't need a PayPal account, but you will need a credit card to pay with the button.

If this isn't the book for you, keep checking back on Fridays. I offer a different cookbook each week. I'll edit the post to indicate when a book is no longer available.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

To give you an idea of the kind of recipes in the book, here's one from "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America"  (256 pages, Clarkson Potter 2005, $35).

Txangurro

© Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This tapa is based on a fairly modern Basque-country dish, which has become very much a part of the mainstream. Basque people love their crabs, and txangurro has grown into something of a national dish in the region.

For the crabs:
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 8 fresh blue crabs (see tips), preferably female (about 2 1/2 [2.5] pounds total, to yield 1/3 [one-third] pound of meat)

For the filling:
• 6 ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 [.5] Spanish onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 [.5] leek, white part only, well washed and finely chopped
• 1 guindilla chili pepper (or your favorite dried chili pepper)
• 2 tablespoons Spanish brandy
• 1/4 [one-fourth] cup Txacoli (a Basque white wine) or other fresh, young white wine
• 6 fresh tarragon leaves
• Salt to taste

Cook the crabs: Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add the sea salt. When the water is boiling, drop in the crabs and cook for 8 minutes. Drain, and allow the crabs to cool. Then remove the claws and legs, taking care to keep the upper shell intact. Working over a bowl to collect the juices, remove the meat from the claws, legs, and body. Reserve the juices and the crabmeat. Carefully clean and set aside 4 of the empty shells.

Prepare the filling: Cut each tomato in half lengthwise. Place a grater over a bowl and grate the open side of the tomatoes into the bowl. Discard the skin. Strain the grated flesh through a sieve to produce 2 cups of tomato puree. Set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown a little, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add the leeks and the guindilla, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes.
Add the brandy and the wine, and cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and cook until it thickens and begins to darken in color, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the crabmeat. Add the crab juices and the tarragon. Stir to combine, and add salt to taste.

To serve, place an empty crab shell on each plate. Fill the shells with the crabmeat mixture. Serve with a teaspoon on the side.

If your time is limited you can buy crabs already cleaned and boiled. Just make sure that they have not been seasoned and are very fresh. If you can’t find Maryland blue crabs, you can always substitute Dungeness crabs from the West Coast.

Slow going

If you thought all slow-cooked meals taste about the same - bad - then "Slow Cooker Revolution" by the editors at America's Test Kitchen should dispel you of that idea. The City Cook newsletter has a wonderful review of this book HERE.

New! (Almost) free cookbook to be offered each week

Reviewing cookbooks for so many years, I have more than I'll ever cook from. But that doesn't mean they are not worthy; in fact, some, especially the ones I chose not to review, either because the recipes were too redundant or complicated, or just didn't appeal to a general newspaper audience, are truly like new. And many have retail prices of $35-$40, although you can find many of them for a lot less at Amazon.com or Powell's Books. As you can see in the example here, you could buy "Living Raw Food" by Sarma Melngailis ($35, William Morrow, 2009, 376 pages) for $23.10 new or $16.99 used, a substantial discount.

But I've got even a better deal for you. Because you are a loyal reader of this blog, I thought I'd offer these hardback books to you, not for sale, but just for shipping and handling, $11.95.

If you want this week's book, "Living Raw Food," be the first to click the PayPal button (Buy Now) below, follow the directions to deposit a payment to my account, AND leave a comment at the end of this blog item with some way to contact you for your address or in case you were not the first one (I have only one copy of each book). I will send the book by Priority Mail on Monday. Offer good in the United States only at this time.

If you live in Charlottesville, you can save the money by coming to pick up the book. Be the first to leave a comment, with a way to contact you.

I will edit this entry to mark the book SOLD as soon as it leaves the house, by personal pickup or by mail.

To read reviews of this book, click HERE.


And to see if you might like what Ms. Melngailis has to offer, here's a recipe from the book.

Herbal Guacamole and Spicy Jicama in Romaine Leaves
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 ripe avocados
2 large handfuls of cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 large handful parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely minced
2 teaspoons plus one pinch sea salt
2 cups julienned jicama
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 heads of romaine hearts
Additional parsley or cilantro, for garnish

Instructions
In a large bowl, mash the avocados well with a fork.
Add the cilantro, parsley, 1/4 cup of lime juice, jalapeño and 2 teaspoons of salt, and stir well to combine.
In a separate bowl, toss the jicama with the remaining tablespoon of lime juice, the cayenne and a pinch of salt.
To serve: Separate the romaine leaves. Fill each leaf with a few spoonfuls of the avocado and arrange on a serving platter. Tom with the jicama and additional parsley or cilantro leaves.

Suitcase full of surprises

Good news - The Sacramento Bee sent me home with a suitcase full of cookbooks, so I'm going to get started on testing them right away and will be reviewing them soon. Some of the titles: The Scandinavian Cookbook, The Adaptable Table, Cooking Green, Real Cajun and Falling Cloudberries. I'm getting hungry just looking at them.

But today, here are some tidbits I've collected over the past few days from my reading while in airports.

• Over the past couple of years, 100-calorie snack packs have soared in popularity as a convenient way to control portion size. But sales are falling and, according the Mintel Global New Products Database, new launches of 100-calorie packs have slowed. What isn't known is if anyone lost weight by snacking. I'm betting the answer is no.
  
  
• A piece on NPR over the weekend says that ordinary farmers — the people who grow the lion's share of what America eats — have largely been left out of the mainstream media debate over "Food Inc.," a documentary film about the modern agricultural industry. The movie argues that large-scale agriculture produces inexpensive meat and vegetables, but imposes high costs on the environment and Americans' health.
  
  
• Is your favorite chef touting avocados? If so, he or she may be getting a little gift from the California Avocado Commission. The Packer, an industry journal, notes that the commission's Artisan Chef program has 14 chefs in California, Georgia, Florida, New York, Texas and Illinois. To see a full list of who's on the avocado dole, go to www.avocado.org.

Secrets chefs keep under their toques

Smart Money magazine this week has an amusing article by Jason Kephart, "10 things celebrity chefs won't tell you." If you want to read it in full, which will require you to view 10 separate pages with lots of animated ads, click here. But here are a summary and excerpts that will give you the gist of the story.

1. "I’m a celebrity first and a chef second."

Rachael Ray, the Babe Ruth of celebrity chefs, has ridden her culinary fame to a daytime talk show and her own magazine. Without marketing, you can’t be a celebrity chef.

2. "There’s absolutely no reason to buy my cookbook." 

This isn't exactly true. You can get more of Bobby Flay's recipes on the Food Network's recipe database than in any of his cookbooks, but will they work for the home cook? Maybe, but maybe not. If you decide to pick a recipe off the Web, be sure you know the source. When I worked for The Sacramento Bee, every recipe I included in my cookbook reviews was tested in my kitchen, and if it didn't work out the first time, I went through and tested it again. The New York Times had a story a few years ago that 60 percent of recipes in cookbooks were never tested. I'm sure the number has gone up, and they may not be as tested in newspapers, either, given the staff cuts at most print outlets.

3. "Just because I have a cooking show doesn’t mean I’m a chef." "It’s not necessary that there are professional chefs on the Food Network,’ says Anthony Bourdain, "Kitchen Confidential" author and a celebrity chef in his own right. "But what they really need are good cooks, and they have precious few of those." 

Foodies, take heart. PBS has been taking in Food Network’castoffs, including respected chefs Ming Tsai, Mario Batali, and Sara Moulton.

4. Sex sells, even with foodies. 

A growing number of chefs are making mouths water for reasons other than their culinary acumen. Actress and model Padma Lakshmi, for one, has gone from guest-starring on "Star Trek: Enterprise" to hosting the popular reality show "Top Chef."
Rachael Ray forged new ground for nonmodel chefs when she appeared in the October 2003 issue of FHM in a skimpy outfit, seductively licking chocolate off a spoon. How did other women chefs react to the sexy spread? "It didn’t hurt her career any," says Cat Cora, an FHM veteran herself, who has joined Nigella Lawson and Giada De Laurentiis in ditching traditional cooking togs for tight sweaters with plunging necklines.

5. "I’m addicted to porn - food porn, that is." It’s crucial the food look great on-screen. Food stylists ...

often shop for ingredients, prepare, and even cook the dish, all the while making sure it’s ready for its close-up.

6. "The dishes I make on TV don’t always work so great at home . . ."

Sue Gordon, a New Jersey cooking instructor, is a big fan of the Food Network. ‘I’m always looking for what they’ll teach me,’ she says. Unfortunately, when she tried to duplicate the sweet-potato gnocchi she watched Giada DeLaurentiis make on Everyday Italian, she learned the age-old lesson that looks aren’t everything. ‘It was so sticky, I had to keep adding flour,’ Gordon says. ‘The amounts were completely wrong.’ (A spokesperson for DeLaurentiis declined to comment.)
Often it’s a matter of translation. A chef might take a recipe for, say, 24 servings and divide it by four’but then fail to adjust the cooking’time properly. These slight variations can make a huge difference, according to Ellen Brown, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cooking Substitutions. Also, home cooking and professional cooking are entirely different; even the equipment varies. ‘It’s like getting advice from a race-car driver on how to commute to work,’ Kimball says. ‘It’s two different skill sets.’

7. ‘. . . and sometimes they’re just plain gross.’ 

Take the Red Bean Beach Salad that Ingrid Hoffmann made on the beach-picnic episode of Simply Delicioso, for example. Users’ reviews on the FoodNetwork.com’s recipe board slammed the dish for its strange, unappetizing combination of beans and sweet pickles. (A spokesperson for Hoffmann declined to comment.)

8. ‘It might be my restaurant, but that doesn’t mean I cook there.’

A recent ad campaign for the city of Las Vegas used a commercial featuring Emeril Lagasse, Mario’Batali, and Wolfgang Puck, promising that in Vegas you would visit three celebrity chefs in three days. What the ad didn’t mention is that you’ve got a better chance of hitting the jackpot at keno than you do eating food that’s actually been cooked by your favorite celebrity chef at one of his many restaurants.

9. ‘My show is one long commercial for my cookbooks.’

Celebrity’chefs have a stranglehold on the bestseller list, which is proving tough to break. The top five cookbooks of 2006, and four of the top 20 in 2007, belonged to Food Network personalities, according to Simba Information, a Stamford, Conn., market research firm.

10. ‘Bottom line: My celebrity status is great for business.’
It’s a fact that a spot on TV most often translates into increased traffic to that chef's restaurant.

But as Tom Colicchio says he once told a graduating class at the Culinary Institute of America, ‘If you got into this business to be the next Emeril, you should apologize to your parents for wasting their money.’

Let the baking season begin!

Kathy Morrison of The Sacramento Bee has a nice review of the Cook's Illustrated family baking book, complete with a very yummy-sounding recipe that's low-fat as well, along with these oatmeal fudge bars photographed by The Bee's Anne Chadwick Williams. Find the review here; the recipe for the fudge bars is on the second page of the review. 

Elsewhere in the Food & Wine section -- DING-DONG! -- Gina Kim notes several Sacramento restaurants that have adult versions of my favorite Hostess snack. Gina recently started doing food-related video for Sacbee and she's very good on camera as well.