Cookbooks for Bakers & Wannabe Bakers

Given the current state of the economy, it feels somewhat odd to be making shopping recommendations this holiday season. But I can still get behind buying food and drink, cookbooks, and cooking utensils. I dare say each will undoubtedly go to very good use. In the cookbook category I'm recommending a variety of different books, hopefully something for everybody. Today's installment is for bakers and wannabe bakers. Check back tomorrow for cookbooks for families and the cocktail set...

My first pick is The Art & Soul of Baking. This massive book is nothing short of amazing. For beginners or for master bakers, it has the tips, the techniques and the recipes to ensure success. It is super practical and yet indulgent at the same time. Learn about yeast and quick breads, pastries, pies, cookies, cakes, tarts, fruit desserts, custards and puddings, plus souffles, cheesecakes and more. Even how to stock your pantry is included. Recipes include classic brownies, pot pies, Danish pastries, elegant soufflés, breads, pizza and are peppered with tips "what the pros know."





Sweet!From Agave to Turbinado, Home Baking with Every Kind of Natural Sugar and Sweetener is the latest book from Mani Niall. Let me start by saying I have enjoyed every single one of Mani Niall's baked goods I have ever tried. He is a terrific baker and knows a lot about working with different sweeteners. He literally wrote the book on honey. What I really like about this book is that Niall tells you which recipes are good for beginners, and the hows and why each recipe works. Interestingly enough he even includes some savory dishes that rely on interesting sweeteners like palm sugar. I've flagged Lemon Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream and Raspberries which uses agave syrup and Cranberry Almond Breakfast Bars. Wonder which one I will make first?

Another baking book for bakers of all levels is Baking for all Occasions by Flo Braker. Flo Braker really ought to be named Flo Baker. She is revered by just about every serious pastry chef I know, ok, I only know about half a dozen, but still, this woman knows what she's doing! The recipes are super precise using both gram and ounce measurements. If you don't already have a Flo Braker book in your collection, this might be the one to tempt you with recipes like Persimmon Bread Puddings, Tangy Lemon Custard Tart with Pomegranate Gelee and Congo Brownies.



Last but not least, Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu. This is my friend Anita's book, so how could I not recommend it? Anita is the talented local pastry chef and blogger. Her blog is Dessert First so you know she is serious about her baking! I love that it has photos of the cookies so you know what the end result is supposed to look like. For the serious cookie baker or the novice this is a perfect little guide to just about every cookie under the sun. I tried several of Anita's cookies at a recent book party and all of them were very good.

Seagull Diner: Movie review

Last week I went to see Kamome Shokudo or Seagull Diner, a quirky little Japanese film about a woman who opens a diner in Finland, and the relationships she has with two other Japanese women and her Finnish customers. The three main characters, single Japanese women who have found themselves in Finland are funny and endearing in their mannerisms. The film isn't a comedy in the strict sense of the word, but there is a lot of humor.

Food plays an important role in the movie. The cool and wary Finns are attracted to the diner when the main character bakes cinnamon buns and in another scene, there are experiments with onigiri or rice balls using local ingredients like reindeer meat. Through various forms of comfort food, the film explores the character of the Finns, love, identity, and friendship. Ultimately it is food that brings everyone together.

I really enjoyed this film. The three main characters are played by wonderful Japanese actresses but the rest of the Finnish cast is terrific as well. It's an offbeat movie with touches of fantasy and unexpected twists and turns. The characters are engaging, the emotions universal and the stories entertaining in this sweet film. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

Note: I saw this film at the Movie Museum, a video store with a movie screening room in the Kaimuki neighborhood. It has 23 seats, most of which are barcaloungers. The sound and projection quality are high, and they show films you're not likely to find elsewhere, best of all, tickets are a mere $5. Bring your own popcorn or snacks and call ahead to reserve seats.

Movie Museum
3566 Harding Avenue Suite 4
Honolulu, Hawaii
808-735-8771

Fresh from the tree...

What was the photo in my last post? Donna of Wine Stained Cloth guessed it--it's a fresh nutmeg, covered in mace. The seed is found inside the fruit and the red veins are mace. When peeled, the mace dries in about a week then it can be ground and used as spice. After the mace covering is removed, the pod can be cracked open and inside is the part of the nutmeg that is ground and used as spice.

Freshly ground nutmeg is wonderfully fragrant and adds a distinctive spicy flavor to a variety of baked goods and desserts such as pumpkin pie, gingerbread and custard. It is also used in eggnog and mulled wine or cider. Often paired with cinnamon, it is also used in savory dishes in some parts of the Middle East, Greece, and in Caribbean and Dutch cuisine. I like a tiny bit added to bechamel sauce and also to spinach. At home I use a microplane for grating whole nutmeg. I don't know if it is any stronger in the fresh form, but I'll let you know when I try it.

Kapiolani Farmer's Market

Today I went to the Kapiolani farmer's market. It's in the parking lot of the local community college also home to a spectacular cactus garden. There are a lot of fresh prepared foods, fruit, vegetables, herbs and even meat and seafood. In lieu of breakfast, I nibbled on panko fried green tomatoes with wasabi lime sauce and a slice of divine pesto mozzarella pizza with tomatoes from North Shore Farms.

I'm really not doing much cooking in Hawaii, except for breakfast, but I did pick up a few items. For $3 I got 2 big bunches of apple bananas, which never taste as good at home as they do in Hawaii. They are tangy and very creamy. I also got some spicy kimchee sausage and a bunch of radishes for 50 cents, to have with bread and butter.

Some of the more exotic items I saw were tropical flowers like ginger, plumeria and heliconia, fern-like Asian greens, samphire, fresh hearts of palm and the item in photo above. It fits in the palm of my hand and parts of it are edible. Do you know what it is?

The Saturday Farmers' Market at Kapiolani Community College
Kapiolani Community College
4303 Diamond Head Road
Saturdays, 7:30 to 11:00 a.m.

A Virtual Hug from Hawaii

Hawaii is such a peaceful and relaxing place to be, I wish I could send the delicious breezes, soft air and the sound of the waves to everyone reading this post. But most of all, I wish I could send the gift of health to Barbara of the blog Winos and Foodies. Barbara is battling cancer and food bloggers around the world are sending her their best wishes, prayers, and tantalizing recipes to cheer her on and speed her recovery.

Because I am away from home, coming up with a new recipe would be a challenge, so I am sending a collection of links to past recipes that are fresh, healthy and Asian inspired:

Tofu & Celery Salad

Asian Slaw Dressing

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Shrimp & Mango Kebabs

To see more posts dedicated to Barbara, head to Bron Marshall's blog. A big thanks to Bron and Ilva of Lucullian Delights for organizing this effort.

Jimbo: Restaurant Review

I am crazy about noodles and eat them just about every chance I get. In Hawaii the noodles to indulge in are Asian. You can find Vietnamese pho and bun, Chinese noodles and dumplings and Japanese noodles.

When it comes to Japanese noodles there are three kinds I know and love--ramen, soba and udon. I've got a favorite spot for soba I'll be reviewing soon, and a number of ramen places on my list to check out. But when it comes to udon, I recommend Jimbo where they make the chewy thick white wheat noodles daily.

There are many ways you can tell a good restaurant, a bench out front with people always waiting to get in is a pretty dependable sign. Jimbo is a pretty little Japanese restaurant that specializes in udon. The menu is enormous because you can have noodles hot, cold, in soup, in salad, in sauce, stir fried, in a pot, and with an almost endless array of optional rice dishes.

I had a hot bowl of udon soup with sansai and wakame or mountain vegetables and seaweed. With sansai, there is always a variety of textures and flavors including mushrooms and various greens. I like it because it tastes healthy and fresh. It was a huge bowl and the broth had a very homemade rich flavor of dashi. This is a filling but light type of meal and I would happily order it again.

Lee had a combination that included saba, or mackerel and tofu with bonito flakes, and it was very satisfying. We also shared an order of crispy tempura.

My father had a bowl of curry katsu udon. Japanese love curry and this was a bowl of curry, slices of breaded pork cutlet and plenty of noodles. I've never seen this in the Bay Area but apparently it is popular in Japan, so I've read. My mom had a bowl of snow crab and egg soup with udon. Prices are reasonable and you can easily get out for about $15 per person.

More reviews of Jimbo:
Ono Kine Grindz
Epicurean Appetite
Yelp

Jimbo Restaurant
1936 S. King St
Honolulu, Oahu
808-947-2211

Aloha, everyone!

I know some people come to Hawaii for the sheer natural beauty. The sun setting over the ocean, the waves lapping at the shore and the warm soft air are delicious. But truth be told, it's the funky side of Hawaii I love the best.

My first stop from the airport was to Ethel's Grill. It typifies what I enjoy about Oahu. It's cheap, friendly, funky, pure local goodness. Last year I showed the waitress a restaurant review I had written of Ethel's on my iPhone. This year she not only recognized me but remembered my name. The mix of Asian cuisines and local ingredients, with specials like a post Thanksgiving Turkey Loco Moco make me fall in love with Ethel's every time I visit.

Lunch was an order of fried hamachi kama (the rich, oily collar of the fish), sticky garlic chicken and rice and a big platter of Ethel's crazy delicious ahi tataki with slivers of soy marinated garlic and crunchy bean sprouts. It all came with bowls of egg drop miso soup, a crisp iceberg lettuce salad with her tangy herbal dressing and a little bowl filled with slices of sweet grapefruit. Oh, and an order of turkey loco moco for Lee. Before we left we also snagged two large papayas and a handful of guavas. The bill for 4 people? $40.

Aloha everyone, or as the locals say, alooooohaaaa!