Fall Food & Drink Book Recommendations

Article by Virginia Miller

These six noteworthy new books are either just released or out this fall.

THE BLUE BOTTLE CRAFT of COFFEE: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes – James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman, Tara Duggan

Since its first kiosk in January 2005, Blue Bottle has been my first choice in coffee, from ethos (served immediately, individually, beans sold fresh after roasting) to taste. Musician James Freeman dove into coffee after being laid off from a corporate job post-9/11… the story of how he began is inspiring in the Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee book intro. Written with his wife, Caitlin, and James Beard-nominated food writer Tara Duggan, photography by Clay McLachlan illustrates sections on global growing regions, roasting, cupping, pour-over, siphon, espresso machines, and other techniques. Caitlin, resident Blue Bottle pastry chef and former owner of Miette, contributes over 75 pages of recipes – not so much utilizing coffee, but breakfast recipes “with morning coffee” from Blue Bottle cafes, desserts and treats “for dunking”, and contributing chef friends’ recipes like Stuart Brioza’s (State Bird Provisions) tuna melt with piquillo peppers. Though Blue Bottle has now gone nationwide with NYC locations, in these pages one waxes nostalgic over this Bay Area success story bringing us all better coffee. Released October 9.

DESTINATION COCKTAILS: The Traveler’s Guide to Superior Libations – James Teitelbaum

Chicago resident James Teitelbaum wrote the kind of book I would happily write, the first I’ve seen of its kind detailing the best craft cocktail bars globally. Destination Cocktails is a cocktail aficionado’s trusty guide to destinations in obvious places like NY and SF, to less obvious towns such as Reno and Cleveland. Internationally, the book covers the gamut from Wellington to Edinburgh (the latter city missing Bon Vivant and Ranconteur). There’s a few missing greats but like restaurants, information from bartenders to owners can change so quickly after publication. Despite those challenges, Teitelbaum gives a comprehensive collection that would set any budding or well-traveled cocktailian on the right path. From London (Worship St. Whistling Shop, 69 Colebrooke Row) to Denver (Williams & Graham), many of my global tops are highlighted, alongside cities/bars I’ve been hankering visit (ah, Tokyo!) Released September 1.

SPQR: Modern Italian Food & Wine – Shelley Lindgren & Matthew Accarrino with Kate Leahy

A beautiful, visual tribute to Italy, restaurant SPQR releases a book by its wine director, Shelley Lindgren (also of A16), and executive chef, Matthew Accarrino with Kate Leahy. The book features eight regions of Italy, each influencing creative recipes from SPQR‘s kitchen and from which Lindgren chooses wines. Her essays explore lesser known producers and varietals succinctly but with depth. Accarrino’s artful skill with Italian cuisine (which we thankfully can enjoy at SPQR) may not appear easy for most of us, but there are tips and photo breakdowns of recipes, small animal butchery and pasta-making. Photos by Sara Remington inspire with a romantic eye tempered by realism. Released October 16.

FORAGED FLAVOR: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in Your Backyard or Farmer’s Market – Tama Matsuoka Wong with Eddy Leroux

At a recent intimate gathering at Coi, I was privileged to spend time with Tama Matsuoka Wong, forager for Daniel restaurant in NYC (Daniel Boulud wrote the book’s forward), sampling bites made with ingredients she’d foraged with Coi staff while visiting the Bay Area. We celebrated her new book Foraged Flavor, out this summer, and I learned of her career change from lawyer to forager in New Jersey (my former stomping grounds), where her three daughters are involved in her foraging, cooking lifestyle. The book’s clean, classic layout shows of botany-style plant diagrams, seasonal groupings, and approachable-but-gourmet recipes like dandelion leaves with poached eggs and bacon. There’s foraging and growth tips and key characteristics of each wild plant, further spreading the foraging gospel.

COOKING OFF THE CLOCK: Recipes from My Downtime – Elizabeth Falkner

Longtime local chef Elizabeth Falkner recently moved to NYC, and though we miss her here, thankfully the Top Chef Master star, who was just shooting the upcoming season of The Next Iron Chef, released her second book this week (August 28th). As a James Beard-nominated pastry chef, her first book, Demolition Desserts, focused on the sweet side, while new Cooking Off the Clock is a volume of everyday, accessible recipe favorites. There’s sections on condiments (kimchee to tahini sauce), flavorful salads, playful snacks (three types of hot wings: Moroccan, Tabasco-honey, black bean-sesame-ginger), starches (noodles, pasta, grains, rice, main courses, like an old school beef stroganoff), a few of her beloved desserts (two versions of cherry pie), and pizzas, including her amazing pastrami pizza -like a Reuben pie, Russian dressing, shredded cabbage, thinly-sliced pastrami, and all – which I never forgot from her restaurant Orson and to which other versions have not compared.

DAILY DECADENCE: The Art of Sensual Living – Sherri Dobay

Sherri Dobay’s voice in the new Daily Decadence feels like a kindred spirit… though young, her romantic, sensual verbiage communicates that “old soul”, the kind of view with which I’ve seen the world since girlhood. For her, it’s through food, wine, art, nature, horses (she’s a rider). For me, it’s a dozen other ways, but the voice is inspiring as it is comforting. More memoir than cookbook, and formatted as such so harder to open up while working in the kitchen, recipes are not as much the draw as overall tone, with sections grouped around decadence (Divine Decadence, Decadent Simplicity, Decadence of the Seasons, Decadence of Letting Go) and wine recommends explored from a right-brain perspective rather than analytical tasting notes. Reading bits and pieces of the book at a time is like a sip of crisp, refreshing wine.

My Latest Food Book Recommendations

These eight books are new spring releases, among the best of what has landed on my desk this year.

TRADITIONAL DISTILLATION: ART & PASSION – Huber Germain-Robin

Anyone who knows US craft distilling knows Hubert Germain-Robin, one of the pioneers in the American craft distilling movement. He was making world class, French-style brandies (he is French, after all) since the early ’80′s right here in Northern California at Germain-Robin, which he co-founded, an example to generations after him of what true, elegant brandies should be. As he states in the introduction, “When I came to California in 1981, I realized the unbelievable potential of the New World, with such diversity in grape varietals, microclimates, and less demanding restrictions than there are in France”.

He just released his first book, Traditional Distillation, and, as the inside cover states, it’s an ode to the “passion, art and poetry” behind distillation. I’ve seen a few (there’s really not many) technical distillation books that get into still types or cutting the “heads and tails” of a distillation batch. Germain-Robin’s book (the first in a series of books on brandy production) is a thoughtful essay, covering the technical but doing so in an artistic, poetic way. The book boasts an Old World, classic look, delving into the philosophy behind distillation as much as process. A romantic sensibility pervades this book and passion speaks from the pages – there is even poetry and classic art included, doing justice to the reason people like myself (one who rarely had a drink in younger years), fell in love with the artisan craft and history behind distillation. It’s a short, succinct book, but a unique one. Hubert captures the beauty of the craft, giving concrete advice for would-be distillers everywhere, ensuring that his incredible knowledge and legacy is shared with many more.

THE ART OF FERMENTATION – Sandor Ellix Katz

Just released June 12, The Art of Fermentation (with forward by none other than Michael Pollan) is sure to be the gold standard on fermentation. Katz published Wild Fermentation in 2003, at the time dubbed the “fermenting bible” by Newsweek. As the press release states for his new, elegantly understated book, he now has an additional decade of experimentation behind this one. The first book of its kind, it contains recipes, yes, but ultimately is a 400+ page textbook on all things fermentation, its history and processes, and DIY steps in a range of categories from meads, wines and ciders to meat, fish and eggs. There’s plenty of study material for food and drink folk alike, whether an extensive section on sour tonic beverages (from kombucha to kvass) or details on fermenting beans, seeds and nuts. Katz’ book makes me want to start fermenting my own potato beer immediately.

TAKE AWAY – Photographs & Text by Jean-Francois Mallet

A favorite of recent books is Take Away – with no words other than photo captions. Released in the US this April (first released in France in 2009), this beauty of a book is a virtual escape around the world, immersing the reader in street foodscapes and dishes from Shanghai to the Ukraine. Be forewarned: perusing this book is difficult on an empty stomach. And for those of us who thrive on travel and exploring every nook and cranny of a city or region, Mallet’s approachable, street savvy photography also induces travel lust.

CINDY’S SUPPER CLUB: Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends – Cindy Pawlcyn

Cindy Pawlcyn is one of California’s trailblazing chefs, aiding Napa in becoming a dining destination when opening Mustard’s Grill nearly 30 years ago along with subsequent restaurants, like Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. She’s written a few cookbooks, but I particularly enjoy her newest, out this May: Cindy’s Supper Club. A book based on favorite international recipes prepared in her supper clubs with friends, the recipes span the globe from Russia and Hungary to Lebanon, Peru, Korea. Cindy’s intros to each selected country and recipe feel comfortable, like a chef chatting about their travels and technique as you sit with them in their kitchen. Though recipes tend toward the heartwarming, soulful kind, many list more than ten ingredients and aren’t exactly simple. But for cooks ready to try something new yet not fussy, adventure lies within these pages, whether Flemish meatloaf in spicy tomato gravy or white gazpacho (made of white bread, milk, almonds, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar) with peeled white grapes.

PLATS DU JOUR: the girl & the fig’s Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country – Sondra Bernstein

Just see if you don’t long to move to Sonoma after spending time with Plats du Jour, a large, photographic book capturing Sonoma’s vibrancy. With a range of recipes from Sondra Bernstein’s beloved girl and the fig duo and Italian restaurant, Estate, the book journeys well beyond recipes. Sectioned by seasons, there’s highlights on wine, cheese, and produce, pairing possibilities, origins of foods, cocktail hour menus, and seasonal menus to recreate at home. Interspersed throughout are drink recipes, such as the perennially popular lavender mojito from girl and the fig. Photos and stories of trailblazing Sonoma farmers keep the reader rooted to a sense of place. Though the variety of info might initially seem disparate, it weaves into an inspiring whole urging one to seek out ingredients from their own farmers markets and entertain or cook inspired by the invigorating spirit behind Bernstein’s book and the artisans of Sonoma.

SWEET CREAM & SUGAR CONES – Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, Dabney Gough

Bi-Rite’s ice cream essentially needs no introduction. For those in San Francisco, it’s already an institution. For foodies nationally, the beloved market’s ice cream has been written up in most national food magazines, among the best ice creameries in the country. Thankfully this spring, founders Anne Walker and Kris Hoogerhyde, along with writer Dabney Gough, have released a book, Sweet Cream & Sugar Cones, sharing many of Bi-Rite’s lauded recipes (yes, their legendary salted caramel ice cream, which spawned dozens of imitations around the nation, is included), and many more besides, including sweets far beyond ice cream, from cookies to pie. The book is grouped in ingredient-themed sections like chocolate, coffee, vanilla, citrus or nuts. I take to the herbs and spices section with recipes like basil or peach leaf ice cream, picante galia melon pops, and my favorite Bi-Rite flavor of recent years, Ricanelas (cinnamon and Snickerdoodles). Having already tried a couple of the recipes, they are easy to follow, and, of course, delicious.

SUNSET EDIBLE GARDEN COOKBOOK

Sunset has cornered DIY gardening and cooking for decades in their magazine and cookbooks, with recipes and step-by-step gardening instructions. Their latest book, Edible Garden Cookbook, just out this spring, is another winner with accessible recipes, growing-harvesting-storage-cooking tips and varietal lists on a wealth of vegetables (from peas to cucumbers), herbs (mint to thyme), and fruits (melons to stone fruit). Creative recipe twists enliven everyday dishes like an icebox salad layered in a casserole dish or kabocha squash filled with Arabic lamb stew.

THE BROKEASS GOURMET COOKBOOK – Gabi Moskowitz
Review by Andi Berlin http://dinnerwithandi.blogspot.com

Chasing the elusive paycheck is a tiresome routine, but at least it’ll taste good with the new BrokeAss Gourmet cookbook from San Franciscan Gabi Moskowitz (not to be confused with Broke-Ass Stuart.) The former kindergarten teacher-turned-caterer-turned-Internet-celebrity founded the website BrokeAss Gourmet after seeing friends laid off from tech jobs and eating junk. Taking a conversational, gal-pal tone, Gabi guides us through the essentials of running an eclectic kitchen – from stocking a full pantry to boosting cheap proteins with flavorful sauces. Recipes like vegetable lasagna with wonton wrappers demonstrate her craftiness. The book is high on kitsch: rather than photographs, illustrations of animals stand beside cheeky anecdotes (“Because bacon really does make everything better.”) Moskowitz paints a vivid Bay Area landscape, adapting several recipes from ethnic joints and buzzy spots like Bakesale Betty. And if she relies too heavily on sriracha sauce, forgive her. When you’ve got to shove off to work early morning after morning, it’s often the call of the rooster that gets you going.

What I’ve Been Reading Lately

I’m always reading – often not related to food or drink (give me poetry, classic literature, non-fiction, memoirs, religion and philosophy – I devour it all). But on the imbibing front, there are ever intriguing reads and resources to share…

Food

Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbably Restaurant – Anthony Myint & Karen Leibowitz

Leave it to McSweeney’s to publish a book that is ode to a series of brilliant SF dining concepts, a recent history of cutting-edge food, and a vividly illustrated cookbook. Mission Street Food the book, makes me nostalgic for those not-so-long-ago early days of Mission Street Food, the experience. Through the book, I reminisced about favorite dishes served in that ultimate pop-up restaurant out of dingy Lung Shan, found my mouth watering for that incomparable Mission Burger out of Duc Loi Supermarket, and appreciated the current day incarnation of Mission Chinese. This book encapsulates it all, sharing many of the best recipes (with step-by-step photo instructions). We are lucky to have Myint and the Mission Street crew’s visions among us… and such a book to capture the experience.

Food Trucks: Dispatches & Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels – Heather Shouse

Though Food Trucks (released this Spring) paints broad strokes of the rise in the phenomenon that is food trucks, it is a worthy snapshot of how this movement has risen nationally as the economy has suffered. It highlights ingenuity and fresh-thinking from chefs across the country who wanted to make food as affordable as it is exciting. It goes region-by-region through the US, listing a handful of trucks in various cities. Only five Bay Area trucks are listed (including Spencer on the Go! and RoliRoti), which is barely scratching the surface. Nonetheless, it’s a peek into a handful of individual stories and recipes of food trucks launched from New Orleans to Hawaii (including some of my favorite Oahu trucks).

Drink

America Walks into a Bar – Christine Sismondo

Though Sismondo is Canadian, she offers a detailed account of US history from the front row seat of its bars, taverns, saloons, speakeasies and grog shops in her new book, America Walks Into A Bar. She posits that the States’ most important movements, from Revolution to Prohibition, were birthed out of the communal gathering places that are our bars. Factual and historical, Sismondo keeps it seamless, though I found some chapters more interesting than others. Stories of tipsy judges ruling court cases out of taverns and women-bar owners indicted during Salem Witch Trials are engaging and worth a look for those curious about just how much drink has factored into our country’s foundation.

Two Intriguing New Food Memoirs

Just released in early March, here are two new reads I’d recommend not only for foodies but for fans of absorbing, well-crafted memoir.

Life, On the Line – Grant Achatz & Nick Kokonas

When Alinea’s chef genius Grant Achatz writes a memoir, it’s destined to get buzz amongst foodies. When this visionary chef was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer, threatened to lose his tongue and taste buds (something devastating to anyone, much less a celebrated chef), it was news well beyond the food world.

Achatz first memoir, written with his business partner, Nick Kokonas, is much more than a cancer survival story. It is concurrently more than a chef memoir. Appropriately titled, Life, On the Line, it may not be the most literary of food memoirs, but it is gripping. I couldn’t stop reading of Achatz’ humble Michigan roots, his rise as a chef under Charlie Trotter and Thomas Keller, and particularly the incessant drive that led him to opening his own, widely acclaimed restaurant just as he entered his thirtieth decade.

I’m already plotting how I can get to Chicago after his unparalleled concepts of Aviary and Next open…

Blood, Bones & Butter – Gabrielle Hamilton

Who knew chef of NY’s beloved Prune, in the East Village, was first and foremost a writer? Early word on the street was that her book was, as Anthony Bourdain himself said, “the best memoir by a chef ever.”

I find the hype a bit high, but do think cooks and food lovers will find much to savor in Blood, Bones and Butter. Though I found it not as compelling as Achatz’s Life, On the Line, Hamilton shines in her mastery of the English language, making it a more pleasurable read.  From idyllic, dreamy parties her parents threw at her rural Pennsylvania childhood home, to the devastation of their divorce that led Hamilton to support herself in restaurant jobs from teen years on, her choice of words creates vivid pictures of each era of her life.

Amidst dish-washing and butchery, she describes her move back to school at “the Harvard of the Midwest” (University of Michigan), where she gets an MFA in fiction writing. It’s an intriguing journey from writing to unexpectedly running her own restaurant. You can’t help but feel writing is her first calling.

As she describes the lamb roasts of her youth, you clearly envision it, and acutely wish you were there: “… the sun started to set and we lit the paper bag luminaria, which burned soft glowing amber, punctuating the meadow and the night, and the lamb was crisp-skinned and sticky from slow roasting, and the root beer was frigid and it caught, like an emotion, in the back of my throat.“

Books for holiday gift-giving

For the foodie and drink hounds among you, here are a few recent book releases to delight and enlighten.

FOR THE WINO

Secrets of the Sommeliers by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay – Secrets of the Sommeliers, a new book from local SF treasures (sommelier extraordinaire Rajat Parr and drink writer Jordan Mackay) is the best wine book to come across my desk in awhile. Stories from a range of the world’s best somms and winemakers stand alongside insights on tasting, purchasing, storing, pairing, ordering and serving wine. Sections Thinking Like A Sommelier and The Wine List deliver a true insider’s perspective and expertise. This intelligent, understated book is a must for any wine lover, budding or educated.

FOR THE TIKI FANATIC

Beachbum Berry Remixed by Jeff Berry - Whether a retro tiki fanatic or one who prefers drinks reminiscent of an island getaway, this book from modern-day master of tropical cocktails, Jeff Berry (aka Beachbum Berry), satiates. Colorful vintage photos and graphics illumine mid-century history and tiki culture. I try out a number of the recipes on friends, some from top bartenders, many classic, never-before-published or “lost” exotic drink recipes. I have not run across one yet that is less than crowd-pleasing. Remixed combines Berry’s first two books, Grog Log and Intoxica!, adding 107 recipes for one comprehensive collection.

FOR THE CONSCIENTIOUS COOK

Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights: Recipes for Every Season, Mood, and Appetite by Sophie Dahl - A cookbook by a famous model is among the last places I’d look as cooking source (I’m skeptical enough of ultra-skinny cooks like Giada). But Dahl is no typical model, having written three books and as a self-professed, avid eater. She’s the daughter of brilliant writer Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. Her oft-discussed weight, modeling at real world sizes (like 10), convinces me she understands “voluptuous”. Her recipes may not be the most challenging on the shelf, rather they are approachable as the book’s layout is charming. As she does not eat red meat, there’s plenty here for a vegetarian. Whether you’re making brown rice risotto with pumpkin or something as simple as flapjacks, Dahl’s personable approach draws you in while her seasonal recipes comfort.

FOR THE DRINK AFICIONADO

Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits by Jason Wilson – Though Boozehound by Washington Post’s spirits columnist Jason Wilson contains over 50 drink recipes, it is more a study on a range of spirits, history mixed with personal experience. His journeys to distilleries around the globe play as engaging travelogue, with breakthrough moments sipping an unusual liqueur or uncovering hype around others. It’s like reading a food memoir but with drink as the backdrop and instigator. The chapter Bitter is Bella made me miss Italy’s fabulously bitter palate; I began craving aquavit and bacalao reading Water of Life. His stories of researching tequila in Jalisco, Mexico, or chatting with Borje Karlsson (Karlsson’s Gold Vodka) rekindle my own memories. He explores sips as far-ranging as bianco vermouth, sloe gin, Barolo Chinato and pisco. There is education here, certainly, but via a pleasurable, relaxing read. Like a fine drink, at its finish, I found myself thirsty for more.

FOR THE COCKTAILIAN

Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Re-Imagined by Jason Kosmas & Dushan Zaric - An elegant book from bartenders behind Employees Only in NYC’s West Village, this book lists a range of recipes from classics (e.g. the Martinez) to new drinks that play like classics, such as the Provencal. We have seen compendiums of classic recipes before, but this one ups the game with thoughtful directions and NY flair. Four sections cover categories like aperitifs, punches, cordials and homemade syrups. Inspired by Prohibition-era speakeasies, these two were doing “speakeasy” long before it became a trend. As they state in the section Mastering the Perfect Cocktail: “Every Cocktail Has A Story”. Speakeasy helps you tell stories through the preparation of a drink.

In conversation with David Wondrich about his new book, PUNCH

When drink historian and Esquire columnist David Wondrich speaks about drink, you listen… or read, as the case may be. His latest book Punch, which releases on 11/2, is the first of its kind on the glories and history of the punch bowl. I had the privilege of speaking with Dave over the phone from his home in NY. He answered the question, “Why punch?” Or, to quote his book, what makes punch “necessary”?

Dave deems punch, “The great social beverage of all time… now more than ever we need beverages that promote friendship.” He also calls punch “more gentle than cocktails”, its preparation “easy and utterly pleasurable.”

It becomes readily apparent: the punch bowl is communal, ideal for a group or festive gathering, less laborious than individual cocktails and a hell of a lot more fun. Or as Dave states in the book’s Preface: “Most of Punch’s stories are of warm fellowship and conviviality and high-spirited gatherings afloat on oceans of witty talk”, not to mention a few “battles and brawls.”

We’re not talking about “frat juice” or fizzy, sweet flowing bowls here. We’re talking honest-to-God punch: boozy, delicious, layered with citrus, raw sugar, varying spirits. The book starts with a comprehensive history, who drank punch, and where. He mentions the book “started as a big chunk cut out of [his first book] Imbibe!”, which he expanded on.

Dave Wondrich (photo source: www.astorcenternyc.com)

The convivial punch houses of yore sound so appealing, I ask Dave if he envisions their return to modern day? “I certainly hope so.” Besides Rickhouse here in SF, some of his favorite bars for punch around the globe include Hix in London, Brooklyn’s Clover Club (a dangerously close distance from his home), and Manhattan’s Death & Co. He’s also says he’s a fan of Savoy Cocktail Night at SF’s own Alembic (hear, hear!)

Gorgeous Le Grand Punch at private Benedectine party w/ ice orb

Ever the thorough historian, Dave uncovers punch’s roots – like most classic drinks, the original creator isn’t known, though there are countless early references. One of his strongest sources is Google Books, where he digs up old newspapers, pamphlets and rare books before he then might cross reference in the libraries of New York or London. Another research source?  “I am trained as an academic so I have a lot of 1600’s books… I start with a  lot of blank space and start to fill that in, using every kind of source possible… I’ll track down the original source, and don’t settle for first mention.”

I asked if he’d ever write the book he wishes existed (mentioned on page 6 of Punch): a detailed source on distilling, its origins, history and importance. He says it’s a project “too big for any one person to bite off unless they have all the time in the world and know multiple languages,” but he “could tackle parts of it” in collaboration with others.  He surmises it would take at least three co-writers, fluent in languages from Dutch and German, to Chinese and Indian, to be able to read and translate ancient texts.

What we’re more likely to see Wondrich write about next is how the American style of drinking, particularly our contribution of cocktails and in spirits, went global. He’s already done “tons of research” for presentations he’s given, fascinated by our legendary cocktail showcases in world’s fairs, for one, and how the rest of the world began to imitate techniques initially launched here.

A liquid nitrogen punch bowl

Though Wondrich deems Punch‘s Book II for “total mixology geeks”, I find it a useful, necessary account of ingredients, tools needed, and proper measurements, particularly his spirits recommendations under Ingredients.

Naturally, a good half of the book is recipes, ranging from Milk Punch to American Fancy Punch. When asked which ones he makes the most, he named the bracing Chatham Artillery Punch on page 248 (a Savannah original, one I’ve walked down Savannah streets imbibing, though far from a well-crafted version). Back in the day, a local paper described the punch thus: “As a vanquisher of men its equal has never been found.” Dave says the recipe in this book (there is another in Imbibe!) “claims to be the original, and very well might be”, though when it comes to  traditional recipes, “they get passed down like a game of telephone”, each iteration evolving.

One of his biggest crowd-pleasers (which people consume in “shocking amounts”) is his own recipe of Royal Hibernian Punch (p. 269):

“Prepare an oleo-saccharum with the peel of three lemons and 6 ounces of white sugar. Add 6 ounces strained lemon juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add to this 12 ounces Sandeman Rainwater Madeira, stir and pour the Madeira shrub into a clean 750-milliliter bottle. Add enough water to the bottle to fill it, seal and refrigerate. Fill another clean 750-milliliter bottle with filtered water and refrigerate that, too.

To serve, pour the bottle of the shrub, the bottle of water and one 750-milliliter bottle of Jameson 12 or Redbreast Irish whiskey into a gallon Punch bowl, add a 1 1/2 quart block of ice and grate nutmeg over the top.

Yield: 9 1/2 cups.”

Three Recent Food Books

These three books (one factual journey, one memoir, one cookbook) have two things in common: they’re all new this year and centered around food.

TWAIN’S FEAST – Andrew Beahrs

Andrew Beahrs, an East Bay local, displays his affection for the great Mark Twain in this thoroughly researched book. Twain’s Feast explores the history of foods Twain waxed eloquent about that are either gone entirely or slowly making their way back into the American landscape.  Experiencing food and coffee in his European travels “as tasteless as paper”, Twain found American cooking of his time “generous”, “genuine”, “real”. Of course, the prairie hens he grew up with, fresh possum and raccoon, New Orleans’ sheep-head and croakers, and the “heaven on the half shell” of San Francisco’s own oysters and mussels, are largely extinct or rare nowadays.

The book is, yes, a poignant ode to the pre-mass-produced, homogenized, dangerously grown American “food” we now know. It’s also a hopeful challenge to the reader, worded gently in the epilogue: “… choices about what we eat help to determine which American landscapes survive and thrive.”

There are many worthy stories here, both for the Twain aficionado and food historian. What I came away with, besides a reminder to support the craftswomen and men making food and growing animals with care (which we’re heavily blessed with in the Bay Area), was Twain’s insataible passion for robust flavor, a hunger to drink life to the dregs. I relate to the way he eats… and heartily writes about it.

As Beahrs says, “… Twain’s love for a dish was inseparable from his love of life.” Amen.

HUNGRY TOWN – Tom Fitzmorris

Make no bones about it, I have a mad love affair with New Orleans, a city you hear me go on about often enough. Naturally, I ate up (no pun intended) Tom Fitzmorris‘ Hungry Town, a leading Nola restaurant reviewer both in print and on the radio for decades.

He knows the city’s food scene intimately: its history, key players, essential recipes (included in the book), and the post-Katrina struggle that has brought the culinary magic of the ultimate Southern city back to even greater heights (and more restaurants) than before the storm. His post-Katrina assessments are honest insights into just how torn apart families and businesses were, including his own. But he unabashedly claims: “Food Saves New Orleans”.

I value his commitment to Creole and Cajun as the “default” styles of cooking in New Orleans, essential to the city’s future. He states: “The genius of New Orleans cooking is not that we cook better than anyone else. It’s that nobody in the world cooks our local specialties – except when they consciously imitate us (usually badly, I’ve found). The day that our food fails to be flagrantly distinctive… is the day we become Anywhere, USA. That’s also the day I’m leaving town.”

THE SUNSET COOKBOOK

Cooks take note: 10/19 is the release date of the massive, 1000+ recipe tome that is the latest edition of the Sunset Cookbook. It’s a fine one. Not only are the clean, bright photos dangerous to peruse on an empty stomach, but the book manages to be both approachable and widely comprehensive, with sections on every aspect of a meal you can think of from bread to cocktails to preserves and pickles.

Sunset magazine‘s  food editor, Margo True, is also the book’s editor and she maintains a cohesive standard of ‘farmers-market-fresh’ ingredients with regional Western foods. Yes, Sunset magazine is based in the Bay Area, so California ethos displays prominently with international influences married to a rich range of produce. But the styles of cooking cover the world, showcasing food of the West as what it truly is: global.

Many recipes tempt me here, including this snack and shake:

Avocado Fries
SERVES 6 | TIME 30 minutes

Canola oil for frying
1?4 cup flour
1?4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 eggs, beaten to blend
11?4 cups panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
2 firm-ripe medium Hass avocados, pitted, peeled, sliced into 1?2-in. wedges

1. Preheat oven to 200°. In a medium saucepan, heat 11?2 in. oil until it registers 375° on a deep-fry thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, mix flour with salt in a shallow plate. Put eggs and panko in separate shallow plates. Dip avocado wedges in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, then panko to coat. Set on two plates in a single layer.

3. Fry a quarter of the avocado wedges at a time until deep golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer wedges to a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm in oven while cooking remainder. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

California Date Shake
One of the great foods of the Sunshine State, the date shake is exactly what you want to be slurping while visiting baking-hot date country near Palm Springs. Our favorite shake is the one at Shields Date Gardens, in Indio. Shields uses its own date “crystals”—dehydrated Deglet Noor and Blonde dates (the latter is one of its signature varieties). You can order these online (shieldsdategarden.com) or substitute fresh, as we’ve done here. This shake is sensational with a shot of rum stirred in.

Makes 1 shake (11?3 cups) | TIME 10 minutes

4 pitted Medjool dates (about 3 oz.), coarsely chopped
1?4 cup very cold milk
11?4 cups high-quality vanilla ice cream

In a blender, blend dates and milk until smooth and super-frothy. Add ice cream and pulse a few times, until just blended.

STUDYING DRINK: Three Books to Up Your Cocktail-Making Game or Historical Knowledge

LEFT COAST LIBATIONS - Ted Munat with Michael Lazar
Left Coast Libations, which came out September 1st (catch the launch party this Saturday, 9/18, at Heaven’s Dog), is, as far as I’m concerned, a must for the library of any West Coast cocktailian, not to mention drink aficionados everywhere.

Ted Munat clearly displays a fan’s love of drink and the bartenders behind them in his cheeky, delightful bartender bios, Jenn Farrington’s pristine photos give the book a sleek, pure look, and Michael Lazar painstakingly made every recipe to ensure workability for those of us trying these recipes at home. Naturally, San Francisco makes a strong showing with LA, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver bartenders sharing many of their greats, all highlighting the innovation happening in cocktails on the West Coast.

You’ll find recipes for local favorites like Daniel Hyatt’s Southern Exposure or Joel Baker’s Pear Sonata. I’ve been making many of these at home and the book is rich with possibility. In the midst of intriguingly unique recipes calling for homemade syrups or tinctures, I am also grateful for simple beauties like Murray Stenson’s (who won American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail) Stephan’s Sour with Beefeater gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and Bitter Truth celery bitters.

VINTAGE SPIRITS and FORGOTTEN COCKTAILS – Ted Haigh
After meeting attending his Hollywood Cocktails seminar at Tales of the Cocktail, I can say Ted Haigh is one crazy guy… and one of the best resources in the world for history behind drinks (just read his regular column in Imbibe magazine). With a well deserved win as Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book at Tales, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails feels like the kind of tome that would be a definitive resource in any era. Focused on the classics, it’s rich with historical notes, vintage artwork, and approachable, standard-setting recipes every bartender (or at-home novice) should know. Kudos for the spiral bound presentation, making it easy to use while mixing drinks.

LAST CALL: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition – Daniel Okrent
Last Call is an almost textbook-detailed approach to the history, people and circumstances surrounding Prohibition and how it changed the face of America in issues as far-ranging as personal freedom to organized crime. Daniel Okrent is best known as the first public editor of the New York Times, but is also a Pulitzer nominee. His painstaking research reveals fascinating stories (Carry A. Nation, the temperance “saloon smasher” with a hatchet, for one), and debatable but thought-provoking conclusions. Just delve into the introduction with eye-opening stats on just how much America drank pre-Prohibition, and you’ll be hooked.