GRILLED PIZZA

STEAMED MUSSELS

The recipe in SOANC calls for 2 to 1 ratio of teff to flour.

Teff is GF but most recipes for injera add another flour component to the recipe. I am not sure why, if it is for texture or perishability, but it is worth it so my son. An stuff his face with bread!

Yes, I hate to say this out loud, because I have been so good this year, but I would love an excuse to buy Burma too. Although if I buy another Asian influenced book any time soon, I would like it to be Adobo Road. It was just reviewed on NPR and I can't stop thinking about it!

Here is a link to the Weekly Cookbook Challenge thread where I posted my experience with A Soul of a New Cuisine. My posts start fairly close to the top (look for my name). I don't know how to link directly to my post. Maybe someone else can do that below. I think I posted my experience with 3-4 recipes.

ETA: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8699...

A while back I reviewed Soul of a New Cuisine on The Weekly Cookbook Challenge thread. I will try to find it and post a link here so people who are on the fence will be able to get a sense of this book.

FWIW, used copies of Soul can be found on Amazon for a pretty good price. If it is selected as COTM, it won't cost too much to get your own copy. I borrowed mine from the LAPL and after having it a few days decided I had to have my own copy.

Well I am really in the mood for Champagne and Fried Chicken, since it was raised so late in the nomination process, but since it is not an option, my vote goes to Soul. I thnk it will make for a great discussion. I also reserved Burma from the library as it is my runner up option, but I am # 6 on the waiting list, and if the vote goes to TGI, i will rely on online recipes and read along with all of you as buying it is not an option for me right now.

Here is a link to the voting thread:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/902400

It is being indexed? That is great news! I love FRIED CHICKEN AND CHAMPAGNE and I have only made one nomination so far so I will throw it in the ring. I think I was the one who nominated it a while back but it was still really new and used copies were not to be found. Not sure if that has changed, but I know that quite a few of us have it on our shelves now as a result of it being talked about on CH.

Not too long ago, I pulled a southern brunch menu from its pages for my super club and everything we made was a big hit. The stand outs being Pulled Bourbon Braised Beef Short Ribs (p. 138) served on Savory Blue Cheese Biscuits (p. 60). I would love to see this become a COTM, if not this month, then soon.

Yes, I forget how fortunate I am to have so many more choices at the Farmer's Market. We are flush right now: cherries, apricots, donut peaches, grapes....and on and on.

Still not that thrilled by any of the contenders. Any interest in a produce centric book? Something summery? My personal favorite is The Santa Monica Farmers Market Cookbook but there are so many others out there that are of a similar ilk.

I've had a chance to look through The Flavor Bible and I can see this being a very useful tool.

I've often heard people remark that recipes are a crutch and once you know the technique, you don't need recipes. Whether this is true for some or not, (I went to Culinary School), I still tend to rely pretty heavily on recipes. I use them for technique, ratios, and of course, for inspiration.

With this book in hand I could see it inspiring me to pair up flavors and go recipe-less. For now, I am enjoying reading all the Chef's remarks and advice interlaced between the pages. For e.g.., I read yesterday that apricots are almost always better cooked to bring out their peak flavor. I would never have thought that on my own (apricot season has just started here) now I am going to try it and see whether I find this to be true.

All you enablers are tempting me to buy TGI. I do not need another general Italian Cookbook. I could conceivably buy another regional Italian Cookbook, but not a general one. Please stop tempting me!

Welcome home and happy Mother's Day to all that it applies to. One more try:

THE SOUL OF A NEW CUISINE
THE WORLD OF STREET FOOD

Will do!

ah, that explains it. Thanks.

Has the nomination thread for June gone up yet? I can't seem to find it and I've spaced and missed the last two nomination threads until after the voting thread went up. Just don't want to miss it again!

I have been eyeing this recipe too!

I loved this story Blackpippi!

Finally added two long coveted titles to my shelves:

1) Mario's Molto Gusto (former COTM)
2) The Flavor Bible (this one will be mine as of Mother's Day)

I am really excited!

The A.O.C. book is on my wish list too. I absolutely love Sunday Suppers and I know this one will be just as good. It comes out right around my bday, which is a big one this year, so I am bound to get it!

Grilled chicken Salad with Rustic Gaucamole pg. 107

I also made this salad last night though I was not as enthusiastic about the results. The marinade/dressing was a bit too tart for my taste. I think the ratio of oil to acid was off. I deconstructed the guac, opting to add roasted onions, roasted peppers, and chunks of avocado to the salad instead. Used iceberg lettuce and added tomatoes and cucumbers as well. Served topped with warmed tortilla chips and crumbled cheese. Fine for a week night meal but nothing to write home about.

Allegra, I have a question about the dough you used for making south american pastelitos. Can you email me (listed in my profile)? Thanks.

So today my DH came home from the market, Bristol Farms, with a bag of Frontera tortilla chips. When did RB start making grocery store items? We ate them with our Cinco de Mayo meal - simple ground beef soft tacos and cocktails, a perfect Sunday night meal.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp off the website

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/vie...

I really liked these shrimp appetizers. Not by any means a quick meal to prepare, you have to shell, de-vain, and butterfly, 2 dozen shrimp, then make the filling (dirtying the food processor), stuff the shrimp, and wrap in bacon. Then grill everything up. I served it with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, p. 154, Mexican Everyday. RB suggests using thinly sliced bacon but I used what I had in my fridge. It didn't work very well and the bacon took way longer than 1 1/2 minutes per side to cook so I opted to deconstruct .

I cooked the bacon first, drained the grease from the pan, grilled up the shrimp in what remained of the fat, then heated the filling in the microwave, plopped some in each shrimp and adorned with a crisp piece of bacon and reheated everything for a few minutes in the oven to warm through.

I loved this dish, the rest of my family liked it but didn't love it so it will not be made again because it was way too much work for mediocre reviews.

Achiote Roasted Pork Tacos with Pickled Red Onions, p. 170 Mexican Kitchen

This is a great weeknight recipe because the meat can be braised the night before and then served then next day. It would also be a great dish to make ahead to freeze. This recipe calls for making your own achiote paste, then using that paste to marinade and slow cook pork shoulder. The meat is then shredded and used as taco filling. My go to recipe is from Border Grill but I think this one is easier. Achiote, the key ingredient in this recipe, imparts a sour tangy flavor that is hard to describe but very delicious to eat. As I said, it calls for making your own paste, but if you are not inclined you could easily substitute achiote paste sold at most good Mexican markets. The Pickled Red Onions accompany this recipe, (p. 172), and contrast nicely with the richness of this dish.

The water trick is a good one because these can get a little slippery if left out too long.

Red Chileatone with Mushroom Chicken and Zucchini, p. 127 Mexican Everyday

Still getting over a bad cough, I am craving soup over and over these past few weeks. As a result, I have made made 3 Mexican themed soups since the beginning of May, this one being my least favorite so far. Easy to prepare, it left something to be desired. Kind of on the bland side.

The other two soups I made were much more to my liking. The first was the turkey enchilada verde soup off the Homesick Texan website. I used braised pork shoulder instead of turkey and it was excellent. The second, and my favorite recipe of the three, was the Homesick Texan's tortilla soup recipe. I hear this one was based on a Rick Bayless recipe, but I don't know which version of his she used as her inspiration. In any case, all three soup recipes are good candidates for weekday meals.