bakuninhong's Profile
Children's books about food...
Hmmm...I'm not so sure about the theoretical part.
Here's what I wrote for my summary:
Author’s Note
Nancy Castaldo wrote Pizza for the Queen, a mouth-watering book, about the inception of the Pizza Margherita, pizza with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella (“You have captured the colors of our beloved flag on this pizza. I am sure to find it delicious,” exclaims Queen Margherita in Pizza for the Queen). This is the best pizza possible for the adult palate. Castaldo’s book lovingly recreates the first ever Pizza Margherita. Kids might not appreciate the hot, sliced tomatoes or the green basil that make Pizza Margherita so good. So this book teaches kids how to make the same good pizza, in the form of a classic: cheese pizza.
As Francis states so frankly in Bread and Jam for Francis, “Well, there are many different things to eat, and they taste many different ways. But when I have bread and jam I always know what I am getting, and I am always pleased.” The same is true for a good cheese pizza. This book is an activity book that tries to marry the action in a recipe to actual pictures in a book to make pizza-cooking easy for even the youngest readers (with a little help from mom or dad).
As a kid, and even now I love activity books. Growing up I read and engaged a lot of activity books because it allowed me a way to harness and enjoy both mental and physical energy into a creative activity. A couple of years ago I realized that I was reading a lot of cookbooks just for fun. I was so immersed in these books that I would speed through them without realizing I was reading so much. The action called for in cookbooks linked me to correlated physical activity in my mind, connecting the words with movement. Good activity books do this very well. An instructional book on how to construct something should make this link very precisely, with exact language that connects with the reader and motivates her to keep reading.
I wrote this recipe book because I love to cook pizza. In the words of a teenage English chef, Sam Stern, “I’m usually pretty impatient, but I can spend hours chopping stuff, blending, whisking, and mixing. I find all that activity really relaxing.”
I hope this simple cookbook tells the story of the making of a cheese pizza. This was my absolute favorite pizza growing up. My dad, Dr. Pizza, made this and many more complex pizzas every Friday night for our family’s friends. This recipe takes me back to when I was a youngin’.
Children’s cookbooks have become more and more impressive and diverse. One English teenager has a cookbook with pork loin, gnocchi, whole roasted chicken and cheesecake! American children are becoming more sophisticated, eschewing fast food for local, organic choices. However, children are children and will always love cheese pizza. Also the cheese pizza is a culinary building block, not extremely difficult yet so familiar. It is a blank slate, begging to be jazzed up, played upon, and improvised. Therefore I’ve dedicated this book to that classic.
Visual recipe website?
I am looking for the website that has a grid of pictures of beautiful food, and each picture links to that recipe.
Does this ring a bell for anyone?
I though it was like openrecipe or something like that. Thanks.
copper hog?
Uggh. I've eaten here twice and it was nasty and the service was bad. They served the fish (along with inedible fat chips) as a whole breaded fillet. It was slimy and nasty to eat. Breaking off the bits of fish and dipping it into the sauce was not a pleasant experience.
Another time, the waitress was pissed that I was ordering beer, even though she should have gotten a nice tip off of my orders. Really not worth the five dollars a beer.
Fave recipe(s) of 2008
I would like to hear the Chowhounds' favorite recipes of the year. It does not have to be from this year, just a recipe that you enjoyed making, needed to make, made up, etc. this year. The following two recipes are my favorites of 2008. Please name each dish in the subject line in the comments if you include a recipe, and cite the source if it is borrowed.
Whiskey-Soy Salmon
for 4 1/2 lb. fillets of salmon (Alaska wild, please. I've seen the salmon farms up close in Washington, and it ain't pretty).
Marinade
1/2 C Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt works well)
1/2 C Chinese soy sauce
1/3 C Olive oil
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Mix marinade and place salmon fillets, meat down, for 1 and 1/2 hour. Refrigerate. Flip and place back in refrigerator for 1 more hour.
Meanwhile, light grill. This works with charcoal or gas, but tastes best on a charcoal grill. When grill is hot (can hold hand 3-4" above grate for 2-3 seconds), place salmon skin side down until salmon is cooked half through (fat has rendered through half the salmon fillet). Take a metal spatula and slip it between the skin and the meat, separating the fillet from the skin. Flip the meat back on to the skin. Cook until the salmon feels firm, but flakes with pressure. Remove meat to hot platter and serve.
I have made this with 1/3 lb fillets, and with 8 lb halves of salmon and the results are surprisingly consistent: the best salmon you could imagine. This is a guaranteed hit.
Sichuan Green Beans
Stolen from Cooks Illustrated
Sauce
2 Tbs. soy sauce (Chinese)
2 Tbs. water
1 Tbs. dry sherry
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Mix.
In wok or pan,
2 Tbs. veg oil
1 lb. green beans
Sauté over med-high heat until slightly blackened. Transfer to bowl.
In same pan or wok
Add 1 Tbs. veg oil
Sauté 2 minutes
1/4 lb. minced shiitake mushrooms
Add
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced
Sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds
Add green beans until hot.
Add
3 scallions, sliced thin
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Serve it up!
Look forward to the recipes!
~Mikkel
Bellingham WA food inquiries
My wife and I belong to the Steele wine club. His wines are absolutely delicious. Wonderful, every one of them.
specialty food sources for Bellingham area
Vis Seafoods on James St. is fisher-owned and has the best salmon in town. Across from Youngstock's, best prices on produce. opens in May.
Bellingham, Washington - Restaurant Suggestions
Pepper Sisters has really good Southwestern food.
Check out my posting at http://www.chowhound.com/topics/346998
Children's books about food...
Never had popcorn w/milk, but it is great w/ soup! An Ecuadorian tradition.
BELLINGHAM, WA - NEXT WEEK - HELP!
On Rice and La Fiamma are both pretty mediocre. On Rice especially. La Fiamma isn't bad, it's the second best pizza in town, behind Cichitti's, it's just pretty boring. The crust is nothting special, the toppings are eh, pretty good I guess. On Rice is quite bad, though.
What's good: Cafe Zazou good french food. Pepper Sisters: pretty good Southwest food. I've heard the Vines is very good.
Children's books about food...
It's a culture of literature assignment for my Children's Literature class. I have to describe how children's books describe the culture of food as well as how they present the subject of food to kids.
Favorite Soup Cookbook??
It is a vegetarian cookbook, but Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison is great. Everything I've made from it has turned out delicious.
Children's books about food...
Hello,
I am doing a project about the culture surrounding food and its representation in children's literature (in the USA and around the world). I am looking for good books to read that would help me with my project. Specifically I am looking for picture books (not necessarily story books) that present food in an interesting/fun/creative way.
Thanks for your help and I'll let you know what I find out.
Mikkel
What's Your Favorite Domestic Beer and Why?
Milwaulkee's Best Light!!!!!!!!!!
PBR!!!
The Next Iron Chef
Why does Alton Brown have to be so bitchy in this show? He's become a real blowhard in his late years.He's taking himself sooooo seriously, too! I like the show, but for Alton. The long hair judge is really bitchy, too. He's got a baaaad case of the crampy A-hole. He's a really mean, awful person. I don't get it. He's really hard to watch.
Other than that and the fact that the judges have voted off all the women and almost all the chefs of color, it's a pretty good show.
Bellingham WA food inquiries
Oo, Speakez's is very good.
Colophon is horrible, overpriced food.
Good cheese shop, quel fromage.
Cichitti's Pizzeria: best pizza in town. East coast style
Bellingham WA food inquiries
Bellingham lacks a good Chinese restaurant. I REALLY miss my Mapo Tofu!!!!
It also lacks a vegetarian restaurant. There are more vegetarians here than most anywhere else in the world and not a single dedicated vegetarian restaurant. It's crazy! I was a dog hair away from starting one downtown but decided against the risk and decided to go to teaching school at Western. But a good veg restaurant would take off like no other! Everyone I talked to about the potential restaurant were crazy about the idea. It would be great. Anyhoo, there's no good Chinese (or Thai for my money), no really good bread, either. That's my two cents.
Trader Joes in Bellingham?
That's BellinghamSTers to you, coney. It went well, except you cannot get a parking space for the life of you. There is plenty of cheap cheese, and other products. The veggetarian items are almost 1/2 of what they cost at the local grocery store (that was just bought out by Top Foods). Very nice! Anyway, it feels weird to be shopping at a TJ's in Bellingham, but it's a good addition to the food scene here.
Trader Joes in Bellingham?
TJ's will open 9AM this Friday, Sept. 28th. I live in B'ham and I am excited for TJ's to open. The only two "health" grocery stores are too complacent and charge whatever they like for their food, especially the Coop. Even though TJ's is corporate, I am glad that there will be some meaningful competition for the crunchy grocery stores.
Szechuan Tofu?
Please do post them! I just made my first successful mapo dofu the other day. Pretty exciting! Want to try others.
Fresh tortillas in Bellingham?
Is there anywhere to get fresh, good tortillas in Bellingham? I am hurting for some real Mexican food. Either restaurant or grocery would be fine.
MSG or Sichuan Peppercorn?
I just made some MaPo Tofu at home and voila! Same thing as in the restaurant!! Not as intense sichuan peppercorn mouth, but I think their's were fresher. Anyway, first time after MANY attempts!! I don't have to travel up to Vancouver for good (MapoDofu) Chinese any more!!! Thanks all, next time I'll just eat more rice w/my authentic mapodofu. I'm embarrassed but psyched!
This is a great recipe, I made it w/gluten balls:
http://shiokfood.com/notes/archives/000016.html
Cast Iron Pan
my cast iron is extremely non-stick. I just wash it with water right after using it, then dry it on the hot stove for a few seconds, then wipe it down with a paper towel with oil on it. Cheers.
Barbera and Zin reccomendations
My wife and I joined the Jed Steele wine club after she fell for the Writer's Block Zinfandel and we've both been pretty pleasantly surprised. The Barbera and the Chardonnay have been really great. Anyone have any other Northern California/Lake County wines they really like? We both really like Zins and Barberas (Ca' di Pian (sp?) being our favorite).
Under 20 bucks would be best, but we'll splurge from time to time if it's worth it.
Also, any Barbera reccomendations?
MSG or Sichuan Peppercorn?
I went to a Chinese restaraunt in Richmond, BC yesterday and I thought it would be good and authentic because I saw a big group of well-dressed Chinese people go in. Anyway, I got what I always do, MaPo Tofu. When it came out I started eating it and it was super salty, and also my mouth started going numb. I immediately thought there was a ton of MSG on it as this sort of happens when I eat Pringles or something similarly gross. But today I was reading about szechuan peppercorns making one's mouth numb. I couldn't even finish the dish and had to make a story up about having to meet someone. I felt pretty dumb, I'd never had to do that. Do you think it was just an oversalted dish and my mouth was going numb from the peppercorns or was I MSGed?
Decent Chinese Food in Bellingham?
NOPE!!!!!!!!!!! NADA ZIP NOTHING! It is a damn shame, too.
specialty food sources for Bellingham area
Best wine sources:
The Purple Smile is supposed to be good. Also a wine distibutor in Fairhaiven is supposed to be really great. I forget the name. It's in one of the newer condos there.
A better bet would be to find a wine or producer you love and get on their mailing list. That's a bit of a committment for some, though.
Italian Delis (for prociutto, Reggiano Parmigiano, pancetta, etc.)
The Panini Grill and Deli in the Public Market (on Cornwall St) has all that and other italian cheses and olives as well as paninis, wraps, salads made daily.
There is a cheese shop that just opened in Fairhaven right across from the Chevron station on the main drag that has a LOT of cheeses (many French). A bit posh, but excellent selection.
Middle Eastern food
Meditteranean Specialties is owned by a Lebanese family and has all sorts of things like home-made (by their family in Lebanon) olive oil that is sensational and the best deals on pasta and bulghur wheat in town. On 34th St. by the Samish Way Haggen grocery store.
For great falafel go to Shaharazad right downtown on Holly St. After 9 or so on Friday and Saturday nights you can get a whole sandwich for 3 bucks!
Kitchen supplies
Industrial: Cash and Carry on Ohio St.
Specialty and high end: Greenhouse on Holly St.
Pacific Chef 1210 11th St. in Fairhaiven
Cheese
Que Fromage - the cheese shop mentioned above.
Panini Grill and Deli- better deals on cheese. Less choices but good cheeses.
Bakeries-
This will make you sad about moving here. Not many good bakeries. Avenue Bread Co. is okay, a bit too rustic if you know what I mean. You'll want to make bread pudding or stuffing with that morning's bread, it gets so tough in a day. Their rosemary bread is very good, but I can bake much better with a little forethought so I don't buy it very often.
Great Harvest is overpriced and too sweet for my tastes.
La Vie en Rose has some good pastries. I would reccomend that. On Holly St.
Bagelry has very good bagels. No West Coast slackerness here. On Railroad Ave.
One great pizza: North Fork on the MBHighway, more below. Some good pizza. A lot of (barely) decent pizza.
Good: La Fiama ($$, crust could be thinner, sauce could taste better, too sweet) Seven Loaves ($$, they put olives in their sauce and make a sourdough crust, not for some) Rudy's ($, but bring your own spice mixture as their sauce tastes like tomato paste, nice atmosphere, though.)
Bad: Cascade Pizza, Pizza Pipeline, Pizza Time
Very good Japanese and sushi:
Oskaka on Northwest St. The best in Bellingham, beautiful dining room, calm atmosphere, skillfully prepared and presented food.
Wasabee on Chestnut (right by the Shrimp Shack). Slow but also very nice ambiance and food is delicious. Worth the wait, the owners are very nice, too.
MakiZushi in the Public Market. Brand new but very nice sushi, cheap and fast.
Greek: Cafe Akroteki on Commercial (I think). Very good Greek food with many vegetarian options (instead of the occasional, "hmm I think there might be chicken stock in the potatoes...and the rice and everything else."). Good service.
Other noteables:
Pepper Sisters on State St. Pretty good Baha-inspired food although when you ask for them to make it spicy they slather your food with this dried-chili-tasting muck that is hot, but not pleasant or balanced. Very nice atmosphere and owners, though. The food is very good too, I am just partial to spicy.
La Gatisserie (sp?) on Northwest is a very good Vietnamese bakery and restaurant. They serve an excellent lunch salad and I think they have a vietnamese sandwich with pickled veggies, mayo and cilantro.
Boundary Bay: SKIP IT! They are riding high on being such a hugely popular brewery and restaurant that they have lost their way. They recently changed their menu and took off the best items (a tofu cheese steak sandwich and a Thai bowl). Their beer is overrated and heavy, you can't comfortably drink more than about 2.5 of them. A much better bet for brewpub is....
The North Fork Restaurant and Beer Shrine 20 miles East of town on the Mount Baker Highway: which has the best microbrew in town and the best PIZZA.
The Rhodedenderon Cafe is really the best restaurant in the area, even though it is 20 minutes south of Fairhaven on Chuckanut Drive.
For a really fancy treat, head out to Lummi Island to the Willows on the North side of the island. Expect to drop a lot of money on dinner, but be amazed nonetheless. This place made me start eating salmon after being a lifelong vegetarian.
Another fancy treat in Seattle is the Dahlia Lounge, Chef Tom Douglas's first restaurant. It is another expensive one and the doorman gave my wife and I a nasty look as we entered, but we were treated to a luxurious meal complete with a salad that actually made me smile.
Just one more plug, if you need any kitchen help, I am a personal chef for hire in Bellingham and (I think) cook the best vegetarian food (as well as pizza) around. My website is at
http://www.mealsbymikkel.com
Hope this helps. Good luck.
