Gifts for People Who Like to Eat…and Drink
Every year on our public radio program The Splendid Table, we are inundated with requests for gift ideas. Every year I scratch my head and try to come up with a new gadget, or olive oil, or obscure peppercorn from inner Toledo, and every year I come back to the same thing--a book.
For me, there is nothing more endearing and personal than your pick of something you’ve loved and used over the years. Flag a few recipes and it is becomes even more intimate.
Here is a short list of my most spattered, torn, and well-thumbed. I’m forcing myself to stop at ten.
The Splendid Table, by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. This book was so bewitching I was compelled to call her, and thus the radio show was born. Lynne is a stickler for details and is one of the best recipe writers around. Every single recipe in this book works, I swear.
The Art of Mexican Cooking, by Diana Kennedy. Another obsessive-compulsive like the above-mentioned Lynne. This book is full of history and culture and opinion and she writes recipes and technique in clear precise terms. The new edition came out in 2008
The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, by Claudia Roden. I’m obviously drawn to obsessive types. This is a re-working of Claudia’s original masterwork, Book of Middle Eastern Food.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, by Harold McGee. This is a book of science and logic and belongs in every kitchen--I’m not kidding.
Paris Sweets, by Dorie Greenspan. If you ever doubted whether someone’s point of view really matters, take a look at this charming book. Dorie worked with pastry chefs all over Paris and adapted their recipes for American cooks. Pierre Herme’s legendary Korova Cookie recipe alone makes this book worth the money.
The Oxford Companion to Wine, by Jancis Robinson. I am not a wine person. I can’t remember anything about a wine, even when I’ve drunk it 20 times. Is it because I’m drinking? I don’t know, but this book is my savior.
Unplugged Kitchen, by Viana La Place. Another charming book that reminds me of the beauty of small, simple things. The recipes are beguiling, and very wise.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison. This book is my Joy of Cooking. It is an encyclopedia of information on everything from Jacobs Ladder beans to quinoa to texturized vegetable protein, to aged basmati rice. I use it all the time.
From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Spice Trail, by Madhur Jaffrey. This is a beautiful book that covers curries and their relatives all around the world. It is filled with history and culture and has a beautiful pink cover so you can find it easily on your shelf.
Moro: The Cookbook, by Sam & Sam Clark. This is the chef book I go back to time and time again. This British couple translates the sensuality of Mediterranean food in their London restaurant Moro (Spanish for Moor), and manage to do it in my kitchen as well.
Recipe:
Cheese-Gilded Linguine with Smoky Tomatoes
Excerpted from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper: Recipes,
Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio’s Award-Winning Food Show, by
Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift (Clarkson Potter, April 8,
2008). Copyright © 2008 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift.
I have learned so very many things from my partner in crime, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, over the years. And not just culinary. ( Did you know that wearing white makes one look younger?)
This pasta is an example of the mastery that Lynne has accomplished as a cook. She has taught me over the years that subtle changes in timing can transform a dish in ways you couldn’t imagine. In this dish, by merely switching the order of how grated cheese and tomato sauce are blended with the noodles, you get an entirely new take on a red sauce. Lynne says this cheese trick comes from Naples, where cooks make simple tomato-sauced pastas more substantial by tossing the pasta first with the grated cheese, then with the sauce.
Serves 4 as a main dish
15 minutes prep time; 20 minutes stove time
The sauce can be made 1 hour before serving
Ingredients:
5 quarts salted water in a 6-quart pot
Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
6 thick slices bacon, sliced into ¼-inch-wide sticks
1 medium to large onion, chopped into ¼-inch dice
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
5 large garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 to 3 pounds delicious ripe tomatoes, cored and fine chopped (do not peel or seed);
or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with their liquid, plus one 14-ounce can, drained
1 pound imported linguine
1 generous cup fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for the table
Directions:
1. Bring the salted water to a boil.
2. Lightly film a straight-sided 12-inch sauté pan with oil, add the bacon, and set over medium-high heat. Sauté until the bacon is golden. Remove it with a slotted spoon, setting it on paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.
3. Return the pan to the heat, and stir in the onions, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium. Sauté until the onions soften and start to color, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Blend in the garlic, cooking for 1 minute, and then add the tomatoes. If using canned ones, crush them as they go into the pan. Stir in the cooked bacon. Bring the sauce to a lively bubble and cook until it is thick, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring to keep it from sticking. Remove from the heat, taste for seasoning, and cover the pan. The sauce can wait on the stovetop for up to an hour. Bring it to a bubble before adding it to the pasta.
5. Drop the pasta into the boiling water, and cook until it is tender but still a little firm to the bite. Drain, and turn it into a serving bowl. Toss with the 1 cup cheese until it clings to the noodles, then toss with the sauce. Serve hot, with additional cheese at the table if desired.
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