When the weather gets a little cold, I do love a nice, big comforting bowl of soup. And when I don’t have a ton of time or energy left at the end of tWhen the weather gets a little cold, I do love a nice, big comforting bowl of soup. And when I don’t have a ton of time or energy left at the end of the day, I often end up making some ramen: there’s always a sad veggie or two left in the crisper that needs to be used up, and a dollop of butter and curry paste brightens up any soup stock. Easy peasy!
When I saw this book, I figured it would make for a great source of inspiration and new ideas to pimp up my fall and winter ramen routine. I also fell in love with the format: I remember having a couple of illustrated cookbooks as a child, which were really great to teach children about basic food preparation (it certainly made it look more fun than regular cookbooks!), so the idea of blending comic books and recipes struck me as pure genius.
While this book is gorgeous and informative, I have to say it seriously lacks in vegetarian options!! While I do eat meat from time to time, it isn’t a big part of my diet or cooking preferences. There is only one vegetarian broth recipe, and while I understand that it's not strictly traditional, a few variations would have been nice. And while there are many recipes for the different meaty garnishes to add to a ramen bowl, again there are very few alternative ideas for meat-free versions included in the book… The meat-balls and marinated eggs recipes look absolutely scrumptious.
While I am not quite ready for the very time-consuming process of making my own broth, I love that the author thought to include a way to make home-made “instant” ramen broth and store it so you don’t have to spend an entire day boiling away pig trotters every time you fancy a bowl.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because despite being a very cool idea, I'm just not going to use it much. This is really more for the ramen purists, as where I'll always be the girl who uses store-bought broth and noodles when she feel like having a lazy dinner....more
Macarons are probably one of my favorite treats, but learning to make them was a bonding experience between me and my adorable mother-in-law. She knewMacarons are probably one of my favorite treats, but learning to make them was a bonding experience between me and my adorable mother-in-law. She knew I liked baking, and when I first met my parents-in-law, I brought them a box of "Point G" cookies - the best macarons in Montreal. Next thing I know, she made sure to have all the ingredients and apparatus necessary for us to make some macarons together when we visited them the following Christmas!
Our first batch was not impressive but our second batch was a huge improvement. Since then, macarons have been our thing, and when I saw this book, I immediately got two copies - one for her, one for me - so that we could experiment, compare results and share tips.
If we'd had this book the first time we tried our hand at macarons, it would have gone a lot smoother. The instructions are clear, the step-by-step pictures very helpful and this book encourages creativity like few cookbooks ever do. It includes a clear table of cooking terms and a detailed explanation of the technique to make these delicate little cookies.
There is a chapter for classic macarons, then some more exotic flavors, ideas on how to make lovely creations for special occasions, and an entire chapter devoted to how one can use the multiple egg yolks a macaron baker is bound to end up stuck with! Each recipe also comes with a suggestion of which type of tea, coffee and boozy beverage to match the macarons with.
If you are looking for a beginner's guide to macaron baking, this book is perfect!...more
I absolutely loved the show "Hannibal": Bryan Fuller's aesthetic and his touch for atmosphere and rhythm is amazing; and of course, what Mads MikkleseI absolutely loved the show "Hannibal": Bryan Fuller's aesthetic and his touch for atmosphere and rhythm is amazing; and of course, what Mads Mikklesen did with the character was wonderful. Hannibal Lecter has always been my favorite villain, and he elevated him to another level. Refined, sophisticated, elegant, flawlessly polite. Oh, and of course, he is an excellent cook... Didn't the food on the show looked to die for? Pun intended...
Now relax: there's no recipe indicating how to cook human parts in this book. But if you enjoyed the show, you might want to check it out. It was written by the food stylist who had the pleasure (and often massive challenge) of preparing all the decadent and gorgeous food the characters prepared and ate on the show. Recipes often have little stories related to the episodes in which the dishes appeared, there is breathtaking food photography every few pages, practical shopping and entertaining advice, and as much dark humor as one can infuse in a cookbook.
While Hannibal points out to his dinner guests that nothing he serves is vegetarian, there is a surprising amount of vegetarian dishes in the book! From faux foie gras, to beet pâté and vegetarian osso bucco (basically a clever way of presenting eggplants and leeks to look like the original dish), there are a few really interesting and creative options for people who like their food cruelty-free. But mostly, this is what I would call a challenge cookbook: the dishes are often on the complicated side, requiring ingredients that will demand a bit of hunting (pun not intended this time), such as organ meat. That being said, more simple substitutions are often indicated, in case you feel self-conscious about going to the butcher shop and asking if they have any lamb testicles in stock.
It seems unlikely to me that I will be cooking much out of this book (though I am dying to try to make prosciutto melon peacock tails, because wow!), but it is an absolute pleasure to flip through: I guess it does require a certain twisted sense of humor to appreciate - but fans of the show will find it an absolute delight....more
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