Category: Book and Product Reviews

Tea Smoked Wings From 50 Great Appetizers

If you look over to the side bar of my blog, you will see a widget from Library Thing. Here is where I catalogue all of my cook books. Its daunting enough listing them and not the other multitudes of books I have. Library Thing is a great networking resource for book lovers and so much to to offer. I have barely tapped into Library Thing, but each month I eagerly bid in their Early Reviewers offers.Limited quantities of books are released from publishers on a whole range of topics. I have been bidding for months and had about given up on ever getting a book. Wasn’t I presently surprised when I saw I was chosen to receive 50 Great Appetizers by Pamela Sheldon Johns, a reknown cooking instructor and host of Italian culinary workshops throughout Italy.

It arrived immediately from Andrews McMeel Publishing/ Universal Press Syndicate. 50 Great Appetizers is a small gem of book that would make a great gift this holiday season. The author takes the anxiety and angst out of planning a party with party theme/menu suggestions From Middle Eastern Mezes to Farmers Market spreads. She even breaks down traditional entrees and shows how the host/hostess can adapt them to appetizer portions. It is all about presentation, and this book is wonderfully presented. Pamela Sheldon Johns divides the book into four sections Topped and Dipped, Grilled &Skewered, Stuffed & Rolled, and Plated and Sauced. The author even has a detailed vegetarian listing of all recipes. Each recipe has a brief suggestion of other pairings or any ideas or recommendations.So all your bases are covered for entertaining. Jennifer Barry is her visual collaborator and has given us a wonderful package in photos and design. All in all a great resource.
I wanted to choose a more sophisticated and complex recipe for my blog to test a recipe. One of the first recipes that caught me a unique and challenging was Tea Smoked Chicken Wings with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce. I used Assam Black Tea Leaves. I was worried about the brief time in cooking as this process was new to me. My first attempt at improvising a smoker didn’t work and the wings were raw after the elapsed cooking time.

The rack was to far away from the smoke mixture.I grabbed a layer from my bamboo steamer that fit more directly over the tea/ spice mixture, and we were in business! The wings were smoked in the exact time the recipe stated. I normally like my wings broiled or fried with a crispier skin, but these were rich and seductive with that smokey flavor. The accompanying sauce wasn’t to sweet and cloying, but just right in its simple equal proportioned mix of soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and sesame oil. These are grown up wings, and I will use this technique for other foods down the line. I loved that tea smoked smell that lingered in the house. It kind of reminded me of Oolong tea in scent, if that’s your thing.

For legal /copyright reasons I wont give the recipe . But essentially I used rice, brown sugar, star anise, orange peel, and tea leaves to create a foil lined sealed smoker. The sauce was soy, rice vinegar, minced garlic, and sesame oil. I found success changing my rack to my bamboo steamer rack. This is really easy and wow your guests when entertaining. I look forward to changing tea blends, and meats with this technique. A cook book can be followed literally of be there to give you more inspiration or ideas. This does both succesfully.

I’m sending this to Meeta for her Monthly Mingle…Coffee and Tea. If anyone wants more detailed instruction email me.

The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry… A Review and A Give Away!

A few weeks back I received a request to review a book that was about to be published in the paperback version from Penguin Books. The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry …Love , Laughter and Tears in Paris at the Worlds Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn is in one word Outstanding!. I couldn’t put this book down over the weekend because it hit home on so many levels. A short synopsis is of a American woman in her late thirties seemingly has it all. A high level job in London, and a wonderful love.Like most of us have or are about to go through, the realities of corporate life hit and she is layed off. Fine , she wasn’t happy anyway. All her life she dreamed of studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, in part influenced by a relatives dream. But life gets in the way and dreams are put on hold. Do I know that story! I too got to study briefly in France but family duty and responsibility called me back home.Kathleen’s love encourages her to use this time and follow her dream. He even decides to join her and what follows is a comical, loving, challenging time filled with all the highs and lows that go with studying in pressure cooker like Le Cordon Bleu, competitiveness, struggles with the French culture and language, being an American abroad in these perilous times, etc. The title comes from a line uttered in a lecture by a chef. As he explains how to chop a onion he advises on the use of sharp knives and cuts so the fumes aren’t released that make you cry.But there is so much more to that sentence! The various chef instructors all have strong personalities and taskmasters that bring out the best and sometimes worst in the students. Kathleen closes each chapter with recipes from her studies, her family, her fellow students, Le Cordon Bleu, and her final exam. She even has a section at the end advising on menu ideas for a book club to discuss the book.
Kathleen Flinn reminds us that of the Ernest Hemingway quote that says “If your lucky enough to live in Paris when you’re young, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” I loved this book because it brought back so many memories of my years in art school in Paris. I could totally relate to the tears, the neighborhoods, the characters, the house guests galore( which happens when you live in a great city),the whole American abroad experience. The author is motivated by Julia Child, who ‘started late’ and a obituary of a woman. What do you want your obituary to say? Are you happy, and is really to late to do what you love? What holds you back, will you die with regrets?And most important, are you surrounded by people who truly love and support you in your dreams, because that is essential to succeed. This author is writer by profession who also loves cuisine. Young old, mid career or just starting out, this book is for everyone.
The people at PENGUIN were kind enough to give me an extra copy.Just comment on what your dream is or what you would do if life threw you a curve ball and had the chance to do what you loved? I will leave the comments open until Friday August 29. and pick a winner randomly. Good Luck!