Media Nugget

Cooking Light

Cooking Light
monthly

For a magazine that's about restriction (calories and fat), Cooking Light certainly comes across as a predictable source of abundance. Every month seems to bring more content than the last -- from their nutrition column and the fact-packed front section ("First Light") with pages on food, health, and fitness, to their feature sections on cooking techniques, lightening up high-calorie reader recipes, vegetarian cuisine, seasonal fare, quick meals, wines, and much, much, much more. They recently added home design and beauty sections, which, for my money, may signal the the editors are getting a little carried away. However, as long as each month Cooking Light delivers more than 100 recipes that help me eat well and watch my weight, I'll be a dedicated fan.

Chowhound

Jim Leff
Chowhound

It's like craigslist for food. Or, more specifically, restaurant recommendations. Planning a trip and want to find the best local eats? You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't check out Chowhound's message boards. They've got most of the US covered, as long as you live in SF, LA, or New York. The rest of the country is a little more hit-or-miss. Still, if you're heading for Hawaii or stopping over in St. Louis, the site is still worth a look. You can find the best Thai food in Boston or good gumbo in Chicago. Other topics include kosher foods, international options, and the always entertaining not-about-food category.

Soul of a Chef

Michael Ruhlman
The Soul of a Chef
2000

Over the course of three long essays, Michael Ruhlman tries to illustrate a world that has become increasingly fascinating to readers and eaters alike -- that of the professional chef. The public has never been keener to peek into the kitchen -- from the sublime memoirs of Anthony Bourdain to the ridiculous antics of Rocco DiSpirito on reality television. Still, you might consider this volume as a well-balanced tasting menu of food writing. Ruhlman begins by detailing the trials of several already acclaimed cooks who are attempting to be recognized as culinary creme de la creme by taking the grueling Certified Master Chef exam. Then he turns his attention to individual chefs -- Cleveland's Michael Symon of Lola Bistro and Thomas Keller of the world-famous French Laundry in Napa. The great thing about this book is that it not only offers insights into the daily lives of great chefs, but also considers the subjective nature of culinary "perfection."

Simple Cooking

John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne
Simple Cooking
5 issues/year

Food writer John Thorne's website may seem like it's circa 1998, but don't let that deter you. You'll still find plenty of delicious information on cookbooks and, um, cookbooks, and, okay, still more cookbooks. Dig a little deeper and you'll uncover photo-illustrated galleries of breakfasts and midnight snacks. Still, that's not why we're here. Focus. We're in search of the subscription page for Thorne's legendary newsletter, "Simple Cooking," which is published five times per year. That's not enough, but it'll have to do. At least for five days, you'll come back from your mailbox with eight single-spaced pages packed with reviews of obscure cookbooks, tall tales from the fictional No-Name Diner, and plenty of top-shelf food writing. Recent subjects include: pistachios, casseroles, Greek salads, and the award-winning article "Pepper Pot Hot."

Puerco Pibil

Richard Rodriguez
Puerco Pibil
2004

Among the DVD extras on Richard Rodriguez's trilogy-ending Once Upon a Time in Mexico, you'll find a short film offering a delicious recipe for slow-cooked pork shoulder, drowned in a spicy Annato-seed sauce. It's not an easy recipe -- the spices aren't commonplace and the grinding will require some gear -- but the finished dish is well worth the effort. In the film, Johnny Depp even kills for it. If the idea of learning a recipe from a film director lights your burner, you might also want to try the Aloo Gobi from Bend it Like Beckham.

Home Cooking

Laurie Colwin
Home Cooking
1988

This is my wife's favorite cookbook and so I'm going out on a limb by attempting to do it justice in a nugget. That said, I can vouch for these things: First, as a novelist and story writer, Laurie Colwin makes these essays a true pleasure to inhabit. The author herself is a compelling main character -- observant, opinionated, and wickedly funny. Second, the recipes are delicious. There aren't all that many, just one or two are featured within each short essay (most appeared as columns in Gourmet). Yam Cakes with Hot Pepper and Fermented Black Beans are a particular favorite. Finally, Colwin's own favorite cookbooks are a great foundation for any kitchen library. She frequently mentions the cooks that she admires: Jane Grigson, Edna Lewis, Margaret Costa, Elizabeth David, and others. Even if your cookbook shelf is full, make some room for Laurie Colwin, who sadly only produced two collections of food writing before her death.

The New Joy of Cooking

Ethan Becker, et. al.
The New Joy of Cooking
1997

Even if you believe, as I do, that the The Joy of Cooking is a staple requirement for any kitchen, what you may not realize is that the text is anything but sacred. The book has undergone two major revisions since it was originally published in 1931--first, in the 60's by Irma Rombauer's daughter, Marion, and most recently by her grandson, Ethan. Each of the revisions has met with its champions and critics, and the latest edition is no exception. The loudest complaint seems to be the removal of a critic's favorite recipe. And while that is an insult that's hard to stomach, I think that home chefs may have more than their share of "the original is better" prejudice. All I can say about The New Joy of Cooking is that it's like a kitchen oracle. You need to know everything about making pancakes? Look no further than page 793. How about duck confit? (Page 624.) The range of dishes is impressive, and while this guide may be a hair short of encyclopedic, the writing is clear (even if it does have less personality than the original), the illustrations are useful, and the food just plain tastes good. You'd be suprised how hard that recipe is to duplicate.

Butter Dispenser

various online stores
Butter Dispenser

My wife spotted this gadget online, before she was my wife, and, truth be told, it may have had a hand in our eventual espousal. You see, we both love butter, yet we don't like messy wax-paper sticks, which keep the butter too hard to spread. And we don't like tubs of aerated butter. Enter the butter dispenser, a product of such stunning genius that it has become a touchstone in our home. Every morning, we wonder at the sublime utility of the dispenser as it informs our day: "Waste not," it whispers. "Keep it clean," it coos. "Don't laugh at me just because I look ridiculous," it admonishes. Seriously, this kitchen tool is indispensable if you use small amounts of butter on a daily basis--on toast, in the frying pan, for melting in recipes. If you can get over its gawky looks (and some people can't), the butter dispenser will bring you daily dollops of pure, high-calorie joy.

Gear For Your Kitchen

Alton Brown's
Gear For Your Kitchen
2003

Brown, the hardest working man in food television, won a James Beard Award for I'm Just Here for the Food, his debut kitchen reference book. Here's the followup, which turns the spotlight from techniques to, your guessed it, kitchen equipment. The great thing about Gear is that it's straightforward -- Brown knows what he likes and what he dislikes and he's not afraid to name brand names (Alcoa to Zyliss). It's also hilarious, with Alton's signature asides littered throughout the margins. Get this book, get some gear, and get cooking. For more Brown, check out his web site.

Cook's Illustrated

Cook's Illustrated
bi-monthly

Despite its low page-count, Cook's Illustrated offers a ton of great information each and every issue. You'll find a highly empirical look at recipes, kitchenware, and ingredients. Think Consumer Reports, but with some soul. While the unusual format may leave some wondering if 30 black-and-white pages can stack up against glossy tomes like Gourmet and Bon Appetit, in the end you'll be glad that Cook's cuts out the empty calories of lifestyle advertising and just gets right to the main course. The April issue contains articles on pork chops, yeasted waffles, brownies, and a dark chocolate taste test.