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Books That Cook: Sterns, cooking club provide inspiration
By ELLEN FOLKMAN El Charro Cafe Cookbook: Flavors of Tucson from America's Oldest Family-Operated Mexican Restaurant
If you are looking for an authentic Mexican cookbook, this is it. Husband-and-wife Jane and Michael Stern have made a career of writing about America's best places to eat, and they have a good time sharing this gem. After writing compilation books, the Sterns are spotlighting single restaurants this year. Their other new book (see next review) is about the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Ga. Many favorite Mexican dishes either originated or were made famous by the El Charro Cafe in Tucson, Ariz., including the tostada, the chimichanga and topopo salad, which is similar to a taco salad. Husband-and-wife Carlotta and Ray Flores, who run the restaurant (Carlotta's grandmother founded it), share the recipes in this book. Mexican food is notoriously fattening, but heart-healthy versions of El Charro's regular recipes remedy that. They sound every bit as flavorful as their high-calorie, high-fat counterparts. Many familiar recipes can be found in this cookbook, including tortilla soup, flan, Mexican Wedding Cookies and chiles rellenos. All call for fresh ingredients and homemade sauces. In the interest of time, bottled versions, such as salsa and pico de gallo, can be substituted. Scattered among recipes for Fish Fillets with Vegetables, Chicken Pasta Salad with Tequila, Sweet Banana Squash and margaritas are delightful stories and photographs about the El Charro Cafe and its colorful founders. Some recipes, such as the 80th Anniversary Special Chicken, Anise Cookies, Barbecued Beef, and Sweet Pumpkin Tamales with Pineapple Chutney, are more labor-intensive than others. Those requiring less work include Rice Flavored with Fruit, Spinach Salad and Macaroons. No recipe requires unusual ingredients or techniques, and all are suitable for any skill level. If you want to expand taco night and explore other Mexican dishes, El Charro Cafe can inspire. The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook
Southern hospitality is alive and well at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Ga., voted "Best Small Town Restaurant in the South" by Southern Living magazine readers. The recipes in this cookbook are the epitome of Southern cooking. What meal could be more Southern than fried chicken, collard greens, creamed potatoes, red velvet cake and sweet tea? The down-home goodness doesn't stop there. The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook features the familiar, key lime pie and country fried steak, and the lesser-known, Fried Corn and Catfish Stew. The original Chex Party Mix recipe, sans pretzels and bagel chips, is at home here. The book offers recipes for every occasion, including appetizers such as Double-Oink Roll-Ups and Virginia's Vidalia Onion Dip, side dishes of Cornbread Dressing and Fried Green Tomatoes, and desserts including Pralines, Peanut Butter Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie. Southern traditions and charming anecdotes mingle with recipes. These are unpretentious recipes. You'll find nothing fancy, no exotic ingredients, no difficult techniques, just home cooking. Although many of these recipes are easily found elsewhere, such a collection is a refreshing diversion from celebrity chef cookbooks. The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook isn't the healthiest cookbook ever published, but it is Southern comfort food at its best. The Cooking Club Cookbook: Six Friends Show You How To Bake, Broil and Bond
Have you thought of gathering a group of friends and starting a cooking club but weren't sure how to get started? The Cooking Club Cookbook comes to the rescue with answers to your questions, plus theme ideas and recipes. The authors, six friends, cover topics ranging from how many people to have in the group to delegating who brings what course. These women are far from culinary experts, and they don't claim to be. The book includes simple recipes, such as Penny's Broccoli Casserole, Mini-Me Mac and Cheese, and Baked Artichoke Dip, and sophisticated, elegant dishes, such as Asparagus with Chardonnay-Caviar Cream Sauce, Seared Scallop Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette, and Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Pine Nuts. The club's first dinner went off without a hitch. The second didn't. Instead of giving up, the women continued developing themes and trying recipes. The grill menu includes Grilled Tuna Salad, Shrimp on the Barbie and Mile High Burgers. The Mardi Gras menu offers Turkey Sausage and Chicken Gumbo, Bananas Foster with Pralined Pecans (minus the flambe), and Creole Casserole with Eggplant, Shrimp and Crab. Even the most intimidating recipes are easy. Rosemary Potato Chips and Fresh Tomato Soup use minimal ingredients, and the directions are easy to follow. The ingredients in the recipes are not difficult to find. Penny's Broccoli Casserole
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 3-quart casserole dish. Add the onions, garlic and celery, and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add the broccoli and cook in the microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, soup, milk, water chestnuts and 21/2 cups of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serves 4 to 6. Source: The Cooking Club Cookbook: Six Friends Show You How To Bake, Broil and Bond by Katherine Fausset, Sharon Cohen Fredman, Rebecca Sample Gerstung, Cynthia Harris, Lucia Quartararo, Lisa Singer (Villard, $19.95) Double-Oink Roll-Ups
In a saucepan, melt the butter in the water. Remove from the heat and stir into the stuffing crumbs. Add the egg and sausage, and blend thoroughly. Chill for one hour and shape into pecan-size balls. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the bacon strips into thirds and use the strips to wrap around the balls, securing each with a wooden pick. Place on a shallow baking pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot. Makes about 30 rollups. Source: The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook by Jane and Michael Stern (Rutledge Hill Press, $19.99) Anise Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and continue beating until fluffy. Add the anise and brandy. Combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, mixing until well-blended. Turn out the dough onto waxed paper and knead lightly. Form the dough into a ball. Refrigerate the dough, wrapped in plastic, for at least 1 hour. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick. With a wreath-shaped cookie cutter or doughnut cutter, cut as many cookies as possible and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cookies with a mixture of the brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until cookies are firm and starting to brown. Remove the cookies to a wire rack and cool before storing. Makes about 12 cookies. Source: El Charro Cafe Cookbook: Flavors of Tucson from America's Oldest Family-Operated Mexican Restaurant by Jane and Michael Stern (Rutledge Hill Press, $19.99). -- Ellen Folkman's cookbook review column appears monthly in the Taste section.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
