The Flavor Bible: A Review

One of the most exciting cooking books to come out in a very long time is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's joint effort The Flavor Bible (Hachett Books, 2008). This book is an absolute must have for the creative cook's kitchen!

The Flavor Bible is essentially an encyclopedia of ingredients and flavors; herbs, spices, meats, vegetables, grains, etc. Everything you can think of is listed alphabetically in these pages. With each entry is a list of other flavors and ingredients that pair well with that item. For example, let's say that I have almonds in my pantry and am trying to figure out what to do with them. I look up "Almonds" in The Flavor Bible and I find a lengthy list of things that work well with almonds. Some are obvious, of course, like chocolate, vanilla, and honey. Then come seasonings and flavors I hadn't thought of, like rosemary, plums, Italian sauces, and such. I also find recommended flavor combinations, like "almonds + chocolate + coconut" or "almonds + green anise + figs".

It's amazing how quickly this book became an indispensable part of my kitchen library! It's now the first book I pick up when I start planning a new recipe, or am trying to figure out something new and inventive to do with leftovers. The book has gotten me to consider flavor combinations that I might have overlooked if I were sticking to recipes tried and true.

The Flavor Bible took authors Page and Dornenburg eight years to put together. They drew upon the wisdom and experience of some of the country's most renowned palates, dozens of chefs whose knowledge gave this book the depth required to make it a truly effective tool for the modern cook. In addition to being an outstanding guide for ingredients, it contains helpful tips, dish ideas, recipes, antidotes and more. It is well worth the price and a fantastic gift for anyone you know who loves to cook!

The Gentle Art of Ratio Cooking

Often as I have watched other more experienced cooks ply their trade, I have marveled at their freedom from using recipes, how they just seem to know how much of what to mix together to make a delicious moist cake or a creamy custard. Of course, experience has much to do with this skill but just as important is the understanding of cooking ratios - what they are and how to use them. This is where Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking comes to save the day!

This might just be the most important book about cooking that I have ever read. Sure, there are some fun and interesting recipe ideas within its pages but the point of the book is to get you away from thinking in recipes and to get you to see why the recipes work the way they do. If you know, for example, that a basic cookie dough is 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour, you can use this 1:2:3 ratio to make just about any cookie your imagination can come up with! When you understand that muffins are 2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg, and 1 part butter, you will have hundreds of recipes at your fingertips and will have the freedom to improvise with whatever flavor combinations you might have on hand at the moment. That, I believe, is what this book is really all about - culinary freedom. As Alton Brown put it, "...having a ratio in hand is like having a secret decoder ring that frees you from the tyranny of recipes." So many cooks are slaves to the recipe to the extent that when they are forced to forgo a pre-written recipe, they are lost and their cooking suffers. Knowing what works and why it works is a big part of elevating your cooking from being just food to being art.

One of the best things about reading this book was that fact that I constantly found myself stopping and pondering the possibilities of the ratios Ruhlman discusses. I had never thought of using a Pâte à Choux (cream puff dough) as a base for dumplings in chicken stew but I can't wait to try! His explanation of the difference between a roux and a beurre manié has made me rethink the way I was making gravy, a basic sauce that I thought I had completely mastered.

The approach discussed in this wonderful book is so basic and yet is the foundation for literally everything else that happens in the kitchen. These are, as the title of the book claims, simple codes. With practice and technique, you will be whipping up handmade seafood sausages, fresh wild mushroom raviolis, and homemade butterscotch without ever cracking open a single cookbook. And that my friends is what the true Art of Cooking is really all about!

A Perfect Day for Ginger Snaps

One of the joys of marriage is sharing, the good along with the bad. Kat, in the spirit of love (I'm sure) has shared her cold with me, leaving me wondering what I might create in my kitchen that would help me feel a little better. Yes, I've already eaten the Garlic Soup and may make another pot before this is done. I have, however, other tricks up my sleeve and have decided to call upon another wondrously healthy ingredient - ginger!

There are lots of ways to take advantage of this delicious root but I know of nothing that highlights the flavor of this ingredient more than Ginger Snap Cookies. I have a recipe that I am still working on perfecting and today seemed like the perfect day to continue my experimentation.

When I first encountered a version of this recipe online, the thing that struck me was that, unlike most other Ginger Snap recipes, this one featured ginger in 3 different forms - ground, fresh and crystallized. The recipe was huge and made some 8 dozen cookies, a bit much for our household (according to Kat)! I decided to halve the recipe to a scant 4 dozen, at least until I got it just the way I wanted it.

My first batch was very tasty though there was one problem. The cookies were chewy, there was no snap to them at all. I tried to make them again, this time reducing the flour by about 1/4 cup and increasing the amount of sugar from just a cup of brown to also including 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. This resulted in a crispier cookie, but they were way too thin, almost wafer-like. In both trials, I increased the amount of ginger. Another thing I did to both recipes was to add the "super secret" ingredient, cayenne pepper! It took the cookie to a whole new level, elevating it from a "kid cookie" to an "adult cookie." The flavor is much more complex and the spiciness adds just the right touch.

Today my plan was to replace the butter in the recipe with vegetable shortening. I added back the 1/4 cup of flour that I removed last time and also increased the baking time from 10 minutes to 12. The result was exactly what I was looking for - a crisp ginger cookie that actually 'snaps' when you break it in half!

Today I am giving the recipes for both the crispy version, as well as the chewy version. The chewy version is obviously the healthier of the two. There are prices I'm willing to pay for a good Ginger Snap, however, and I am unrepentant! As for you, you may take your pick or even better, try them both!

Ginger Snap Cookies

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium to large bowl, sift together:

2-1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour

2 t ground ginger

2 t baking soda

1 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t salt

Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together with a wooden spoon:

3/4 c vegetable shortening (use softened butter for a chewy cookie)

1 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar (for chewy cookies, do not use)

When butter and sugar are fluffy, add:

1/4 c molasses

1 egg

Mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and:

1/4 c grated fresh ginger, squeezing and adding excess juice

1 c chopped crystallized ginger

Stir with spoon (or even by hand) until well blended. Roll the dough into little balls about an inch in diameter and place onto parchment covered baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press down in each ball to flatten it just a bit. Bake for about 12 minutes, until tops of cookies are lightly golden and take on a cracked appearance. Remove cookies from the oven and slide parchment on to wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes, then remove cookies from the parchment and allow to completely cool on rack. To speed the baking process along, I generally use 2 pieces of parchment, so that one is ready to go into the oven when the other comes out. Typically, I get 4 dozen cookies with this recipe but today I got 54, meaning I had to eat 6 of them to make the numbers come out!

A couple of quick tips - first, regarding baking sheets. I cannot recommend strongly enough the use of insulated cookware. I have one old baking sheet that I bought because it was cheaper than the others that is just awful for baking. The bottom comes out burned every time! I baked these cookies on an insulated baking sheet and the bottoms are a beautiful golden brown, each one a perfect cookie. Spend a little more on your bakeware. Trust me, it's worth it!

Second, in regards to purchasing crystallized ginger. It can be very expensive when purchased from an American supermarket, which has put a lot of people off of buying it or trying these cookies. Fret not! Simply go to your neighborhood Asian market (if you have one) and you'll find it for about $5 or $6 per pound, as opposed to $5 for an ounce or two! A pound is way more than enough to use in this recipe, leaving you with extra ginger for nibbling (it's great for upset stomach, colds and a variety of other health issues, or for just snacking on when you have a sweet tooth) or for making more cookies! Don't be afraid to shop in ethnic food stores. True, the labels are harder to read but the folks who run these stores are very helpful and I think you'll find that the prices will blow your traditional American market out of the water! Here in Portland, we're lucky enough to have Asian, Russian, Latino, African, German, Carribean and other ethnic stores available to us. They are a veritable treasure trove of food wonders and challenges.