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EPISODE 15: HOLIDAY COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Pt. 3 – Kids’ Cookbooks & Stocking Stuffers / Roast chicken, roast cabbage, pain de campagne & *croissants*!!!  

Listen to The Level Teaspoon podcast by subscribing on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play.

KIDS’ COOKBOOKS recommendations:

  …. and
[not mentioned on the podcast
but also worth considering
for younger kids.]

 

 

 

Jane Kelly is the co-founder of Eat Your Books, the only website in the world that searches through all your recipes – from your cookbooks, magazines and online sources. She was a senior manager and CEO in the music and TV industry in the UK. In the late 90s she started and ran a website selling cookbooks. She loves to cook though is cursed by a family of fussy eaters whereas she will happily eat everything (which is probably also a curse).  She lives near Boston.

This week’s test cookbook #1:   Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Kitchen Victories, by Julia Turshen (Chronicle Books)

This week’s guest #2: Pete Baker

Pete Baker is the Kitchen Manager at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre Massachusetts.  He spends much of his time on food and drink related activities including bread baking and pizza making in a homemade outdoor wood-fired clay oven, keeping bees and chickens, and tending to a very large vegetable garden and small orchard as well as foraging for mushrooms. He also is an avid home brewer.

This week’s test cookbook #2: Bread Illustrated: a Step by Step Guide to Achieving Bakery Quality Results at Home, by America’s Test Kitchen

Episode 15 Music

  • “Holiday 2,” by Dave Depper
  • “Pixelland,” by Kevin MacLeod
  • “Darxieland,” by Kevin MacLeod
  • “Avareh,” by Mamak Khadem

Episode 15 Sound Effects

Lethbridge Sounds, and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music: Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 14: HOLIDAY COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Pt. 2 – ETHNIC COOKBOOKS / Chicken lettuce wraps, spinach-Gruyère soufflé, simple salad.  

Listen to The Level Teaspoon podcast by subscribing on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play.

ETHNIC/REGIONAL COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

This week’s guest #1: Sally Ekus

Sally Ekus is a literary agent and co-owner of The Lisa Ekus Group, a full service culinary agency specializing in literary and talent representation.  She represents a wide range of culinary talent, from first-time cookbook authors to seasoned chefs, professional food writers to bloggers, and internet and television personalities (and she also represented my own book, A Spoonful of Promises!).  Sally loves being the liaison between an author and their publisher, and takes great pride in guiding authors towards their dreams of publication.  Sally has a deep love of phở, anything spicy, and of course TACOS! You can follow her on Instagram @SallyEkus.

This week’s test cookbook #1:   Damn Delicious by Chungah Rhee (Oxmoor Press)

This week’s guest #2: Molly Stevens

Molly Stevens is a food writer, cookbook author, editor and cooking teacher living in Northern Vermont. Her cookbook All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Art (WW Norton, 2011) won a 2012 James Beard Foundation Award and two International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards. Previously, her cookbook All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking (WW Norton, 2004) also won a 2005 James Beard Foundation Award and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Award. Molly’s articles and recipes appear regularly in Fine Cooking magazine where she is a contributing editor. She has contributed regularly to Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Eating Well magazines. Her recipes and tips have also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Everyday with Rachel Ray, Real Simple, Yankee, Easy Living (UK), Drinks, Real Food, and House & Garden (South Africa) magazines.

This week’s test cookbook #2: Taste & Technique, by Naomi Pomeroy

Episode 14 Music

  • Sunsearcher, “Latin Rhythm”
  • “Devil with the Devil,” by the Underscore Orchestra
  • “The Lemur,” by Curha

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music: Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 13: Holiday COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Pt. 1 – BAKING BOOKS / Chocolate and Brown Sugar Buttercream Rolled Cake with Crushed Pistachios and
Double-Chocolate Chunk Blondie Bars with Bourbon Ganache!  

Listen to The Level Teaspoon podcast by subscribing on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play.

Baking Book Recommendations:

     

This week’s guest: Jenny Hartin

“I am the Cookbook Promotions Manager for Eat Your Books and the founder of The Cookbook Junkies, a Facebook group of 38,000 cookbook fanatics and website of the same name located here. I wrote a column on cookbook reviews for TasteBook and I write a bi-weekly column for Sunday Supper Movement. I also provide reviews for Publishers Weekly. A New Yorker for over 15 years, I moved to Colorado three years ago with my husband and son, Andrew who is 12. I am an avid cook and baker – and have far too many kitchen related items and cookbooks (4000) in my home.”

This week’s test cookbook:   Marbled, Swirled, and Layered by Irvin Lin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The publisher was kind enough to give us permission to reprint the recipes for Chocolate and Brown Sugar Buttercream Rolled Cake with Crushed Pistachios and Double-Chocolate Chunk Blondie Bars with Bourbon Ganache here.

Episode 13 Music

  • Songe d’Automne, by Latché Swing
  • Morena, by Radio Jerocho and Zenen Zeferino Huervo

Episode 13 Sound Effects

  • Corsica_S,, and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music: Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 12: The Thanksgiving PIE episode / Potato-stuffed Chiles Rellenos & Purple Potato Focaccia!  Listen to The Level Teaspoon podcast by subscribing on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play.

 

“Hey Susie, What were those books that you mentioned in that pie episode this week?”

   

Wanna buy the flakiest rendered leaf lard ever?  Dietrich’s Meats is your answer.  Just give yourself a couple weeks.

This week’s guest:  Becky Selengut is a cookbook author, cooking teacher, dog wrangler, cocktail lover and comedy podcaster. She can be found at http://www.beckyselengut.com.

This week’s test cookbook:   Smashed,  Mashed, Boiled, and Baked – and Fried, too! by Raghavan Iyer (Workman Publishing)

purple-potato-focaccia

Photographer: Matthew Benson

The publisher was kind enough to give us permission to reprint Raghavan’s Potato-stuffed Chiles Rellenos and Purple Potato Focaccia recipes here.

Episode 12 Music

  • Warmer,’ by Andy Cohen

Episode 12 Sound Effects

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music: Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 11: Best Recipes 2016 Begins / All About Breakfast

Something different this week: I begin my annual search for the Best Recipes of 2016.In this episode, we look at one of them: Ningbo Omelet with Dried Shrimp and Chives, from Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop.  Fuchsia and her publisher, W. W. Norton, were kind enough to grant me permission to reprint the recipe here.

omlette_297Ningbo omelet with dried shrimp and Chinese chives

3 oz (75g) Chinese or garlic chives
3 tbsp cooking oil
3/4 oz (25g) papery dried shrimp
4 large eggs
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Salt and ground white pepper

Trim off and discard the white ends off the chives, and cut the green leaves into 2 in (5mm) sections. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in your wok or pan, then stir-fry the shrimp until they smell delicious and are faintly golden. Remove and set aside.

Beat the eggs, add the Shaoxing wine, shrimp and chives, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the remaining cooking oil into a hot, seasoned wok or frying pan. When it is hot, pour in the egg mixture. Use a wok scoop to push in from the sides of the omelet several times, allowing the runny egg mixture to fill the space you have created. When there is no longer enough runny egg to do this, leave the omelet to fry over a medium flame until the base is golden and the eggs are nearly set.

Cover the omelet with a plate and carefully invert the pan so the omelet turns out on to the plate, then slide it back into the pan and cook the other side until golden. Slide the omelet onto a chopping board. Cut it into 1 1/2 in (4cm) strips, then cut the strips diagonally into chopstickable slices. Pile up on a serving dish.

Also: assorted breakfast recipes from Rise and Shine, by Katie Sullivan-Morford, with guest Jandro Levins.

Alejandro Levins is an entrepreneur, investor and consultant interested in improving our food system through innovation. His love of eating and feeding others led to his love of cooking, which he does nearly every day.

You can also check out the wicked cool cheese cutter Jandro mentions in the interview while you’re listening.

 

 

Episode 11 Music

  • Underscore Orchestra, Devil with the Devil
  • Underscore Orchestra, Blue Draggish

Episode 11 Sound Effects

  • klankbeeld and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music: Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 10: Vegan Adventures and Misadventures, the Perils of Okra, Japanese Home Cooking / Dorie’s Cookies! (with Kathy Gunst)

The Level Teaspoon can be found on iTunesStitcher, and Google Play – or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” on any othenr podcast service you may use.   You can also hear it through your browser at The Level Teaspoon site.

   

The Superfun Times Vegan   Holiday Cookbook: Entertaining for Absolutely Every Occasion, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz  (Little Brown)
Turkish Delights: Stunning Regional Recipes from the Bosphorus to the Black Sea by John Gregory-Smith, by John Gregory-Smith (Kyle Books)
Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking, by Masahiru Morimoto (Ecco Press)

 

Noteworthy titles

Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Our Edible World  by Julia Rothman (Storey Press)
Toast Hash Roast Mash: Real Food For Every Time of Day, by Dan Doherty (Frances Lincoln)
Poole’s: Recipes and stories from a Modern Diner, by Ashley Christensen (10 Speed)

   

This Week’s Recipe Tests!

Book tested:  Dorie’s Cookies, by Dorie Greenspan
Guest:  Kathy Gunst

Kathy Gunst is the author of 15 cookbooks; her latest book is Soup Swap (Chronicle Books). She is a James Beard award winning food journalist and the Resident Chef for NPR’s Here and Now, heard on over 450 public radio stations.

 

 

Episode 10 Music

“Waunobe March,”  by Kevin Macleod
“Fast Talkin'” by Kevin Macleod
“Yegah Sirto,”by Ehl-i Keyif
“Sevdam Olmasa Muhabbet Bagi,” by Wind of Anatolia
“Pyro Flow,” by Kevin Macleod

Episode 10 sound effects
Sound effects by

TerryHancock, timlaroche,, . . .and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music:
Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 9: Susie’s Epic Fail, Sous Vide at Home, Learn to Cook Indian / A Malaysian Fish Curry & a Persian Dinner

The Level Teaspoon can be found on iTunesStitcher, and Google Play – or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” on any other podcast service you may use.   You can also hear it through your browser at The Level Teaspoon site.

 

Lucky Peach Presents Power Vegetables! Turbocharged Recipes fro Vegetables with Guts, by Peter Meehan  (10 Speed)
Sous Vide at Home: The Modern Technique for Perfectly Cooked Meals, by Lisa Fetterman (10 Speed)
The Indian Cooking Course, by Monisha Baradwaj (Kyle Books)

 

Noteworthy titles

What Good Cooks Know: 20 Years of Test Kitchen Expertise in One Essential Handbook  by the Editors of America’s Test Kitchen  (America’s Test Kitchen)
30 Ingredients, by Sally Clarke (Frances Lincoln)
Market Math: 50 Ingredients x 4 Recipes = 200 Simple, Creative Dishes, by the editors of Food + Wine (Harmony Books)

This Week’s Recipe Tests!

Book tested:  Amazing Malaysian, by Norman Musa
Guest:  Fuchsia Dunlop

Fuchsia Dunlop is a cook and food-writer specializing in Chinese cuisine. She is the author of Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (a collection of recipes from the Jiangnan or Lower Yangtze Region in eastern China), the award-winning Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking; Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, an account of her adventures in exploring Chinese food culture; and two other critically-acclaimed Chinese cookery books, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, and Sichuan Cookery (published in the US as Land of Plenty).

 

Book tested: Sirocco, by Sabrina Ghayour
Guest: Janice Telfer

 Janice Telfer, is a professor in the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Massachusetts and works on making better vaccines against deadly diseases in animals and humans. She has a special relationship with Persian food, and made her own triple tier wedding cake with hazelnut meringue discs interleaved with raspberry puree, white chocolate cream cheese frosting and white chocolate ivy leaves .

Episode 9 Music

“Earth and Stone,” by Kevin Hartnell.
“Zanzibar,” by Kevin MacLeod
“Haratanaya Sree,” by Veena Kinhal
“Hackbeat,” by Kevin MacLeod

Episode 9 sound effects
Sound effects by kokopetiyot, JanKoehl, LG, . . .and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music:
Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 8: The Magic and Moonlight All-Pumpkin HALLOWEEN Edition / Cocktails & Cards!

The Level Teaspoon can be found on iTunesStitcher, and Google Play – or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” on any other podcast service you may use.   You can also hear it through your browser at The Level Teaspoon site.

 

Review titles:
   

Homestyle Vegan: Easy, Everyday Plant-Based Recipes, by Amber St. Peter (Page Street Publishing)
The Gourmet Kitchen: Recipes from the Creator of Savory Simple, by Jennifer Farley (Gallery Books)
Persepolis: Vegetarian Recipes from Persia and Beyond, by Sally Butcher (Interlink Books)

 

Noteworthy titles

The Magic of Gingerbread: 16 Beautiful projects to make and eat by Catherine Beddall (Peter Pauper Press)
The Moon Juice Cookbook: Cosmic Alchemy for a Thriving Body, Beauty, and Consciousness, by Amanda Chantal Bacon (Pam Krauss Books).
The Monster’s Cookbook: Everyday Recipes for the Living Dead and Undead, by Hoxton Street Monster Supplies (Mitchell Beazley)

 

This Week’s Recipe Test!
Book tested: Shake. Stir. Sip.: More than 50 Effortless Cocktails Made in Equal Parts, by Kara Newman
Guest: Peter Stuart

Peter Stuart has worked as a radio broadcaster, and producer, a community development provocateur, environmental technology champion, news editor and recently in the aged care sector. He reads voraciously, eats and drinks safe in the knowledge his metabolism is just super and still dances to disco music. Oh and he plays with tarot cards too.

 

Episode 8 Music

“Chillin Hard,” by Kevin MacLeod
“Lake in the Woods,” by TRG Banks
“Chat Fetiche,” by Glockabelle
“Cotton Candy Monster,” by Chase Alan Willis
“Witchcraft,” by Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh [performed by Susie Chang (piano)]

Episode 8 sound effects
Sound effects by CGEffex, ShotgunPicker, Hybrid_VAkrythael, madumcc, MWLANDI, RobinHood76,  . . . and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music:
Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

 

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 7: Obscure Treasures of Southeast Asia, the Barefoot Contessa, and a Reason to Dust / Pan-Roasted Duck & Pumpkin Nut Seed Loaf

The Level Teaspoon can be found on iTunesStitcher, and Google Play – or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” on any other podcast service you may use.   You can also hear it through your browser at The Level Teaspoon site.

 

Review titles:
    

The Adventures of Fat Rice: Recipes from the Chicago Restaurant Inspired by Macau, by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano (10 Speed)
Cooking for Jeffrey, by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter)
Effortless Entertaining Cookbook: 80 Recipes That will Impress your Guests Without Stress, by Meredith Steele (Page Street Publishing)

 

Noteworthy titles

Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters from Around the World by Shane Mitchell and James Fisher (photographer)  (10 Speed)
American Cake: From Colonial Gingerbread to Classic Layer, the Stories and Recipes behind More than 125 of our Best Loved Cakes, by Anne Byrn (Rodale Books)
Nourishing Meals: 365 Whole Foods, Allergy-Free Recipes for Healing Your Family One Meal at a Time, by by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre (Harmony Books)

   

 

This Week’s Recipe Tests!
Book tested: Appetites, by Anthony Bourdain
Guest: Miranti Kisdarjono

Miranti, a self-described “rogue chef, style maker, and stage ham,” is an Indonesian native and a Brooklyn transplant who has many lives. Fashion design took her to New York City and the performance art world took her to the glamour and grit of its underground. Recently she won an episode on the recent new Food Network show Cooks vs. Cons, a cooking competition pitting pro chefs against  talented amateurs . This win prompted her to create a platform for herself where she can combine the three passions, design style, performance and cooking. Please follow her upcoming website www.joyoffeasting.com where she talks about food from personal stories and cross cultural points of view. Also follow her on Instagram @thejoyoffeasting to get visual stories and video clips.
Book tested:  The Alternative Baker, by Alanna Taylor-Tobin
Guest:  Denny Moyes
Denny is a set designer for TV, movies and theater and, he says, he owe his cooking skills to his mom, Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet), Julia Child, and Alton Brown.

Episode 7 Music

“Valse em F Menor,” byAlexandre Bateiras
“Lobby Time,” by Scott Holmes
“A New Day,” by Scott Holmes
“Sidewalk Shade,” by Kevin MacLeod,
“Lagoa v2,” by Kevin MacLeod

Episode 7 sound effects
Sound effects by GB01, acertingart, Taira Komori. . .and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music:
Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

EPISODE 6: Danish Comfort Food, the New Soul of Harlem, and Pies All Around / Korean Seafood Pancake!

The Level Teaspoon can be found on iTunesStitcher, and Google Play – or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” on any other podcast service you may use.   You can also hear it through your browser at The Level Teaspoon site.

 

Review titles:

    

Scandinavian Comfort Food: Embracing the Art of Hygge, by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille Books)
The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem, by Marcus Samuelsson (HMH)
The Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Filling, and Life, by Kate McDermott (Countryman)

 

Noteworthy titles

Eat it Up! 150 Recipes to use Every Bit and Enjoy Every Bite of the food You Buy by Sherry Brooks Vinton (Da Capo)
The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World, by Padma Lakshmi and Judith Sutton (Ecco Press).
The Lobster Cookbook: 55 Easy Recipes: Bisques, Noodles, Salads, Soups, Bakes, Wraps, Grills And Fries For Every Day Eating, by Jane Bamforth (Lorenz Books)

   

 

This Week’s Recipe Test!

Book tested: K Food: Korean Home Cooking and Street Food
Guest: Vishnu Hoff

“I work in medical research, specifically ophthalmic research, at a hospital in Manhattan. My work used to involve taking photographs of retinas for diagnostic purposes, and surgical video in the O.R. for teaching purposes. These days I work more on textbooks, educational websites, and helping to produce professional meetings for various sub-specialties such as glaucoma.

I consider myself a democratic food snob- I will try just about anything in pursuit of good food. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. This is obviously a wide open area with many definitions since everyone thinks their food is “good food”. I’ve often found that they’re right- there’s a lot of good food out there as long as you’re willing to search for it. Sadly, there’s also a LOT of bad food, and I cannot and will not waste my time on McDonalds and its ilk. For me the starting point for good food is it has to be real, as in not manufactured in a factory, not made from over-processed ingredients, etc. I think the test of a culture’s food is its street food- if they can do that well, they’re off to a damned good start!”

Episode 6 Music

“Skye Cuillin” by Kevin MacLeod
“Fast Talkin” by Kevin MacLeod
“Dueling Duality” by Cullah
“Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod
“Tripède,” by Thiaz Itch

 

Episode 6 sound effects
Sound effects by mshahen, lonemonk, weaveofk, samkolber, shotgunpicker, FoolBoyMedia, yummie . . .and others hosted at freesound.org, soundbible.com, and looperman.com, as well as my own recordings.

 

The Level Teaspoon’s theme music:
Não me touques, performed by The Bees Knees International Café Orchestra

 

Hear it all on iTunesStitcherGoogle Play or find it by searching for “The Level Teaspoon” any other podcast service you may use!

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