April Newsletter
Those of you who know me, or have spent any time talking to me, know that I am passionate, nearly fanatical, and some would say obsessed with cookbooks. April marks the beginning of award season for cookbooks, starting with the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Awards on April 18th. Some of the nominees I’m rooting for include some very talented Bay Area chef-authors.
First off, a hearty congratulations to Elizabeth Falkner and her Demolition Desserts, nominated for the Julia Child Award for Best First Book. Owner of the much-loved Citizen Cake in San Francisco, and her new restaurant, Orson, Falkner is incredibly talented and surprisingly down-to-earth. We had a great time when she visited Toque Blanche for a book-signing last Night of Lights, and we still have a few signed copies left. (What a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!)
Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads (Bread and Other Baking Award Nominee) is a must for the bread bakers out there. We are using a version of his pizza dough at home that was adapted by another local author and James Beard Award nominee Heidi Swanson, doyenne of one of the few food blogs that I actually read, “101cookbooks.” (Although personally, I find that number to be a bit limiting…) The improvement in quality of whole wheat flours in the past few years means that you can get the nutrition without that heavy, 1970’s wheat bread feel. I make a recipe and freeze the dough in balls before rising, and then it just takes defrosting/rising on the day you want to make pizza (in the fridge while you’re at work or running errands) and you can throw a pizza together in no time.
Morimoto. (Chef and Restaurant Category) Need I say more? Morimoto’s artistic, dramatic, and delicious creations usually find him on the winning side of TV’s Iron Chef. Morimoto’s first cookbook is a stunning study of a Master at work, and the pictures featuring his plating are spectacular.
The Oscar award for cookbooks, the James Beard Awards, will be announced July 8th. Be sure to stay tuned to our upcoming newsletters and “Toque Blog” on our website for more info on all the awards and some other great food writing. Full details on the awards are available at www.IACP.com and www.JamesBeard.org.
Author Appearance and Signing
What’s for dinner? I have a real Love/Hate relationship with this eternal question. One cookbook that has really inspired me is The Breakaway Cook by Eric Gower. He uses what he calls “Global Flavor Blasts” to really take a simple recipe, and tweak it just enough to make it different and exciting, but without making it fussy. This book was originally recommended to me by a customer, and I’ve had several people come in that are big fans of Gower. So we are very excited to welcome Eric Gower to Toque Blance for a book signing on May 10th (the day before Mother’s Day…there’s no excuse not to get a gift now that I’ve reminded you twice!). He will also demonstrate how to make his “Flavor Blast Salts” that use Gray Salt, one of our best selling items, Lavender (locally grown in Boulder Creek at Little Sky Farms) and Smoked Paprika from Spain.