BEA Book Spotlight: Gluten-Free, Anyone?

Over the next few weeks I will feature books that I received at Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention.  In most cases I have not read the book yet, but simply want to share with you my first impressions from the conventions and let you know why the book attracted my attention.


Kiddo is, among other dietary restrictions, on a gluten-free diet.  Have you ever tried to find gluten AND dairy free cookies that actually taste good?  It's quite difficult (and expensive, but that's another story). So I was pretty excited when I saw this book:

Gluten Free Cookies, by Luane Kohnke

(You can check out the first few pages on Amazon.com.)

Not only are the cookies in this book delicious LOOKING but I'm pretty certain most of them will be delicious TASTING as well, at least for Kiddo (who is used to gluten free foods).  Why?  Because Ms. Kohnke did her homework.  She tested her cookies using four different types of gluten free flour, and her taste-tasters were both gluten and non-gluten eaters.  She explains all this in the introduction to the book and I have to say that I am impressed - I can't wait to try out some of these recipes!

Kiddo and I rarely (as in maybe once a year) make cookies together.  That's because there aren't that many cookie recipes that we can make from scratch that actually taste good.  I'm really excited about some of the recipes in this book though - each recipe has an accompanying picture and they all look delicious!  I'll have to do some substitutions (non-dairy milk and butter are the biggest issues) so I know that our cookies won't be exactly the same but I trust that they will be good anyway!

If you know of anyone who is living gluten free, consider this book as a gift to them.  Good gluten free desserts are hard to find!

BEA Book Spotlight: A Unique Cookbook

Over the next few weeks I will feature books that I received at Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention.  In most cases I have not read the book yet, but simply want to share with you my first impressions from the conventions and let you know why the book attracted my attention.

I'm not a foodie.  Not to say that I don't enjoy good food, but I don't like to cook, I'm not good at it, and I don't often eat fun and exciting food at restaurants.  Part of that is just me, but a big part of that has to do with Kiddo's allergies.  When you have a kid who is so allergic to so many foods that he needs a feeding tube to get nutrition, you find that you don't eat out as a family all that often, and you tend to eat the same few foods at home.

All that said, there was a cookbook featured at BEA that I knew I wanted to get my hands on.  I don't think I've ever been excited about a cookbook before but I was definitely excited about this one!

The Mitsam Cafe Cookbook: Recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

by Richard Hetz

First of all, I love the concept of this cookbook. The author is the executive chef at the Mitsam Cafe in DC and has created these recipes from traditional Native American recipes and ingredients.  The historical aspect behind the recipes really appeals to me.

Second, the fact that the recipes feature "old-fashioned" ingredients led me to hope that there would be things in here that Kiddo could eat.* And boy, was I ever right!  A quick browse through the book showed me recipes featuring quinoa, bison, corn, and potato, and Kiddo could eat most of them with just a few ingredient substitutions. WOOHOO!

Most of the ingredients in the book are standard items you can find in your grocery store but there are some unique items as well (dried hibiscus flowers, yucca, fiddlehead ferns ... just to name a few). Thankfully the back of the book suggests places to purchase these less common items. I'm confident that I could find the items I need without too much hassle.  

I haven't made any of the recipes yet but I hope to do so within the next few weeks.  [Who am I kidding?! It will be my husband who actually makes these - he's the chef in our house!]  When I do I'll be sure to post pictures and let you know what Kiddo thought of each dish.

In the meantime, definitely check out this cookbook if you are into traditional foods, foods with history behind them, or you simply want something a little out of the ordinary.

*As a reminder, here are the foods Kiddo is allowed to eat: rice, potato, quinoa, carrot, corn, broccoli, shellfish, bison, apple, orange, grape, mango, peach, berries, and a small handful of other foods. Everything else is off limits.

The Hearty Boys at the Baltimore Book Festival

If you missed my first posts about the Baltimore Book Festival, you can read them here, here, here, and here.

By Saturday evening the rain had lessened but most festival-goers had already called it quits. The crowd was quite sparse for the last cooking demo of the day, so we were able to sit in the very front row. Good thing we were under the tent because the rain started coming down hard again.

Hubby and I were both excited to see Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, better known as The Hearty Boys. Several years back they were the winners of season one of Food TV's The Next Food Network Star. They have their own program on Food TV called Party Line with the Hearty Boys.

Dan and Steve may not be as funny as this guy but they know their stuff. They made three recipes for us to sample: a goat cheese tart (not our cup of tea), a sausage and bean chili (yummy), and bread pudding with blueberry cream topping (to die for!).

Speaking of that chili, here's a video of Dan explaining the trick to cooking the beans:

The Hearty Boys shared their thoughts and tips as they cooked. I didn't write everything down but here are a few I found interesting:

• even if you're not cutting down on your salt intake, you should always buy low sodium products (specifically stock/broth) - you want to season things to YOUR taste not to the CAN'S taste
• if a recipe calls for creme fraiche you can substitute sour cream OR you can make your own creme fraiche - here's how: mix equal parts sour cream and heavy cream - cover and leave on counter all night (NOT in fridge) - refrigerate the next day
• in speaking about fun cocktails Steve said "we lost Gin [to vodka] in the 1950s" and if vodka is tasteless, why drink it? - "we lost punch in the 1970s to orange sherbert and Sprite" - but there are so many better kinds of punch to make

Here's another shot of the demo. Don't you love the hanging mirror? It allows you to see what they guys are doing up on the countertop.

In speaking about their cook book Talk with Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook, Dan and Steve explained that, as caterers, they understand the logistics of having a party. They know how to keep your food looking good even when you have to reheat it, how much ice you need for a 30 person dinner, what kinds of alcohol and how much of each for a 20 person cocktail party. In fact, they shared the secret to being a wonderful host/hostess. Want to know what it is? Lean on in and I'll tell you ... but you have to keep it a secret!

"It's not about busting your butt to throw the perfect party ... it's about giving the appearance that you busted your butt to throw the perfect party."

They guys explained that that secret is what inspired their book. It's meant to be a how-to guide that will make you look great as a host/hostess. Steve went on to say "We want you to break the spine on it, get tomato sauce on it ... we want you to USE IT!"


Hubby bought their cookbook and was VERY impressed. Here are his reasons:

• these are foods we would actually eat on a regular basis
• the ingredients are (usually) simple and standard
• there's an entire section on fun cocktails to serve (yeah!)
• there are TONS of party/hosting tips (what to serve, how to vary the same dish for different events, how much to make, what to prepare in advance and when, and lots more)
  

Of course we got Dan and Steve to sign our new cook book after their demo. That's hubby on the right.

And get this - Dan and Steve are going on a cruise with a ship-full of their fans AND they are planning a food and wine trip to Tuscany that will be open to fans as well. How cool is that?! You can find more info about the cruise here but you'll have to check back at their website in a few months for info on Tuscany as it won't be posted for a while. I think they said the trip would be in June '09 though.

Martin Yan at the Book Fest

Hubby is the cook in our family. He's tell you that I burn water, but it's not that ... I just don't really like to cook. It's difficult for me and it's not fun. Did I mention that hubby is the kind of guy who can look in the pantry, pull out random ingredient, and concoct a fabulous meal without consulting a cook book? Yeah, I'm totally lucky (and jealous).

Why am I telling you this? Cooking is how I get hubby to the Baltimore Book Festival with me! He loves watching the famous (and not-so-famous) chefs demonstrate their techniques and he's always looking for more cookbooks. So Saturday at the Book Fest was hubby's day (Friday and Sunday were mine!).

We planned to be there in plenty of time for the 1:00pm appearance of hubby's childhood favorite, Martin Yan. (Remember him? He was one of the first TV chefs, and his catchphrase was "If Yan Can Cook, So Can You!") During the 20 minute drive to the city, the rain started. And I don't just mean a drizzle, I'm talking DOWNPOUR. Hubby and I looked at each other and said "Are we crazy?! We're going someplace outside in this weather?!" Then we laughed and kept on driving.

Traffic was snarled because you know people forget how to drive once the rain starts. That made us late for the demo so we ended up in the back. But thanks to my fabulous new camera I still got great pictures.

Here's hubby under the tent with his umbrella, because yes, the rain was so bad it was coming in the sides of the tent. But hubby was happy and that made me happy.

Martin was great fun to watch! He is funny, quick-witted, and all-around entertaining. He kept saying how lucky he was that it was raining because he had a captive audience, and how if it didn't rain no one would be there watching him. Here's a quick example:



Yes, that's right - Martin Yan took pictures of the audience. He said it was for his mom!

Here are a few pictures from his cooking demo. He was making a spicy shrimp dish (I can't remember what it's called) that was DELICIOUS.

Martin Yan is about 60 years old and has been cooking on TV for 30 years. If you've never seen him, you're really missing out. Several times during his demo he'd say "If Yan Can Cook ..." then the audience would join in with "So Can You!" But at one point he said "If Yan can cook, so can you! If Yan can't cook, don't even try it!" HA!

I had another video to share but I accidentally erased it. Ugh. But I do remember one of the things that Martin said. He was explaining that cooking should be fun and he said "The kitchen should be the 2nd most fun room in the house!" When everyone laughed he said something like "I think the bedroom is the most fun ... I do all my reading in my bedroom!" You gotta love this guy.

After the demo hubby purchase Martin's new cookbook, Martin Yan's China, and we got in line to meet the chef.

Can you tell how excited hubby was? He told Martin that he'd been watching his shows since he was a child. The chef was funny and gracious, signing hubby's book with a little note and a phrase in Chinese.

After meeting Martin, we had about three hours before hubby's next chef would be on. We wandered the book fest grounds, browsed the booths, bought some things, had our handwriting analyzed, and tried not to get too wet. While hubby took our books back to the car I had a chance to hear from the author of Lady MacBeth (I wrote about that here).

I'll get the rest of the Book Fest posts up over the next few days. Here's what you can expect: another chef/author, coverage of my panel, a list of the books I learned about, and a general recap. WHEW!

FYI, I'm still dealing with a crashing computer, a damaged laptop, and now no computer at work (we moved to a new office and they still can't get the internet up). So if I'm not a regular with my posts I'm sorry! But I'll (hopefully) be back on track soon!