william morrow group

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Sesame, Soy, Spice review

“Sesame, Soy, Spice: 90 Asian-ish Vegan and Glute-free Recipes to Reconnect, Root, and Restore” is the first cookbook by Remy Morimoto Park, a health and wellness blogger based in NYC. She also comes with a Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese background. According to the author/book, the recipes “are love letters to her family members, to the countries she’s lived in, and to her teenage self – the one who thought she had to reject the food of her culture to live authentically for herself.”

The chapters are listed as:

  • First things first,
  • Salads that don’t suck (and other delicious vegetables),
  • Snacks that smile back,
  • Crying over spilt soymilk,
  • Long life noodles, rice, and other mains,
  • More things my family members, who never measure anything, like to make,
  • You deserve it

At first glance, I was confused by the title “crying over spilled milk” but that chapter talks about the heavy topic of substance abuse at a young age, and turning to sobriety. It then offers recipes for alcohol-free drinks.

Some recipes that I think sound good are:

  • Just-add-mylk pancake mix,
  • Miso-glazed mushroom toast,
  • Vegan cream cheese,
  • Smoky maple tempeh bacon,
  • Matcha and pistachio granola,
  • Crunchy togarashi asparagus,
  • Scallion pesto,
  • Korean bbq-loaded nachos,
  • Perfect pistachio milk,
  • Pistachio milk matcha with cheesecake cream,
  • Black sesame cacao smoothie,
  • Cucumber sesame noodles,
  • Shredded Korean bbq bulgogi tofu,
  • Spicy peanut ramen,
  • Thai basil tempeh,
  • Popcorn tofu,
  • Chinese peanut cookies,
  • Thai tea panna cotta,
  • Miso caramel creme brulee,
  • Black sesame chocolate chip bliss balls,
  • Miso butter chocolate chip cookies

My only real criticism of the book is that not all of the recipes are “Asian-ish” which is what I was expecting based on the title.  The recipes I highlighted above are but there’s also recipes like “snap pea slaw” and “quinoa salad with raspberry poppyseed dressing” which really are not.  (You can make the raspberry poppyseed dressing more Asian inspired by adding gochujang but that’s listed as an optional ingredient.) It’s only when you read the inside jacket that it says “elegant, easy-to-make plant-based takes on Asian-ish and international dishes.”

The first recipe I made is not Asian in any way, but sounds delicious: chocolate quinoa breakfast bowl.  It’s made with quinoa, water, plant milk, maple syrup, cacao powder, almond butter, vanilla, and topped with fruits/nuts of choosing.  It’s pretty easy to make but take more time than you might think.  You first cook the quinoa in water for 10-12 minutes, and then finish cooking it in the plant milk for another 7-8 minutes.    My recommendation is to use less plant milk to start than what is listed.  I used an oatmilk brand that I had never used before, and it was very thin.  I used the full amount, and my final results were more watery than what the book photo presents.  It does thicken up if you store leftovers in the fridge, but my oatmilk was so thin that it still felt too watery to me the next day.  Admittedly, I made this recipe because One Degree Organic Foods’ Organic Sprouted Oat Granola Quinoa Cacao is one of my favorite snacks.  They are very different chocolate quinoa recipes.  The porridge here is more bittersweet, and the quinoa flavor is more pronounced.  That doesn’t mean that I think it’s bad or anything.  It’s just different.  The porridge is also very filling.  The recipe says it’s for 2 servings, but with nuts and fruits (and a serving of yogurt which I have every morning), I was able to stretch this into 5 servings.  This a great option for meal prepping.

The second recipe I made also came from the same chapter but I ate them for lunch: super scallion quiche cups.  It’s inspired by egg bites and scallion pancakes.  It’s made with oil, leeks, scallions, extra firm tofu, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, plant milk, miso, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Essentially, these all get blended together to make the quiche batter.  The recipe was written for a 24 mini muffin tin, but I used a standard 12 cup muffin tin.  The recipe says to blend until spoonable but not too runny.  I took that mean a hummus like consistency which was a pain in the butt to scoop out of my blender as I got closer to the blades.  I think I will try this in a food processor next time.  This is also a great meal prep item, especially if you’re on the go.  Overall I enjoyed this, but I think I can add more scallions, nutritional yeast, miso, and onion/garlic powders.  The tofu can take it.  Otherwise, it might be fun to garnish with a flavored schmear of choice.

The book has a fun array of vegan recipes.  I think this book will appeal to anyone new to veganism, long-time vegans looking for new ideas, or anyone looking for recipes to increase their vegetable consumption.  Just don’t get this book for you’re expecting Asian inspired recipes only.  

Disclaimer – I kindly received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Harper Collins for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.  This cookbook is available for purchase from your favorite bookshops.

Reference Links:

https://www.instagram.com/veggiekins/?hl=en

https://veggiekinsblog.com/

https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/remy-morimoto-park-84771

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Anything’s Pastable review

I didn’t realize that Dan Pashman of cascatelli fame had a new cookbook until I saw he was recently a guest on the “Hotdog is a Sandwich” podcast.  I suppose it should not be be a surprise that the new cookbook is called “Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People.”  This is not a collection of recipes that an Italian nonna is going to have, and that’s what I love about it.  There is a lot of global influence, and well thought out fusion recipes.

The book is divided into: 

  • Pestos, pangrattatos, and the jarred tomato sauce decision tree
  • Classic comfort: Hugs on a plate
  • Carby and crispy: adventures in texture
  • Zing: flavor bombs, not belly bombs
  • Stews, rouxes, and ragus: thick and hearty, warm and toasty
  • Pasta salads redeemed: fresh and bright, hold the mayo
  • To the forno!: baked pasta dishes

You’ll find recipes like: 

  • Ritz cracker and chive pangrattato,
  • Shells with miso butter and scallions,
  • Mac ‘n’ dal,
  • Scallion oil bucatini with runny eggs,
  • Swordfish with salsa verde sagne a pezzi,
  • Kimchi carbonara,
  • Shakshuka and shells,
  • Gnocchi with bacon and sauerkraut,
  • Keema bolognese,
  • Mapo tofu cascatelli,
  • Tteokbokki bolognese,
  • Cavatelli with crunchy fresh corn, tomatoes, ricotta salata, and mozzarella,
  • Crispy gnocchi salad with preserved lemon-tomato dressing,
  • Italian cafeteria hot dog pasta salad with canned vegetables,
  • Pasta pizza,
  • Smoked cheddar and chicken manicotti “enchiladas”

The recipe that immediately caught my attention was tortellini in kimchi parmesan brodo.  It’s made with butter, bacon, scallions, napa cabbage kimchi, gochugaru, chicken stock, lemon, Parmesan, black pepper, and refrigerated cheese or spinach-and-cheese tortellini.  Freshly made, I liked the soup but I wasn’t in love with it.  For me, the lemon flavor seemed to overtake the cheese flavor.  But then I realized that I liked this recipe so much more as leftovers.  I found the lemon mellowed out and gave a nice acidity, and the cheese flavor seemed stronger the next day.  Overall, it was better balanced.  There’s a lot of liquid for the amount of pasta, but it gave me the flexibility to bulk up the leftovers with tofu and kale.

The second recipe I made was for ssamjang aglio olio which has a short ingredient list: salt garlic, extra virgin olive oil, ssamjang, red pepper flakes, mafalde (bucatini, fettuccine, spaghetti), and roasted unsalted peanuts.  (I used fettuccine.)  I’ve never made the original aglio e olio even though I am a garlic lover.  This recipe took me longer to make than I thought it would, but I assume that it’ll go faster next time.  Basically, you make a garlic infused oil, then use it for the ssamjang sauce base.  Next, you boil the pasta, and finish the pasta and sauce together with pasta cooking water.  Plate up the pasta, and garnish with peanuts.

There’s really not much to say except that I loved the ssamjang aglio olio.  I think everyone who loves Asian flavors will love this pasta sauce. It also reminds me to use ssamjang more often.

I can’t wait to cook more from this book.  I recommend this book to everyone.  And I mean “everyone.” Don’t eat pasta much?  Doesn’t matter!  Feel free to serve the sauces over tofu, over vegetables, etc.  Not to sound hyperbolic, but this might be my favorite cookbook of 2024.

Disclaimer – I kindly received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Harper Collins for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.  This cookbook is available for purchase from your favorite bookshops.

Reference Links:

https://www.sporkful.com/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/anythings-pastable-dan-pashman

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Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day review

My introduction to Gemma Stafford is probably the same as others – through her Youtube channel. I don’t remember what the first video I watched was, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was for a microwave mug recipe. (She claims to have 100+ mug recipes but I haven’t tried counting them.) I’ve tried a couple of them and was quite pleased with the results. Her first cookbook, named ‘Bigger Bolder Baking’ after her channel, was published in 2019 (I have yet to read it). And just last week, her newest cookbook, ‘Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day’ was released (which I have read now).

The chapter headings in the new book are:

  • Breakfast in minutes,
  • Afternoon tea,
  • Weeknight family favorites,
  • Dinner party desserts,
  • Weekend brunch treats,
  • Leisurely weekend recipes,
  • Short and sweet any day,
  • Master recipes

Here are recipes that appeal the most to me:

  • Three-seed whole wheat scones,
  • Strawberry cream cheese scones,
  • Whole wheat and fruit breakfast bread,
  • Homemade chocolate-oat tea cookies,
  • Polenta cake with mascarpone and strawberry compote,
  • 10 minute summer berry tiramisu,
  • Whole lemon tart,
  • Chocolate lover’s cheesecake with strawberry compote,
  • Pecan pie cobbler,
  • No-yeast cinnamon rolls,
  • Carrot cake pancakes with cream cheese frosting,
  • Lemon blueberry ricotta hotcakes,
  • Breakfast brioche buns,
  • Almond twist,
  • Hawaiian sweet rolls,
  • Honey glazed figs with whipped mascarpone,
  • Berry and cream cheese crostata,

While my original inclination was to make the berry tiramisu, I’m long past summer here in New England. So instead the first recipe I made, I mostly chose because I had all the ingredients on hand: pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. The ingredients are all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, and chocolate chips. This is a pretty standard recipe – mix all the dry, mix all the wet, mix the two together, and bake. While not my favorite pumpkin recipe ever, this was a good and straightforward recipe. It came together really quickly. While using cinnamon as the only spice makes the recipe easier to put together, it makes it a little boring (to me). But it’s easy enough to “jazz up” by simply using a spice blend of your choice.

The second recipe I made is the VERY first recipe in the book – traditional Irish scones. Seeing as Stafford is Irish, I feel that this is the one recipe a reader should have zero doubts about. Also, I don’t have a scone/biscuit recipe that I’m beholden to, even though I love a good scone. The ingredients are self-rising flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, raisins, eggs, and milk. I don’t normally have self-rising flour on hand, but it’s easy enough to replace with all purpose flour. I gotta admit that this is when I goofed. I forgot to add salt to the recipe when I made the flour substitution. (Self rising flour, at least in the US, is made from flour, baking powder, and salt. I’ve heard that salt is omitted in some countries but I don’t know that for sure.)

Even with my mistake, I really enjoyed these scones! The texture was lovely. 10 out of 10, would make again.

When I reviewed ‘Savory Baking’ by Erin Jeanne McDowell, I said that it wasn’t a good book for beginner bakers. ‘Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day’, while not targeted at beginner bakers, I think would good match. Every recipe seems to be approachable. There aren’t any strange ingredients or complicated methods. However, if you don’t like sweets, then this isn’t the book for you. There don’t seem to be any savory recipes, just less sweet recipes like brioche bread and popovers.

If you’re a die hard cookie monster, this book might no be for you. There are only 5 cookie recipes. I honestly thought that she’d have a section for microwave mug recipes here (it seems apropos for every day cookery) but she does not. But otherwise, this seems like a fun book! I trust Stafford as a resource, so give her recipes a try if anything appeals to you.

Disclaimer – I kindly received a review copy of this book from Harvest/William Morrow Group for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own. The book is available for purchase now through your favorite retailer.

Reference Links:

Bigger Bolder Baking site

Gemma’s mug meals

Gemma’s Youtube channel

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Savory Baking cookbook review

I suspect that, like many people, my introduction to Erin Jeanne McDowell was through her videos on Food52.  It’s hard to turn your back on her sunny personality and immense baking knowledge.  At the time of this blog post, McDowell has 464 recipes on the site.  On top of that, she’s authored three cookbooks:  ‘The Fearless Baker’, ‘The Book on Pie’, and, as of this month,’ Savory Baking.’

‘Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between’ is broken down into these chapters:

  • Easy and essential bakes
  • Stovetop Savories
  • Breads
  • Flatbreads, pizza, and stuffed breads
  • Pastries
  • Snacks, bites, and appetizers
  • Pies and tarts

The recipes that I think sound particularly interesting are:

  • Pine nut and salami quickbread
  • French onion muffins
  • Green chile sausage gravy
  • Garlic Parmesan pancakes with tomato jam
  • Flaky frico
  • Smoked salmon breakfast buns
  • Homemade Gournay-styled cheese
  • Lahmacun with chiles
  • Lasagna kolaches
  • Tomato, corn, basil, and burrata brioche buns
  • Root vegetable pastilla
  • Sour cream and onion knishes
  • Garlic thumbprints with tomato jam
  • Cobb quiche
  • Broccoli rabe, sausage, and ricotta galette
  • Crispy kale skillet galette

But the recipe that I immediately had my heart set on was for the “English-ish Muffins.”  And lucky for me, this recipe is marked “difficulty: easy.”  Her recipe is made from bread flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, some butter, and then semolina or cornmeal for dusting.  It does require planning though, as you mix the dough the night before you want to make them.  The next day, when you roll and cut the dough, you’re just using a knife or other straight edge to cut into squares.  You’re not asked to use a round cutter which not everyone has, and also means less waste.  After the second rise,  the muffins are browned on the stovetop and finished in the oven.

I never made English muffins before, but they were always on my “to-do” list.  Overall, these were uncomplicated, and I was pretty happy with the overall results.  I didn’t get much by way of nooks and crannies when I split the muffins, but that could have been due to something I did.  The book doesn’t an a photo of the interior so I’m not really sure what the intended results are.  The recipe makes 16 muffins, but I scaled back by half which was very easy to do as the book provides both volume and weighed measurements.  I’ve eaten all of my muffins already so I will definitely be making these again.

The other recipe I tried was the scrambled-egg tartlets with peas, which also involves making her press-in tart dough.  The dough makes enough for one 9-10” tart crust, or four 4” mini-tarts.  Is this press-in tart easier than a rolled out crust?  Hard to say.  I’ve only made tart crust once before.  And I probably only average to two pies a year. I think it comes down to personal preference, but either way it was very tasty.  I think next time I make it, I’ll add a touch more water but that’s my fault and not a fault of the recipe.  The recipe specifies to add extra water in teaspoon increments if the dough isn’t coming together. I thought my dough was ok, but my results were a touch too delicate – still sturdy enough to unmold the crust and plate but they easily crumbled once the filling went in.

The filling recipe was simply a layer of ricotta covered with soft scrambled eggs made with peas, cream, and chives.  Out of habit, I did not make soft scrambled eggs.  Visually, they were less luxurious looking than I had intended, but thankfully the flavor is the same.

Since I was annoyed at myself for not making soft scrambled eggs, I riffed on the fillings for a second mini-tart.  This time, I remembered to soft scramble the eggs, but instead of peas, I used shiitake mushrooms.  Both tarts are tasty, and great options for brunch.  Ooh, this would be a lovely option for a special breakfast like for Mother’s Day. You can bake the tart cases the day before if you need/want to, which saves time when you plan to serve them.

Not a surprise whatsoever, but I have nothing bad to say about this book.  I am, however, highly amused at the amount of non-baking recipes included in this book.  Even outside of the Stovetop Savories chapter, you still find items like frybread, corn tortillas, dumplings, and pierogi.  While there are a lot of options in this book for easy recipes, I’m not sure I’d recommend this book to a beginner. I’d worry that a beginner would get easily overwhelmed. But bonus point! It has a feature that I always appreciate: all recipes have both volume and weighed measurements (grams, not ounces). So bakers everywhere can enjoy this book, especially if you don’t have a sweet tooth. (But also don’t worry if you do have a sweet tooth – there are some sweet variations of recipes included.)

Disclaimer – I kindly received a review copy of this book from Harvest/William Morrow Group for this review.  I’m not getting paid for this post. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own. The book is available for purchase now through your favorite retailer.

Reference Links:

https://food52.com/users/3572-erin-jeanne-mcdowell/recipes

http://www.erinjeannemcdowell.com/