Brooklyn Bakeries

I have since my last post accumulated several new cookbooks, and have to do something about it so they don't fall over on top of me. Or not... I am an addict after all.

I just invested in Baked (the book), after trying the fabulous recipe from Oprah's Valentine's Day issue. I live 10 minutes away from Baked (the bakery in Red Hook) but have never been there. Field trip is set for Monday, my day off and I will let y'all know how that goes. The brownies I made for Kate's birthday were FABULOUS however, and if Oprah is a fan of the brownies they have to be on to something.

Another Brooklyn bakery that's got a fantastic book out... Sweet Melissa in Cobble Hill. Melissa Murphy peppers the book with anecdotes about concocting "the perfect recipe" and it's quite apparent that she does a lot of tinkering with old standbys to outstanding results. I've made her Red Velvet and Carrot Cakes and both are very unique, easy to make and I assure you they will earn you a reputation as a fabulous baker, and possibly cause you to gain 5 pounds while you're at it.

The verdict: buy both books if you are a baked goods aficionado, or need a most excellent Brooklyn-themed gift.

Tastebook Cover Layout Issues

Has anyone else been so excited to design their very first Tastebook, spent hours previewing cover after cover only to find that the label they print is so poorly placed that it throws off the balance completely?

Without the label, the covers look great! the photos are professional and clear and represent the life I want to live.


With the label, they look utterly ridiculous. Look at this: the top of the freaking candles are cut off! Who wants a birthday cake with half-assed candles? Who designed this crap?

I hope the designer quit over how this site was implemented because something that could be really cool is ruined. Did they not tell the designer where the label was going to be placed? Or is this a problem with the site's implementation? Who knows.

But if you click through EVERY SINGLE cover you can eventually find one that looks fine and you can fulfill your dreams making a gorgeous custom 4-color cookbook.

Problem is that the covers are all pre-printed. They just slap a custom label on the top of it with all your custom info. Tastebook people: don't reprint the cutoffs! Give us new covers please!

Mother's Day

Well it’s Mother’s Day and here I am without my mother. She’s back in the Midwest and I am stuck in Brooklyn, thinking of newer and better ways to use the oddball collection of ideas floating around in my head. More on that later.

In Mom’s honor, let’s take a look at the retro cookbooks in my collection.

Betty Crocker's Cooky Book was a staple at our house—it was probably the first cookbook I leafed through on a regular basis. It had all our favorites: Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Crinkles, Peanut Butter Cookies, Lemon Bars, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and the very best of all, Fudge Meltaways.

Betty's attempts at icing sugar cookies are comical by today’s standards—but they did inspire a whole generation of cookie-makers (Eleni's, Diane's Cakes and More, Rolling Pin Productions, and of course, my sister Jenny) to learn how to make gorgeous, special and edible cookies.

The Cooky Book had some of the grooviest photos ever. There was a scene that evoked all sorts of fantasies in my mind—one where a mom had enough time to prepare a snack for her cheerleading daughter and her cool friends who drink Nesbitt's Orange Soda and/or milk depending on how practice went. The hand-penned sign says "Have fun! Please clean up the Mess. Mom." I could hardly wait to get to high school to partake!

By the time I got to high school, Nesbitt's was nowhere to be found. It was the 80s for god's sake and we had better things to do than be cheerleaders! And to top it all off, I was yanked from Nebraska and brought along for a tour in Morocco... staying till graduation. No after school treats for me! Which leads me to my next book—Better Homes and Gardens' Meals with a Foreign Flair, which seems to lean quite heavy on Swedish cuisine. With 100 recipes from 18 countries! how can you go wrong?

Mom didn't actually own Meals with a Foreign Flair. I found it in a thrift shop in SoHo a few years back and the photos and garnishes are just killer. The best part of all is the handwritten slip tucked inside with notes on Sweet-Sour Pork: "Cut meat thicker—do not fry hard. Use catsup instead of soy sauce. 2 large peppers & 2 (illegible) ... med onions. Only 1 16oz. can pineapple chunks. May need more water."

First, the thought of substituting soy sauce with ketchup makes no sense. Apples and oranges. Second, pineapple and meat. It reminds me of Godfather's Super Hawaiian Pizza. Need I say more?

I'll have to take a stab at two classics from Scandinavia's favorite—sumptuous smörgåsbord! the penguins made from hard boiled eggs and fancy stuffed celery with pimientos stuck on top for effect. Photos TK.

Happy mother's day, mom. Hope you enjoyed the random post.

Hardcover Food Porn

I have to admit, I am a bit insane about books, and cookbooks in particular. What can I say? There's a reason I work in publishing.

I have a Brooklyn studio apartment the size of a shoebox, yet I insist on subscribing to Zooba, i.e. the Book of the Month Club. Every single month I indulge myself with just one more cookbook, while my shelving unit sags under the weightiness of it all, and my other possessions slowly get elbowed out by jacketed hardcover editions with 4-color photos. As a friend once said, they are porn for foodies. Mmmmm.

Had I ever invited you to visit my kitchen, you would understand why this is comical, delusional even. The standing area of my kitchen measures 3x6'. I have a 2-foot long, 8-inch deep "countertop" consisting of a warped wooden board nailed up some 20 odd years ago by a desperate renter.

It's very student-like, and not terribly functional. If I want to cook, I pull out a folding table to have a bit of workspace. Did I mention that I am a full grown woman? At my age, my mom had four children, one of whom was fifteen.

I've recently undertaken some renovation to my kitchen, bathroom, and life in general. I registered HOTY a few months ago and I was not entirely sure what to do with it, but I think I've found my point of entry. I'll start with cookbooks and take it from there.

It might not be what normal folks call growing up, but it's definitely something.