Tag: idea

Top cookbooks 2012

Looking for the perfect gift and have no idea what to buy? How about a cookbook? From Gino D’Acampo to The Hairy Bikers, we’ve rounded up our favourite cookbooks of 2012.

Cookbooks are a great gift and keepsake that will decorate someone’s kitchen shelves for years to come. It’s always great to receive a cookbook as a present – you never know when you’re going to need some inspiration in the kitchen. Cookbooks can be passed down from generation to generation and you’ll always have your favourites that you just can’t get enough of.

Whether you’re treating yourself or buying one for someone special, there are plenty of great cookbooks out this year that are sure to tick all the boxes. Gordon Ramsay and Lorraine Pascale are just a few of the celeb cookbooks in our collection.

And if you love baking we’ve got plenty of great baking cookbooks to choose from including two very special books from top TV show The Great British Bake Off – which we can’t wait to get our hands on.

And if that’s not enough, there are also plenty of savoury cookbooks to choose from for rustling up quick, mid-week dishes, dinners for the kids or a posh slap-up meal for that special someone. If you love spending time in the kitchen or you know someone who does – buy one of these amazing cookbooks to make the New Year that little bit tastier.

Click through to see which books have made it in

Incoming search terms:

Columbus Discovers New Sport – Competitive Salami Sandwich Making

I don’t do a lot of sandwich recipes here on Food
Wishes, mostly because, well, they’re sandwiches, but today I’m making an
exception. On Thursday, I participated in a sandwich making contest sponsored
by Columbus Salumeria, and I wanted to share what turned out to be the winning
concoction.

Columbus sponsored the #TopWichSF event to promote their new line of
Farm to Fork Naturals, and things got off to a appetizing start as Sean
Timberlake, from Punk Domestics and Hedonia, treated us to an array of small
bites he created using these great new products.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Salame

I really loved his wonderful
Waldorf-filled endive topped with strips of oven-crisped salami. With
entertaining season right around the corner, I highly recommend you add this to
your repertoire.

I was grateful for the energy and inspiration the tasty
bites provided, as I was up against two very worthy opponents in Michael
Procopio from Food for the Thoughtless, and Lynda Balslev from TasteFood.

The
competition was held at the Hotel Vitale, and started with a romantic pedicab
ride to the Ferry Building across the street. We were given 10 minutes and $10
to buy any additional ingredients we wanted to accessorize our sandwiches with.

My idea was to do a smoked turkey and teleme sandwich,
topped with some kind of meat relish made with soppressata and fruit. I ended
up finding some beautiful pluots, and used the rest of my cash to get a small
bag of pine nuts. They were raw, but I figured I could toast them on the panini
press, which I knew was hot and waiting. I was gifted a few grapes which while delicious, played no part in my creation.

We had just 20 minutes to build our sandwiches, while a
distinguished panel of five judges looked on. I was a little nervous to begin
with, and knowing there were representatives from YumSugar, Chow, SFWeekly, and
Tasting Table there, only added to it. The time went by incredibly fast, which
made my fellow competitors’ work that much more impressive.

Getting ready to bone marrow the bread.
Photo courtesy of Sean Timberlake

Michael bought some bone marrow butter and used it to toast
a turkey, soppressata and apple panini. A brilliant idea, and had time
allowed for a longer, deeper caramelization, it would have crushed my
non-beef-fat-fried offering.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Salame

Lynda did a fennel salami, fig, and goat cheese sandwich,
which she topped with apple slaw, shaved fennel, and her secret ingredient,
fennel pollen. It was a classic combination of flavors, and a great way to show
off the Columbus salami. By the way, check out Lynda’s great recap of the event, where you can see and read more about her beautiful sandwich.

Despite their worthy efforts, the judges awarded my
rustic-looking sandwich the grand prize. I received a dangerously large basket
of salami and other gourmet goodies, as well as $500 cash!

I figured that a two-year’s supply of salami was enough of a prize, so I’m having them donate the
money to the SF Food Bank. I would have just spent the money on more salami
anyway.

A huge thank you to Columbus for inviting me to participate. They have a bunch of great photos on their Facebook page in case you want to check out some more of the action. Also, a sincere thanks to
Michael and Lynda for helping make the event such a fun experience. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of YumSugar

Smoked Turkey & Teleme Sandwich with Pluot, Sopressata,
& Pine Nut Relish

Ingredients for 4 Sandwiches:

For the relish:

8 oz Columbus Sopressata, diced

1 cup pluot, diced

1/4 cup toasted pinenuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

The rest:

1 tbsp Harissa or other hot chili pepper paste

6 tbsp mayonnaise

8 slices bread or 4 rolls

4 oz room temp teleme cheese

8 oz Columbus Smoked Turkey

Mix relish ingredients and let sit in fridge for 1 hour to
develop flavors. Mix the harissa and mayonnaise; spread on bread. Spread both
sides of bread with teleme cheese and top with turkey. Top with relish, and
serve immediately, or wrap and press with a plate in the fridge for 30 minutes
to compress.

Incoming search terms:

Best Pumpkin Pie Ever – Come for the Pie, Stay for the Dollop

This Thanksgiving, we’re assuming your turkey will be juicy;
your mashed potatoes lump-free; and your gravy, smooth as silk. You are a
regular visitor here, after all.

However, it’s probably not a bad idea to hedge
your bets and serve a pumpkin pie so tasty and texturally perfect that no
matter what goes wrong, everyone will leave with a smile on
their face, and a delicious memory in their heart. By the way, this is that pie.

After many years of experimentation, I’ve
finally perfected what I think is the ideal formula. As I mention in the video,
I’ve removed an egg white, and replaced it with some additional yolks. This
results in a pie that’s not only richer, but also much less likely to crack.

Of course, you still need to not to overcook it. An extra 5
minutes in the oven is kryptonite to even the most brilliant pumpkin pie
formulas. Use the knife test I demonstrated and you should be fine. Worst case,
there’s always the whipped cream. Ah, the whipped cream.

I remember my friend, and world-famous photographer, Andrew Scrivani telling me about a food stylist whose spoon work is so sexy and
enticing that she makes a good living just specializing in dollops. Well, I’d
like to take this opportunity to apologize for ruining her career.

Once the world sees the slow-mo magic that is the old,
“twist, three-thrusts, and a pull,” I’m assuming she’ll be out of business in
no time. That’s right, now anyone will be able to do magazine-quality dollops like
a boss (and by boss, I mean overpaid food stylist).

Anyway, ruined careers aside, this really is a fantastic,
and incredibly easy pumpkin pie recipe, and I sincerely hope you consider
adding it to your holiday menu this year. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one pumpkin pie:

1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin

1 large egg

3 egg yolks

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

1/4 teaspoon freshly, and very finely ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 tsp Chinese 5-spice (or to sub: a small pinch each of
ground star anise, ground cloves, and ground white pepper)

1/2 teaspoon fine salt
9-inch unbaked pie crust