Blood, Bones & Butter

bloodbonesbutterHappy Halloween!

Fitting for today is a book recommendation from Ashley: Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Blood, Bones & Butter is a memoir of New York chef Gabrielle Hamilton, recounting her journey from childhood, through kitchens in France, Turkey, and Greece, to chef of the acclaimed restaurant, Prune.

Gabrielle grew up just down the road from Blue Moon Acres, in New Hope, PA. Her lyrical prose recalls the dinner parties her parents threw in the yard, guitar lessons in Lambertville, snapping peas in the kitchen.

Her kitchen, over thirty years ago, long before it was common, had a two-bin stainless steel restaurant sink and a six-burner Garland stove. Her burnt orange Le Creuset pots and casseroles, scuffed and blackened, were constantly at work on the back three burners cooking things with tails, claws, and marrow-filled bones—whatever was budgeted from our dad’s sporadic and mercurial artist’s income—that she was stewing and braising and simmering to feed our family of seven. Our kitchen table was a big round piece of butcher block where we both ate and prepared casual meals.

My mother knew how to get everything comestible from a shin or neck of some animal; how to use a knife, how to cure a cast iron pan. She taught us to articulate the “s” in Salade Nicoise and the soup Vichyssoise, so that we wouldn’t sound like other Americans who didn’t know that the vowel “e” after the consonant “s” in French means that you say the “s” out loud.

By |October 31st, 2014|News|Comments Off on Blood, Bones & Butter

The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 6

thechefsbookshelf

Chef Kenny Kunz is a thoughtful, deliberate cook, who carefully considers his work in the kitchen and the dishes he is preparing. The cookbooks he recommends for us are true classics from the greats.

Kenny Kunz
Cook, Ulivo, Philadelphia, PA
Recommended Cookbooks:
A Return to Cooking, Eric Ripert
The French Laundry Cookbook, Thomas Keller
Italian Cooking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, Culinary Institute of America

There are so many cookbooks I use for inspiration on a regular basis. A Return to Cooking, by Eric Ripert, and The French Laundry Cookbook, by Thomas Keller, are both great because they talk about more than recipes. They talk about inspiration, the importance of fundamentals, and those things appeal to me as a restaurant professional.

There is one traditional recipe cookbook that I really do use a lot and draw much inspiration from. The C.I.A’s Italian Cooking.  One of its three authors, Alberto Vanoli, is an amazing Italian chef, who I had the privilege of working with a long time ago at the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. This book is full of beautiful, simple, traditional, Italian food. Every time I use this book it is like reconnecting with my old Chef, and simultaneously revisiting Italy.

cookbooks

By |January 24th, 2014|News|Comments Off on The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 6

The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 5

The Chefs' Bookshelf

 

The Chefs’ Bookshelf
Cookbook Recommendations from Blue Moon’s Favorite Chefs

Do you have an aspiring chef among your family or friends? You might consider picking up one of the cookbook recommendations below for young chef. My cousin Sean (12 years old and Thanksgiving’s best sous chef in family history) will likely be seeing one of these under his Christmas tree this year!

tonysauppe
Tony Sauppe
Executive Chef, Vault Brewing Co., Yardley PA
Recommended Cookbooks:
Culinary Artistry (Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page), Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Harve This), and the publication Art Culinaire

Chef Tony uses cookbooks mainly for inspiration, rather than for recipes. He sends aspiring cooks home with a stack of books to study from. He recommends three publications as must-reads.

culinaryartistrycoverCulinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page explores the creativity of culinary composition as it relates to imagination, food, and taste. It is essentially a pairing book, combined with many chef commentaries and working recipes. Culinary Artistry is on Tony’s must-read list for new cooks. “If you haven’t heard of this book, go out and pick it up.”

molecular gastro
Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor by Herve This, is all about the actual science of cooking- for instance, why starting a stock with cold water produces a clearer stock. Molecular Gastronomy is not so much geared towards modern cuisine as it is towards the science of every-day cooking. Tony appreciates it as “it helps me learn what’s happening, and understand the science behind the techniques that I’m using.” He’s always digging into this book for background knowledge.

art culinarie
Art Culinaire is a quarterly hardcover publication that uses recipes and photography to speak to the quality and beauty of professional food preparation. Tony looks to Art Culinaire for inspiration for future dishes. “When writing a menu and creating new dishes, I will breeze through Art Culinaire for inspiration and ideas. It’s all very beautiful and upscale cuisine.”

Tony has a modern style with a rootsy influence. He likes to recreate the classics, but with a modern twist, and his cookbook recommendations show that.

By |December 13th, 2013|News|Comments Off on The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 5

The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 4

The Chefs' Bookshelf

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By |November 1st, 2013|News|Comments Off on The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 4

The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 3

The Chefs' Bookshelf

This edition of The Chefs’ Bookshelf could be alternatively titled “Chefs Who Own Many Books.” And I thought my own cookbook selection of 10 cookbooks (and Martha Stewart Living back issues) was a lot! The recommendations from our chefs today span a large time period and cover different cooking styles– from a French fine dining cookbook published in the 1960s to an utterly modern restaurant cookbook published a year ago, to a book of vegetarian recipes. I hope you enjoy the recommendations from our favorite chefs below.

Chris Kearse
Christopher Kearse
Chef and Owner, Will BYOB, Philadelphia
Recommended cookbook: Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point fernand point
Chef Chris, aruguably one of the top chefs in Philadelphia right now, notes Ma Gastronomie by noted French chef Fernand Point as his favorite cookbook. Favorite cookbook out of about 500 on his bookshelves, as he gets a new book every two weeks. (That means this one is really really good.) Chef Chris has a rare first edition of this 1969 publication. Ma Gastronomie “is more than just recipes; it’s a lot of Point’s views on food, restaurants, and cuisine.” Fernand Point revolutionized French cuisine, creating his own versions of classic dishes. Ma Gastronomie shares Point’s provocative takes on food and over 200 of his recipes.

ben erenhausenBen Nerenhausen
Chef, Mistral, Princeton
Recommended Cookbook: SPQR by Matthew Accarrino SPQR
Ben, chef at Scott Anderson’s recently-opened Mistral, recommends (when forced to choose) SPQR by Matthew Accarrino. SPQR is a cookbook and wine guide celebrating innovations of modern Italian cooking, as practiced by Accarrino’s eponymous San Francisco restaurant. Ben appreciates that “not only is [author] Accarrino a great guy, but his food is tasty.” SPQR is “classic in approach but modern in delivery; and the recipes in the book are great for at home as well.”

theo
Theo Petron 
Chef, A la Maison Personal Chef Service, Bucks County
Recommended cookbooks: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, The Way to Cook and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child vegetarian cooking
Theo is another chef with way too many cookbooks—he sent me picture of his overflowing bookshelves as proof! Theo generally refers to cookbooks for inspiration, not so to actually follow a recipe. He recommends several cookbooks and cookbook authors. Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is a classic (Theo just adds meat), showing basic vegetarian cooking techniques- cooking techniques, combining ingredients, and presenting with style. It’s the definitive guide on vegetarian cooking. Theo’s also a big fan of Julia Child. He likes The Way to Cook the best, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking is “always a fun read.” Theo says “I tend to collect books from restaurants that I’ve enjoyed, however I think that certain key ingredients are always left out of restaurant recipe books. Afterglow, you’ve got to keep people coming back!”

By |October 18th, 2013|News|Comments Off on The Chefs’ Bookshelf- Part 3