Time to Cook!

It looks like we're spending a lot more time around the house, cooking for ourselves.

Kim and I truly love eating out -- in fact we have reservations at The French Laundry in May, though we're fairly certain that's not going to work out :-(

But, as much as I love eating out, I love cooking, too.  Here's a few of my favorite books, on my shelf right now:

1. The Joy of Cooking -- Irma Rombauer
• In my humble opinion, this is the one single cooking tome you need more than any other.  It's my bible of cooking.  If it's not in here, it's nowhere!
2. Modernist Cuisine at Home -- Nathan Myhrvold
• It's a science textbook, but for cooking.  And cooking gadgets and gizmos.  Absolutely phenomenal.  Gorgeous pictures.  Thorough explanations of every corner of cooking science.  Every time I open it, I'm sucked into hours of reading.
3. Franklin Barbeque - A Meat-smoking Manifesto -- Aaron Franklin
• I've smoked meat for a long time, longer, in fact, than Aaron Franklin himself, as detailed in his origin story at the beginning of his book.  But my approaches changed, for the better, after reading his manifesto.  So, so, so good.
4. The Keto Paleo Kitchen -- Vivica Menegaz
• A few years ago, as I started approaching 40, carbs somehow became my nemesis.  They just don't come off like they used to.  Fortunately, there's a cure...  And it involves replacing those carbs with protein, delicious meats, and vegetables.  This is a awesome set of delicious recipes, each one better than the last.  Highly recommend!
5. The Noma Guide to Fermentation -- Rene Redzepi
• Kim and I had the privilege of eating at Noma last year.  It was almost a religious experience.  Now, on a separate note, I love beer.  Especially that weird corner of beer, called sour, funky beer.  This book is actually the remarkable cross section of those two passions of mine.  In this book, Rene Redzepi meticulously documents hundreds of different foods, vegetables, meats, herbs, practically anything you can imagine -- fermented and pickled.  What.  A.  Book.
6. The Oxford Companion to Beer -- Garret Oliver
• Believe it or not, I've read this encyclopedia cover to cover!  As a narrative, it's pretty dry -- I don't recommend reading it cover to cover.  But as an encyclopedia, it's second to none.  Everything you could ever possibly want to know about every corner of the beer world, from styles, to countries, to techniques, to history, and everything in between.
7. Wine -- From Grapes to Glass -- Jens Priewe
• We really enjoy our wine, in the Kirkland household.  This book is a decent "coffee table" book, with beautiful pictures and good information about wine styles, grapes, and regions.  If you want a more authoritative text book, I recommend The Oxford Companion to Wine, by Jancis Robinson.
8. Charred and Scruffed -- Adam Perry Lang
• Before Aaron Franklin's book, this was my only barbeque cookbook.  It's pretty good, especially if your equipment matches the super simple, Charbroil grill with charcoal briquets, in which case, this book will teach you everything you need to know to produce the best barbeque you're going to get out of that equipment.  Seeing as I'm cooking on different hardware these days, though, this book doesn't hold much information that applies to my grills anymore.

And a few from Kim's collection:

1. Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook -- Martha Stewart
2. Salad for Dinner -- Jeanne Kelley
3. One Sheet Eats -- Oxmoor House
4. The New Orleans Cookbook -- Rima and Richard Collin
5. Modern Art Desserts -- Caitlin Freeman
6. From Emeril's Kitchen -- Emeril Lagasse

What are some of your favorites?  I could use some new material!

Cheers,

:-Dustin

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