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I know I'm way late to the party, but does anyone have a copy of Los Postres De El Bulli that they would be willing to sell or knowledge of where to find one? Thanks!

Andy Ricker's book on Thai food Pok Pok is all over the food internet recently. I "looked inside the book" on Amazon and felt like it was explaining things I knew in a teacher/student way that I don't care for. However, I am a sucker for the stories behind the food and it appears to have that going for it. Has anyone perused it? At this point I think it is a book I want to check out from the library as opposed to own.

Every year I like to grab a baking cookbook or two for the house baker/my wife. What are some of the best options out there for 2013? Any eagerly anticipated gems arriving for the end-of-year blitz?

I must start by saying that I have huge respect for what Alex and Aki are doing. I adore their previous book and one of the first things I read in the morning is their website's mailing. In anticipation of Maximum Flavor (MF), I went back to the very beginning of their blog and read or skimmed through years of writing, witnessing how Ideas in Food have contributed to some of the big developments that characterize modern cuisine today. I live in Europe, where MF is not sold yet. I bought it through pre-order on Amazon, had it shipped to a US address and had a friend bring from there. Perhaps my expectations were too high, perhaps I have developed into a more sophisticated and knowledgeable cook over the last few years but this book was a major disappointment. The words that come to mind are: simple (selection of recipes), US focused (ingredients hard to find in Europe, brands, recipes) and unappetizing (photography, colors). This is not so say that this book is bad, but it is not a book for me any more. It is a book for a relatively average American home cook, how has somehow heard of Aki and Alex, and is willing to improve their pancake, burger and cake making. I have cooked successfully enough of complex dishes in full from Alinea, Eleven Madisson Park, Momofuku, Modernist Cuisine etc and I was craving something that would help me come up with complex and unusual flavors, that Alex and Aki can do so well (very noticeable in the first years of their blog), or even the big brother for their previous book, with more flavor enhancing techniques and brilliant recipes. In the entire book, there are perhaps two or max three things new to me, such as sugar syrup roasting nuts, the konbu beans combination and I cannot think of the third one. Also, I find a lot of ideas lacking originality - microwave sponge cakes or rough puff pastry are not exactly what I hoped to find there. I would sent the book it back but shipping costs from EU to US may outweigh the refund I can get - will look into it though. I understand this book may have a significant (US) mass appeal and be commercially attractive for the authors, I somehow feel that their brand has been diluted for me. I will never again buy a piece of their writing without having it seen first and making sure that it is what I expect it to be. [Host Note: Amazon Society-friendly link to Maximum Flavor by Aki Komozawa and Alexander Talbot]

All, This cookbook is due out very soon. Mine is due Oct 10,'13 See the link below. Sauces & Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way: Oretta Zanini de Vita, Maureen B. Fant: 9780393082432: Amazon.com: Books

Greetings and Salutations Everyone, Having fun going through the forums. Very appreciative of the high level of discourse and good humor. I’m home. Looking for a pasta cook book. One that doesn’t use volumetric measurements. Metric is welcomed. I’ve been making linguine and ravioli for over ten years. Favorite is my KitchenAid Paste roller. Thanks in Advance, Nelson87, In Southern Connecticut

I want to try out some desserts or sweets prepared in Lebanese style. Please suggest some desserts.

This Recipe that I am going to share, its by my mom. We used to have these cookies since Childhood. To me its a very traditional Recipe. any flavors you want to add, all depending upon your taste. I used Chocolate, Vanilla and Raspberry for that. Same recipe goes for all cookies with distinct use of essences and food colors. Well here we go, it makes about 20 to 30 cookies, enough for your family while having tea/coffee. I love its crunchy texture outside and softy material of a classic cookie from inside. So for making a cookie you gonna have: COOKIES HOMEMADE: You will need: 1/2 cup unsalted Butter/clarified Butter 1 cup Sugar 2 Eggs 1 tsp Baking Powder Milk 1/4 cup(Use Milk as required, dough should be soft, add it if you feel stickiness) 2 1/2 cup Flour Vanilla Essence(or any flavor you like to have in cookies) Steps to Follow Beat Butter and Sugar. Add Sieved Flour & Baking Powder. Add flavor , Essence, Eggs, make a dough. Add some warm milk if you feel to have in your Dough. Make a soft dough. Then cutout soft cookies and Bake. This Recipe works for simple Vanilla Cookie. I filled my cookies with small pieces of Dark Chocolate. If you need some amendments or more flavors, add Cocoa Powder or Raspberry Essence with Red Food Color as I did.

Obviously we should be leery of anything we find on the internet, but are there cookbooks available for free online that are universally celebrated and/or considered legitimate by the cooking community at large?

I thought I'd learn some more precision and improve my method of cooking vegetables, so I recently got this book. The recipes aren't complicated. Following the recipes is the tricky thing; I'm a throw-in-a-bit-of-this-and-a-bit-of-that-and-see-what-happens kind of cook. I'll write what I think of the book when I've tried a few more of the recipes. For now, here's the first one I made: Pommes rôties au laurier - roast potatoes with bay The first step in this recipe is to slit the potatoes (I used Exquisas) and slip some slivers of bay inside the incisions. Then you roast them in a mixture of stock and olive oil. Here they are ready to go in the oven: The unusual thing about these roast potatoes is that they're half-way submerged in liquid at the start of cooking. The plan is for the stock to boil off and the potatoes then to roast in the oil; you don't parboil the potatoes first. It's really more of a braise. After 40mins in the heat: The potatoes are very tender after 40mins bubbling away in their bath. They taste - and you'll hardly credit it - of bay, so can make friends with any dish that likes bay. The flavour is pronounced, but perhaps not as much as you would expect with that many leaves getting involved. They are also attractive to look at. On the other hand I had to pour the stock off for the final part of cooking as it didn't evaporate as intended. I will try the recipe again with larger potatoes and a shallower dish - the size and shape of the vessel and the vegetables are left to the imagination by the recipe. That meant pouring off the oil too, which probably affected the texture at the end. There was also a bizarrely large quantity of oil specified so I only used about a fifth of it. The potatoes taste rather one-dimensional; I would perhaps prefer them with some garlic slices stuffed inside as well. We ate them with a green salad and flageolet beans, with a French Domaine Vocoret Chablis in the glass.

I'm looking for a book on homemade sodas and drinks, and couldn't find any threads on non-alcoholic ones in the forum. I did some browsing on Amazon, and narrowed down to these four. Can anyone who have these books share their opinions on them - Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss Make Your Own Soda by Anton Nocito Artisan Soda Workshop by Andrea Lynn Homemade Root Beer, Soda and Pop by Stephen Cresswell Any comments, suggestions or recommendations are welcomed. Thanks.

I could not find much through search - I am looking for Fusion books recommendations. I quite like Fire: A World of Flavour by Christine Manfield and am looking to expand my horizons, especially in the Japanese meets West type of cooking. Thanks Bojana

"You cannot run away from weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?" Maybe a bit dramatic, but I've been thinking critically, lately, about my development as a cook. I'll note here an amateur, though enthusiastic, cook. I've come to the conclusion that my weakness now is a lack of creativity with respect to vegetables, both as sides and mains. And sides generally. I've become so immersed in cooking the perfect, moist, flavourful chicken breast; mastering a med-rare rib eye, or cedar smoking a fillet of salmon so it's flakey but not overcooked; etc.--not to mention my latest experiments with cooking sous vide--that vegetables/sides have become kind of an afterthought. Carelessly steamed or sautéed and tossed on the plate next to the "true prize". I know there's lots to learn. Any recommendations for books/resources that might help me both with ideas and technique for improving this area? Thanks!

There doesn't seem to be anything in the threads about spice cookbooks. I just bought The Book of Spices by Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. Copyright 1969. (He has a nut book, too, different thread.) Fabulous illustrations. I also have McCormick's Spices of the World Cookbook and The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day and Lillie Stuckey. Anyone have opinions or recommendations?

This is a general question to the readers to think and discuss why there aren't many Indian chefs pursuing the field of food writing whereas international chefs are releasing best sellers almost every year. Also if any change can be brought about by understanding the factors which are acting as barriers and obstacles for Indian chefs to pursue food writing alongside their primary careers. when we think of Indian chefs who have released books, there may be many, but only few come to mind, such as, Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna, Madhur Jaffery etc. Again what I wish to know is that why is the awareness level low in India as far as our own chefs are concerned? with such advancements happening in this field, why is it that many chefs find food writing a challenge?

Hi everyone, I just had to re-sign up since it's been awhile I wanted to let you all know the awesome news that I will be releasing a book at the end of the year about my time learning the charcuterie and butchery of Spain. It's called Charcutería: The Soul of Spain, and will have a foreword by James Beard award-winning chef José Andrés. The book is going to have a bunch of traditional techniques and recipes for Spanish charcuterie and pork butchery, as well as recipes and other little tricks I picked up working with the folks in the Extremaduran countryside. My photog and I just got back from visiting Spain for the photoshoot and the guys up in Asturias did a little video about it. Here's the link to the video: http://www.whereisasturias.com/?p=6602 And a link to our FB page (Lots more photos... please like!): https://www.facebook.com/charcuteriaspain?ref=ts&fref=ts Please feel free to write me if you have any requests or questions for the book--really trying to make something that my fellow meatheads and sausage nerds can get into. Ciao, jeff PS: As a little offering to my hopefully-new eGullet pals here's a sexy photo from the Jamón slicing shoot. Tatoos and meat...

I'm considering buying Florence Lin's Complete Book of Chinese Noodles, Dumplings and Breads. It's out of print but it's possible to get hold of it but it's expensive. I've seen some brief reviews on this site and basically, most of them rate it quite well if not highly. I would like to hear what people who've got this book think of it? Have they tried making noodles from the recipes provided? Have they made any of the noodle soups/dishes and how did they turn out? And also, how to you rate the dumplings and bread recipes? It's a shame that they don't do a re-print. Thanks in advance.

Someone suggested starting a topic to discuss dishes made from this book. I think it's a good idea. I got the book a couple weeks ago and read through it. It's fantastic. While i have Dunlop's other books and have cooked from them A LOT, this one seems more streamlined for weeknight dinners with dishes that don't require 8-10 marinade or sauce ingredients. I've cooked a couple meals from it and everything has been awesome. Last week it was chicken with black bean sauce and spinach with fermented tofu. Both were delicious. Last night it was pork tenderloin with chinese chives (not a recipe in the book, but i took the recipe for the chicken livers with chives and subbed pork tenderloin), stir fried cabbage with dry shrimp and bok choy with shiitake (i used dry, rehydrated). Everything was delicious. I really liked the baby bok choy. The flavors were clean and light. Wife thought it was kind of bland, but i liked it. The cabbage was also delicious, though wife and daughter didn't agree I thought it was funny that my purple cabbage turned my yellow/orange tiny dry shrimp green. Forgot to take pictures of the dishes. What is everyone else making?

[Moderator note: This topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the earlier part of the discussion is here: Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 1)] I have been cooking out of MC@h for a few months now and haven't found this forum until recently. I thought I would stop lurking a participate as I have tried many of the recipes with great success, as well as had some pretty spectacular failures I mean who hasn't? Last night I decided to try the pressure cooked pork belly adobo I served it like a lettuce wrap with some sweet onion, diakon and cilantro and it turned out fantastic. I wish I had taken a picture. For those who have made the adobo it is rather rich and I want to add something more to cut through it a bit and was thinking of a foam so I can practice with my new whipping siphon. The addition of the lettuce cups with the onion and diakon helped a bunch I just think it needed one other element to really balance it out. Any thoughts on what you would use? -Erik

I am working on a project about Howard Mitcham, a chef and writer from my home state of Mississippi. I would be most appreciative of any input any of you might have on "Mitch". Thank you so very much. Jesse Yancy

I am looking for cookbooks that feature recipes and cuisine from the Northern region of Italy. ( My ancestors originate from Torino. ) I am looking for 'light' or healthier versions of traditional northern Italian recipes. Any recommendations?

Michael Ruhlman has just published and released his new iPad app The Book of Schmaltz, a Love Song to a Forgotten Fat. At present, it is only available for the iPad, but will shortly be launched for other platforms. There also maybe a print version at some time. I have downloaded Schmaltz and am glad I did so and recommend others give it a look. I am very particular about cooking apps for my iPad and iPhone. However, when I see Michael Ruhlman's name attached whether it is a book or an app I delve deeper. Schmaltz is another of his quality efforts, not only with his writing and recipe prowness, but it is further enhanced by Donna Ruhlman's excellent photography. In my opinon, Ruhlman has the gift to weave an interesting story, while at the same time giving confidence to go into the kitchen to try the techinque or recipe. Having always been a visual learner in cooking, Donna's extensive photography further reinforces my desire to try using the recipes in my own kitchen. This is on the same tier as Bittman's How to Cook, the CIA's The Professional Chef and the Epicurious apps, among a very few others.

I am looking for recommendations for a gift. I want to give a cookbook on Indian food to someone who is a relatively sophisticated cook but knows very little about Indian cooking. He works full time (not as a chef) and cooks mostly for his family. Thus, he is not going to want recipes that take a long time to prepare. Suggestions?

I have finally ordered a pressure cooker and would like to get some recommendations for a couple of recipe books. Does anyone have any suggestions for which ones to get? Thanks!

[Moderator note: The original Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 3)] Well, I was in the "didnt know" camp as I have sadly not cooked as many recipes as I would have liked from the book. After reading your post and seeing your pics I decided to give it a whirl and was definitely not disappointed, it was as good as any BBQ Ive ever had (and I live in central texas now, we have pretty good bbq here) Embarrassingly I think the only things Ive really cooked from the book are the mac and cheese, the carrot soup, the pastrami, and now the bbq ribs. Any other insanely popular recipes that I have missed and need to make since I have a few days off?