Show us your latest cookbook acquisitions!

[Smithy]

The dam has burst, and I've added yet another pair of cookbooks to my collection.

 

What happened was, Hank Shaw (he of the blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook) was wrapping up a nationwide book tour at last weekend's Chick of the Woods Holiday Forest Fair in Chaska, Minnesota. He was also selling cookbooks. Here's what he wrote on his blog about the presentation:

 

Quote

I’ll be demonstrating my recipe for Tarahumara mushrooms, roasted green chiles and wild greens — served on corn tortillas — at the fair. Obviously, I’ll be signing copies of all my books, too.

 

I missed the presentation. It was -16F here that morning, and I took a long time to get going, and I arrived too late. But the greenhouses were still packed with foragers and crafts, and he was still there signing and selling books when I arrived. He seems like a lovely man. I enjoyed chatting with him, to the degree I could: the table was busy, and everyone was chatting -- with him, with each other. It was a good time.

 

I came for his latest book:

 

 

Those of you who have read any of the Camping, Princess Style topic know that my darling and I spent a lot of time in the southwestern United States, especially at this time of year. (If he were still alive, we'd have been long gone from Minnesota.) I do like the food. I like the cultural mix. I like the idea of "borderlands" where everything is mixed and shared, and lines are blurred. (Well, it's supposed to be. 'Nuff said.)

 

Besides, I like Hank's writing. I've checked out some of his earlier books from the library. If I were a dedicated hunter, angler, gardener or forager I'd probably have bought some of them before now. This book is the first I've seen that looked like I could use it a lot...starting with making tortillas!

 

 

The book is broken down by region, with stories.

 

 

It's beautifully photographed (of course) and I love the inscription he wrote for me.

 

 

Well. As I said, the dam had burst by that time. He was discounting the books. I looked at all four that were available, and decided that I probably could get good use from this one as well, given my love of fish and seafood:

 

 

 

An example of a recipe I want to try:

 

 

It will all make good reading, and teach me good techniques (I hope), and give me some good ideas.

 

[Norm Matthews]

 

Last month, I was reading the newspaper and it had an article about Pyet DeSpain. I know her. We aren't close friends and the last time I saw her was at my son's wedding. He was getting married to Pyet's half sister. At the time she had an office job for a local car dealer. I learned from the article that she had gone to culinary school, moved to LA and was making meals for delivery to clients when she decided to start creating meals based on her background.  She and her mother and grandmother are members of the Potawatomi tribe and her father and his Mexican family lives in Kansas City   She grew up in both cultures. Her food attracted some attention in Los Angles and was asked to be a contestant on Gordon Ramsay's Next Level Chef   She was the winner of Season One. She has a cooking show on PBS.  This was all news to me. I preordered her cookbook and after it came, had it signed it at a book signing event here in Kansas City. This is the first cook book that I will have read from cover to cover and am acquiring items for her recipes that are not often found or grocery store shelves, like sumac  and juniper berries. I remember sumac trees all along an area where I used to take walks in Junction City and made tea with them once in a while but now have a chance to learn how to put them to greater use.  Same for juniper berries. I have a tree in my backyard that has a gazillion of those blue seeds on it. She has some sauces that have been modified to use as BBQ sauces and I do a lot of BBQ in my smoker and have used fruit flavors in my sauces and her sauces also use fruit flavors.  I have inclded another picture of my son's wedding day taken with is bride and her siblings. Pyet is on the left. 

Edited Sunday at 01:20 AM by Norm Matthews (log)

[Smithy]

@Norm Matthews, what a great story - from start to finish. Thanks for posting about the cookbook, and the backstory.