Modern Art Desserts

If you love modern art and love desserts, watch this 2 minute video.  The team at the Blue Bottle Cafe at the SFMOMA create desserts that are inspired by artists such as Cindy Sherman, Piet Mondrian and Richard Serra.  As the author Caitlin Freeman says, "we go to work every day to look at art and make cake."  What a dream job! 

I must have this new cookbook that is coming out on April 16th.

Gwyneth Paltrow's New Cookbook

I'm a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but when her first cookbook came out, I scoffed at the idea of her writing a regular person's cookbook since I knew she had an all vegan-macrobiotic-something diet.  Now, I just read that her second cookbook is coming out in April 2013. 

Solely out of curiousity, I'm tempted to buy the book (when it makes it to the bargain book section of Barnes & Noble) and see if her recipes are indeed, "delicious" and help me feel more energetic and look as good as she does for her age.  I'm curious to see what kind of recipes she has that don't include dairy, eggs, sugar, wheat or meat. 

Here is her publisher's description of the book:

Gwyneth Paltrow, Academy-Award winning actress and bestselling cookbook author, returns with recipes for the foods she eats when she wants to lose weight, look good, and feel more energetic.

Last spring, after a particularly grueling schedule and lapse of overindulgence, Gwyneth Paltrow was feeling fatigued and faint. A visit to her doctor revealed that she was anemic, vitamin D deficient, and that her stress levels were sky high. He prescribed an elimination diet to clear out her system and help her body heal. But this meant no coffee, no alcohol, no dairy, no eggs, no sugar, no shellfish, no deep-water fish, no wheat, no meat, no soy, nothing processed at all!

An avid foodie, Paltrow was concerned that so many restrictions would make mealtime boring, so, together with Julia Turshen, she compiled a collection of delicious, easy recipes that followed her doctor's guidelines. And it worked! After changing her diet, Paltrow healed totally, felt more energetic and looked great. Now, in IT'S ALL GOOD, she shares the go-to dishes that have become the baseline for the restorative diet she turns to whenever she feels she needs it. Recipes include: Huevos Rancheros, Hummus Tartine with Scallion-Mint Pesto, Salmon Burgers with Pickled Ginger, even Power Brownies, Banana "Ice Cream," and more!

Julia Child's New Biography "Dearie"

Julia Child was born August 15, 1912 and would have been 100 years old today.  She was the first "celebrity chef."

A new biography on Julia called Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child was released this month, and while I haven't read it, it's now on my list!

PARADE has published a long excerpt (the prologue) from the book to give us a taste.

Happy Birthday, Julia

I 'liked' KFC on Facebook . . . to get the free downloadable autobiography of Colonel Sanders

If you saw that I liked KFC on Facebook, I debated for over a week whether to like the page or not (I try to keep my brand fan pages I like to a minimum), but I was just too curious about the Colonel Sanders autobiography & recipe book that launched exclusively on Facebook  . . . I just downloaded the entire book for free.

The book is called "Colonel Harland Sanders: The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef” and was written by the Colonel himself in 1966.  The original manuscript was found recently by accident. 

The book is centered around the Colonel's passion for food, his work ethic, and his thoughts on the importance of home-style country cooking and includes 33 never-before-published recipes.

I do like autobiographies, so I'll eventually read it -- it's on my list, and I'll write a review at a later date.  (But quite honestly, I think the fact that the book is FREE and isn't available in bookstores or even via online booksellers was a little intriguing and made me want to download it just to have it.)

I'll probably end up cooking something from the book before I actually read his story.  The French Fried Parsnips and Cauliflower looks interesting, and the Upside Down Peach Cobbler sounds delicious.  Maybe I'll make a Colonel Sanders dinner sometime soon.

On My Wish List: A $450 Cookbook

"A $450 Cookbook" is a little misleading.  It's actually a five volume book set (plus a spiral-bound kitchen manual) that contains 2,438 pages and weighs almost 39 pounds.

It's called Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold, written by a former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer.  We were talking with some friends about this recently, and I wanted to find out more.  The "book" is an encylopedia and guide to the science of contemporary cooking. 

According to Wikipedia:  At the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2010 the book was named "the most important cookbook of the first ten years of the 21st century" and was introduced in the hall of fame. The book has been described as the “The cookbook to end all cookbooks.”

Check it out here on Amazon and Barnes & Noble's sites.

Eat Me: Appetite for Design

This looks like a fun coffee table book that includes fun food, interesting packaging ideas, restaurant interiors & exteriors, food-based art projects, tabletop wares, and more.  The book itself looks like a wafer biscuit with a bite taken out of the corner.  I've seen a couple of good reviews for this new book since it was released in January.
http://trendland.net/eat-me-appetite-for-design/#

Here is how the publisher, Victionary, so eloquently describes the book:

"Eating is no longer a pure experience of smell and taste but rather an effective agency to communicate and engage, an indication of cultural values, lifestyle, artisanship, criticism, aspirations and imagination this present day.

While no single aspect of food and the associated can epitomise the new food culture, EAT ME takes out a slice of modern life where food has been taken as the medium to promote social interactions and ginger up our every day. In addition to the highly competitive realm of food packaging design, the book also features a symphony of recent art creations, social events, identity projects, restaurant designs, culinary implements and products inspired by food. The substantial showcase is complemented by fascinating insights in their forewords and case studies given by experts, entrepreneurs and practitioners, each distinct with regards to their experience in product, packaging, image-making, branding and spatial design."

And, it's only $26.37 on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Me-Viction-Workshop-Ltd/dp/988194385X

Book: French Women Don't Get Fat

This book came out years ago, and while I bought it back in 2004, I only read it just recently as recommended to me by a friend.  I really enjoyed it -- it's a FUN, quick read and has changed how I view food.  In addition, the book has some wonderful, easy and tasty recipes like 'Chicken au Champagne.'

The author, Mireille Guiliano, is the former CEO of Champagne house Veuve Cliquot and relates the story of how she changed her relationship with food with the help of 'Dr. Miracle' who helped her easily lose weight when she was younger.  She gives tips on how to stay slim without dieting.

The premise of the book is all about changing your lifestyle bit by bit but still indulging in life's pleasures.  There are trade-offs you can make ~ for instance, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or cutting out a dessert if you're going to have a sweet after-dinner drink.  Little things added together (cutting a few calories here and there and gradually increasing exercise) can lead to easy weight loss.

While I'd encourage you to read the book, here is a summary of what Mireille thinks French women do differently compared to American women:

1. French women eat smaller portions of more things (each meal averages 3 courses).
2. French women eat more vegetables. 
3. French women love chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
4. French women honor mealtime rituals and never eat standing up, on the run, or in front of the T.V.
5. French women eat what's in season for maximum flavor, and know availability does not equal quality.
6. French women don't care for hard liquor.
7. French women walk wherever they can.
8. French women drink water all day long.
9. French women don't eat anything "fat-free", "sugar-free" or anything stripped of natural flavor. They go for the real thing IN MODERATION.
10. French women choose their indulgences and compensations.