A Cook’s Christmas

We had a terrific Christmas holiday filled with family, food, and fun, and I hope you did, too. Many of the gifts I received this year were–surprise, surprise, surprise–kitchen/food oriented and I’m excited to give them all a try.

First, the books. Along with Michael Ruhlman’s Elements of Cooking and Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here For The Food. I also received Holiday Favorites: The Best of the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library, which has some great recipe ideas for holidays all through the year, and KitchenAid Great Baking and More, which has a surprising variety of recipes prepared using one of my Top Ten Kitchen Favorites, my KitchenAid stand mixer.

In Elements of Cooking, Ruhlman describes, defines, and expounds upon topics and terminology that every cook needs to have in their cooking toolbox. Besides defining hundreds of culinary terms, he writes eight ‘Notes on Cooking’ essays covering knowledge every cook needs to have on a variety of tools and ingredients. His writing on veal stock alone makes the book worth reading.

As I’ve written before, I’m an Alton fan, and I’m Just Here For The Food is an extension of his show. In the opening pages, he writes “I want to understand what makes food tick and how to control the process known as cooking. In that regard I’m more a mechanic than a cook.” This is why his approach resonates so well with me; I’d rather understand my food than follow a recipe. With greater understanding, I’ll have the freedom to play with ingredients and techniques to create good recipes. Brown also espouses the advice of Baron von Rumohr by stressing the three elements of that cooks must learn to control: salt, water, and heat. The deceptive simplicity of this appeals to me and makes this book an interesting read.

To illustrate the varied combinations that can be created using Holiday Favorites, this book lists menu suggestions for New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, a Holiday Buffet, and Christmas. It’s then broken down in the expected course sections like Starters, Main Dishes, Breads, etc. It also contains a section called “Gifts from the Kitchen” which highlights creations you can make and give as gifts during the holidays. It’s fun stuff.

The KitchenAid book is a collection of recipes written especially for the KitchenAid stand mixer and are designed to take full advantage of its power and versatility. It also includes a speed control guide and tips on using different beaters and attachments. The recipes not only include the obvious baking creations like breads, cakes, cookies, and desserts, but also include appetizers, sides, and entreés.

Other gifts included a large expandable strainer that can stand on its own or can straddle the sink, a bamboo cutting board, an Oxo Softworks 12-piece kitchen gadget set (that’s what it says on the box, and I love gadgets), and a chef’s hat. The family also received some gifts: a Cuisinart 7-cup food processor, a four-piece ceramic canister set, and a creme brulee set. I also gave Renée a Wagner Ware cast iron breakfast skillet and a Lodge cast iron corn stick pan. knowing how much I love classes, Renée got me a Tools & Techniques class from the Viking store that we’ll attend together!

While visiting the family on Christmas Day, my mom gave me two Wagner Ware cast iron skillets she found buried in the back of her cupboard; a No. 3 and a No. 5. These will be great for making eggs and baking and roasting in small quantities.

Can’t wait to try everything!

How was your cook’s Christmas?

Tagged as: Alton Brown, Christmas, KitchenAid, Michael Ruhlman, OXO, Wagner Ware, Williams-Sonoma