Monday, January 12, 2009

Cocina Del Mundo or Kitchen Memories

Cocina Del Mundo: Nueva York (Williams - Sonoma Collection Series)

Author: Chuck Williams

Una ciudad en continuo cambio, una rica historia y una poblacion global convierten a la ciudad de Nueva York en una prospera amalgama de sabores fantasticos. Tan apasionados en cuanto a la tradicion como a la innovacion a los neoyorquinos les encarta descubir lo mejor que su ciudad les puede ofrecer exaltando los mercados gourmet de la ciudad para vender sus quesos artesanales recien hechos, productos de temporada cultivados en la region y los pescados y mariscos de la mejor calidad atrapados en la costa del Oceano Atlantico.



New interesting textbook: Dwight D Eisenhower or Hamas VS Fatah

Kitchen Memories: A Legacy of Family Recipes from Around the World

Author: Anne Snape Parsons

Memories of grandmotherâЂ™s cooking are warm, inviting, sustaining and comforting but most people have not taken the time to preserve their familyâЂ™s favorite recipes. As a result, many treasured recipes are lost to the fast-food generation 'overtaken by pizza delivery, eating out and convenience foods. Kitchen Memories aims to slow that trend down with a lovingly compiled collection of 120 family recipes from 25 countries' handed down from one generation to the next and gathered from families and cooks. The authors, leaders in the Slow Food movement, have interviewed hundreds of people who have shared their most precious recipes, the ones they want to pass on to their children and grandchildren. The process of talking about family recipes triggered many happy memories for the bookâЂ™s contributors, and as such, each recipe includes detailed homespun cooking tips and sidebars rich with personal stories of family and food.

Twenty-five countries are featured including the U.S. and some of its distinctive regional and ethnic cuisines. Pages at the end of the book are provided for cooks to preserve their own favorite recipes, thoughts, tips, photos, and memories. The authors have tested all 120 recipes. A helpful glossary and appendix offering a brief sketch of each culture are included.

Here is a sample recipe:



Sample this recipe from Kitchen Memories:

Bolivian Corn Casserole
HUMITA


Karla Montano and her sister, Vivian Lawson, own and operate a restaurant called Luna Maya, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Although Montano has always been the passionate, creative cookin her family, she believes cooking for large family gatherings requires easy-to-make, simple recipes that taste fabulous. Therefore, the old family standbys are always appreciated. Humita is a traditional Bolivian dish consisting of fresh corn and cheese. To be
truly authentic, it should be steamed inside a corn husk. However, there are many variations, depending
on the region and the cook. Montano says that using fresh corn provides a better flavor, but when corn is out of season and you are pressed for time, frozen corn kernels are an acceptable substitute.

Masa mixâЂ"a corn flour product for making tortillas, tamales, and other productsâЂ"is readily available in many supermarkets: check where flour products are displayed. The filling calls for a crumbly cheese such as the Mexican queso fresco or the Italian ricotta salata. If neither of these is available, try the mozzarella, grated. For a richer filling, increase the amount of cheese. For an effect resembling crÃЁme brûlée, sprinkle sugar over the top layer and let the heat melt it into the mixture.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup masa mix
1/4 cup cornbread mix
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon mild ground red pepper, such as New Mexico Red or paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon chipotle powder, or other chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (2-pound) bag frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, melted
1 pound grated crumbly cheese, such as queso fresco

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 3-quart ovenproof baking dish. Mix the sugar, masa mix, cornbread mix, salt, ground red pepper, cinnamon, chipotle powder, and ground cumin together in a large bowl.
Put the corn kernels in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Mix the corn with the dry ingredients. Stir in the butter until fully incorporated.
Spoon half the mixture into the baking dish. Spread three-quarters of the cheese filling over the mixture. Spoon the remaining mixture over the cheese. Top with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves 8.

What People Are Saying

Patrick Martins
"In this century, with the industrialization of the food supply, disappearance of the family farm, fast food, and the loss of the table as the center of all human interaction, it is more important than ever to read this book and re-enact the traditions that have meaning to you. I applaud Anne and Alexandra for reminding us to slow down and remember the wise words of the Slow Food Manifesto: 'A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.'"--(Patrick Martins, Founder of Slow Food USA; Cofounder, Heritage Foods)


Nongkran Daks
"A reminder that with great recipes come warm memories, as delicious as the food itself, and sadly absent in today's junk diet."--(Nongkran Daks, Chef-Owner Thai Basil Restaurant, Reston, VA)




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