Tag: Left Coast Culinary Book Club

September 26, 2023 – Goldy’s Kitchen Cookbook: Cooking, Writing, Family, Life

September 26, 2023 /

Goldy’s Kitchen Cookbook by Diane Mott Davidson was the August co-selection for the Left Coast Culinary Book Club. The reason is that it was the co-selection is that our group is going through some trials and tribulations and is a little listless at this time. Unfortunately, two members died last month and we really haven’t been in an organized fashion this year. As a result, two books were ‘suggested’. I will talk about the other one after I read it.

Part of the reason that I like being part of the Left Coast Culinary Book Club is that other people do the work. That is, they are the ones to suggest ‘I think we should read this’. Most of the selections I would never pick in a million years but I like the fact that it provides a diverse view to what I would normally read or gravitate to.

This choice is an interesting one. Diane Mott Davidson is a long time author, publishing a series of mystery books dating all the way back to the early 1990s. Her primary character is a caterer and nearly every recipe in this cookbook has been published in each of Diane’s numerous books. This is a compilation of all the recipes throughout Diane’s writing career.

In all transparency, I have never heard of Diane Mott Davidson nor any of her books. I say that because the idea of this cookbook seems pretty novel to me. Another reason that I mention it is because I came into this with no bias whatsoever.

Another admission, I did not read every word. I read the anecdote that goes along with the recipe and scan the ingredient list. I want to understand the pulse of a cookbook. How much diversity is there within the book? Can I possibly make what is in the book with the ingredients listed? Do I even care about what is offered?

Usually, I pick out a couple of things that I would like to try. And typically those are recipes that are unique. I say this because after reading this cookbook, I don’t plan on making anything immediately. Nearly 1/3 of the recipes are desserts, nothing wrong with that but it is just not a cornerstone in my kitchen.

What is the pulse of this cookbook? Clearly, I would say desserts but I already said that. There is an entire chapter on egg and cheese, think quiche, omelets, frittata etc. This was apparently driven by the author’s editor being vegetarian and asking for more recipes that fit that definition. That was a novel stance as well but I noticed that many of the recipes were different assemblies of the same ingredients.

The author had spent most of her life in Colorado and the cookbook has strong leaning toward TexMex flavors. I don’t have anything specific against TexMex but I have a true affinity toward Mexican food and to me TexMex is like saying McDonalds represents hamburgers. No, it is a derivation and interpretation made for a specific purpose.

Before I am too hard on Diane, she makes a statement early on that says her character is a caterer and that is a business. If a shortcut can be made to get to the end, then it should be considered. I giver her credit that she has done her homework on learning and understanding the business. I think the disconnect is between catering as a business and cooking as a craft.

Just one quick example in the chicken broth recipe. This is the only recipe I have ever seen that uses prepared chicken broth as the liquid to make chicken broth. I subscribe to Samine Nosrat – If you cant use broth you have made, use water. So, I see the broth recipe as more of a hack than an actual technique. I could certainly see this work for catering, like I said it is a business.

End Your Programming Routine: Who would like this or be interested in this cookbook? I think fans of Diane Mott Davidson certainly. But, if you have a sweet tooth or lack a cookbook to make a lot of cookies with dried fruit or chocolate in them, this may be your thing. This will probably be one that I never open again but that is OK. I didn’t know there was a mystery series with hundreds of recipes contained.

November 19, 2021 – Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil

November 19, 2021 /

I have been taking my time with this one. It was the September 2021 selection for the Left Coast Culinary Book Club. As part of our gettogether, we did olive oil tasting and made dishes where olive oil was the main or standout component. In contrast to the August selection, I was fascinated with this one. I had some high level knowledge of the problems with the industry but this book really gets into the ring with them.

The book starts out with the historical references to olive oil in lore such as in Homer’s Odyssey, to the growth of culture via the Mediterranean people, it’s historical uses and importance to society. Then it travels into the scandalous world and wanders around into the new world and the push for a cleaner industry.

I have to say, this is definitely a fascinating book. Apparently, the Romans developed a welfare system whereby olive oil was distributed to the population. As a result, one entire hill in Rome is the remnants of the clay vessels that were cast aside when empty. In another fact, oil was stored in basements under buildings and when the cities were invaded and burned, so did the oil. Apparently, that act is what preserved writing on clay tablets by making them hard.

I never realized that there was a distinction in culture between the olive eating culture and the animal fat culture. That line was precisely where olive trees stopped growing. This section gets into the politics of propaganda and the regional developed tastes by proximity to the raw ingredients.

The book talks about how olive oil is made, all grades. It talks about the economics of olive growing and the distribution industry. It talks about the chemistry of olive oil, why it is good and what is wrong with the industry. It is something that I never thought I was that interested in and makes me want to consider doing something in that field.

If you are to believe the book, and I do then I think it is a forgone conclusion that nearly all oil that the non-Mediterranean person can obtain is poor quality at least and likely adulterated with other oils. That in of itself is not the end of the world, but it does mean that there are less associated benefits to that type of oil. What makes it special are the anti-oxidants present in the oil which rapidly degrade and make it equivalent to all the other oils out there.

On that note, the more flavors present the more likely it is fresh. So, if you taste the oil and it has some life in it, then it is more likely it is a good one. According to the book, over fifty percent of the oil in this country is not pure extra virgin and that was ten years ago. In contrast, over 90% of the European oils are not pure. It was also noted that nearly every oil at the supermarket this was the case as well as being rancid.

I am not sure what to do at this point. For sure, I am not going to dump what I already have. According to figures in the book, it costs 9 euros per liter to produce. With mark-up (and conversion), I would expect $20/quart is a bare minimum number to be looking for the real stuff. I will be keeping an eye out for a better solution and product. Most likely, the best way to get fresh and quality is to buy direct from the source. Look for single source producers in the US or Australia. There are additional resources in the book.

End Your Programming Routine: Hopefully my exuberance came through, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The characters are complicated: rich one day and convicts the next. Government comes off as impartial yet graft runs amok. Everyone knows a little to a lot but no one is willing to speak on total authority as it is always the other guy. If you are interested in food, history, true crime or just something different, I would recommend this book.

November 18, 2020 – Updates to the Virtual Book Club today

November 18, 2020 /

Yesterday, the thinking about 1984 by George Orwell left me partially excited to go into that book again and partially disgusted to think about what has happened on my watch. I am going to save the stronger editorials to another time to get to a happier place today.

I spent this morning backdating the progress of the Left Coast Cellars Culinary Book Club. With the impending second lockdown and the weather really getting wet, it is a good time to read and cook. I have created separate pages, by year on where we have been as a club in case someone was interested in where we have covered. Those links are on the left hand margin.

I am strongly thinking in the future that I will repurpose the ‘Approachable Wine’ page and change that into a ‘Resources’ page for people interested in the things that I am such as freedom, gear, skills and books. That page was really intended for a different purpose. I was wanting to build an app and tie all of this together, but I didn’t get started and probably wont.

So, we have bunkered up into our ‘two week freeze’. Our Thanksgiving shopping is done and the menu is largely set. There definitely won’t be more than six people at our table. As Thanksgiving signals the end of the harvest season, it is time to appreciate the year behind and look forward to the year ahead. Do some reading in your free time.

October 1, 2020 – Review: My Life in France

October 1, 2020 /

“My Life in France” by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme was the August book club selection for the Left Coast Cellars Culinary Food and Wine Book Club. That’s right I said August and I just finished reading it last night. I think I have been upfront with how busy I have been so now I am at least one month behind.

This is a biography written in first person style (by Alex). He did all of the interviews and arranging of the narrative directly from and with the consent of Julia. The book chronicles her life through her formidable years as an writer and TV personality. It is weighted pretty heavily toward her pre-cookbook days and the amount of content and details thin out as book goes on.

As a relatively young member to this culinary club, this was another personality in the food world that I have little exposure to. Not being around when the ‘Frenchiphile’ food craze dominated that scene, it all seems so integrated and second hand to me. But, of course she was instrumental in painting the landscape of today’s food scene. I have enjoyed learning the history and perspective of these early media pioneers. There is also a movie, I haven’t seen it yet, but I am going to watch it with my wife this month.

The most interesting aspect of this book to me was just what a labor of love and effort ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ was. I took years to develop and was a huge tome, over seven hundred pages. This was all largely done manually and over international correspondence. I have observed that many times in life it is not the final outcome that designates success but the process in which that task is done. Julia discovered a fervent delight in testing and perfecting recipes and techniques that could be achieved in the United States using imperial measurements, different tools and a culture that was more aligned with TV dinners than centuries of tradition.

It wasn’t always an easy read for me, as evident on how long it took me. The story lines were filled with names of people that breezed in and out. As seems to be customary to that generation, many of them got nicknames which added more names and I got kind of lost at times. The other criticism I had was there were a lot of French phrases in the book which made me tune out at times because I didn’t understand what I was reading.

All that being said, it definitely made me appreciate what she had accomplished in her life. I can certainly understand the technical challenges and appreciate people’s passion. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the August dinner, so I am not totally sure what the menu was. From skimming through the menu it was beef burgionon, garlic mashed potatoes, formage blanc (fresh cheese) and gougeres (pastry). There are some vague descriptions of preparations in the book, but definitely no recipes.

As for wine, there is mention of many French varietals, none that I really recognized other than Dom Perignon which champagne seemed to be very common. Pop a cork, I would recommend Pinot Noir unless you have access to a good French burgundy and build your culinary history foundation.