FamilyFood: WHITE LINES OF A DIFFERENT KIND

Cookbooks To Savor

Nigella Lawson: Feast
What cooking, especially for family and loved-ones is all about.
Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee: Eating Korean
I would place this cookbook in my top 10 of all time. The recipes are delicious and each section is packed with the best of Korean home cooking. The stories are wonderful, too. Highly recommend.
Angelo M. Pellegrini: The Unprejudiced Palate
My favorite food-writer by far. A big thanks to childbearinghipster for turning me on to his writing. So inspiring. Start a garden and eat from it!
Irma S. Rombauer: The Joy of Cooking
(not the "All New", the old school one) I don't so much like this for main dish and salad recipes as for baked goods, sauces, and jams. I have my mother's copy, and when I was about 12, my favorite thing to do was to make tea sandwiches from this cookbook. Every weekend I'd make a couple of different kinds until I worked my way through all the spreads and fillings. A good basic cookbook.
Noh Chin-Hwa: Practical Korean Cooking
Deborah Madison: Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone
Madhur Jaffrey: An Invitation to Indian Cooking
Tess Mallos: The Complete Middle East Cookbook
Marcella Hazan: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Ada Boni: The Talisman Italian Cookbook
Julia Child: Mastering The Art of French Cooking
Jacques Pepin: Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques
This man has been teaching me to cook (on TV) since I was 9 years old. My Saturday mornings forever have been spent watching him on Public Television. I love him like he was one of my family.
Peter Berley: The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen
My most favorite veggie cookbook, and definitely in my Top 20 cookbooks list.
Anthony Bourdain: Les Halles Cookbook
O how I love this man.
Michael Ruhlman: The Making of a Chef
Not a cookbook, but still a must-read for anyone interested in cooking, chefs, and restaurants like I am.
Jamie Oliver: Jamie's Kitchen
The best of the Naked Chef bunch, IMO.
Mark Bittman: How To Cook Everything
Mark Bittman: The Minimalist Entertains

Super-sweet white corn is just starting to come into season where we live (San Francisco) and has been included in our weekly produce delivery box* for the last coupla weeks. We all love corn, especially Bunny and Wallie, and sometimes during the summer, corn (grilled, rolled in crumbled cotija cheese and doused with lime juice and Cholula) is dinner.

Yesterday I whipped up this quick salad for our lunch. I scooped a big pile onto each of the girls' plates, and they gobbled it up and asked for more.

WHITE CORN, CHERRY TOMATO, AND AVOCADO SALAD

This salad is so easy to make and so pretty when it is assembled. It would be perfect for a potluck or a picnic.

2 ears of white corn (raw), shucked and kernels removed (save cobs and make broth for corn chowder!)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large-ish avocado, cubed
fresh marjoram leaves (for flavor and garnish, optional)

Dressing:
3 tbsps unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Combine corn, tomatoes, and avocado in a bowl. Toss with dressing. Place in fridge for 20 minutes to chill and allow flavors to develop. Serve.

*Over the past 6 or so years, I've tried every organic/produce/CSA delivery box known to man. Or at least known to "man in the SF Bay Area." I really like Planet Organics for three reasons: 1) I can customize my box each week choosing to add and delete specific veggies and fruits 2) the quality is consistently excellent and if it isn't they make it right 3) they deliver a full-range groceries including dairy items and canned goods, cleaning products, and organic meat/poultry/seafood.

Cooking Gear To Spice Things Up

All-Clad cookware
I use the stainless line. I love it because you can put it in the dishwasher. If you like to cook it is sooo worth it to have quality pots and pans. I recommend buying a set on sale and then filling in extras as you need them. (Watch for sales and specials.)
Cast Iron Skillet
Please get rid of all your teflon-coated non-stick plans and get a cast iron skillet. I use mine for searing meat, poultry, and fish and then finishing off in the oven. In fact, get two cast iron skillets—one large enough to hold two ribeyes and a smaller, fried-egg-sized one for making...well...eggs.
Food Processor
Quickly slice/shred veggies and cheese, make hummus or other spreads in a snap, and make pie crust without making a mess.
Global Knives
I am partial to the 18 incher. Yep, I like big knives and I cannot lie. If you like to cook (or even if you don't) you deserve to have good knives. At least one.
Instant Hot Water Dispenser
If you can't afford to have one built-in, this is a great alternative. It's nice to have boiling water at the push of a button to make tea, instant miso soup, or morning oatmeal for the kidlets.
Microplane Grater/Zester
Use this to grate citrus zest, nutmeg, and cheese. You could get a coarser one, but you don't need to. I have one and I use it for everything.
Penzey's Spices
A great resource for all your herb and spice needs.
Rice Cooker
Every family should have one.
Silpat
Silpat is a silicone mat used for baking. They come in various sizes. Items will not stick to it. It is a must for any home baker.
Stick or Immersion Blender
It doesn't have to be fancy, but try and get the highest HP you can afford. I use my stick blender (+ attachments) for making salad dressing (weekly), pureeing soups, making babyfood, and whipping cream.

Comments

That looks great! I was looking for something to make for dinner and I just happen to have corn and tomatoes from my garden and I always have some avocadoes on hand! Yum! :o)

Posted by: GOW | July 16, 2006 at 08:47 AM

Yummm....corn! I picked up a bag of corn (about 52 ears, freshly picked) for our party over the weekend. What a huge hit! The kids loved shucking it, and the adults loved to pick it out of their teeth. LOL! I ended up with about 10 ears leftover, so I took the raw corn off the cob and froze it to cook up later. I make a corn salad as well - tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, basil, cider vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper...delicious.

Posted by: Kateri | July 24, 2006 at 01:06 PM

we've been eating this salad all summer-it's really great for these HOT days...we add red onions and jalapenos!

Posted by: elle | July 24, 2006 at 02:13 PM

Posted by: elle | July 24, 2006 at 02:16 PM