Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Dave,

And where else can you get a recipe for Wasp Nest Sauce?

(note: not a euphamism for anything. exactly what it sounds like)

I remember that recipe, Fuzzy, and I remember looking for a source for wasp's nests, but to no avail.

I also remember wondering why I hadn't seen a reference to this food in any of my Asian books, given how they use just about everything.

Dave,

I'd guess that such recipes do exist in Asian cookbooks, just not ones published in English.

The Country Cooking of Greece is Diane Kochilas' latest and greatest. Continuing the trend of large-format cookbooks I'm seeing lately, this one is full of glossy high-color photos of Greek food. As usual, about half the recipes have appeared in Kochilas' earlier cookbooks, and half haven't. However, the new half consist of some very interesting recipes, and a lot of vegetarian ones. So far I've made fish roasted in potatoes and Pumpkin-Sweet Potato Moussakka. As always, her recipes are clearly written and well-tested.

Recommended for anyone who likes Greek and has room for a 7lbs cookbook. Yes, you can press pita with this one.

Another must-miss this week: Chocolate Magic by Kate Shirazi. Badly designed (textured backgrounds on recipe pages), multiple errors in recipes, the usual. Quoth sweetie: "she's trying to be Nigella and failing."

I took the 4-Hour Chef out of the library. It's one of the most entertaining food books I've seen in awhile. A bit on the sensational side though with its full colors photos of cooking squirrels and gutting a deer et al. And I am still trying to figure out the 4 hour theme. He also squeezes in restaurant recommendations, a list of specialty markets and equipment reviews. Has anyone else had a chance to look at this book?

Well, my latest tortilla press is Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel Precilla. Strictly speaking, it's clearly impossible to collect all Latin American cuisine, from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, in one volume, but Precilla makes a darned good try; this cookbook is the size of a Webster's Unabridged. So far it has everything I thought to look for in it, and more than a few dishes I'd never head of. There's a whole chapter on squash. I haven't actually cooked anything from it yet, because, well, I'm intimidated.

Buy for the cook who already has everything else, especially shelf space.

So I made use of Gran Cocina Latina tonight, and I made a Peruvian watercress salad, Colombian squash rice, and Puerto Rican fried fish. These were tasty and worked well together; the only recipe problem was that the rice didn't include quite enough liquid, something I fortunately spotted in time.

Here's the fish:

Puerto Rican Fried Fish

1 lbs snapper or similar white fish filets

Marinade:
6 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Plus:
1 cup corn flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 thin-sliced, seeded cubanelle, banana or Anaheim peppers
1 large (or 2 small) tomato, diced
1/2 red onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin
Salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Remove pinbones from fish. Grind or mortar-and-pestle the marinade ingredients into a paste. Coat the fish with the marinade. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Coat the fish with the corn flour. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Fry the fish over high heat, about 4 minutes on each side or until brown & crispy. Make room in the pan and add the sliced and diced veggies, salt to taste, and cover the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the veggies are limp and the tomatoes are mushy. Serve, garnishing with cilantro if using.

So, quite the haul from the library today:

• Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
• The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden
• and Jim Lahey's Pizza

Frankly, I'm not quite sure where to start.

I've checked Plenty out of the library several times. Really like it. Salads are terrific. Green couscous is probably my favorite. The Greek Salad is very good and his recipe will feed an army. I've been tempted to buy this book many times but have to clear out the vegetarian shelf before I add anything new.

fitzie