I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to write another cookbook review. I’ve been feeling like there were few new books that really interested me and the older titles everyone already knows about.  But, as I was shelving New Books, this caught my eye: “Goon With the Spoon.” I have looked at Snoop’s other cookbook, “From Crook to Cook” (it was also surprisingly well done), but when I saw E-40 was also involved, I was sold; I listened to E-40’s “In A Major Way” a BUNCH when it came out.

First of all, this is NOT a book for everyday eating. In the name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, please do not eat like this every day. But, if you are throwing a party or, say, watching a football game, (You know, watching a good team, like the Packers. 😂) then, this is an excellent selection of rich, flavorful items with enough variety for nearly every taste. And, the recipes are legit — not many shortcuts like you tend to find in most pop culture cookbooks. Not to be left out: a wide variety of drinks for adults. Oh, and the photos!! Bold, deep, meaty colors with minimal gimmicks. Each photo highlights the dish and lends legitimacy to the book; paging through you don’t see it as a cookbook by two legendary rappers — you see this as a handbook to throw a great food party. Seriously, these are some of the best food pics I can remember seeing. (Ok, maybe not in the same class as the books by Michelin-starred chefs, but that’s just different.)

Quick plug for the Mount Westmore release, too. I listened to it while writing this. It’s like a Westside Connection album, but with a couple extra legends. (Read: if this was released in ‘98, it would be AMAZING. Now, it’s like when that one uncle gets to talking a bit too much about when they were young.)

Some of the best looking recipes from “Goon With the Spoon” include:
Cornbread Rice, pg 159; Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Mac ’n’ Cheese Bites, pg 62 (The cook in me recoils in horror, but the cheese addict in me says to get over it.); and Kickin’ Lickin’ Collard Greens, pg 153 (This one features what may be my favorite photo in the book!).

Okay, a bit of a confession: sometimes even library staff are unaware of the breadth of the library’s collection.

A few weeks ago (November 4, 2023), DBRL hosted a Local Authors Open House. (This is a fun program where we give space for local authors to gather, sell their books and talk to readers. We will absolutely be doing this again so keep your eye out for the next installment.) As I was walking around the authors’ tables, I saw one of the authors had a cookbook on display. Of course, I was interested so I made a note of it. Later, I checked the catalog and found we had a copy.

The book was “For Such A Time As This: Flavors and Recipes of My Honduras” by Sarah Kohnle with Heidy Gissela Lanza Baca. Local author writes a cookbook and the guy writing about cookbooks hasn’t written about it? Ugh. *facepalm*

So, to rectify this oversight, I checked the book out and will share my thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised.

First, the book is bilingual! Each section of text is in Spanish and English; from the personal stories to the recipes, I really enjoyed this aspect. The recipes, covering what I assume to be the co-author’s cooking repertoire of typical Honduran meals, are mostly clearly written with good instructions for making the items. Being that the book is written by a journalist, it understandably has a feel of a long interview with the recipes included for flavor. Some minor errors in the recipes are scattered, but overall it’s a pretty good book. The dishes are devoid of much restaurant fanciness which gives them a feel of attainability. In my opinion, it is this attainability that gives the book such charm.

My one real criticism of the book? Oddly, it’s as if there is sometimes too much text on the page while also too much wasted blank space. As good as this book is, I feel it could have been even better. The photos, though not flashy, are effective and perfect. Just good photos of good food. I wish there were even more pictures, as some items didn’t have visual representation. I also wish there was more textual explanation of the dishes.

Overall, this is a good cookbook about good food!

As we are nearing Halloween, I thought I should look at some books devoted to creepy-themed dishes. I grabbed a few titles from our collection and tried to find something fun to make. The first book I looked at just didn’t work for me (more on that later). Thankfully, there was another book I had brought home: “Zach Neil’s The Nightmare Before Dinner: Recipes To Die For.” Continue reading “Read The Recipe! Spooky Food”

A few weeks ago, I started watching the old uncensored versions of Kitchen Nightmares. This led me to finally watch the short BBC series, Boiling Point. The Boiling Point mini-series followed Chef Gordon Ramsay in his quest to be the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin Stars. And finally, I then became interested in some Gordon Ramsay cookbooks. I knew he had written a few (lol), but they were more mainstream, home-cook fare. Though, while writing this, I did find that he wrote a book about The Aubergine (the restaurant he left before opening Restaurant Gordon Ramsay), but we don’t have it in the collection. Coincidentally, he has a new effort devoted to his first (and best) location, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay; “Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: A Story of Excellence.” (Typical Gordon Ramsay modesty.) Continue reading “Read the Recipe! Gordon Ramsay: A Story of Excellence”

When I started out as a cook, I didn’t really have any disposable income, so I couldn’t go to restaurants and sample what the local established chefs were doing. My window to technique and flavors was books and television. A few celebrity-type chefs guided me from afar: Jacques Pepin, Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, Ming Tsai, Mary Ann Esposito, Lidia Bastianich, Nick Stellino, David Chang. If you’re about to chastise me for not mentioning Julia Child, sadly I watched her much earlier than this time I am referring to. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, their own angle on what makes a dish, or a meal, great. (If you notice, almost all of these chefs had shows on PBS; specifically, my local station, PBS Wisconsin, Channel 38.) I would watch these shows and steal flavor combinations, learn the traditional dishes of their ancestry, watch their methods, skills and techniques. I would bring this new knowledge into my home kitchen and my work kitchen. Continue reading “Read the Recipe! Lidia Bastianich”