Morimoto

I was really excited to receive my pre-release copy of Morimoto, published by DK, DK is one of my favourite publishers, their Eye Witness travel guides are just amazing. I was expecting beautiful pictures and I was not disappointed.
So who is Chef Morimoto and why should I get his book? Masaharu Morimoto is the regular iron chef Japanese in the Iron Chef and Iron Chef America shows. I always have fun watching these shows on the Food Network, and I was curious to see what a book by him could provide.
The book starts with a 2-3 page biography of Chef Morimoto and his career as a chef, this biography was written by JJ Goode (a long-time food writer). It is then divided in several chapters:

• Sashimi and Sushi: Including a description of how to cut fish, clean octopus and clean clams
• Rice, Noodles, Breads and Soups: With several recipes for rice dishes, including my beloved sticky rice in lotus leaves
• Fish and shellfish: With recipes for lobster, crab, shrimp, etc.
• Duck, Chicken, Pork, Beef and Lamb: This is the chapter that seems to be the most “fusion”, since it includes a lot of recipes that seem French-ish, and stuff with hot fiery chiles
• Vegetables, Tofu and Eggs: A chapter that I was especially interested in, because of its vegetarian content. It includes a recipe for tempura vegetables. Sadly, a lot of veggie and tofu recipes include some type of meat, or cheese
• A special chapter called Recipes to Contemplate: Which includes an abalone croquette. Curiously, there is a typo on the title and it says “albalone” (page 211).
• Desserts: There is a tofu cheesecake that looks delicious (my readers will have to try it for me and let me know what they think, since I cannot eat any cheese)
• Stocks, Oils, Spices and Sauces: Recipes for different sauces and stocks that are needed for the various recipes in the book

The thing that I liked the most about this book is that it has a kind of “guide” in each chapter describing how to use the ingredients, like how to cook the rice, what dashi is, how tofu is made, etc. All the explanations and most of the recipes are accompanied by step-by-step photos illustrating the process.
This is definitely a book worth getting for reference and as a cook book. The only “but” for me is the same as always, the price is $40 USD but it is $50 CAD. At today’s conversion rate it should be about $42 CAD. A 25% markup is too much for us Canadians. I recommend ordering from an American bookstore, like Barnes & Noble, they give you a discount and even with the shipping it’s well worth it. (Sorry Canadian retailers, it’s not my fault, it’s just common sense).
The amazing photography is by Quentin Bacon.

Alone in the kitchen with an eggplant

I received my copy of this book a week ago. I was excited to look at it, being that I live alone and sometimes I am short on ideas about what to cook for dinner. I also have problems with leftovers, or with portions, since getting all the ingredients needed for certain recipes may result in huge portion sizes.
I haven’t finished reading the book, but sadly, it is not a cookbook. It is a collection of essays that deal with the common theme of cooking for one. They are nice essays and some contain maybe a recipe for one dish. So it is not quite what I was expecting. The essays look interesting, though. I will continue reading and will give more info in a few weeks.

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone. Edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler.

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Another recipe I invented

I didn’t know what to have for dinner last night, so I stopped at Dominion (at Front and Church) to find something healthy and delicious.
I came up with a new recipe, it’s a vegetable creamy sauce. I used it over pasta, but I am sure it can be used over chicken breasts or brown rice.
Start with fresh ingredients:
1 broccoli
1 red pepper
1/2 an onion
3 tbsp re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes
1 8 oz pack of cremini mushrooms
2 chipotle chilies (for that spicy kick)
Olive oil
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of sour cream
Salt and pepper
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom and onion soup

Sautee the broccoli, sliced red pepper and onion in the olive oil.

When broccoli is bright green, add the sliced mushrooms and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Cook for a little bit, until or veggies are done, but not soggy. Meanwhile, whisk the contents of the can of soup and 3/4 cup of water, to make it more liquid.

Add the soup and water mixture, and the 2 chipotle chilies.

Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream and mix it. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over freshly cooked pasta (or brown rice, or chicken, or wherever you want it, you can even eat it by itself, as a casserole). I used elbow maccaroni.

It was super delicious.

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Question

Should I get a pressure cooker?

I don’t know, does it have much use? other than cooking beans faster?

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