Books & Media

Elissa Altman started her food blog, Poor Man's Feast, in 2008 after years as a cookbook editor, food columnist, personal chef, and caterer.

For me, there’s no better gift than a cookbook. A great cookbook is so much more than a collection of recipes; it can teach you lasting techniques, educate you on confusing sustainability issues, and give you a window into another way of life. These eight cookbooks are some of the best published this year, and would make a great present for any home cook (or budding home cook). For other gift ideas, check out this year’s SGT Local Gift Guide. (And make a cookbook a local present by supporting an independently-owned bookstore in your city.)

 

For the pork lover:

 

This is part 3 in a series about running a craft services table for a film shoot here in Minneapolis for the Independent movie, Stay Then Go. Read part 1 here. 

 

 

This is part 2 in a series about running a craft services table for a film shoot here in Minneapolis for the Independent movie Stay Then Go. Read part 1 here. 

 

It's been a long time since I've done anything more than plan a dinner party for four. Hell, it's been a long time since I've even done that. Maybe 20 years. Most of my  cooking now revolves around the challenges of cooking for just one, such as how to make the most of vegetables before they go bad in the bin.

 

We've all gotten this question or a variant of same...

"My mother-in-law... my former high school sweetheart... my old college roommate... my parole officer... an IRS auditor... (insert your favorite)... is coming for a visit. What should I serve them? Or where should I take them to dinner... or breakfast... or lunch, for drinks... or a snack... or for brunch?"

 

CALLING ALL ASPIRING FARMERS AND EVERYONE WHO EATS MEAT 

 

Sometimes a film just needs to be seen. It is hard to imagine more important issues that those that involve our food system and amazingly, we have been blessed in this country with all kinds of eye-opening food films and documentaries, from Food Inc. and King Corn to Super Size Me. Now we can add American Meat to the list. 

At first glance, Ripe may look like just another cookbook. All you have to do is open it up to see the difference. This book is alive with color and for me is very evocative and strangely alluring. I wanted to dive in, to read, to go shop for food and, well, maybe to cook (actually, I just wanted to eat). So, in short, look at this book and then go out to eat. Ok, perhaps that's a little shallow.

 

Last year I decided to approach New Year’s Resolutions in a different way: I would make a list of things to accomplish and to learn. I focused on just a few things that I enjoy, but seldom approach in a dedicated way: crafting, writing and cooking. My list included things I knew I could easily skate through the entire year without actually doing, unless I had something prodding me…like my pride. I printed out my list – in a big colored font nonetheless – and posted it around the house. That list lived above the sewing machine, by my desk and inside a kitchen cabinet door. 

My list looked something like this:

Dye sock yarn with Kool-Aid. Cook one new recipe a week. 52 recipes. Write more. Read more.Finish four unfinished projects. 

 

When Jennifer Reese lost her job, she decided to economize in the kitchen, something she'd been writing about already on her popular food blog, Tipsy Baker. She started the blog to test and review the many cookbooks in her home. Along the way, though, that testing made her curious about what can be made better and less expensively at home.

I know lots of food nerds who read cookbooks for fun. Farmstead Chef is one that might be sitting on the coffee tables and nightstands of those same nerds. John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist of Browntown, Wisconsin, have made sure that their charming book is full of stories from local farmers who are living their dreams on the land. This is definitely the part of the book that captured my attention. From success stories of local farmers finding their niche to articles about finding inspiration when faced with a CSA box full of daikon radishes, this book radiates with the idea of shared learning and community. Even the recipes have nice, personal introductions explaining why they love them or which farmer contributed to the dish.