The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches

by Gabi // 2011/04/05

“The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches Recipes, History and Trivia, For Everything Between Sliced Bread” by Susan Russo and Photographed by Matt Armendariz comes out today- go get it!

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy from the cool folks at Quirk Books so I have been waiting for a week or two to tell you about this book. Mostly because I hate getting excited about something that I have to wait to go out and get for myself.
This book is a cool little compendium of sandwiches from A to Zed- well actually W. It starts with “The All-in-One Breakfast Sandwich” and ends with the “Walleye Sandwich”. Stuffed in between is a ton of goodness including lots of variations on each sandwich.
Susan is a longtime favorite blogger of mine from her food blog “Food Blogga” and Matt is someone whose work I am getting to know through his popular blog “Matt Bites”.

A couple of nights ago I decided to make a Croque-Madame. It is one of the variations of France’s traditionally popular Croque-Monsieur or “Crunch Mister” a ham and Gruyere sandwich on slices of white bread (a French Boule in my case) made even more rich by the addition of a bit of béchamel sauce then grilled in butter. Hard to not drool even thinking of one. The Croque-Madame has the addition of a fried egg on top which puts it over the top in goodness as far as I am concerned.
So what are you waiting for? Get your copy now. Picnic season is coming… Breakfast is coming…Dessert is coming!
🙂

Pink Heart Valentine’s Sugar Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

by Gabi // 2011/02/14

Pink Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies

3 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar
1 cup butter or (1/2 butter -1/2 non-hydrogenated shortening)
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together and cut the butter into them, then mix in the eggs and extracts. Mix until a soft dough forms. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4 inch thick and cut with heart shaped cutters. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 8 minutes for small hearts and about 11 minutes for large. Watch them and don’t over bake- remove when just set through. Remove to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting

6 Tablespoons butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water
a couple of drops of red food coloring, keep it pale and pretty
pink sanding sugar (optional)

Brown the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until it is golden brown. Add remaining ingredients using a little more or less to get a spreadable consistency. Add the coloring slowly just until you get a pretty pink – keep it pale. If the frosting hardens a bit you can rewarm it over low heat. Frost the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar if desired.

The Geometry of Pasta

by Gabi // 2010/12/11

The perfect shape + the perfect sauce!

A few months ago Quirk Books was kind enough to offer me a review copy of “The Geometry of Pasta” by Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kennedy. I accepted with enthusiasm and then life got a bit complicated and every time I came to post about it something delaying came up. Well I am sorry it has taken me so long to share this marvelous book with you because it is truly fun and interesting. The design is straight forward and stunning in black and white graphics. The information about pasta- the shapes and history- is fun to read and informative and the sauce pairings are inspired. Critically acclaimed chef Jacob Kenedy and award-winning designer Caz Hildebrand, were recently featured on the Martha Stewart Show! Have a look: http://bit.ly/9t9e6U.
You can read more about the book here.