Giftware
Cookbooks Stirring Up the Unexpected
A sampling of cookbooks out this summer range from instructive baking with an English twist, to chicken recipes refreshed for every occasion, to a thorough collection of Peruvian recipes, to meal creation done through cognitive computing.
“Crumb: A Baking Book” by Ruby Tandoh takes a simple approach to baking, leaving the frills behind and concentrating on the simple joy of baked goods. Recipes include Lemon & Marzipan Cupcakes, Rye Caraway Bagels, Rose & Burnt Honey Florentines, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Custard Doughnuts. Tandoh covers a range of baking projects from sweet to savory, chapters include cakes, cookies, bread, pastries, pies, tarts and more. Within each area of concentration, Tandoh begins the chapter by breaking down the basics of creating the treat. For example, the bread chapter begins with a review of flour, yeast, water and salt, explaining why each is a crucial component and how best to approach it. She then goes through the steps of creating a loaf, including pointers on kneading and shaping different types of breads, and even offers a troubleshooting section before delving into the bread recipes.
Tandoh was a finalist on “The Great British Bake Off” and currently writes a weekly baking column for the Guardian. At 21-years-old, she is a second-year student at University College London and this is her first book. “Crumb” is available through Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House as a hardcover with a suggested retail price of $27.50.
The ninth cookbook from Diana Henry is “A Bird in the Hand: Chicken Recipes for Every Mood and Every Day.” Henry takes the chicken, one of the most popular foods to cook in the world, and offers a host of recipes starring the bird. Recipes range from basic and comforting to complex and celebratory. The cookbook features recipes such as Jamaican Chicken Curry with Sweet Love Apples and Rum, Spiced Roast Chicken with Barley Pomegranate Stuffing and Georgian Aubergine Pkhali, and Smoky Chicken Salad with Roast Peppers, Shiitake and Sugar Snap Peas. The cookbook is broken down into chapters on dishes for every night of the week, spice scented, perfumed, and hot interpretations, Sunday lunches and posh dinners, salads, chicken feasts for celebrating, griddled and barbecued recipes, pure comfort dishes, and what to do with the rest of the bird. Throughout the book Henry has written short essays on braising and roasting as well as notes on excellent ingredient pairing for chicken, like “Chicken Loves Booze” and “Chicken Loves Cream.” In addition to this, Henry also includes the recipes for side dishes to accompany each chicken meal.
“A Bird in the Hand” features photography by Laura Edwards, is published by Mitchell Beazley, and the hardcover cookbook has a suggested retail price of $29.99.
Phaidon is publishing “Peru: The Cookbook,” the definitive cookbook on Peruvian home cooking by that country’s most renowned chef, Gastón Acurio. Containing a vast array of dishes to suit vegetarians, pescatarians, and omnivores alike, this hefty volume is a truly comprehensive introduction to the food of Peru. Acurio has played a pivotal role in raising global awareness of Peru’s local produce and traditional recipes. He has more than 40 restaurants worldwide including three in the U.S. and his renowned Astrid y Gastón, which is #18 on the San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.
He shares 500 recipes in “Peru: The Cookbook” that embody the distinctive flavors that have elevated interest worldwide in Peruvian cuisine. Acurio pays tribute to the country’s history of immigration with fusion food that incorporates Asian, African, and Italian flavors. His recipes also reflect the tastes and ingredients unique to each of the regions of the country: the fish and shellfish of the northern coast, traditional stews, soups, and chowders of the southern Andes, and indigenous dishes of the Amazon jungle. The cookbook begins with an entire chapter dedicated to ceviche, the quintessential Peruvian dish, and other recipes include Lima-Style Bacon Chicharrón, Stewed Duck with Kumquats, and Amazonian Dry Chicken Soup. Also included is a glossary of terms and chapters on desserts, drinks, and basic recipes like how to make cooked octopus for the Seafood and and Pasta Stir-Fry or the Seafood Stuffed Potatoes. “Peru: The Cookbook” has a suggested retail price of $49.95 for the hardcover edition.
IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) teamed up to explore cognitive computing and creativity in the culinary arts. The partnership led to entirely new recipes, created by ICE experts and inspired by unconventional ingredient concepts generated by Chef Watson, IBM’s cognitive computing system. The new cookbook, “Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson,” helps cooks discover and create delicious recipes, designed by chefs working with the Watson system. More than 65 original recipes exploding with new flavors are presented, including Scandinavian Salmon Quiche, Czech Pork Belly Moussaka, Sri Lankan-Jamaican Poutine, and Turkish Yogurt Trifle.
The cookbook is a way to help people discover the potential of cognitive computing systems, and Chef Watson represents another example of the diverse ways in which humans and technology can work together. Systems like IBM Watson can understand vast amounts of data, as well as learn from interactions with people and information in an intuitive way, to provide insights and answers. Chef Watson shows that cognitive systems can also understand compounds and food pairing theories to help us discover brand new knowledge and augment human creativity. Sprinkled throughout the book are cooking tips from the pros at ICE, entertaining anecdotes on the various stages of IBM and ICE’s collaboration, and ideas for home cooks to expand their repertoires or spice up current favorites. “Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson” is available as a hardcover through Sourcebooks with a suggested retail price of $29.99.
This story was originally published in the June 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Savino: The Perfect Plastic Wine Preservation System to Pack for a Picnic
Savino was one of the largest wine related projects in the history of Kickstarter and is manufactured in the USA from the highest quality materials to provide every wine lover the ability to enjoy great tasting wine, every day, for years to come.
It all started 15 years ago, when creator Scott Tavenner opened his refrigerator to find a glass of wine sitting on the top shelf. Asking his wife about the glass, she responded, “I wanted to save the wine for later.” This simple statement sparked a journey which led him to try almost every wine preservation system available. Years of disappointment with available products led Tavenner to develop an innovative solution to this common problem – Savino.
Unlike other wine preservation solutions on the market, Savino does not try to control the environment of an opened bottle of wine. Instead, it creates a new, beautiful environment designed to preserve and serve wine. Savino started with a simple premise – great products begin with a great experience. Savino centers its experience on a product that is effective, elegant and easy-to-use.
Savino is now pleased to introduce the new Enthusiast wine preservation system, a more affordable BPA-free Tritan version of Savino. Akin to the original glass Connoisseur Savino, Enthusiast still keeps your wine fresh for up to a week. However the Enthusiast is gently priced at $29.95. It shares the same patented Savino technology, is made in the USA, and is dishwasher safe.
Unique features to the Enthusiast are its BPA-free Tritan construction that protects wine with a locking lid and is perfect for the outdoors. Savino holds a full 750ml bottle of wine but is shorter than a wine bottle so it easily fits in your refrigerator. It is elegantly designed to look great in the kitchen and on the dining table as well.
Simply open a great bottle of wine and enjoy a glass. Then, pour the remaining wine into Savino, insert the float to create a physical barrier between the wine and the oxygen and place the top on the carafe to prevent any accidental spills. You can open a great bottle of wine on Tuesday, and know that the following week you can enjoy the same bottle of wine. When you’re ready to have more wine, remove the top and pour yourself another great tasting glass of wine as you watch the float automatically adjust as you seamlessly move from storing to pouring your wine.
Ideal for gift giving, the Savino is an extremely easy to use wine preservation system that allows you to confidently open any bottle of wine wherever the night may lead, and will still be able to enjoy the fresh flavor all week long.
New Collections Enhance AmericasMart July Market
Samantha Grace Designs will participate in the Made in America Pavilion launch
AmericasMart® Atlanta continues its long-standing global gift industry leadership with a refreshed and energized marketplace full of cutting-edge and classic merchandise, and enhanced by new product destinations premiering at The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market®, July 7-14, 2015.
A new Made in America Pavilion launches at the July Market featuring a diverse collection of gift items that are all produced in the United States. The inaugural collection in this permanent product destination on Building 2, Floor 7 includes Heart the Moment, Jacob’s Musical Chimes, Sea Stones, Printed Canvas, Spooner Creek, Macone Clay, Samantha Grace Designs, Clairmont Designs, Always Azul Pottery, Kudzu, Earth Grace Jewelry and Prairie Dance with other select lines joining before the Market.
On Floor 14 in Building 2, a new specialty gift, toy and children’s items concentration will be anchored by Diverse Marketing and Aurora in expanded spaces and Enchanted Moments, in its first showroom in the South. The location of these juvenile collections alongside longtime powerhouse gift exhibitors such as Roman, Rep Connection, Perfect Timing, Boston Warehouse, Candle Impressions, The India Connection and C&F Enterprises, new showroom Special T Imports and expanded showroom Red Carpet Studio encourages buyers to explore new product categories as they source traditional gift and home accents merchandise. Adding to the convenience of the new product category is the Café on 14 offering breakfast and lunch items during Market.
“The July Market collection updates are yet another example of how AmericasMart continues to produce the best gift-sourcing experience in the industry,” says Mary Sullivan Harper, senior vice president of Leasing for AmericasMart Buildings 2 and 3. “Both the Made in America Pavilion and the new toys and gift concentration are direct responses to requests from our valued buyers. Our ability to meet these buyers where they need us is yet another example of our continued dedication to them.”
These new highlighted collections are part of AmericasMart’s industry-leading Gift collection which features General & Specialty Gift, Gourmet & Housewares, Living & Entertaining: Gifts, Tabletop & Accessories, Children’s World, Home Accents & Gifts and The Gardens® all of which feature new and expanded showrooms for the July Market.
Make Fresh, Homemade Cheese with the New Lékué Cheese Maker
Home cooks can now create fresh, creamy cheeses easily in their own kitchens. The new Lékué Cheese Maker does all the work, keeping the process simple and satisfying.
Certain cheeses have better texture and flavor when they are made fresh and there is nothing fresher than homemade. Using the cheese maker, home cooks can whip up a batch of Ricotta cheese, cream cheese, Boursin and Mascarpone as well as other non-aged cheeses in no time at all. The assortment of recipes Lékué provides will keep any cheese- lover occupied experimenting with their own flavors and spices. Preparation time is just 10 minutes and rest time is 1.5 hours. Fresh milk and an acid, such as lemon, yogurt, or vinegar, are the basic ingredients needed to get started with no salt required.
The Lékué Cheese Maker is designed for use in the microwave oven and the refrigerator and includes a cheese bowl, lid and cheese colander insert. It retails for $30.00 and is backed by a 10-year warranty. For more information, visit www.lekueusa.com.
SteakChamp 3-Color Thermometer
Any home chef who has ever dreamed of grilling like a steakhouse champ knows how difficult it is to produce a perfectly done cut of meat. The SteakChamp 3-Color intelligent steak thermometer is making that dream an easier reality. With its integrated sensor intelligence, it alerts even the most novice griller when steaks, burgers, fish, poultry and game have achieved their desired doneness.
The SteakChamp 3-Color ultimate steak thermometer takes the guesswork out of the preparation process, resulting in perfectly done cuts of meat every single time, whether grilled, fried or baked. The secret to its intelligence lies in the temperature gauge that runs the entire length of the thermometer. As a result, it detects the desired doneness more accurately than traditional meat thermometers.
Adding to its ease of use and versatility, the SteakChamp 3-Color has an LED light sensor built in that is color coded to alert home chefs when their steaks have reached precisely the temperature needed to achieve a particular level of doneness. Green equals medium rare, yellow means medium, and red equates to medium well. The SteakChamp 3-Color can be used on all kinds of meat from beef and fish to duck and game, and it’s suited for the grill, the frying pan and the oven.
To use, simply insert the SteakChamp 3-Color into the side of a cut of raw meat and leave it in while cooking. Keep an eye on the LED sensor and remove the meat from the heat when the desired level of doneness is indicated. The SteakChamp 3-Color should not yet be removed, as it continues to exhibit its intelligence as the meat rests. The resting phase is important for meat since the meat continues to cook even after removing it from the heat source due to conduction. The SteakChamp ensures the proper resting phase is achieved. When the LEDs stop flashing, the resting phase is complete and the meat is ready to be served.
The SteakChamp 3-Color is made in Germany and constructed of high-grade stainless steel. It is available nationwide at Sur la Table stores for $59.95. For more information visit www.SteakChamp.com.
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