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.