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Because I’m Hot like Sauce

sauce

I was poking around the cookbook section at the bookstore a few days ago and thought it’d be fun to come up with a list of essential cookbooks (Joy of Cooking, Jacques Pepin’scomplete techniques book, Marcella Hazan, etc). On that note, it might also be cool to compose a list of essential food items that I’ve always got in my pantry: Maldon salt, a good bottle (or three) of olive oil, HP sauce (or Daddy’s if I can find it), fresh horseradish from the L.E.S., a container of cornichons…I have to think of it some more.

One item that is a sure shot member of the list is a bottle of Sriracha Chili Sauce. Last week, there was an article in the Times about this staple Chili Sauce. Check it out.

corny

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14 comments

1 williamnyy23   ~  May 29, 2009 2:16 pm

Sriracha Chili Sauce is excellent, both for marinades and dipping sauce. Sadly, it is not very easy to find unless you go to specialty stores.

2 cult of basebaal   ~  May 29, 2009 2:39 pm

weird, i'd have thought it had more penentration by now.

it's pretty much ubitquious in Cali ...

3 Alex Belth   ~  May 29, 2009 2:40 pm

I usually buy a couple at a time if I'm in chinatown or stop through pearl river. I'd bet that most korean bodegas have it too.

It sho am good.

4 williamnyy23   ~  May 29, 2009 2:45 pm

It seems to be very popular in Korean recipes...if you mix it with honey and sesame oil, it makes an incredible glaze on pork. I also like adding it to BBQ sauce.

5 unmoderated   ~  May 29, 2009 4:47 pm

top selling cookbook titles in our store, all time:

the joy of cooking
mastering the art of french cooking: julia child
the blender cookbook: ann seranne
the moosewood cookbook: mollie katzen
betty crocker new picture cookbook

i'm a big fan of 'how to cook everything' myself.

6 RIYank   ~  May 29, 2009 5:01 pm

What is 'How to cook everything'?
I don't have the blender cookbook, but I have the rest plus the ones Alex mentioned. I would add James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking to the 'must have' list. Beard obviously knew all the traditional wisdom, but he was not at all afraid to question it, and he would sometimes test it scientifically in his kitchen. (For some reason I've always been completely fascinated by food science, though I never had much interest in chemistry in school.) He was kind of like Bill James...
Anyway, I use the Marcella Hazan book (I have Essentials which I think is a combination of her two earlier books) more than any other. Mmmm. I'm going to make some pesto right now.

7 unmoderated   ~  May 29, 2009 5:06 pm

it's a mark bittman book. we're on our second copy, the hardcover exploded from its binding from use.

8 RIYank   ~  May 29, 2009 5:22 pm

Oh, thanks, unmod.
What is it about it that you like so much?

I should have mentioned also Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook. For some reason I thought Alex had mentioned it. I don't use it all that much anymore, but when you said you'd worn out your Bittman book I thought of my NYT cookbook, which also has a disintegrated cover. (Also my old Joy -- I got a new one, but I do like the old fashioned style of the old Rombauers.)

9 PJ   ~  May 29, 2009 5:30 pm

You simply cannot make Chili Prawns without Chili Sauce!

And life without Chili Prawns is slow death!

You can thank me later... as this one is indeed "The Real Deal!"

Yes, for all of you fellow Carlinists, it calls for "jumbo shrimp!"

: )

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/print041007.html

10 unmoderated   ~  May 29, 2009 5:54 pm

bittman's style is right to the point, there's not a lot of pontificating about the recipes or ingredients. which is funny, considering his TV persona, which I can't stand. if he suggests a crazy ingredient or method, he will explain why without being all "oh, well, the French did it this way... I met a grandmother in Roma while touring Italy and she woke up at 4 AM to stomp tomatoes..." you get the picture.

also, bittman's brownie recipe: the best, ever. and i have tried A LOT.

11 unmoderated   ~  May 29, 2009 5:55 pm

oh man, craig claiborne. nobody talks him up anymore. a shame.

12 RIYank   ~  May 29, 2009 7:17 pm

Well, since the game is delayed, more about cookbooks.
I like that style, too, though I have to admit I get a good laugh out of the "grandma stomped on the tomatoes" stuff (Hazan does have a lot of that).
Have you ever seen this book, moderated? I really like it.

13 PJ   ~  May 29, 2009 7:30 pm

I would also like to give a shout out to Alton Brown, the cooking version of "A. B.," who unlike many food authors today, actually is classically trained, graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in 1997...

He knows "Good Eats!"

: )

14 unmoderated   ~  May 30, 2009 12:01 pm

not sure if anyone will check this thread again, but here goes:

i am familiar with that book, it's on my wishlist. i love the science behind cooking, so of course i love good eats... although I have not been too impressed with his books so far, they seem a little spacey.

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