What could be better than food truck food in your kitchen?

TITLE: The Truck Food Cookbook: 150 Recipes and Ramblings from America’s Best Restaurants on Wheels
AUTHOR: John T. Edge
PUBLISHER: Workman Publishing Company
CUISINE: Street Food

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Featured Ingredient: Onions
I think we would all agree that nothing lights up a dish quite like an onion. As ingredients go, the humble onion has more uses than anyone would think possible. Not only is it delicious, but, it might be better for you than you think. It’s been speculated that onions have powers to cure and heal everything from a cold to heart disease.

We love them because they add a distinct layer of depth and texture to everything they’re used in. Left out, a lot of you’re favorite dishes would just fall flat.

Purchase them individually or buy the sack. You just can’t have too many onions on hand when you’re trying out a batch of new recipes from your latest cookbook purchase.

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Observations
The Food Truck Cookbook comes to us from a food niche that didn’t even exist ten years ago. Mobile food prep and sales have come a long way in that time. And, with the popularity of the food truck comes the next natural step, food truck recipes. The Treats Truck Book did it successfully. And, the topic has found a fun and frivolous presentation here too. Fairly easy recipes and playful art is part of what gives this book it’s feel.

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What You’ll Find Inside (aka Table of Contents)

• Street Eat Ethics
• Fries & Pies
• Waffles & Their Kin
• Brunch on Wheels
• Unexpected Pleasures
• Sandwich Up!
• Hot Dogs
• Tacopalooza
• Rolling in Sweets
• My Life as a Lucky Dog

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In case you’ve been living under a culinary rock for past five years or so, here’s some of what you’ve been missing.

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The Best of the Book:

There’s a wide variety of delicious looking recipes to try. Some of the standouts for me were the Elotes from Melissa’s, the Kolbi Beef Sliders courtesy of KOi Fusion and the Taiwanese Fried Chicken served from the NYC Cravings truck, Lots of super interesting sauces and spreads. Burgers and dogs that really separate themselves from the crowd. A few unique desserts and lots of condiments for your creations.

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Special Features

There are scant culinary resources tucked in the back of the book. Standard weights, measures and conversions are about it. Most of trucks that roll through any major metropolis use Twitter as a main form of communication. A list would have been nice.  It’s probably easier (and more up to date) to use your smartphone and look for them yourself. I guess the omission is no big deal.

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Conclusions

There’s lots to like inside these pages. Fun, reasonably easy recipes. A pretty good variety especially when you consider that these dishes were designed to be executed in a 10 X 10 space. Food trucks from all across the country are featured. So, you really get a good picture of what these mobile chefs are up to.

Culinary Expertise Required: 5.5
1= Boiling Water (novice) 10= Liquid Nitrogen (expert)

Want your very own copy of The Truck Food Cookbook: 150 Recipes and Ramblings from America’s Best Restaurants on Wheels? We can help you out. get your own copy here.

Links, Resources and Other Press:

Truck Food Cookbook Website
Workman Publishers – Truck Food Cookbook
John T. Edge
CBS News Interview
How to Open a Successful Food Truck
Food Trucks via FLICKR

Giving a cookbook to your mother/wife on Mother’s Day. It seems like a pretty easy gift. Especially if the special person in your life likes to cook. But, how do you present that present in a way that doesn’t make it look like more work for her down the road? A delicate matter for sure.

There’s a super fine line between giving a gift of enjoyment and entertainment and one that reeks of four to five hours of slaving over a stove in a hot, cramped kitchen. We obviously are shooting for the former here,

That being said, I’m going to leave the selling of the romance of cooking to you and just drop a few cookbook ideas in your lap. Here are a few Cookbook Man approved selections for that special female in your life.

James Beard Award Winners

The Latest & The Greatest

Old School

I’ve done all of the hard work for you. Now you just need to follow through. I’m sure once the wrapping has been unceremoniously flung off, everyone will be impressed by your excellent taste in cookbooks.

It’s easy to see why your grandmother loved it.

I don’t know much about lard. My guess is not many people are experts in the field. I don’t remember my Mom ever cooking with it and have no recollections of a jar or carton sitting in our fridge or pantry.

I do know one thing. The common grocery store variety, is not lard. I mean, I guess, technically it is, but, then again, not really. That’s the first lesson I learned after paging through Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient. There is a commercially produced product. And, then there’s the good stuff. We all want the good stuff.

Who in their right mind would author a cookbook glamorizing an ingredient that has been vilified over the past twenty years? Leave it to the Editors of GRIT Magazine to attempt to bring lard out of the doghouse and into our kitchens again. And they make a compelling (and tasty) case.

Here’s an example. Did you know that lard contains only fifty four percent of the saturated fat found in butter AND it is trans fat free when rendered properly? I certainly didn’t. I guess that’s the point here. There’s a lot to learn about this much maligned cooking staple of days gone by.

This book takes the subject seriously. So seriously, that the first recipe you will come across is how to render your own lard. If you would rather take the easy route, the book provides some great online resources for buying lard that has been lovingly rendered for your culinary enjoyment.

There are 150 recipes here ranging from Cherry Pie to Pot Pie and just about everything in between. As you would expect, there are loads of delicious recipes for baked goods. That’s where our featured ingredient really shines. Nothing makes a crust as flaky as lard.

With all of this lard talk you’re probably saying to yourself, “Hey this is great, but, how about an example I can sink my teeth into”. Done! Here’s an amazing fried potato recipe just for you.

Here’s how to do it.

Fried Potatoes Deluxe

Ingredients
4 cups raw potatoes, shredded
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
¾ tsp. salt
Dash black pepper
Dash paprika
2 Tbsp. lard

Method
In a large bowl combine the potatoes and cream. Add the salt, pepper and paprika. Mix Well.

Heat the lard in a large skillet over medium heat until just sizzling. Pour in the potato mixture and spread it evenly in the pan. Cover tightly. Reduce heat to low and cook until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and turn potatoes and cook uncovered until the other side is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6
Recipe courtesy of Andrews MacMeel Universal. Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient, The Editors of GRIT Magazine © 2012

The Bottom Line: Your first inclination is to think that this is a novelty cookbook. Not true. Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient has tons of useful information on a topic that not a lot has been written on. The recipes are straightforward and easy for home chefs of all skill levels. Beautiful food images are sprinkled throughout the pages. Am I going to cook out of it every day? No. Am I going to break it out for that killer Southern Fried Chicken recipe? You betcha.

Author: The Editors of GRIT Magazine
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN-10: 1449409741

There are only as many variations as your imagination will allow.

Grilled, griddled, broiled. Beef, turkey, veggie… I could go on, but, I don’t want to bore you. There are an infinite number of ways to define one our favorite foods, the burger.

It’s formally know as a hamburger. The traditional version doesn’t contain a speck of ham. The name, as the story goes, relates to the place in Germany that this sandwich has it’s roots, Hamburg. That’s enough history for today. No need to get to serious. After all, we are talking about burgers here.

It used to be, back in the good old days, that when someone said hamburger the thought was immediately ground beef, round patty, soft white bread bun. Fast forward to today and watch an array of burger choices unfold before your very eyes.

These days, people can and will make a burger out of anything that will hold still long enough to be formed into a circle. Oh, that’s right, the shape isn’t even a requirement anymore. Add an egg on top, no problem. How about Kobe graced with foie gras? Not that unusual. Did someone say chickpea and feta? Pick your preparation.

Our Monday Books entry for this week attempts to shed a little light on the fine art of burger making. We’ve hand selected these little beauties just for you. Behold the possibilities…

Traditional

Meatless

The Kitchen Sink

That should keep you busy for a while. If we missed your favorite guide to burger making, please let us (and everyone else) know.

Finally, something that tastes great that’s also good for you!

I’ll reluctantly admit it here. In the past I’ve probably overdone it a touch on the salmon. But, I love it. My wife, not so much. She’ll tolerate it a couple of times a month. If she has to eat it twice a week there’s going to be a menu planning meeting.

In my opinion, what’s not to like? It tastes great. And, as a BIG side benefit, it’s a superfood. Meaning, it’s REALLY good for you.  When I cook salmon I usually grill it. I make an extra piece to eat cold the next day for lunch. It’s one fish that is just as good out of the fridge as it is off the grill.

Maybe, my wife just needs a little recipe variety in her salmon intake. To that end, and in an attempt to avoid that “not salmon again” look. Here’s are some great ideas for your next salmon supper (or lunch).

Cookbooks

Smoking & Curing

Odds & Ends

Those should give you some new and exciting ideas for your next salmon feast!

Can something be both a wonder and wonderful? Consider the egg.

Here’s a question for you. How many eggs do you think this country produces each year? Think big. No, bigger. Bigger still…

You’re not even close. So, I’ll tell you.

75 billion, yes billion! That translates to 241 eggs per year for every man, woman and child in the country. That’s just the amount of eggs that are produced in the U.S. alone. China is the worlds largest egg producer and their hens lay about four times more eggs than ours. That’s a ton of eggs. Actually, 62.1 billion metric tons worldwide! I think it’s fair to say everyone LOVES eggs.

What in the world is going on here? Why the egg obsession? For one thing, I don’t think there is anything the egg can’t do, it’s versatile. Think about it. It’s equally as comfortable as an ingredient as it is being the star of a dish. You can cook it in more ways than we have space to list. And, most importantly, they taste delicious.

Jennifer Trainer Thompson has penned an homage to the humble edible orb. The Fresh Egg Cookbook, takes you from “chicken to kitchen”. Contained in the pages is a treasure trove of information on all things egg related. Jennifer raises her own hens. Not all of us can do that. The information on what to look for and how to buy the best eggs is super helpful. You’ll really appreciate it the next time you find yourself at the local farmers market.

The recipes? Yes, there are recipes, lots of them. One hundred and one to be exact. These pages are loaded with great food and great photos.

I figured at this point you might be ready for a dish. Here’s one you may not have come across before, Pickled Eggs.

Here’s How To Do It.

Pickled Eggs

Ingredients
12 hard boiled eggs
3 cups malt vinegar
1 cup water
1 small dried chile, split open
20 black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks, 4 inch
2 bay leaves

Method
Peel the hard boiled eggs and pack them into a sterilized jar with an airtight lid. Leave an inch at the top for the liquid. Heat the vinegar, water, chile, peppercorns, cinnamon and bay leaves in a saucepan until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool at room temperature.

Strain the liquid and pour it over the eggs in the jar. Cover them completely by one inch. Seal the jar and store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks before eating.

Makes 12 eggs
Recipe excerpted from The Fresh Egg Cookbook (c) by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, used with permission from Storey Publishing.

The Bottom Line: Everybody loves eggs. And, Jennifer has put together a great collection of eggcellent (sorry) facts, tips and dishes. These recipes can be easily executed by home cooks of all experience levels. It’s hard not to love Jennifer’s genuine enthusiasm for a topic which she knows so well.

It’s a great excuse to break a few shells. Come on, let’s get scrambling!

Author: Jennifer Trainer Thompson
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN-10: 1603429786

If you’re looking for some more egg recipes we can certainly help. Check out some of these titles.

For all occasions, nothing beats a great cake.

I don’t know if there is one individual food that has more sayings/quotes associated with it. “Let them eat cake”, “the icing on the cake” and “piece of cake” are few of the more obvious. The question is why cake? The answer: because it’s so damn good!

I’m not partial to desserts. But, I will admit, that sometimes a nice hunk of fresh cake and a cold glass of milk is an unbeatable combo.

Looking for some great ideas for your next great cake baking adventure? This installment of Monday Books has a few suggestions for you. Bake on!

Cookbooks

Cake Decorating

Cake Pops!

OK, now go dig around in the crawlspace and find that old Easy Bake oven and fire it up! You may need to hunt for a light bulb that will actually cook something.Those five year light bulbs are great. But, you can’t bake a cake with one. Technology advancement? Hardly.

Poitrine, bringa, bryststykke. No matter how you say it, it’s still a brisket.

WARNING: This book is not suitable for vegetarians, vegans or herbivores of any stripe. However, if you love slow cooked, tender and delicious meat, grab a plate and get your fork!

It’s a cut of meat that slices across ethnic and cultural lines. A specific cut of meat. Not just a burger or a steak, it’s more than that. At first blush you would think, “How many ways could you possible cook that?”. You would be surprised.

In Texas, it is held aloft as a piece of BBQ lore and legend. Worthy of a battle for a medal, trophy or plaque. On St. Patrick’s Day, we can’t get enough of it served with a side of cabbage, potatoes and maybe a Guinness (or two). It has starring role on the other side of the world in Vietnamese Pho. And, it’s nearly impossible to imagine any Jewish holiday without a moist and flavorful brisket served on a big platter to a waiting table of family and friends.

Stephanie Pierson affectionately calls her cookbook a “love story with recipes”. When The Brisket Book hit my desk I thought, “OK, here’s another collection of the same re-tread brisket recipes”. Boring… This is a prime example of why you shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It is not possible to have been more wrong. Boring is the last thing this cookbook is.

I thought I knew about brisket. After all, I have cooked a small truckload of them. But, what I didn’t know about this versatile cut of meat could, well, fill a book. And Stephanie filled it up!

I love the list of “50 Things About Brisket That People Can Disagree About”. Example: #5 Electric Knife? You may as well give one person a can of gasoline and the other person a match and see how long it takes them to set each other on fire. People are just that insane about the topic.

Of course, I have to cook one of these versions. I opted for Chef Todd Gray’s, Classic Braised Beef Brisket. Anything classic should be a good test.

Here’s How To Do It

Classic Braised Beef Brisket

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 3lb beef brisket, trimmed
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 quart veal stock
1 cup dry red wine
½ cup balsamic vinegar

Method
Pre-heat oven to 350⁰. (Note: the recipe in the book does not specify an oven temperature. I used 350⁰, it seemed safe)

Mix together the salt, paprika, mustard seed and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the brisket all over with the spice mixture. It will look like this.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat until hot. Brown the brisket evenly on both sides. About 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Transfer the browned brisket to a large oven proof baking dish or Dutch oven. Add the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Also, add the garlic, stock, wine and vinegar. Cover the dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake in the oven until fork tender. About 3 to 4 hours.

When the brisket is cooked, transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil. Strain cooking liquids into a pan and reduce over medium heat to about 2½ cups. Slice the brisket against the grain and drizzle with the sauce.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted Classic Braised Brisket, Chef Todd Gray. The Brisket Book, Stephanie Pierson, Andrews McMeel Pub.

TIPS: I used beef stock instead of veal stock. It still turned our fantastic. This is a super easy brisket recipe. A home chef of any skill level should have no problem at all impressing their family and friends with their brisket expertise.

The Bottom Line: This book hits all the right notes. Not only is it a great collection of new (and old) brisket preparations, but, it also serves as a great resource. It’s a fun read. The contributions from professional and amateur chefs make it interesting on a lot of different levels. Writing a single subject cookbook can be tricky. Stephanie avoids the common mistakes that make these types of books a little on the dry side. Well done!

Author: Stephanie Pierson
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN-10: 1449406971

If you like The Brisket Book, here are few books from the Cookbook Man’s list that might interest you.

If you give a mouse a cookie…

Who doesn’t love a great, soft, chewy cookie and an ice cold glass of milk? It’s a good question, right? Cookies turn all of us that aren’t already kids into one. And fast.

If you’re looking to crank some fantastic homemade creations out of your own kitchen there a a ton of books that can help. Baking cookies is easy, fun and can involve the whole family. Why not fire up the oven and make a batch this afternoon?

Here’s some Monday Books that can help.

Cookbooks

For Kids

Cookie Dough

I’m sure by now you’ve got your oven pre-heating to 350º. If you know of any great cookie books that we might have missed. Add a comment and tell the world.

Some things you shouldn’t leave to chance.

We’ve all been there. You have this perfect cut of meat. It has been lovingly prepped and ready to be fired. The last thing you want to do is screw it up. It’s already dead, killing it again would be a crime.

The experience can be nerve wracking to say the least. Especially if there are guests involved. Once you cook it, un-cooking it would be a considerable challenge.

Fear not. The good folks at AmazingRibs.com can help take some of the anxiety out of the moment. There is no reason to plow through a giant cookbook looking for the meat temperature guide. All you have to do is give a quick glance in the direction of your fridge.

Meet the award winning Meat Magnet!

Pretty cool, right? This handy little cooking guide should help steer you down the path to a perfectly cooked roast, turkey or pork shoulder. I’m not suggesting that you can just pitch your hard cover volumes of roasting and barbecuing techniques. That would be short sighted. But, this clever kitchen accessory can provide some quick information just when it’s needed most.

Hey, is that supposed to be 130⁰ or 145⁰… ?

Want your very own? You can order you here.