These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Dear Tricia, Since you've mentioned a few of your favorite cookbooks here and there, it'd be cool to see a top 5 or top 10 list of your absolute favorite/can't-live-without cookbooks.


What a perfect idea! And how, because my other favorite thing to talk about, next to food, is myself. Well, that and the vast array of music trivia that I know for no good reason. (Did you know that Bret Michaels wrote "Every Rose Has its Thorn" in a laundromat in Dallas? Well now you do. You're welcome.)

1. On Food and Cooking- Harold McGee
I commonly refer to this one as my Bible. And, while it doesn't have recipes in it, it explains the history and science of everything thats involved in cooking and baking. Some of the content is kind of dry (Its my dream to re-write it someday in my own style. Ooh! I want to email my agent with that idea!) but it answers every question you've ever had about food by getting down to the science of it. And you can't argue with science. (You hear that, Fundamentalists?)

2. Chez Panisse Fruit- Alice Waters
This is both a cookbook and reference book for me. Alice Waters, founder of the famous Berkley restaurant Chez Panisse, wrote about every type of fruit- when its in season, how to pick the good stuff, the history behind it, etc. Then there's recipes to follow each subject. She has a book on vegetables too but I'm partial to this one for no good reason.

3. The Last Course- Claudia Fleming
When I first ventured into pastry, Claudia Fleming was still the pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York City. She wrote a book of her signature recipes and its still my favorite dessert cookbook to this day. In 2002, I spent a weekend in Boston and was able to try some of her desserts, made by the woman herself, when she was the guest chef at Finale.

4. The New Professional Chef- The Culinary Institute of America
I have to pay homage to my alma mater here. This is, by no means, a progressive cookbook. But what it does offer, are old school, traditional recipes and instruction on every basic cooking method and ingredient, ever. Its huge. Seriously, its like 12 pounds. And it has recipes on everything from Beef Bourgignonne to Waldorf Salad.

5. Cheese Primer- Steven Jenkins
If you're interested in anything about cheese, this will be like porn to you. I love this book almost as much as I love my dog.

6. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence- Amy Sedaris
I don't like this book for the recipes, I like it because its hilarious. It makes me laugh every time I open it. Amy Sedaris is my hero. She made a tiny tear-away 2007 calender for a friend of mine (Only one degree of separation between you and me, Amy!) one Christmas. It was 2009.

7. Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics- Ina Garten
If I had to pick a cookbook written by a celebrity chef, this is the winner. Ina Garten's show on the Food Network, Barefoot Contessa, is like taking a Xanax with a martini chaser. Seriously, the film work is pretty sexy. Her recipes are ones that you can and actually want to make in your own kitchen, unlike a lot of celebrity chef- written cookbooks I've read, and even though a lot of them are French influenced, they're not overly complicated. Plus, she's not annoying as all get-out, unlike most celebrity chefs on the Food Network. (I'm looking at you, Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis.)

8. Fanny Farmer Baking Book- Marion Cunningham
I considered leaving this one off the list just to avoid any other professional cooks making fun of me. Again, this isn't a book of progressive stuff, but sometimes you just don't need to reinvent the wheel, you know? This book has my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and my favorite banana bread recipe. When I ran a hotel kitchen in Telluride, I used those two recipes every single day because those were the ones that I got the most requests for. Well, that and my peanut brittle... but that recipe is a secret.

So, that's my top 8. Again, a lot of these aren't cookbooks- they're reference books- but that's what I use most these days to keep the blog going. And its always good to try and learn about the food while you're cooking it. It cancels out all the damage from those Real Housewives of Orange County marathons.

Do the Mashed Potato!

Dear Tricia, I love mashed potatoes and make them a lot, but sometimes they get really gluey and pasty. How do I make them fluffy all the time?

This is an easy fix. There's a few different things you can change to make your taters fluffy all the time, but first lets figure out if you're using the right potato.
Potatoes are divided into two basic categories: waxy and starchy. Starchy potatoes (like Russet potatoes) are super high in starch content and don't have a lot of moisture in them. That's why they are great for things like baked and mashed potatoes- they fall apart easily when they're cooked. On the other hand, that's exactly why you don't want to use them for things like potato salad- they'll fall apart when you start to mix everything and just turn into mashed potato salad, and that's gross and then you'll ruin the 4th of July. Waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold or Red potatoes) are higher in moisture content and lower in starch. That means they hold their shape really well when they're cooked and are better for things like potato salad or scalloped potatoes, but they're terrible for mashing. So first and foremost, make sure you're using a starchy potato if you want to make mashed potatoes. By the way, did you know that there's no such thing as an "Idaho Potato?" But something like 98% of potatoes grown in Idaho are Russet potatoes, so that's what they're talking about if someone mentions these so-called "Idaho" potatoes. Now you can correct them. I like to act really smug when I do that.
Alright, so now that you're using the right potatoes, lets talk about how you're mashing them. And try to sit up straight while you're reading- your posture is bugging me. When you boil the potatoes, the little starch molecules inside the potatoes mix with water and swell up. When it comes time to mash them, you're basically breaking the wall of the little starch molecules, letting out the water, and making the potatoes more gluey. So the more you mash, the more gluey they get. This is why you NEVER want to mash potatoes in a mixer- it mixes them way too much and they get gluey in like seconds. Just remember- beating the crap out of potatoes gives you crappy potatoes. Simple, right?

You can do two things to mash them into fluffy success:

1. Use a potato masher. That's the funny, kind of swirly shaped metal tool with a handle on it. Its really basic, but it works. And remember, just mash the potatoes until you get most of the lumps out and then call it a day. Being an over achiever when you're mashing potatoes doesn't give you better results.


2. Buy a ricer. A ricer is a super cool tool that most kitchens I've worked in use to mash potatoes. The ones in kitchens are big and a little confusing to put together, but now you can buy smaller ones for your kitchen at home that are super simple to use. Its just like the Play-Do attachment that you used as a kid that made the long, skinny spaghetti shapes and it presses the cooked potatoes through small holes without overworking them. Then you can add your hot milk, butter, and all the extra fixings that make your mashed potatoes awesome, give it a quick stir and you're done. If you like having fun kitchen equipment, a ricer is a good one to have, especially if you make a lot of mashed potatoes.


Alright, so now what do you do if you made gluey mashed potatoes and you haven't read this blog yet? You don't have to trash the potatoes. If you've got the time, you can scoop the potatoes into little balls, dip them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, and cook them in a pan of super hot oil. When they're brown, they're done... drain them on some newspaper and you've got potato croquettes instead. No one will ever know you messed up to begin with. There are some great potato croquette recipes online, especially on the Food Network's website because they're super basic. Happy mashing.

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Dear Tricia, What's the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? I tried to make muffins and the recipe stunk. The muffins had too many blueberries and it kinda sunk into the muffin pan.


I know... muffins and cupcakes go in the same little paper cups that go in the same little muffin pans and they look so alike too. Baking can be hard and those little guys are probably reveling in the fact that they're making it harder. Jerks.
But there's three major differences between the two and I'm happy to share those with you.

1. Cupcakes have more sugar in them- usually double the amount. They also have more fat (oil or butter... it depends on the recipe), though not always double.

2. The way you mix them in the recipe is usually different too. Muffins are pretty simple: you mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc. The stuff that's not wet. Duh.) in one bowl and the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, water, etc. The stuff that's not dry. Unless you've had one too many bong hits, this should also be common sense, but no judgment.) in another bowl. Then you stir them up together just until they're mixed. It's really simple and fast, actually. That's why they're awesome for breakfast- you can have them mixed in the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee.
Cupcakes have a more complicated mixing method that is used in most cake recipes too. First, you have to cream the butter and the sugar together, then you slowly add the eggs, then you add the dry ingredients. It takes an electric mixer, and its more time consuming. In fact, I've wrote two separate blogs on how to master this method. (Why Butter and Eggs are the Slash and Axl of Baking is my favorite one.) Not all cupcakes use this method... but unless they come out of a box, a lot of them will.

3. Cupcakes usually have frosting. And while I'm totally supportive of eating one at every meal, you won't usually see them at the breakfast table.

The thing about putting heavy stuff in a batter is that its easy for it to sink to the bottom, especially if there's a lot of it, like in your recipe. Some recipes just aren't good recipes. And unfortunately, except for yours truly, there's no bad recipe police squad. But when it comes to adding extras, like chocolate chips in cookies, or nuts in banana bread, or berries in muffins... you can always change that to what you like. That's not the case for super important measurements for baking soda and salt and things like that, but for the rest of it... feel free to make your own rules.
Next time when you add the blueberries to your muffins, toss them in flour before you stir them in. This should help keep them afloat in the batter while your muffins are baking. (The protein in the flour helps make a little safety net around the blueberry that keeps it from sinking.)
If you ever have crappy muffins that have sunk, like yours did, you don't have to throw them away. Break them up in little pieces and eat them on top of yogurt and fruit. Serve it for brunch, calling it a "yogurt and muffin parfait" and you'll be so gourmet. Oooh la la...