I learn to cook and bake from reading cookbooks, magazines and by watching Food Network. My friend J, who is blessed with a doting husband who is also a good cook, never has to worry about cooking a meal herself. However, recently she decided it’s high time to try her hand at cooking.

Being a helpful friend, I want to offer all the support I could provide. But alas, she is a zillion miles away, and it doesn’t help that we are separated by a 14 hour time difference. Which means, when she needs help in cooking, I would be in the slumberland already.

Then I remembered the cookbook I received not long ago- “Cook With Jamie: My Guide To Making You a Better Cook” by Jamie Oliver. It is the answer for both our prayers!

Not only is the book packed with simple but impressive recipes, “Cook with Jamie” also includes step-by-step illustrations to demonstrate some basic skills. These include making fresh pasta from scratch, risotto, cleaning squid, preparing lobster and live crab, just to name a few.  There are also simplified diagrams of chicken, lamb and beef to illustrate the various cuts of meat and the best ways to prepare them. I found “Cook with Jamie” informative, without making novice cooks or bakers feel intimidated. The book includes enough educational materials for the reader without overburdening them with unnecessary information.

In the last few pages of the book, there are pointers about how to cook safely, sharpening a knife, issues on food safety and cross contamination, freezing food and chopping techniques, among other helpful hints, all of which are useful for people who are starting to cook. Most of the recipes in the book come with pictures, which I do appreciate. Like many people, I am gravitated toward trying recipes with pictures. Not surprisingly, I enjoy reading through the recipes, techniques and skills spilled over the 448 pages of what Jamie Oliver is trying to achieve as a “timely, modern-day classic.”

This is a book which I am sure my friend J would find useful.

Potato Rösti

olive oil
a small knob of butter
1.5 lb floury potatoes, peeled and cut into matchsticks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
6 cloves of garlic, peeled

Preheat the oven to 400F. In an ovenproof non-stick frying pan, about 8 inches wide, heat a splash of olive oil. Add the butter and toss the potatoes in it with a pinch of salt and pepper, the rosemary leaves and the whole garlic cloves. Fry on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring all the while, until the potatoes start to soften a little. Then place the pan in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly golden, both on the top and the bottom.

Take the pan out of the oven and cover it with a piece of damp wax paper. Wrap your hand in a tea towel, or use a perfectly sized plate, and press down on the paper to flatten and compact your rösti. Remove the wax paper and place the pan back in the oven for 25 minutes.

Cut into slices and serve.

Serves 4

When the copy of Paula Deen’s latest book, “Christmas with Paula Deen” landed on my mailbox, I was surprised by its size. Upon measuring with my ruler, it measures a mere 7.4-inches x 5.2-inches. Petite indeed, compared to the rest of the cookbooks streaming into the market this time of the year.

“Christmas with Paula Deen” is a collection of the favorite Christmas recipes and stories the Food Network star has accumulated over the years; most of the recipes can be found in her past cookbooks. However, Paula does include a few new recipes in the book. It isn’t a big concern for folks who haven’t owned any of her other cookbooks, but for those who do, I am afraid there may not be much surprise in store for them. 

The concept of this book is best described as a family cookbook. Unlike many cookbooks that focus on recipes and eye-catching food photography, recipes of “Christmas with Paula Deen“ are interspersed with Paula and her sons’ Christmas memories and family photos. Among them is the story of the Christmas that her husband Michael proposed to her.

The only drawback of the book is the lack of food photography. It is certainly an important deciding factor for many consumers, as far as cookbooks are concerned, and I am definitey one of them. In fact, all the family photos in the book are in black and white too. The only photos with color are on the cover and the back of the book. It is really up to one’s imagination when cooking or baking from the recipes in this book.

Since Christmas is the theme of this book, “Christmas with Paula Deen” is fiiled with ideas of homemade food gifts, cookies, Christmas breakfast and brunch dishes, dinners, entertainly ideas and her sweet creations, including pies, cakes, pudding and other sweets. I decided to choose a simple cream cheese cookie to kickstart my Christmas baking.

Cream Cheese Cookies
adapted from “Christmas with Paula Deen“

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
One 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Add the flour, stirring 1/2 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease one or more cookie sheets. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick; cut with cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and serve.

Makes about 4 dozen.