The Tipsy Baker: The Seventh Daughter: Beggar's Chicken

We're coming to you live as we attempt to make jiao hua ji -- a.k.a. Beggar's Chicken -- one of the dishes for which Cecilia Chiang was most famous back when she owned The Mandarin, her swanky San Francisco restaurant. You stuff and marinate a chicken, wrap tightly in foil, then entomb in clay and bake for two-and-a-half hours.

Stay tuned. . .

Cookbooks We've Survived

River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Shelf essential? A stalwart and worthy tome, but no.
Fika by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall. Shelf essential? Charming. Yes.
Burma, by Naomi Duguid. Shelf essential? Yes.
The Suriani Kitchen by Lathika George. Shelf essential? If you consider a Suriani cookbook a cornerstone of any respectable collection, yes.
Bread and Chocolate, by Fran Gage. Shelf essential? A lovely little book, but no.
The Cuisines of Spain, by Teresa Barrenechea. Shelf essential? No.
Mozza, by Nancy Silverton. Shelf essential? For the pizza dough and the meatballs, yes.
Tender , by Nigel Slater. Shelf essential? In my view, no.
The Best of the Best from California Shelf essential? Oh no. No, no, no.
Soul of a New Cuisine, by Marcus Samuelsson. Shelf essential? No. Some good African-inspired recipes here, but not enough.
Super Natural Every Day, By Heidi Swanson. Shelf essential? A beautiful and thoughtful book. Yes.
Guy Fieri Food, by Guy Fieri. Shelf essential? No. Full of over-the-top, outlandish dishes (Irish nachos?) that most people won't want to cook often, if ever.
Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Shelf Essential? Yes. One of the most reliable and charming cookbooks I've ever worked from. A should-be classic.
Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen, by Ethan Stowell. Shelf essential? On the cusp, but no. Lovely, though.
Mixt Salads, by Andrew Swallow. Shelf essential? No.
Stir, By Barbara Lynch. Shelf essential? Yes. An approachable and reliable book by a renowned Boston chef.
Ad Hoc at Home, By Thomas Keller. Shelf essential? An enormous, beautiful book with some great recipes, but no.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. Shelf essential? On my shelf, yes. I wouldn't dare to speak for anyone else.
Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur
Moro by Sam & Sam Clark. Shelf essential? Yes. An all-time favorite. A brilliant and fascinating book about the cuisines of North Africa and the Mediterranean.
Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl. Shelf Essential? No. Not a bad book, but it can't decide if it's aspiring to be an all-purpose classic or something else entirely. It's neither. Recipes are mostly solid, few outstanding.
Mexico, One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless. Shelf essential? No, but a very useful and reliable Mexican cookbook.
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen. Shelf essential? Yes. An excellent primer on an extremely exotic and enticing cuisine.
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz. Shelf essential? Yes. The Breton buckwheat cake is worth the price of the book. Ditto the chocolate-coconut marshmallows.
A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. Shelf Essential? Yes. This is a lovely memoir with some very lovely recipes.
Milk by Anne Mendelson. Shelf essential? If you want a deeper understanding of fresh dairy products, yes.
Fat by Jennifer McLagan. Yes, unless you're a vegan.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Shelf essential? Yes. Even for meat eaters.
Platter of Figs by David Tanis. The jury is still out -- we have to test a few more menus -- but we're guessing no.
The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Shelf essential? Absolutely. This is a truly splendid cookbook.
Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin. Shelf Essential? Oh yes, though less for the whack recipes than for the cantankerous Shopsin persona.
Charleston Cuisine by Louis Osteen. Shelf essential? No. Extravagant restaurant food and slapdash recipe-writing.
Arabesque by Claudia Roden. Shelf essential? Excellent cookbook, but no. Not if you already own her classic Book of Middle Eastern Food.
The Whimsical Bakehouse by Liv and Kaye Hansen. Shelf essential? No, but cute.
The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. Shelf essential? Yes. Definitely a primer, but a fabulous one. Can I just point out that while the recipes are terrific the book has the charisma of a turnip?
The Best of the Best from Alaska. Shelf essential? No. For kitsch lovers only. Abounds in canned soup casseroles and moose teriyakis. Undoubtedly, Sarah Palin has a copy.
The Cuisine of California by Diane Rossen Worthington. Shelf essential? No. Dated.
Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. Shelf essential? Yes, especially if you're a Chinese food fanatic and want to delve into its regional cuisines. Though some of the recipes are too weird even for me, the beef with cumin was one of the best things I've ever cooked.
The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang. Shelf essential? Sure, though if there's only room in your collection for one "basic" Chinese cookbook go for Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking.
My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King. Shelf essential? Yes! Why? Cardamom cake. And everyone needs one Parsi cookbook.

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The Seventh Daughter: Beggar's Chicken

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