The Clever Root

Spring 2018

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2 8 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t COOKBOOK CORNER The L.A. Cookbook: Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bakeries, and Bars in Los Angeles by Alison Clare Steingold Rizzoli, $40 Many a printed diatribe has admonished Los Angeles' lack of recognition as a food-centric destination—particularly when the city lost its Michelin guide in 2009. While you might not be able to visit all the bars and restaurants who contributed to Alison Clare Steingold's collection of Los Angeles–centric recipes, they make a compelling argument for the city as a globally-relevant food town while cel- ebrating everything that makes our culinary culture here so unique. Chengdu Taste's classic mouth-numbing Sichuan tan tan noodles make an appear- ance, Mexican restaurant Guelaguetza offers up a recipe for its mole amarillo de pollo, and Pizzeria Mozza's Nancy Silverton covers des- sert in the form of a Meyer lemon gelato pie with Champagne vinegar sauce. Of course, it wouldn't be an L.A. recipe collection without a whole page dedicated to avocado toast, gluten-free raw zucchini "linguine" with pesto from The Butcher's Daughter, and Moon Juice's cultured nut cheese. From bars to bakery, street corn to uni spaghetti, the vast variety of food and beverages that call L.A. home get their well-deserved due in this cookbook. ■cr by Jesse Hom-Dawson Simply Vibrant: All-Day Vegetarian Recipes for Colorful Plant-Based Cooking by Anya Kassoff Roost Books, $35 I may be a fairly devout carnivore, but as a native Californian who spends her weekends stocking up at the local farmers market, I've found myself warming up to vegetarian cookbooks over the past few years (Jeremy Fox's On Vegetables comes to mind as a recent winner). Anya Kassoff's Simply Vibrant, a printed extension of her blog Golubka Kitchen, focuses on plant-based recipes rather than incorporating meat-re- placement products. Grains beyond bread and pasta are used in dishes like the stewed rhubarb amaranth porridge and polenta crust pizza with romesco and tomatoes. Kassoff is also careful to minimize food waste, providing methods for using beet tops, barley cooking water, and chickpea soaking liquid. The true hidden goldmines in this book, however, are the condiments: Apple-miso mayo and smoky sun-dried tomato cream made with cashews are winning recipes—herbivore or not. The Austin Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from Deep in the Heart of Texas by Paula Forbes Abrams Books, $30 Now that I've waxed poetic about the wonders of vegetables, let's talk about meat. I've only visited Austin once, but the breakfast tacos, barbecue, and cocktails I had while there have had me dreaming about going back ever since. The recipes in Paula Forbes' Austin-centric cookbook are divided into categories like barbecue, tacos, Tex-Mex and interior Mexican, drinks, and breakfast and brunch (which, coincidentally, are the five groups in my personal food pyramid). Like The L.A. Cookbook, the recipes in this anthol- ogy read like a who's who of the city's restaurants, from "Texas Standards" like smoked brisket, ribs, and Park- side's mac and cheese, to "New Austin Classics" like Bufalina's chorizo potato pie. Forbes even includes some of her own recipes within the pages and her essays scattered throughout the book also highlight what makes the city so distinct as a food destination. You'll be packing your bag to visit the Lone Star State in no time.

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