We look forward to another year of great reading in 2017!
[ Film, Media and Popular Culture : Comics ]
Showing posts with label Diana Kennedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diana Kennedy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Our Most-Read Blog Posts of 2016
Despite everything that happened in 2016, it was a great year for University of Texas Press authors on our blog. Here are the 10 most-read posts, spanning topics from Mexican cuisine to Moche power structures, from author-curated music playlists to fascinating conversations among scholars.
We look forward to another year of great reading in 2017!
Earlier this year, UT Press was excited to announce that musician, songwriter, and former Go-Go Kathy Valentine has signed an agreement to write her first book – a memoir. Read the post. →
2016 was the year that scientists declared the dawn of a human-influenced age. One of our most popular author Q&A featured Nicholas Kawa talking about his new book Amazonia in the Anthropocene: People, Soils, Plants, Forests. We asked him about his work, what we can learn from contemporary rural Amazonians, and the complicated identity politics of indigenous rights. Read the post. →
[ Film, Media and Popular Culture : Comics ]
The graphic novel is commonly thought to have matured from pulp infancy to literary adulthood. However, comic writers remain burdened by the stigma of literary illegitimacy. In his new book Arresting Development: Comics at the Boundaries of Literature, Christopher Pizzino questions this idea that comics have "grown up" in the literary community's perception, arguing that the medium’s history of censorship and marginalization endures in the minds of its present-day readers and, crucially, its authors. We asked him to talk about why he wrote the book in this passionate and funny Q&A. Read the post. →
In this blog post, historian Charles Molesworth expands on his book The Capitalist and the Critic: J. P. Morgan, Roger Fry, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to reflect on issues that reverberate today: buying influence in a presidential race, breaking up too-powerful bank trusts, pushing Progressive Era initiatives to eliminate obscure and unfair trading practices, and the problem of "large sums of money resting in the hands of a few men." Read the post. →
We couldn't resist excerpting Diana Kennedy's brilliant bêtes noires to celebrate her 93rd year and the new edition of her classic part memoir, part cookbook, Nothing Fancy: Recipes and Recollections of Soul-Satisfying Food. In addition to chapters about her life and recipes for her favorite foods, she also covers her culinary addictions and the equipment she simply cannot do without. Enjoy Diana's unfiltered opinions on the proper way to enjoy and promote sustainable food. Read the post. →
We look forward to another year of great reading in 2017!
[ Film, Media and Popular Culture : Comics ]
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
UT Press at the 2016 Texas Book Festival
This weekend, the University of Texas Press and many of our authors will enjoy the 21st annual Texas Book Festival on the Capitol grounds in downtown Austin and environs. This
year, an illustration from Bill Wittliff's The Devil’s Backbone by the late Texan illustrator Jack Unruh graces the Texas Book Festival Poster!
We'll have a booth on Colorado Street with tons of titles for sale at a great discount, so please stop by. There are a lot of wonderful authors in attendance this year, so we’ve distilled our authors' appearances into a single UT Press schedule (browse the full schedule here):
A Love Letter to Texas Women
We'll have a booth on Colorado Street with tons of titles for sale at a great discount, so please stop by. There are a lot of wonderful authors in attendance this year, so we’ve distilled our authors' appearances into a single UT Press schedule (browse the full schedule here):
Saturday
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
 |
| More info |
Author: Sarah Bird
Moderator: Steve Davis
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.036
Booksigning: Main Book Signing Tent (Congress near 10th Street)
Enjoy seeing some of the top writers in Texas at this lively panel discussion featuring winners of the Texas Institute of Letters’ 2016 Literary Awards. The TIL was founded in 1936 and has been a leading force in Texas literature for more than 80 years.
Where to find the author online: @sarahbirdwriter | Website
UT Press Podcast Interview with Sarah Bird:
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.036
Booksigning: Main Book Signing Tent (Congress near 10th Street)
Enjoy seeing some of the top writers in Texas at this lively panel discussion featuring winners of the Texas Institute of Letters’ 2016 Literary Awards. The TIL was founded in 1936 and has been a leading force in Texas literature for more than 80 years.
Where to find the author online: @sarahbirdwriter | Website
UT Press Podcast Interview with Sarah Bird:
10:30 AM - 11:15 AM
Moderator: Jane Sumner
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.014
When last we saw the boy Papa in The Devil’s Backbone, he had finally learned the fate of his missing Momma and his vicious daddy. Now, master storyteller Bill Wittliff takes us on another enthralling journey through wild and woolly Central Texas in the 1880s with The Devil's Sinkhole.
12:45 - 1:30 PM
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| More info |
Authors: Sarah Bird, Andrea Valdez
Moderator: Kathy Blackwell
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.036
Booksigning: Main Book Signing Tent (Congress near 10th Street)
Lone Star pride runs strong, there’s no denying it. But what exactly does it mean to be a Texan? Is it all boots, chaps and cowboy hats, Lone Stars and barbecue and stories of Ann Richards? Sarah Bird (A Love Letter to Texas Women) and Andrea Valdez (How to Be a Texan) sit down to discuss what life as a Texan means to them, and how it inspired their new books.
Where to find the author online: @andreamvaldez
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Diana Kennedy's 19 Culinary Pet Peeves
Diana Kennedy doesn't suffer fools. As the world’s preeminent authority on authentic Mexican cooking and one of its best-known food writers, she is renowned for her uncompromising insistence on using the correct local ingredients and preparation techniques. No shortcuts! She has taught generations of cooks how to prepare traditional dishes from the villages of Mexico and, in doing so, has helped preserve the country’s diverse and rich foodways. But she has also proudly stoked a reputation for no-nonsense straight talk. Unafraid to voice her opinions (thank goodness), Diana Kennedy has outlined her many culinary pet peeves—her bêtes noires—in her new book, now back in print after many years, Nothing Fancy: Recipes and Recollections of Soul-Satisfying Food , New Edition.
Beyond her bêtes noires, Nothing Fancy is the portal into Diana Kennedy's life at home. The recipes in the book are her personal favorites, from comfort foods to show-stoppers for important guests. Kennedy draws from her childhood in England and her life in Mexico, as well as peppering in a few international dishes from her travels.
We've excerpted Diana's brilliant bêtes noires below. In addition to chapters about her life and recipes for her favorite foods, she also covers her culinary addictions and the equipment she simply cannot do without. Enjoy Diana's unfiltered opinions on the proper way to enjoy and promote sustainable food. Nothing Fancy: Recipes and Recollections of Soul-Satisfying Food , New Edition is out now.
Now that I’ve been tagged as the “scourge of gastronomy,” I feel all but obligated to scourge away at some of the things that drive me mad in the food world—some of them just annoying and others that are essential to expose as the enemies of flavor.
I know, I know, this is the beloved salt of virtually all American chefs, and it seems to be the default choice in cookbooks and food magazines. I find the flavor pedestrian, and ever since it failed me in a corned tongue recipe, it’s been banned from my kitchen in favor of sea salt, the salt of the ancients. For years and years, I seemed to be the only cook in America who wasn’t on board with kosher, but then I learned that the late Marcella Hazan also loathed it, thought it added only sourness to food, and believed it basically ruined anything it touched. She used only sea salt. The various and little-known Mexican regional sea salts are the ones I use for everything. If you’re not used to using sea salt, it tastes saltier, so you can almost always halve the amount of salt in the recipe—but taste afterward to be sure it’s right.
Of course I was delighted to find my prejudice against kosher salt endorsed by Mark Bitterman in his authoritative book Salted (Ten Speed Press, 2010). To quote Mark: “Kosher salt is a processed food, with all mineral and moisture qualities intrinsic to real salt stripped away, and with a crystal structure fabricated by automated processes. The flavor is antiseptic, like the bright fluorescence of a laboratory on a spaceship drifting aimlessly away from earth.” And this: “When we cook with kosher salt we sanctify the artificial, we embrace emptiness . . .” Bitterman lists kosher salt as first under Industrial Salts, with a taste of “metal; hot extract of bleach-white paper towel; aerosol fumes” and “best with: marsupial roadkill” (p. 185).
Oh please, don’t invite me! That salty sameness throughout is SO boring. Surely it was meant only to preserve meats or fish in a hot climate.
I am amazed at the inability of chefs to recognize the difference between true Ceylon (Sri Lanka) cinnamon (canela in Spanish) and cassia, the much cheaper pretender that is not only confused with the real thing but often labeled AS the real thing in the market, even gourmet markets. I can walk through a kitchen door and tell immediately if a baker is using cassia or cinnamon; the difference is that dramatic.
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Cassia is used in South Indian dishes, and it’s much darker in color, with a harder bark. Sometimes called false cinnamon, it’s usually harvested in China or Vietnam. True cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka in quills, layers of bark, with a much lighter color and a more complex, haunting fragrance. It’s best to grind your own cinnamon, as with most spices, and to acquire it from a reliable source, such as spicetrekkers.com, who stock two grades of true cinnamon. Once you have that flavor in your repertoire, cassia simply won’t do.
Aside from the purported health benefits of the canola—of course, there is no such seed; it’s just an invented name for highly processed rapeseed— I dislike both the heaviness of the oil and its flavor. Banned from Quinta Diana.
 |
| More info |
Beyond her bêtes noires, Nothing Fancy is the portal into Diana Kennedy's life at home. The recipes in the book are her personal favorites, from comfort foods to show-stoppers for important guests. Kennedy draws from her childhood in England and her life in Mexico, as well as peppering in a few international dishes from her travels.
We've excerpted Diana's brilliant bêtes noires below. In addition to chapters about her life and recipes for her favorite foods, she also covers her culinary addictions and the equipment she simply cannot do without. Enjoy Diana's unfiltered opinions on the proper way to enjoy and promote sustainable food. Nothing Fancy: Recipes and Recollections of Soul-Satisfying Food , New Edition is out now.
My Bêtes Noires
By Diana Kennedy
Now that I’ve been tagged as the “scourge of gastronomy,” I feel all but obligated to scourge away at some of the things that drive me mad in the food world—some of them just annoying and others that are essential to expose as the enemies of flavor.
Kosher salt
I know, I know, this is the beloved salt of virtually all American chefs, and it seems to be the default choice in cookbooks and food magazines. I find the flavor pedestrian, and ever since it failed me in a corned tongue recipe, it’s been banned from my kitchen in favor of sea salt, the salt of the ancients. For years and years, I seemed to be the only cook in America who wasn’t on board with kosher, but then I learned that the late Marcella Hazan also loathed it, thought it added only sourness to food, and believed it basically ruined anything it touched. She used only sea salt. The various and little-known Mexican regional sea salts are the ones I use for everything. If you’re not used to using sea salt, it tastes saltier, so you can almost always halve the amount of salt in the recipe—but taste afterward to be sure it’s right.
Of course I was delighted to find my prejudice against kosher salt endorsed by Mark Bitterman in his authoritative book Salted (Ten Speed Press, 2010). To quote Mark: “Kosher salt is a processed food, with all mineral and moisture qualities intrinsic to real salt stripped away, and with a crystal structure fabricated by automated processes. The flavor is antiseptic, like the bright fluorescence of a laboratory on a spaceship drifting aimlessly away from earth.” And this: “When we cook with kosher salt we sanctify the artificial, we embrace emptiness . . .” Bitterman lists kosher salt as first under Industrial Salts, with a taste of “metal; hot extract of bleach-white paper towel; aerosol fumes” and “best with: marsupial roadkill” (p. 185).
And speaking of salt, for some reason the latest generation of bakers seems to have forgotten, or never learned, that you must always include a little salt anytime you’re baking with flour to bring out the maximum flavor of the wheat. I’ve had way too many tarts and pizza crusts that taste flat because the baker skipped the salt. Speak up!
Brining
Oh please, don’t invite me! That salty sameness throughout is SO boring. Surely it was meant only to preserve meats or fish in a hot climate.
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) versus cassia (Cinnamomum cassia)
I am amazed at the inability of chefs to recognize the difference between true Ceylon (Sri Lanka) cinnamon (canela in Spanish) and cassia, the much cheaper pretender that is not only confused with the real thing but often labeled AS the real thing in the market, even gourmet markets. I can walk through a kitchen door and tell immediately if a baker is using cassia or cinnamon; the difference is that dramatic.
Cassia is used in South Indian dishes, and it’s much darker in color, with a harder bark. Sometimes called false cinnamon, it’s usually harvested in China or Vietnam. True cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka in quills, layers of bark, with a much lighter color and a more complex, haunting fragrance. It’s best to grind your own cinnamon, as with most spices, and to acquire it from a reliable source, such as spicetrekkers.com, who stock two grades of true cinnamon. Once you have that flavor in your repertoire, cassia simply won’t do.
Canola oil
Aside from the purported health benefits of the canola—of course, there is no such seed; it’s just an invented name for highly processed rapeseed— I dislike both the heaviness of the oil and its flavor. Banned from Quinta Diana.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Why We Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Pt. 1
Cinco de Mayo is coming up and Americans are already salivating over all of the tortilla chips, salsa, margaritas, and gooey cheese and refried beans to be consumed on May 5. We're lucky enough to know a few experts on Mexican cuisine; Diana Kennedy, Lucinda Hutson, and now Chef David Sterling have all published authoritative books on the best Mexico has to offer the global palette. Chef Sterling, author of Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition, really knows his Mexican cuisine and his history, so we asked him to give us a primer on Cinco de Mayo.
'Conflict and Cuisine: Picking Your Battles Over Dinner'
By David Sterling
Eating special foods to celebrate Victory is nothing new. Dormice dipped in honey and rolled in poppy seeds were a perennial favorite at the feasts following the processions of the famed Roman Triumphs. Closer to our own era, the rather more plebian hot dogs, hamburgers and cherry pie appear annually on the Fourth of July; ratatouille and crêpes Suzette honor Bastille Day festivities; and buñuelos, churros, “puffy tacos”, and other Spanish-American foods are devoured during the remembrance of the heroes at the Alamo in the annual Fiesta San Antonio. And where would Cinco de Mayo be without Tex-Mex enchiladas drowning in chili and molten cheese, washed down with a river of beer and Margaritas?
What we consume serves as a vivid metaphor of our political and cultural selves; the very zoetic act of ingesting and digesting delicious food is a flamboyant - and pleasurable - way of thumbing one's nose at the vanquished. And for those of us not on the battlefield, our full stomachs and alcoholic buzz are vicarious ways of participating in the victory.
One thing quickly becomes clear from the above menus: you don't have to be French - or Mexican or American - to celebrate and enjoy these victory feasts and their foods. Francophiles around the world rush to purchase the best macarons for their guests on Bastille Day, and college fraternity brothers crowd bars from Seattle to Syracuse to down numberless Coronas and gloopy nachos on Cinco de Mayo.
But once we have gobbled the last crumb of our victory meal, do we really know what we have just been celebrating while we chewed? Probably most people know at least the basics: that citizens stormed a jail known as the Bastille, subsequently igniting the French Revolution; or that Texas defenders booted out Santa Anna's army at the Alamo, which eventually led to Mexico's surrender of Texas to the U.S. - or something like that. Beyond the highlights, the details become murkier.
I believe that this is particularly true of Cinco de Mayo. Take a poll to enquire what the date represents, and it is likely that most respondents will acknowledge that it is “Mexican Pride Day.” Still others will say that the 5th of May corresponds to our 4th of July - Independence Day. And a handful of others will simply glaze over and head for the party.
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| An interior spread from Yucatán |
Of course, Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence. The Battle of Puebla, popularly known as “Cinco de Mayo”, was a battle during Napoleon III's so-called French intervention in Mexico, when on 5 May 1862 a small number of Mexican soldiers defending Puebla defeated a much larger French army. As in all histories, victories can be tenuous: in spite of Mexico's victory in this particular battle, the French indeed went on to conquer Mexico - but in yet another reversal of fortune, they were forced out of the country just four years later. Nonetheless, since 1862 Mexicans have honored the Fifth of May as a day of victory, and therefore of Mexican pride.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Journey through Diana Kennedy's Mexico
Kennedy's stories drive the book's organization, which is divided by regions (e.g., the Gulf Coast) rather than any particular kind of recipe. With Google's new Maps features, we've plugged in some of the towns in which Diana dined with both friends and strangers to draw inspiration for the recipes in My Mexico. You can click on the location pins in the maps and glimpse the variety of recipes found in the book. After the excerpt below, you'll find a recipe for a delicious snack from Michoacán.
Warning: Navigating these Google maps may lead to increased appetite for the likes of torrejas de frijol (bean fritters in chile sauce), hongos guisados con yerbabuena (mushrooms cooked with mint), or mole de iguana negra (yes, it's what you think it is).
Access the Google map below here: mapsengine.google.com >>
Access the Google map below here: mapsengine.google.com >>
From the book:
San Pancho—How I Got There
It is the beginning of May, and the hottest month of all, as I sit down to write this book in my ecological house in San Francisco Coatepec de Morelos, known locally as San Pancho. The sky is hazy with heat and the dust stirred up by the sudden gusts of high winds, with occasional palls of smoke from a forest fi re in the mountains to the east. Oft en these fires are purposely started by clandestine agents scouting timber for the greedy timber merchants who can then go in to clear and to cut or by farmers’ unattended burning of last year’s stubble to prepare the land for planting. The hills to the south and west are brown and bare in sharp contrast to the brilliant green valley, where the dam provides irrigation to the low fields around it. This is the month when tempers flare and explode, when young blades and old machos drink up a storm and give primeval screams or shoot off their rounds of ammunition as they saunter through the lanes of San Pancho. There is a heaviness in the air and a sense of foreboding. Will the rains come on time? The signs are anxiously awaited. Heriberto, my nearest neighbor, says he has seen the first aludas, winged ants, that are a sure sign, but the mayates, June bugs, hovering around the lamps and bombarding me at night are still too small. André down at the hotel says the swifts have not yet finished their nests (of course it is hard to know, since he drives them away with a broom because their droppings off end his sense of order—inherited from his French colonialist father). Occasionally the sky will threaten rain toward evening, and the next morning there is a delicious scent of damp undergrowth from the tree-clad mountains above. But when the bullfrogs begin their first intermittent raspings, you know that rain is near. On the other hand, if the rainy season starts too early, the last of the coffee berries will burst and spoil, the tomatoes will rot and never ripen, and too often August, the month in which the ears of corn are filling out, will be dry. At this time of year I bless my adobe house, despite all its drawbacks. It keeps pleasantly cool while the water from the primitive solar collector gives me piping-hot showers. People who live in harsher climates tend to think that there are no seasons here in the semitropics of 5,900 feet. Yes, there’s no snow, and just a very occasional frost or brief, gusty hailstorm. January is a bare month, cool and sunny, and if we are in favor with the gods, the first days of February bring welcome rains, cabañuelas, which encourage the plums and peaches to bloom and help top up the tanks for the hot, dry months ahead. The weeks that follow bring the most brilliant-hued flowers of the year: bougainvilleas of all shades, geraniums, amaryllis, cacti, and tropical climbers contrasting with the pale blue masses of plumbago, while citrus blossoms perfume the air and my bees are satiated with these aromas. The vegetable garden is at its best. The first delicate peas and fava beans are harvested, and the nopal cactus rows come alive, shooting out their tender and succulent paddles. Carlos, who is in charge outside, cuts the vegetables and collects the blackberries and strawberries a little too early, but, as he explains, we have a host of eager and cunning winged sharecroppers who would leave me nothing if they had their way.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Your Last Minute Local Bookstore Shopping List
This time of year can be overwhelming. We're here to help! We've whittled down some of our best-selling books to 13 gift recommendations. We stand by these selections, but if you want to explore more options, we've linked to related titles. Now place your order, check several names off your list at once, and keep your cool! Happy Holidays.
The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy
James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book.
Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books.
More in cookbooks »
The Pecan: America’s Native Nut
By James McWilliams
The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy
No trip to Austin or Central Texas is complete without a visit to the Salt Lick. Both foodies and home chefs alike will enjoy the family recipes and prep techniques from this legendary restaurant.
Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh
Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh
James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book.
America’s premier tequila expert presents a festive blend of lively personal anecdotes, spicy cultural history, and inspired recipes for drinks and dishes – all featuring Mexico’s most notable contribution to the world of distilled spirits. There actually is a whole other world out there beyond lick it, slam it, suck it.
My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with Recipes
By Diana Kennedy
My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with RecipesBy Diana Kennedy
Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books.
More in cookbooks »
The Pecan: America’s Native NutBy James McWilliams
This charming book presents a lively history of the pecan from Southern groves to the Chinese marketplace. Whether you prefer to say “pee-kan” or “pi-khan,” this little nut inspires a sense of nostalgia due to its special place in the American diet and starring role in popular holiday dishes. For fans of the one-food-item-as-cultural-history thing.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
13 Gifts to Charm Every Book Lover
This time of year can be overwhelming. We're here to help! We've whittled down some of our best-selling books to 13 gift recommendations. We stand by these selections, but if you want to explore more options, we've linked to related titles. Now place your order, check several names off your list at once, and keep your cool! Happy Holidays.
The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy
James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book.
Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books.
More in cookbooks »
The Pecan: America’s Native Nut
By James McWilliams
The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy
No trip to Austin or Central Texas is complete without a visit to the Salt Lick. Both foodies and home chefs alike will enjoy the family recipes and prep techniques from this legendary restaurant.
Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh
Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh
James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book.
America’s premier tequila expert presents a festive blend of lively personal anecdotes, spicy cultural history, and inspired recipes for drinks and dishes – all featuring Mexico’s most notable contribution to the world of distilled spirits. There actually is a whole other world out there beyond lick it, slam it, suck it.
My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with Recipes
By Diana Kennedy
My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with RecipesBy Diana Kennedy
Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books.
More in cookbooks »
The Pecan: America’s Native NutBy James McWilliams
This charming book presents a lively history of the pecan from Southern groves to the Chinese marketplace. Whether you prefer to say “pee-kan” or “pi-khan,” this little nut inspires a sense of nostalgia due to its special place in the American diet and starring role in popular holiday dishes. For fans of the one-food-item-as-cultural-history thing.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
UT Press at the Texas Book Festival
This weekend, the University of Texas Press and 15 of our authors will enjoy the 18th annual Texas Book Festival on the Capitol grounds in downtown Austin and environs. We'll have a booth on Colorado Street (Exhibitor Tent #4) with tons of titles for sale at a great discount. There are a lot of great authors in attendance (R.L. Stine just in time for Halloween!), so we’ve distilled our authors' appearances into a single UT Press schedule:
Saturday
12:00 PM — 1:00 PM
TWO PROSPECTORS: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.028
Authors: Chad Hammett
Moderator: Rebecca Beegle
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
2013 TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL POSTER PHOTOGRAPHER
Location: The Contemporary Austin--Jones Center (700 Congress)
Authors: Randal Ford
Moderator: T.J. Tucker
Randal Ford is the photographer for the UT Press book The Amazing Faith of Texas, an exploration in words and pictures of people and places that represent the strong, abiding belief that sustains faith-filled Texans. Ford is in conversation with Texas Monthly creative director T.J. Tucker.
Location: Capitol Extension Room E2.028
Authors: Chad Hammett
Moderator: Rebecca Beegle
"A bright pathway directly into the hearts and minds of two compelling men."—Kirkus ReviewsNonfiction / Biography
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
2013 TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL POSTER PHOTOGRAPHER
Location: The Contemporary Austin--Jones Center (700 Congress)
Authors: Randal Ford
Moderator: T.J. Tucker
Randal Ford is the photographer for the UT Press book The Amazing Faith of Texas, an exploration in words and pictures of people and places that represent the strong, abiding belief that sustains faith-filled Texans. Ford is in conversation with Texas Monthly creative director T.J. Tucker.
Texas Coffee Table / Photography / Art
1:00 PM — 2:00 PM
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
The Salt Lick Cookbook with Scott Roberts
Location: Central Market Cooking Tent
“The book’s charm lies in the affectionate family history that began when Scott Roberts’ great-grandfather bought the land way back in the nineteenth century. The recipes keep memories of a great meal alive…”— Jane Manaster, Portland Book ReviewFood / Cooking
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
15 UT Press Authors Coming to the Texas Book Festival
The Texas Book Festival announced their 2013 lineup of authors today. This year's festival takes place October 26th & 27th in and around the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin. We are pleased to have fourteen of our authors presenting UT Press books!
Austin Film Festival
Robb Walsh
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| Poster photograph by Randal Ford (The Amazing Faith of Texas) |
For the full roster of authors, visit www.texasbookfestival.org/Authors.
Austin Film Festival
Robb Walsh
Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
These TBF 2013 authors previously published with UT Press, with one forthcoming book from Bill Minutaglio:
These TBF 2013 authors previously published with UT Press, with one forthcoming book from Bill Minutaglio:
In Search of the Blues: A Journey to the Soul of Black Texas
and
Coming Spring 2014: City on Fire: The Explosion that Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle
Monday, December 5, 2011
LA Weekly :: Oaxaca al Gusto
 |
Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy By Diana Kennedy Buy It Now |
Let me start this off by telling you that I can’t talk about Diana Kennedy without being extremely biased. Put simply, Diana Kennedy’s cookbooks are what got me excited about cookbooks. She is why I spend so many hours reading them, and even more hours cooking from them. She is, ultimately, why I have a cookbook blog.
I grew up cooking a lot of Italian food. I’ve probably made a couple hundred gallons of marinara sauce in my life. Other cuisines were regularly consumed and often adored, but rarely ever cooked. Sure, I could throw together some gringo fajitas — but that was about as far as it went. But then, I was told about Diana Kennedy (by a person whose opinions I value greatly). So I bought a book, did some reading, and eventually prepared a recipe for pollo en salsa de fresadilla y chipotle (chicken in tomatillo-chipotle sauce). I was hooked, and immediately bought the rest of her cookbooks.
The more I cooked and the more I read, the more fascinated I became. All of a sudden, I was cooking Mexican food I had never heard of before, and preparing dishes with the freshest and best ingredients I could find (or afford). It was an exciting time for me, and it changed my perceptions of Mexican cuisine, as well as my own cooking. I realized that I could pull off more in a kitchen than I had ever expected.
But I also stumbled into some truly great cookbooks, written by a marvel of a human being. Diana Kennedy became, for me, a hero. But then, I find great heroics in 88 year-old British women who live in Mexico, and have devoted the majority of their life to uncovering and cataloging the recipes and cultures of the many diverse states of Mexico. Since publishing her tenth cookbook cookbook last year (Oaxaca al Gusto), Mrs. Kennedy is now focusing most of her time on teaching, and working to preserve the vanishing ingredients and recipes of Mexico.
A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Mrs. Kennedy by phone. She took the call from her eco-friendly home in Michoacán, where a looming thunderstorm threatened our already shaky phone connection. Here is what transpired:
Read the interview at blogs.laweekly.com »
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Washington Post :: Oaxaca al Gusto
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Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy By Diana Kennedy Buy It Now |
By Associated Press,
To listen to Kennedy is to listen to a woman obsessed. Tiny, impish and now 88 years old, the world’s recognized authority on Mexican cuisine still braves one-lane mud roads through Mexican mountains in search of cloistered delicacies and chilies rumored to be better/hotter/more complex than others.“It’s tantalizing,” she said. “I know a trip to find a certain chili will take hours and hours and lots of gray hairs.”
Which is why she’s published only a half-dozen books during her 50 years of preserving Mexico’s culinary identity. That life’s work culminated in the publication of “Oaxaca al Gusto” last year. More astute culinary anthropology than cookbook, its recipes for huitlacoche (corn fungus) and wasp nest gravy are likely to go unmade by most readers. Ditto for beef brains and a sauce made of flying ants (which Kennedy insists tastes “like hazelnuts”).
But the book’s rich photographs — many taken by Kennedy — offer a lush look at the biodiversity of Oaxaca and it’s cooking that she has spent a lifetime protecting.
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