Yesterday I finished “Pig Perfect” by Peter Kaminsky. It traces the history of pigs and pork though the ages, as the author travels across the world to find the perfect ham (and then, later, the perfect BBQ–never quite found). I enjoyed to book quite a lot and walked away wanting to raise my own pigs! (At least down here it’s possible–you can’t raise pigs in Arlington Heights!) The author’s love of pigs especially comes through in the first half of the book; I found the later chapters a bit too preachy, but they did enlighten me on the ongoing horrors of animal “farming”.

Don’t fret, this book didn’t turn me off of pork (the exact opposite) or meat. No becoming a veg (again) for me! However, it did continue to illustrate what I’ve already felt for a long time: If you eat meat, know where the heck it comes from! If you can raise your own (pretty much impossible in the States), do so! Or, spend the extra money to get real free-range meat (a la Niman Ranch) or meat from small scale suppliers. It’s more expensive, but it goes to making sure that the animals live better lives, and it pays the farmers a heck of a lot better.
Okay, now I’m preaching! See! It’s a good book!

Let me give you one fulfilling reason for raising your own home-grown chickens: You can kill and eat that bastard rooster that keeps waking you up in the middle of the night! Let me tell you, there’s been more than one day where I was about 60 seconds from pulling out my machete….but, that’s another story.

On to the second book.

Evelyn has this desire to create Exotic Pies. Now, remember, normal pie stuff (like apples, cherries, etc) aren’t exactly common on a tropical island like Puerto Rico. So, we’re gonna come up with some interesting combos. Since my baking skills are slim to none (I’m a sloppy, but decent, cook and a crappy baker) we decided to hunt down a good book for her to learn from.

Now baking is a VERY hard type of cooking to learn from a book; some would say impossible. There are just too many things that need to be taught “in person” that don’t come through in books. “Knead until ready” and crap like that. What the heck does that mean–especially to a novice?

So, while browsing around Borders last week, we ran across the Alton Brown book on Baking called “I’m Just Here For More Food (food x mixing x heat = BAKING).” I’m a big fan of Alton Brown–he explains WHY things are done–and I liked the look of the recipes, so we picked it up.

It’s the Best Baking Book I’ve seen in a long time. He breaks up the baking into different types of mixes/doughs (ex. “biscuits” or “muffins”) and really explains why. We have yet to try out his recipes, so I’ll hold off final judgment for now. But, they look good–and will teach you how to experiment PROPERLY. Evelyn is learning a lot, and is understanding WHY you do certain things, so it was well worth the investment.

(Any serious cook should watch all of Alton Brown’s shows ["Good Eats"]. They are fun and very very informative. Also, make sure you have a copy of Harold McGee’s “On Food And Cooking”. There’s a recently revised version out. Pick it up. You’ll learn why the heck things happen in the kitchen.)