With a liberal dose of the imagination, and an even more liberal dose of herbs and spices, entrepreneurs and authors Sara Engram and Katie Luber take the foods we love the most, and give them new zip. The Spice Kitchen is a gift from the imagination, one that abolishes the sameness of the home kitchen. Working with popular, uncomplicated dishes, Sara Engram and Katie Luber turn simple meals into gourmet treats without fuss, without long lists of exotic ingredients, without the need for a staff, without sky-high costs, and, best of all, without opening bottles and jars of processed food.
The Spice Kitchen evolved from a simple idea. Frustrated by the stale spices in the back of their own pantries, spices so old that they added little flavor to a dish, Engram and Luber came up with an idea so simple that we wonder why it wasn't already in practice: they went into the spice business, packaging their products -organic, no less- in one teaspoon packets so they would always be fresh. No more throwing away yet another jar of marjoram or thyme, allspice or cardamom.
With spices at the center of their lives, Engram and Luber began to experiment with the foods of their childhoods to turn tired into tasty, drab into delicious. "Many of our fondest childhood memories come from the kitchen. We also loved the family meals that followed, the sense that food is something to share with people you love. But if we had a time machine and the chance now to revisit those convivial kitchens, we would love to take along some of the marvelous herbs and spices that weren't present in our mothers' cabinets. We love nothing more than taking the foods of our childhoods -especially the stained recipes= and reinventing them for our families and friends by reimagining the range of spices and herbs we can add."
The authors begin The Spice Kitchen with a guide to many herbs and spices, a witty guide to such enliveners as Alluring Allspice, Queen Cardamom, Clever Cloves, Comforting Cumin, Rollicking Rosemary. Though the guide imparts information and a little history, the reader is sure that this will be fun, not a chore. Entranced by the historical attitudes to herbs and spices, they have sidebars throughout with salient, frequently humorous, data. For example they tell us that "In 12th century France, St. Bernard of Clairvoux criticized the luxuries enjoyed by the rival monks of Cluny, warning that their use of "pepper, ginger, cumin, sage and a thousand such types of seasonings the palate, but inflame the libido."
Working with culinary consultant and test kitchen maven, Kimberly Toqe, they have developed a new flavor range for comfort food recipes from breakfast to salads, soups, sandwiches, appetizers, snacks, entrees, side dishes and desserts. Start your day with recipes such as Banana Muffins with Spices and Orange Zest, or Warm, Spicy Grapefruit, Gingerbread Waffles, or Spiced Pancakes. Lunch on a Chicken Salad on Croissant, or have a light Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Cinnamon Vinaigrette (the vinaigrettes are nothing short of spectacular). Make your own Chili Powder and sprinkle it into a Game Day Chili that transcends the ordinary. Make a Grilled Cheddar Burger or a Tarragon Chicken Potpie for comfort and family enjoyment, or be elegant with Filet Mignon with Green Peppercorn Sauce, or a Spice-Rubbed Rack of Lamb. Make a side of Rosemary Roasted Potato Medley, or Baked Sweet Potato Steak Fries enlivened by coriander, oregano, chile pepper and fennel seed. For a holiday dish try Roasted Spiced Cauliflower or head to a picnic with Buttermilk Potato Salad with Fennel and Dill.
Desserts demand spices. Try a Cardamom Creme Brulee, a Lemon Thyme Cornmeal Pound Cake with Balsamic Basil Berries and Zesty Whipped Cream. Make a Fresh Apple Streusel Cake, or a Pie Crust Dough that carries the flavor of any of an assortment of suggested spices. Garnish the holiday table with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie with Ginger Crust or nibble on Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, zestier than usual with cinnamon and cloves.
Throughout the book, the authors suggest that you experiment. Though they give suggestions, their real goal is to open the home kitchen to new possibilities, to individual exploration of the power of using one's favorite herbs and spices. The Spice Kitchen guarantees the discovery of new family favorites.
There are luscious color photographs throughout by David Morris.
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