100 Words for Foodies

How do you know if you're a foodie?

Maybe it's this: When you're not putting great food in your mouth, you're using your mouth to talk about that great food. If that sounds a little bit like you, this book might teach you the vocabulary words you need to talk even more about the food you love!

The words are arranged alphabetically, with definitions given of various spices, dishes, even tools. This book works much like a dictionary, and was, in fact, put together by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionary. Many of the entries also include a "word history" which talks about how the word came about. I found the entry for "nacho" particularly interesting. Besides word histories, "100 Words for Foodies" also includes recipes for selected entries.

A few other words in this book are chaat (a certain sort of South Asian snack), sancocho (a Latin American stew) and mandoline (a tool for slicing veggies and sometimes fingers) - among many many others (well, 97 others, anyway)

Is there an entry for "nom"? Find out by picking up your very own copy.

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good
(In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands)

c 2007 Kata Zuaro

Exploding Sandwich, Eddie Vedder Stew, and Chocolate Worm are among the recipes included here. While most of the recipes were submitted directly by bands, bandmembers, and various girlfriends/wives/parents of bandmembers, the recipe for Exploding Sandwich was transcribed from a hidden track on a record by singer-songwriter Hayden. Recent releases of that particular record no longer contain the hidden track, so Hayden said the recipe for Exploding Sandwich could be included in this book.

You'll find within I Like Food recipes for the usual occasions: breakfast, main course, dessert, etc. And, being a book of recipes from touring rock bands, there's even a hangover remedy included (Cheesy Sleazy).

Speaking of hangovers, there's also a section of drink recipes. The John Glenn is a simple combination of Tang instant breakfast drink and vodka. A variant uses Jack Daniels instead of vodka and is called the Buzz Aldrin.

One of the most entertaining recipes to read (or simply to look at) is Africanitas Ricas, which was submitted by Devendra Banhard. This is not your standard recipe notation, in that it involves an abundance of exclamation points, random capitalization and what appears to be plain old gobbledygook (but might be some sort of incantation) (see photo).

The books titles comes from the song "I Like Food" by Descendents. Here's part of the song's lyrics:

I like food, food tastes good!
I like food, food tastes good!
Juicy burgers, greasy fries,
Turkey legs and raw fish eyes
Teenage girls, with ketchup too!
Get out of my way, or I'll eat you!


Now, get this book, crank up the tunes, and get cooking! 

The New Hotdog Cookbook

The New Hotdog Cookbook
by Mettja C. Roate

"Kids love them - adults adore them - and they're so easy on the budget!"

1st Paperback Edition, 1968


Think of a Hotdog


Detail from cover illustration.
Just look at that amazing spread!

This quirky cookbook is a real gem. It's got so much going for it. First of all, it's all about cooking with hotdogs. It treats hotdogs as an ingredient! That, in itself, is pretty awesome. And all through the text it talks about how hot dogs are made of "fresh lean meat", only the finest ingredients, and so nutritious and delicious. "Delicately seasoned and delicately smoked." Perhaps all that was generally truer back in 1968 when this book was written. Somewhere along the way the hot dog seems to have fallen from it's pedestal.

Of course the book is full of hotdog-centric recipes, but it also gives a history of the hotdog, which is quite entertaining. One story tells how Nathan Handwerker (of Nathan's Famous Coney Island Hot Dog Stand) "hired a group of handsome, wholesome looking young men, dressed them in starched white coats, (and) put a stethoscope in each outside breast pocket...  all these young men had to do for their wages was to cheerfully munch Nathan's five-cent wiener sandwiches in front of his stand. Naturally, people noticed these young wiener-munching 'doctors' and the rumor got around that if the doctors ate and liked the five-cent wiener sandwiches, they had to be good and be good for you."

Also, according to this book, Americans eat on average 80 wieners per year. "Enough to make about three round trips to the moon if they were laid end to end."

Some particularly intrguiging sounding recipes are Hot Dot Cheese Rarebit, Dog and Yam Casserole, Jellied Hot Dog Loaf, Wilted Lettuce made with Hot Dogs, and of course Hot Dog Surprise (no kidding!)

Even if you're not sold on cooking with hotdogs, this book is fun to read.
Pick it up at Amazon through this link: The New Hotdog Cookbook

The Twinkies Cookbook

Yes, it really exists.

The Twinkies Cookbook: An Inventive and Unexpected Recipe Collection

According to this book, "Twinkies sparkle with an undeniable magic - a star that seems to shine brighter with age."

The recipes are presented in seven chapters, including "Gourmet Twinkies," "Twinkie Drinks," and "Twinkies and Meat."

Among the recipes: Twinkie Lasagna, Pigs in a Twinkie, and a Twinkie Wedding Cake.

A side note: Something I discovered while reading this book is that - after you look at it over and over again - the word Twinkie starts looking really strange. Perhaps I just need some Twinkie Sushi to clear my mind.

Winnie-the-Pooh's Picnic Cookbook

There's much more to this little book than pots of honey (or is it "hunny"?).

There are six picnic menus in this book and each menu serves six people. In addition to the (over 40)  recipes, each menu suggests "extra supplies." For instance: 'binoculars for birdwatching' or 'a kite.'

It's a tiny little book - just about 5x6 inches in size, and has lots of pictures of Pooh and his pals.
Inspired by A.A. Milne, with decorations by Ernest H. Shepard, copyright 1997

Danish Home Baking

Danish Home Baking
compiled by Kaj Viktor and Kirsten Hansen, edited by Karen Berg
Copyright 1957 (2nd Edition 1960)











































I came across this delightful little book of "Danish Home Baking" on the bookshelf at a Danish bakery in Seattle (John Neilsen's Authentic Danish Pastries)

According to this book's authors, the Danish people love their Kringler, Smørkage and Pleskner (not to mention Linser, Marengs and Snitter).  The book's Foreword indicates that Danes enjoy their pastries several times a day and concludes that "a day in the life of a Dane is inclined to be a cakeful day."

While eating Danish pastries certainly is enjoyable, I also like simply looking at the names of these treats. Here's a page from the index. Enjøy!

By Hook or by Cook:The Official Nevada Brothel Cookbook

By Hook or by Cook: The Official Nevada Brothel Cookbook
(Cat House Cuisine Concocted by Nevada's Finest Working Ladies)

Edited by J.R. Schwartz (Fourth Edition: 2001)

This jokey cookbook offers recipes from 'Nevada's Finest Working Ladies' and includes recipes such as "Nut Nibbles", "Eggs Bend a Dick" and "The Twilight Bone."



The recipes are followed by a section on "Aphrodisiacs, Food and Therapy" and a questionable "Glossary of Terms". :)

The book's Disclaimer reveals that everything in it is made up (although it assures you that the recipes are, in fact, edible).