Inside Joanna Gaines's Second Cookbook

Plus a recipe for Salmon Chowder from Naomi Tomky!

Nov 13, 2019

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First up, the unofficial mayor of Waco, Texas, Joanna Gaines released a video previewing her upcoming book, Magnolia Table, Volume 2 (William Morrow: April 7). The book boasts 145 recipes, both home cooking and sourced from the Waco restaurants Gaines owns with husband/TV man/demo day enthusiast Chip. According to marketing copy, these include:

Mushroom-Gruyére Quiche, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread, Grilled Bruschetta Chicken, Zucchini-Squash Strata, Chicken-Pecan-Asparagus Casserole, Stuffed Pork Loin, Lemon-Lavender Tart, Magnolia Press Chocolate Cake.

And the cover:

Out Now

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking [Clarkson Potter] by historian and food writer Toni Tipton-Martin:

Jubilee pays tribute to 200 years of African American culinarians (plus a recipe for curried meat pies). [Chicago Tribune]
Food writing pioneer explores African-American cuisine, in all its splendor. [LAT]
“Jubilee is the celebration of black cooking I didn’t expect to love so deeply” (plus a recipe for okra gumbo). [BA]

A new edition of The Joy of Cooking [Scribner] with 600 (!) new recipes:

“It's a living book…It really has changed a lot over the eight previous editions, and this our ninth is another good example of how we've tried to respect the past but also negotiate what that tradition means with where we are right now.” John Becker on the family business and the new edition of The Joy of Cooking. [AP]
Thanksgiving recipes courtesy the new edition. [The Oregonian]
More Thanksgiving recipe suggestions for you: Brussels sprouts slaw with spiced yogurt, sweet potato pudding, apple dumplings. [Toledo Star]

What Else

Oh, just some numbers on America’s Test Kitchen prior to their upcoming 20th anniversary: “Two thousand recipes have been developed for 507 episodes in 20 seasons. They have been tested innumerous times, using 103,920 pounds of chicken, 52,320 pounds of flour and 3.7 million eggs. The grocery bill has been $12,000 on an average week and more than $6 million in total.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
The Last Course [Random House], a masterwork in pastry writing by Beard Award-winning pastry chef Claudia Fleming, has been rereleased, thank goodness. [NYT]
Alison Roman, Cribs. [Delish]
On the new Pioneer Woman cookbook, and Ree Drummond’s plans for her rural Oklahoma HQ, the Mercantile. [Tulsa World]
Ramen expert Ivan Orkin and editor/writer Chris Ying talk about their new book, The Gaijin Cookbook [HMH], over at Serious Eats, covering what the word “gaijin” means to them, the early days of Lucky Peach, and more. [SE]
What cookbooks represent, late in life. [Daily Press]
Aimee Levitt finds “the wonderful and refreshing thing about [The Art of Escapism Cooking [William Morrow] by Mandy Lee] is its overwhelming negativity.” [The Takeout]
A deep dive into 150 years of food culture at Dillard University, an HBCU in New Orleans. [Gentilly Messenger]
A look at the baking “receipts” at the South Carolina Historical Society. [The Sumter Item]
“Our quest for the best Thanksgiving cookbooks would not be complete without acknowledging that Thanksgiving itself is problematic.” [Book Riot]
Inside Fergus Henderson’s The Book of St. John [Ebury]. [Telegraph, UK]
How far are you willing to go for great cocktail ice? [Twitter]
The best cookbooks for beginners. [Eater]

Salmon Chowder

Clam chowder may get all the press, but this one-pot salmon version embodies the ethos behind Pacific Northwest seafood: a stunning, soul-warming dish with the fish as the star of the show. It’s dead simple to make, but the flavors are exciting and lively. There are no tricks or trickiness to the recipe, and it works equally well with the fresh salmon called for here, canned salmon, or leftover cooked salmon. Either way, the result is a comforting, delightful soup that emphasizes the flavor of the fish.

Serves 4 to 6

4 ounces bacon, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 leek, white parts only, chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 large Yukon Gold (or similar) potatoes, diced
2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
½ pound salmon, skin and bones removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ cup heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup chopped parsley

In a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered and the pieces begin to crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the celery, leek, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Dust in the flour, stirring to make sure there are no clumps, then add the potatoes, stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. The potatoes should be starting to soften—you should be able to stab them easily with a fork. If not, keep simmering for a few more minutes.

Add the salmon and mustard, and let cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the salmon is fully opaque. Turn off the heat, stir in the cream and the lemon zest, then salt to taste.

Garnish with parsley.

That’s all for now, folks. See you Friday. If you know someone who needs more cookbookery in their lives, do let them know about Stained Page News! And if you’d like to upgrade to a paid subscription, click click click:

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If you’ve got scoops for me or a book coming up, you know where to find me.