If you're not able to plan a trip to Spain this year, Claudia Roden's new book, The Food of Spain, might be the next best thing. The book tells of Spain's history, the rich mix of cultures that have moved from region to region in the country over time, the geography from coasts to mountains, and how all those things have made Spanish food what it is. There have been Roman, Moorish, Jewish, French and New World influences. The Roman Catholic Visigothic kingdom brought the tradition of feeding pigs acorns and berries in forests, just as the Iberico pigs are still fed today. From the Islamic Empire came rice, wheat, sugarcane, artichokes, bitter oranges, saffron, and new varieties of sheep.

Jews in Spain arrived in the Arab regions in the south, later moved to Christian regions in the north taking cooking styles with them, and in 1492 were either banished or required to convert to Christianity. At that time their cooking traditions became indicators of their heritage and practices they had to give up to avoid persecution. Still, olive oil-fried eggplant fritters and flourless cakes, among other dishes, have remained a part of Spanish food. In northern Spain, the French influence brought foie gras, truffles, butter, and cream in addition to elaborate cooking techniques. After explorers returned from the New World, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and peppers found their home in Spain. Chiles were transported to all regions by traveling monks and dried ground pimenton came to replace black pepper as the spice of choice.

Roden weaves all of these historical details and more into the story of the origins of traditional Spanish dishes, and the pages are filled with beautiful photos of landscapes, architecture, plants, animals, and food. Although the cuisine is defined through historical information, the recipes are written for the modern home cook with availability of ingredients in mind. And, these are home-cooking dishes rather than complex, restaurant fare. The recipes section starts with stocks and basics followed by dressings and sauces. Then there are tapas, soups, egg dishes, savory pies, salads, fish and seafood, poultry and game, meat, rice and pasta, bean stews, desserts, and drinks.

Among the recipes you'll find a hearty spinach and chickpea soup made with hard-boiled eggs and potatoes, and a creamy leek tart with a glossy top. Then, there's a golden baked dish of eggplant with béchamel and Manchego cheese topped with crisp breadcrumbs, and a light and flavorful pan-grilled fish with garlic and chile dressing. The roast chicken with apples and grapes will make a great fall meal, and the meatballs in almond sauce would be perfect party food. There are a few different versions of paella and other rice dishes, in addition to pasta like the fideos with seafood. The pastries chapter is hard to resist with flans, almond ice cream, puff pastry filled with almond custard, and walnut cake with brandy.

For my first dish from the book, I chose to make a typical home-cooked Catalonian coca which is a lot like pizza. Traditionally the flat dough would be topped with leftover vegetables, with maybe some anchovy fillets or canned tuna or sliced sausages. The version in the book is shown with roasted eggplant and red bell peppers, which is fit for the height of summer. Rather than being covered in a thick sauce as pizza often is, a mixture of cooked onion and fresh tomatoes was thinly spread on the dough before it was topped with the chopped roasted vegetables; it was then baked until the crust was crisp. Served with some Idiazabal cheese, a few olives, and wine, this was a simple way to savor Spain without leaving home.

To read more about Lisa's adventures with The Food of Spain go to her blog LisaIsCooking.

Coca with Roasted Peppers and Eggplants

(coca de recapte-catalonia and valencia)

Recipe from The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden (Ecco, 2011)

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Serves 4 to 8 as a starter, 2 as a main dish

For the dough

• 2 ¾ cups bread flour, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• About ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
  

For the topping

• 2 eggplants (about 1 to 1 ½ pounds)
• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt

Put the flour in a large bowl and sprinkle in the salt and oil. Put the yeast in a measuring cup with about ½ cup of the warm water and the sugar and stir well.

When the yeast mixture begins to froth, pour it into the flour, then very gradually pour in the remaining warm water, adding only just enough to make a soft ball that sticks together, stirring it in first with a fork, then working it with your hands.

Knead the dough in the bowl for 10 minutes, adding more water by the tablespoon if it is too dry or a little flour if it is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Grease the bowl with about ½ tablespoon oil, then turn the dough in it, coating it well with oil, so that a crust will not form when it rises. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled in volume.

For the topping, put the eggplants and peppers on a sheet of foil on a baking sheet, and prick the eggplants in a few places with a pointed knife. Put the tray in a preheated 350°F oven and bake, turning once, until the peppers are soft and the skins have blistered and the eggplants are soft, 30 to 45 minutes (the eggplants will take quite a bit longer than the peppers).

While the peppers and eggplants are in the oven, fry the onions in 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet, covered to begin with, stirring often until soft. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and some salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

When the peppers are soft, put them in 1 or 2 sturdy plastic bags, and twist to seal them. Leave them for about 10 minutes to steam and cool. Pull off the skin from the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and cut the peppers into ½- to ¾-inch squares.

Peel the eggplants, put them in a colander, and press slightly to let the juices drain away. Then cut them into similar?size pieces. Mix the eggplants and peppers together and toss with salt to taste and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil so that they are well coated.

Brush two large baking sheets with oil. Punch the risen dough down and knead for a couple of minutes. Divide it into 2 balls. Roll each one out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into an oblong or oval about 11 by 15 inches. Lift up each sheet of dough by wrapping it around the rolling pin and unwrapping it onto a baking sheet.

Spread the onion and tomato sauce evenly over the dough, then dot with the peppers and eggplants.

Bake on the upper and lower racks of a preheated 350°F oven, switching the position of the baking sheets halfway through, for about 30 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are crisp and brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into 4 or 8 pieces.

Variations

• -Cut the vegetables into ¾ -inch-wide strips instead of into squares or pieces.
• -Spread among the vegetables a can of anchovy fillets in oil, or of tuna or sardines, drained and broken into pieces, before baking.
• -Add 8 fresh pork sausages, lightly fried and cut into slices, to the topping.
• -Add about 12 slices bacon, cut into strips and lightly fried.
• -Add 1 pound mushrooms, sliced and briefly sautéed in oil.

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No doubt the top of the summer cooking list for many foodies is grilling, but summer cooking has more to offer.  Seasonal cooking is certainly easy this time of year and for those who'd rather not heat the kitchen up, salads and sandwiches are a great choice. And personally, I always want to fit wine and dessert in not matter what the time of year.  This month our cookbook choices offer these wonderful summer cooking options, plus a few surprises….

Everyday Grilling: 50 Recipes from Appetizers to Desserts by Sur La Table (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "Everyday Grilling: 50 Recipes from Appetizers to Desserts".

Latin Grilling by Lourdes Castro (Ten Speed Press, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 8 viewable recipes from "Latin Grilling".

Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes by Andrea Reusing (Clarkson Potter, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes".

Salad as a Meal by Patricia Wells (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 5 viewable recipes from "Salad as a Meal".

The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches by Susan Russo (Quirk Books, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches".

100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love by Jill Silverman Hough (Wiley, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love".

Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York's Milk & Cookies Bakery by Tina-Marie Casaceli (Chronicle Books, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York’s Milk & Cookies Bakery".

Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's s New South Kitchen by Elizabeth Sims and Brian Sonoskus (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 2 viewable recipes from "Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen".

Truly Mexican: Essential Recipes and Techniques for Authentic Mexican Cooking by Roberto Santibanez (Wiley, 2011)

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Recipes to try: 5 viewable recipes from "Truly Mexican: Essential Recipes and Techniques for Authentic Mexican Cooking".

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In fact, all I really needed was a few basic ingredients, an oven and a bit of time to try her amazing recipes. Well, actually, a fairly good amount of time because I simply can't stop myself from baking her recipes.  I've focused mostly on the cookies, simply because I love sharing little bite-sized treasures with friends and family more so than cakes, but both books have lots of recipes all cookie and cake lovers will want to try.

What makes me call Maida Heatter a baking goddess?  Her recipes are meticulously precise and turn out delicious.  No matter which recipes I've made, they all turned out precisely as Maida stated they would.  She's that good.

Not all of the recipes are easy-but Maida lets you know that ahead of time.  She also lets you know which cakes and cookies travel well, why she likes them, sometimes interesting stories about the cookies or cakes, and how long they can be stored.  A word of caution is needed on that last point though.  She states how long they can be stored, but that's only if you don't eat them first.  Take it from me you'll eat them way before they "go bad".

She's also very much of a home baker.  You won't find mention of a scale and you won't find unusual ingredients you need to search high and low for.  Instead, you'll find precise recipes for great cookies and cakes. 

Give the following recipes (Joe Frogger cookies and Walnut Rum-Raisin Cake) a try and I'm sure you'll be as hooked as I am.  If you like spice cookies I particularly recommend the Joe Froggers which I simply couldn't stop eating!

Joe Froggers

Recipe from Maida Heatter’s Cookies by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011)

16 TO 18 5-INCH COOKIES

Once upon a time-actually, it was over 100 years ago, in Marblehead, Massachusetts-there was an old man who was called Uncle Joe. He lived alongside a frog pond that was known as Uncle Joe's Frog Pond.

Uncle Joe made the biggest and the bestest molasses cookies for miles around. The local fishermen would swap a jug of rum for a batch of the cookies, which came to be known as Joe Froggers, because they were as big and as dark as the frogs in the pond. The fishermen liked them because they never got hard when they took them to sea.

Uncle Joe said the secret of keeping them soft was that he used rum and sea water. But that was all he said. He would not part with the recipe. When he died people said, "That's the end of Joe Froggers."

However, there was a woman named Mammy Cressy who said she was Joe's daughter. She gave the recipe to a fisherman's wife. And soon most of the women in Marblehead were making Joe Froggers. And they were sold at a local bakery. And the recipe traveled. The last I heard about them, a few years ago, they were still being served with a pitcher of cold milk on Sunday nights in the Publick House in the Colonial Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
With their background, it is obvious that these would be a good choice for mailing or traveling.

Originally they were 6 inches in diameter. I use a plain, round cookie cutter that is 5 inches in diameter (that's my largest one). They can be smaller but they are wonderful large.

The dough should be refrigerated overnight before the cookies are rolled, cut, and baked. Allow plenty of time for baking since they are baked only four at a time.

• 4 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

• Optional: 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper (Uncle Joe did not use the pepper, but I do)
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark or light molasses
• 1/3 cup water (it needn't be sea water), coffee, and dark rum, mixed (amounts can vary according to your taste; use all of anyone, or try 1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 3 tablespoons water, and the rest rum)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, mace, allspice, and optional black pepper. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until it softens. Add the sugar and beat to mix. Beat in the molasses. Then, on low speed, add about half of the dry ingredients, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula and beating until mixed. Beat in the water or coffee and rum, and then the remaining dry ingredients.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate until it is firm enough to be handled. Then divide it in thirds and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to bake, adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°. Line cookie sheets with parchment or foil.

Flour a pastry cloth and a rolling pin, using more rather than less flour. Unwrap one of the packages of dough and place it on the cloth. Pound it a bit with the rolling pin to soften it slightly. Turn it over to flour both sides. Work very quickly because the dough will become sticky and unmanageable if it softens too much. Roll out in all directions until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Quickly cut with a floured 5-inch round cutter (or what-have-you).

Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to the sheets. Quickly and carefully place them about 1 inch apart. (I place four on a 12 x 15 1/2-inch sheet.)

Press the scraps together and rechill (the freezer is okay), then reroll and cut.

Bake one sheet at a time for 13 to 15 minutes, reversing the sheet front to back once during baking to ensure even baking. Watch these very carefully. They must not burn even a bit on the bottoms or it will spoil the taste. If they seem to be browning too much on the bottoms be prepared to slide an extra cookie sheet under the one that is baking. Or raise the rack slightly higher in the oven. (But I have found that if I bake these high in the oven, they crack. It is only minor, but it does not happen when they are baked on the middle rack. That is why I bake these only one sheet at a time.)

Be very careful not to overbake these cookies. They will become firmer as they cool, and they should remain a bit soft and chewy in the middle. If you use a smaller cutter the cookies will probably bake in slightly less time.

Walnut Rum-Raisin Cake

Recipe from Maida Heatter’s Cakes by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2011)

amazon.com

This pretty cake, made in a tube pan, is loaded with rum-soaked raisins, and then generously basted with a tropical rum sauce. It is moist, keeps well, is easy to make, and is especially delicious. Soak the raisins at least overnight before making the cake.

Make 12 portions

• 5 ounces (1 cup) light or dark raisins or a mixture of both
• 1/3 cup dark rum (I use Myers's, from Kingston, Jamaica)
• 8 1/2 ounces (2 1/4 cups) walnuts (see Note)
• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
• Finely grated rind of 2 oranges
• Optional: confectioners' sugar
  

Soak the raisins with the rum in a covered jar overnight, turning the jar occasionally (if the jar might leak, place it in a small bowl). Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350°. Butter a fancy tube pan (even if it is a nonstick pan) that has at least a 9-cup capacity.

Place 3/4 cup of the walnuts (reserving the remaining 1 1/2 cups of walnuts) in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade and process on/off 10 to 12 times (10 to 12 seconds) until the nuts are chopped medium-fine. Or chop them any other way. To coat the pan, place the chopped nuts into the buttered pan and turn the pan from side to side to cover it all with the nuts. Sprinkle the nuts with your fingers onto the tube of the pan. Excess or loose nuts may remain in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups of walnuts in the food processor bowl and process on/off 6 to 8 times (6 to 8 seconds) until the nuts are chopped into medium-size pieces. Or chop them any other way. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until it is soft. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat to mix. Then beat in the eggs. On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the buttermilk in two additions.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the lemon rind, orange rind, and the rum-soaked raisins, along with any rum that has not been absorbed. Stir the reserved nuts into the batter.

Turn into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted gently in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the pan for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Rum Sauce.

Rum Sauce

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
• 1/4 cup dark rum

In a small saucepan over moderate heat, stir the sugar and water until the mixture comes to a boil. Let boil without stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Cool for a few minutes. Stir in the orange and lemon or lime juices, and then the rum.

Now, to remove the cake from the pan, cover it with a cake plate. Holding the cake plate and the pan firmly together, turn them over and remove the cake pan.

With a wide pastry brush, brush the warm sauce all over the warm cake; the cake will easily absorb all the sauce. Let cool.

If you wish, sprinkle confectioners sugar through a fine strainer over the top before serving.

Note: After this recipe was printed in The New York Times I received a lovely letter from a lady whose husband is allergic to walnuts. She substituted almonds and said, "I can't believe it would taste better with the walnuts! It's a wonderful cake-and perfect for the holidays."

Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes. Use a wide metal spatula or the bottom of a loose-bottomed quiche pan to transfer the cookies to racks to cool. Since these are so large, if the rack is not raised enough (at least 1/2 inch or more), place the rack on any right-side-up bowl or pan to make more room for air to circulate underneath.
When completely cool, store these airtight. I wrap them, two to a package, bottoms together, in clear cellophane.

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"Goat?" my husband asked. "Yup Goat" I responded.  "Really? That should be interesting".

That was the focus of our conversation when we decided to join a meat CSA last summer.  Not that it was 100% grass-fed meat, or that we'd be getting cuts of meat to try each month that we hadn't cooked with before.  No, the focus was goat - goat meat to be exact.

Ask most people in the United States what food they think of when you say "Goat" and I'd be willing to be the response is cheese.  But goat meat is actually frequently consumed in the rest of the world. 

So, yes, my meat CSA sends us Goat meat.  We don't get it every month but over the past year we've had a least four of the monthly shipments contain some goat meat.  Now I had eaten goat once before joining the CSA, at a restaurant, so I knew it was something I'd eat, but I'd never cooked with it.  Still, I was surprised when I looked on Project Foodie for goat meat recipes and found few. 

About the same time I learned that Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough were writing a Goat cookbook. I admit I was very surprised; Goat really doesn't seem like a hot new trend, but I was equally ecstatic that I'd soon have some great goat meat recipes to try.

Karma must be on my side because the week the Goat book arrived my CSA delivered me 4 wonderful goat chops.  Since berries were in season the choice was clear "Pan-Roasted Chops with Blackberries and Sage".  The recipe was perfectly detailed and the result married the berries, sauce and goat together perfectly (Oh! and the polenta suggestion was spot-on).    I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but the dish turned out so well that I almost can't wait for the next time goat shows up in my CSA box.

Now, for those of you still shaking your head at the thought of eating goat meat (shame on you!), no seriously, no worries.  Mark and Bruce knew some would be unsure - that's why the book is actually split into two with some goat meat recipes and the rest of the recipes focusing on goat milk and cheese.  And if you've ever read a Mark & Bruce cookbook you already know that every piece of narrative slipped in between the recipes is absolutely wonderful.  In fact, if you don't like either goat meat or goat cheese you'll still love just reading this book because they (Mark & Bruce) really are that great…

Pan-Roasted Chops with Blackberries and Sage

Recipe from Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by "Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough" ("Stewart, Tabori & Chang", 2011)

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• 1 tablespoon goat butter (or unsalted cow butter, if you must)    
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage leaves
• 1 pound goat loin chops or rib chops, each about 1/2 inch thick    
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed                
• 1/4 cup whole goat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper                
• 1/4 cup fat, sweet fresh blackberries
• 1 small shallot, minced                        
• A crunchy baguette
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine or dry vermouth

1. Set the rack in the center of the oven. Fire up the oven to 400F (205C).

2. Melt the butter in a medium-sized, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Season the chops with the salt and pepper, then slip them into the skillet. Brown for 2 minutes, shaking the skillet to loosen them up.

3. Turn the chops and shove the skillet into the oven. Roast until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of one of the chops registers 140F (60C) (Bruce's recommendation) or 145F (63C) (the USDA's), 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Remembering that the skillet is ridiculously hot, remove it from the oven, set it over medium heat again, and transfer the chops to a serving platter or individual serving plates.

5. Stir the minced shallot into the skillet and cook just until soft, probably less than 1 minute. Add the sage and cinnamon; stir until aromatic, about 15 seconds. Now pour in the wine or vermouth. As it boils, scrape up any browned bits in the skillet. The amount of liquid is tiny; it will boil instantly. Work fast.

6. Pour in the milk and drop in the blackberries. Bring to a full boil and cook for 1 minute, or just until somewhat reduced. Check for salt, then ladle this sauce over the chops. Tear the baguette into pieces so that some can accidentally fall into the sauce as you eat the chops.

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