By Rick Nelson
Yeah, this is going to be one of those stories. A New York City-based magazine -- Food & Wine -- combs through 200 recently published cookbooks, selects what it considers to be the top 25 and publishes excerpts of the exalted titles in a book it calls "Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes" (American Express Publishing, $29.95). Then some dim-witted Minneapolis food writer -- that would be me -- paws through it, looking for a Minnesota connection, cynically thinking there won't be one.
Turns out, there are two. Way to go, F&W, for shining the spotlight on Duluth author Beatrice Ojakangas for her "The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever" (Chronicle Books, $24.95) and Raghavan Iyer of Minneapolis for his "660 Curries" (Workman, $22.95). It's well-deserved recognition for two of the state's culinary powerhouses.
After F&W editors select and reprint a handful of recipes from each book, they add a few test-kitchen tips then coax the authors to submit a bonus recipe. From "660" they selected Gingered Red Lentils with Garlic, Tart Chicken with Roasted Chiles and Coconut Milk and Tart-Hot Beef with Malt Vinegar and Cayenne; Iyer submitted Spinach and Chickpea Flour Pancakes. The greatest hits from "Casserole" include Provencal Tomato Casserole, Jalapeno Chile con Queso, Pasta and Chicken Alfredo and Crisp Apple Streusel; Ojakangas added Wild Rice, Cranberry and Pecan Bread.
I'm already thinking ahead to F&W's Vol. 13 and possible Gopher State tie-ins. My money is on "Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" (Thomas Dunne, $27.99) by Jeffrey Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, a follow-up to their runaway 2007 hit, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" ("Healthy" hits bookstores on Oct. 27) and on "New Vegetarian" (Chronicle, $19.95) by Robin Asbell (debuting Oct. 28). Come on, F&W, prove me right.
