Dim Sum or License to Grill

Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch

Author: Ellen Leong Blonder

In Cantonese, “dim sum” means “touch the heart,” and Ellen Blonder’s charming celebration of China’s famed tea lunch does just that. More than sixty carefully crafted, authentic recipes, each illustrated with Ellen’s exquisite watercolor paintings, put the key to re-creating these delectable morsels in every cook’s hand.
Anyone who has enjoyed the pleasures of a dim sum meal has inevitably wondered what it would be like to create these treats at home. The answer, surprisingly, is that most are quite simple to make. From dumplings to pastries, Dim Sum is filled with simple, foolproof recipes, complete with clear step-by-step illustrations to explain the art of forming, filling, and folding dumpling wrappers and more. Ellen Blonder offers her favorite versions of traditional Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Turnip Cake, and Shrimp Ha Gow, each bite vibrantly flavored, plus recipes for hearty sticky rice dishes, refreshing sautéed greens, tender baked or steamed buns, and a variety of pastries and desserts—all the ingredients required for an authentic, restaurant-style dim sum feast. Practical advice on designing a tea lunch menu and making dim sum ahead of time round out this irresistible collection.

Lovingly created from years of tasting, refining, and seeking out the best dim sum recipes from San Francisco to Hong Kong, Dim Sum is a gem that any student of Chinese cooking will treasure.

Library Journal

Most Chinese cookbooks include some recipes for standard dim sum dishes such as scallion pancakes and potstickers, but as Blonder (Every Grain of Rice) found, there is little devoted solely to these popular brunch/tea snacks and certainly nothing as charming and accessible as her little book. She provides 60 recipes, from Pork and Chinese Chive Dumplings to Salt-Fried Prawns, along with sweets and condiments, all illustrated by her own lovely watercolors. The recipes are clearly written, with step-by-step drawings of various techniques, and most include make-ahead suggestions. Recommended. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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License to Grill

Author: Christopher Schlesinger

Chris Schlesinger and John "Doc" Willoughby single handedly raised America's grilling consciousness in their award-winning The Thrill of the Grill. Now they're back with the second generation of grilling expertise and over 200 recipes packed with bright, loud flavors. In their uniquely engaging, informal style, Chris and Doc share their grilling secrets and lead us through the daring, challenging, exciting, yet casual world of live fire cookery.

This is grilling designed for the novice or pro, the duffer or dedicated man, woman, or child. In addition to covering the basics, Chris and Doc add several new, lighter dimensions to their grilling canon, with more grilled vegetables, more seafood, more pasta, and more surprisingly grillable fruit. Vibrant and adventurous, the recipes combine fresh herbs, chiles, citrus, and spices with that indefinable grilled flavor to create dishes that both satisfy and intrigue.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE BOOK INCLUDE:

• An in-depth grill briefing, including tips on easy fire starting, answers to the ten most frequently asked grilling questions, five keys to easy grilling, and -- for those who can't bear to put the grill away when winter comes -- a guide to fireplace grilling.
• A chapter devoted to grilling on skewers, with hints on how to meld flavors and cook ingredients evenly, along with recipes like exotic Grilled Lamb Skewers with Apricots, Simple Grilled Swordfish Skewers, Grilled Lamb and Potato Skewers with Tomato-Green Olive Relish, and Grilled Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Ginger Sauce.
• A section that showcases the uniquely thrilling Hobo Pack Cookery, otherwise known as Boy Scout cooking, with recipes likeEggplant and Tomato Hobo Pack with Lemon and Garlic, and Chicken Hobo Pack with Garlic, Lemon, and Herbs.
• A wide selection of salads and pasta dishes, such as Grilled Artichoke and White Bean Salad or Linguine with Grilled Shrimp and Black Olives, which use grilled fish, meat, and vegetables to add smoky-great flavor.
• For you heat freaks, a chapter of high-heat dishes, from Chile-Coated Chicken Thighs with Couscous and Tomato-Raisin Relish to Grilled Shrimp with Most-Hot Lime-Chile Booster.
• Slow and low" barbecue and grill-roasting, where classic barbecued brisket becomes MediterraneanStyle Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket, and innovative dishes like Corn Bread-Stuffed Barbecued Game Hens with Bourbon-Shallot Sauce come off the grill with deep, smoky flavor.
• A bevy of side dishes that go great with grilled food, from K.C.'s Bengali-Style Spinach to SweetPotato Steak Fries with Your Own Catsup to grilled Corn with Lime and Chinese Roasted Salt.
• Dozens of condiments, pickles, and spice rubs that build flavor fast with very little effort.

Packed with practical grilling instructions, anecdotes, and inventive recipes that join simple pleasure with culinary adventure, here's a book that has direct appeal to anyone who's ever wanted to put food over fire, Whether you're a novice looking for your initial License to Grill, an accomplished live fire devotee ready to earn your Ph.G. (Doctorate of Grilling), or you just want to spend some time hanging out by the fire, this is the book for you, So go ahead, unleash your 'griller instincts" and give yourself License to Grill -- permission to fool around with live fire, odd a smoky sear to your dinner, and generally turn cooking into the best part of your day.

Barbara Kafka

Chris Schlesinger is one of those natural cooks who cannot put a spoonwrong when it comes to flavor. He is perfectly balanced by John Willoughby, who writes clearly and like a dream. Enjoy License to Grill.

Ferdinand Metz

Grilling brings out the essence of food and Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby expertly capture this in their License to Grill.

Publishers Weekly

Revisiting the hot coals that sparked The Thrill of the Grill, their first book, Schlesinger and Willoughby lay out 200 more recipes for the charcoal-fed, backyard cooker. Emphasizing the fun of it all, the duo offers some easily mastered dishes (Lime Soup with Grilled Cumin Chicken; Grilled Veal Chops with Expensive Mushrooms). But there are also recipes that even they admit are complicated and time-consuming. The Quixotic Mixed Grill with Vegetable Skewers and Four Sauces is a monstrous Brazilian churrasco made with sweetbreads, chicken hearts, lamb chops and more. Indeed, the food here is notable for richly stratified tastes. Fruit co-stars often: Basil-Garlic Chicken with Grilled Balsamic Peaches; Grilled Sirloin and Apricot Skewers with Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Chutneys, relishes, sauces and salads repeatedly contribute verve to the main ingredient. Among nine recipes for seriously hot food, Grilled Jerk Shark with Pineapple Salsa calls for 10(!) Scotch bonnet peppers. Also featured here is Hobo Pack Cookery, in which food is wrapped in foil and buried in coals, where it cooks and (sometimes) burns. Even two of 16 dessert recipes face the fire: Grilled Bananas and Pineapple with Rum-Molasses Glaze and Grilled Pineapple with Sweet Lime-Black Pepper Sauce. This is sure to motivate anyone yearning to do more this summer than just char another steak.