Get ready to craft your own baked Morning Buns, Tex-Mex breakfast tacos, hand-rolled fresh pasta and more, just like the pros
Words by MARIE LOOK and ANUSH J. BENLIYAN
The Recipes You Knead to Know
In his debut cookbook, chef Evan Funke — the maestro behind Abbot Kinney’s Italian hot spot Felix Trattoria — pays homage to the two sfoglini (pasta makers) with whom he apprenticed in Bologna: Alessandra Spisni and Kosaku Kawamura. “It is my responsibility as a perpetual student and custodian of these traditions and techniques to pass on to you what I have learned,” Funke writes — and that he does. In American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta (Chronicle Books, $35), he reveals his from-scratch methods (in line with his Instagram-famous “f*ck your pasta machine” philosophy) for hand-rolled fresh pasta, called sfoglia, and dishes out recipes for tagliatelle with ragu, tortelloni with butter and tomato, white truffle gnocchi and more. “I am chasing the perfect sfoglia,” Funke writes. “And, maybe … with some perseverance and love, you can find yours, too.”
Rise and Shine With Tartine
Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, the San Francisco-based co-founders of Tartine Bakery and its now many related (and delicious) ventures, have gifted gastronomes with Tartine: A Classic Revisited (Chronicle Books, $40), an updated version of their uber-popular cookbook, featuring 68 new recipes (hello, Morning Buns) alongside 55 updated favorites from the original. Comprehensively rephotographed, this second iteration guides the reader on a journey through breakfast, tarts, pies, cakes, cookies, pastries and more, with a dose of delectable holiday treats and bakery basics for good measure. With whole-grain and gluten-free variations, detailed and clear instructions, and, of course, Gentl + Hyers’ gorgeous pictures, this revised edition just presents one problem: What to make first.
Mex and Match These Savory Dishes
In Ama: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen (Chronicle Books, $30), chef Josef Centeno and food writer Betty Hallock have crafted a flavorful follow-up — chock-full of personal anecdotes and vivid photography — to their Los Angeles-focused cookbook Bäco (a nod to Centeno’s downtown restaurant, Bäco Mercat, and his Culver City eatery, Bäcoshop). For Ama, the culinary couple reflected on Centeno’s San Antonio roots and appreciation for traditional Mexican cooking to curate a selection of casual, hearty dishes like biscuits with bacon gravy; French Texas toast; cornmeal pancakes; tres leches cake; and even Super Nachos, a happy hour favorite at Centeno’s downtown cantina, Bar Amá. Up the spice factor further with the tantalizing hot sauces, salsas, savory vinaigrettes and even a Mexican sriracha.
Holy Mole, Now That’s Authentic
Having long been the go-to restaurant for authentic Oaxacan fare in Los Angeles, Guelaguetza was founded over two decades ago by the Lopez family, who have introduced the “soul food” of Mexico to numerous SoCal foodies. Now Bricia Lopez, co-proprietor of Guelaguetza, along with Javier Cabral, have debuted the long-awaited Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (Abrams Books, $40), featuring 140 traditional recipes, including the locale’s signature pink horchata and award-winning mole negro, and an insightful look into the family’s history and impact on the city’s dining scene.
Feature image: Photo by Ren Fuller.
Nov. 1, 2019
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