Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen: Bold Cooking from Seattle's Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook a Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, and Tavolata [A Cookbook]

I wanted so badly to love this cookbook. Unfortunately the recipes and ingredients are so impractical, that I know I’ll never make more than a couple of them. So many of the recipes call for ingredients you’ll never be able to find at a grocery store, I wouldn’t even begin to know where to look for a lot of them. It is a beautiful book, however, very pretty to flip through. I live in Ballard, down the street from a couple of Ethan’s restaurants, so I was soooo excited when it came out. I’m an experienced cook, and I love to try new dishes, but this just didn’t speak to me and the hard-to-find ingredients were the breaking point, sadly I’m returning the book.

ThankYou

A cookboook that works on a coffee table for it's photographs and design, a bedside table for inspiration, and on the kitchen counter for some mouth-watering, show-off your skills to your friends, kind of cooking. Several copies on order for all my food-loving friends - I'm thinking ahead for the holidays...

I have been a serious amateur cook for a couple of decades now and I have made friends with others that share my passion. When I entertain my foodie friends they are always polite and complimentary, but I can tell when my dish has fallen short of their expectations (especially when some of them are professional chefs). More than anything, what we are looking for is unique flavor combinations, dishes that make you say, "Wow, I had no idea that those ingredients could work together like that!" However, coming up with truly new and innovative recipes is not always easy. This book has given me the confidence that I will aways be able to blow my guests away with exciting culinary creations.Although the recipes in Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen are not what anyone would call traditional Italian cuisine, many of the main ingredients show a definite European influence. The use of rabbit, lamb, duck and goat is common in much of the world and is a welcomed change from the overused chicken, beef and pork that we find in many US cookbooks. The seafood shows an urban-coastal prospective with the use of various clams, geoduck, octopus, Shigoku Oysters and Uni. Finally, the wonderful trend towards shopping for exciting and unusual vegetables and greens at local Farmer's Markets is represented here in all of it's diversity and glory.It usually takes me a while to review a cookbook like this because I insist on preparing as many of the dishes as possible. Here are the dishes that I've made so far and my thoughts about them:* Soft-Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Mayonnaise - This was one of the easiest recipes in the book so I tackled it first. I loved soft-boiled eggs and often make my own mayonnaise so this dish appealed to me right off the bat. I had never thought of serving soft-boiled eggs in a deviled-egg style and it was a big hit. It took a little effort to keep the yolk from running out as I cut the egg, but I got it done with minimal effort. Combining anchovies with fresh mayonnaise is not in itself unique, but topping the fresh, runny eggs with it was brilliant.* Bruschetta with Smashed Chickpeas and Grilled Lamb's Tongue - Many medium to large cities have Middle Eastern butcher shops operating in their boundaries. Lamb is common in these shops and are often butchered right there in the Halal tradition. I live in South-Central Texas and made a quick call to a local Halal store that is known for their fresh lambs. Although they don't usually consume the tongue, he had no problem in saving a few for me. The bruschetta was very well received and I was asked for the recipe by several of my chef friends.* Corn and Chanterelle Soup - I tried several of the soup recipes and this was my favorite. As mentioned in the book, this dish is all about seasonality. Late August is a perfect month for fresh corn, Walla Walla Onions and fresh Chanterlle Mushrooms. I couldn't help but add some fine Sherry to the simmering soup. Incredible!* Butternut Squash Risotto with Hazelnut Oil - An inspired recipe but at a price, this dish cost me more to make than some of the main courses. I can't think of a better fall dish; the sweetness of squash, the starchiness of the creamy risotto rice and the richness, savoriness of the hazelnut oil makes for a memorable evening.* Beasties of the Land... - So many of these dishes called out to my carnivorous nature. So far I have tried the Lamb Chops with Fava and the Seared Duck Breast with Sugared Figs and Arugula. One of my closest friends said that if I served these dishes at a restaurant, she would live there. Although I have served duck with figs before, both dishes were inspired and I plan on making many more of the recipes in this book. By the way, the much mentioned recipe for "Braised Rabbit Paws with Radiatore" actually calls for four rabbit legs (which are fairly easy to find in most gourmet grocery stores), the author was just being playful with the recipe's name.Ethan Stowell knocked it out of the park with this, his first book. I like his sense of humor, his style and his brassy creativity. I received an advanced, black and white copy of the book and plan on buying the finished edition. I look forward to more from this young chef.

Do you like a good challenge in the kitchen? Do you like experimenting with new flavors (as well as classic flavors from other cultures that may be new to you)? Do you already have a solid base of cooking skills to draw from?If you answered yes to all of the above, this cookbook is for you. Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen: Bold Cooking from Seattle's Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook A Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, and Tavolàta  brings new, modern Italian flavors into your kitchen. The result is dishes that are definitely unique and restaurant quality.When buying this cookbook, there are a few things to note, some of which I alluded to in my first paragraph:The first is that this is not a beginner's cookbook. Some of the recipe methods are quite involved and require already having knowledge of some fundamental kitchen skills, such as good knife skills (knowing how to bone meat and what not). It is definitely not aimed at someone who is just starting out in the kitchen. However, this is not something that is unexpected when you get a cookbook from a chef. At times though I did wish there was a bit more detail for the ingredients that even an experienced home cook may work with less often like Sea Urchin or rabbit.Many of the recipes also require ingredients that are difficult to source. Not marking the cookbook down any stars for this because again, it's something I expect with cookbooks from chefs. The one thing that did disapoint me is that often times the author calls for very specific varieties of something like a pepper that are somewhat uncommon. A great cookbook in my opinion is one that also references substitutions in cases where an item may be hard to source. Many of the great cookbooks do this and this is one of the things that makes this book good, but not amazing.I also personally would have loved a little more storytelling around the recipes and the ingredients. It in many cases makes a recipe more appealing to me and brings it to life more, but this is a matter of personal taste.Overall this is a good book, it's definitely not aimed at everyone, but knowledgable, adventurous cooks will find it interesting and challenging.