Media Meltdown, Volume 24

What happens when an obsessed chilehead (he’s read every word, been to every festival, sampled every product, talked to every expert, tested every theory, and taken every risk having to do with chile) takes over the body of a respected art critic from Canada? Books like this are born. Mr. Chilehead is both well-educated and totally out of his mind, quoting T.S. Eliot’s Prufrock while telling tales of chile-drenched, vomit-inducing drunken benders. Somehow it works. Between the fiery covers of this uncategorizeable book you’ll find history (did Columbus really discover hot sauce?), random factoids ("In astrology, the Capsicum falls under the dominion of Mars, ancient god of war"), recipes, gardening tips, relevant websites, and other actually useful info. Oh yeah—you’ll also find tales of self-destruction, spy tactics, near death by overdose, politics and saucy sex. A trip to Painland, as Mr. Chilehead refers to it, requires more than taste buds of steel. Remember to pack your insatiable and fearless sense of adventure, and don’t forget this truly comprehensive travel guide. Whether you’re going chile-by-backroads or major-sites-bus-tour, this book will take you places (be afraid, be very afraid) you’ve never been before. –Molly Wales

Hirschkop is the Dave behind Dave’s Insanity Sauce, hence the title of this volume. I’m not sure that you will go crazy preparing these recipes, because most of them call for actual chiles rather than his superhot sauce. This cookbook is divided into four parts: First Fire, Searing Soups and Spicy Salads, Scorching Sides, and Entrees to Agony. The recipes are innovative and multi-cultural but I’m not sure that each one needs two titles: Jumpin’ Jook--Southern Chinese Jook Chile Soup; Popeye’s Potato Snacks–Spicy Spinach Samosas; Catch the Tiger by the Tail–Prawns with Nuoc Cham Chile Glaze, and so on. Interestingly, the cover of the book features a photo of Dave in his trademarked straightjacket (shot by our webmaster, Harald Zoschke), and the subtitle is "The World’s Hottest Recipes," yet I carefully looked at the amounts of chile and hot sauce in the ingredient lists of the recipes with five or more chiles, and I didn’t think they would make the recipes extremely hot at all. Everyone knows how to make recipes hotter, so I don’t get it. Wait a minute, do you suppose it could be...a gimmick? Despite that, I enjoyed the irreverent tone and the humor in the book. –James B. O’Malley

In all my years of reviewing cookbooks, I have never seen such a flood of grilling and barbecue books–in fact, Rick Browne writes that there have been 100+ released in the last five years. Having written one myself with Nancy Gerlach, I know the basic problem faced by the authors: how to make their book unique when there are only two basic cooking techniques involved: direct grilling over flames, or indirect grilling/smoking. Rick Browne’s technique really cuts through: he travels the country in a huge motor home with "Barbecue America" emblazoned on it, finds BBQ cook-offs and home cooks, photographs them, collects recipes, and generally celebrates the diversity of outdoor cooking in America. I didn’t count the number of photos in this book, but it seems like hundreds–and they are humorous, inspiring, and delicious looking. The recipes are great and the text is particularly good because it is the best explanation I have ever read of the regional cooking styles and sauce types. There is a six-page section that defines and explains the sauce types that proves that Rick deserves his Ph.B. in barbecue. This book is highly recommended and is in the top five best books ever written on the subject. –Dave DeWitt

Wow. I’m very impressed with this title, a book that takes a new direction in regional cuisine guides. Instead of dividing the book into regions, or countries, this volume features the principal ingredients of Latin American cooking and discusses appearance and taste, buying and storing, medicinal and other uses, culinary uses, and then a number of classic recipes utilizing the ingredient. Among the main sections are vegetables; starches, legumes, and grains; eggs, dairy, and cheese; poultry and meat; fish and shellfish; nuts; the pantry; and fruit. Chiles are rated so important as to have their own section, and it is very well done. The recipes in the chiles section include enchiladas from Chiapas, Colombian chile turnovers, and chile peanut salsa. The hot stuff makes frequent appearances in other sections as well, making this a good cookbook for chileheads. It’s also great just for reading. This book is highly recommended and will reside proudly on my reference bookshelf. –Dave DeWitt

Here is food history at its finest, with a lot of great recipes. Don’t be fooled by the subtitle–Harris is not referring to the people of New Orleans, but rather the European and African collision with New World cultures. And "fusion" is not some chef-created melding of Japanese and Southwestern food, but rather the food creations that resulted when the Europeans and their foods collided with the Africans and their foods and the native Americans and their foods in what she calls the Atlantic Rim. From the bright, colorful illustrated cover to the Glossary (which, with the Mail-Order Sources, is placed in the front of the book), to the anecdotes, personality profiles and classic New World recipes, this book delights. I was particularly interested in the profile of Jamaican chef and restaurateur Norma Shirley, who appeared in an episode of the video documentary Heat Up Your Life that I wrote and co-produced. It’s a small world. This book is highly recommended. –Dave DeWitt

Top

Dave's Pepper Pages

Media Meltdown Index