Girl in the Kitchen

Stephanie Izard, the girl of Girl and the Goat, just released a new cookbook which is as interesting to read as it is to salivate over. As I've read, I've discovered a fearless, spunky girl who uses traditional flavors connected to fond childhood memories and revitalizes them. Although I wouldn't call myself spunky, I feel like we connect with food in a similar way. We just wanna have fun!

The format of her book is actually very similar to the way I approach this blog: each recipe is preceded by a story of the recipe's conception or a childhood memory she attaches to certain ingredients. Not only that, but her writing style is so casual, it feels as though she's talking right to you.

I had to smile to myself when I got to a recipe for Fennel-Potato Soup with Butter-Poached Lobster and Blood Oranges (her chapter on soup is 40 pages long...A girl after my own heart). Her introductory paragraph was oddly similar to a narrative I wrote recently on this blog. I'll quote her here:

"I've never liked black licorice, so I thought it was strange that I fell hard for fennel while working at Spring restaurant -- the anise flavor is so much fresher than what you'd find in licorice. It adds a nice note to just about anything, but especially sauces, stocks, and soups. Now that I'm officially addicted to the stuff, I'm always trying to come up with new uses for it. I tend to think of it as an ideal partner for citrus, so I wind up using it more in winter when citrus fruits are at their peak."

I'm glad that we both share a love for fennel and a hatred for licorice. And if anything, this supports my claim that fennel+citrus is a match made in heaven.

I haven't made it past the soup chapter yet but I am already so excited to try some (or all) of these recipes! Unfortunately, for now, it's back to the research for me. It's going to be a long day!