Chronicle Books Blog

This week’s post comes to us courtesy of Steve Sando, proprietor of the company with the greatest and most desired beans available in the USA, Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food.

Let us know what you think of this recipe by posting a comment. And, by commenting, you’re entered to win a copy of Heirloom Beans!

I always say “I hate health food” but in reality I do try and find ways to eat better. I don’t think I’d enjoy fat free cupcakes or pretend bacon, but if there are effortless little tricks I can use to lighten things up, I’m all for it.

Pureeing beans for a spread or dip isn’t news or revolutionary but when a friend gave me a purple cauliflower, I knew it was time to play in the kitchen. You can use any bean and any type of cauliflower, keeping in mind the textures will vary.

Black Calypso and Cauliflower Spread on Toasted Bread
One of the best aspects of working at farmers’ markets is the trading that vendors do among themselves after the market ends. I normally come home with quite a bounty—often including ingredients I would never consider buying on my own. One farmer gave me a purple cauliflower, and the result is this spread. The purple cauliflower mixed with the dark beans is less than attractive, but the cauliflower and bean combination is really good.

Serves 8 to 10

1 pound cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup drained, cooked black calypso beans
1 tablespoon capers with juice
1 oil-packed anchovy fillet (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2-inch-thick slices crusty artisan bread (1 per person if loaf is fat or round, 2 if loaf is smaller)
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place a steamer rack over (but not touching) water in a large saucepan. Add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the pan, reserving some of the water, and let the cauliflower cool slightly.

Put the cauliflower, beans, capers, anchovy (if using), and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. You may need to stir the mixture with a rubber spatula to get the blades going, but try to avoid adding more liquid. If you need more liquid, use the reserved steaming water. Transfer to a bowl. You will have about 2 cups. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Brush the bread slices with olive oil. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until crisp but still tender inside, about 7 minutes.

Spread the bean mixture on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with parsley and then drizzle with olive oil. Serve on a large platter.

Substitution Note: Any of the cranberry or runner beans make a fantastic spread for bread, and all will pair well with the flavors here.

Purchase Heirloom Beans.

Click here for more great recipes.

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Before we get into the events portion of the post, did you know that Jon Stewart LURVES The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex?

You’ll love it too, so you won’t want to miss these events. Seriously. Rawr.

NEW YORK

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
Booksigning with Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist

Barnes & Noble, Tribeca
97 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007, 212-587-5389

LOS ANGELES

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2010, 1:00PM-3:00PM
Space 15Twenty
Super Sexy Saturday: A Book Release Party for The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex with Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist

Hosted by
Space 15Twenty
1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
space15twenty.com
RSVP to SexySex@chroniclebooks.com

SAN FRANCISCO

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 8 P.M.
Cobbs Comedy Club
The Funny Side of Sex: Kristen Schaal and Friends
Join Daily Show correspondent Kristen Schaal as she celebrates her first book, The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, along with co-authors of the new book Sex: Our Bodies Our Junk. This evening of live and uncensored humor-sex—or sex-humor—unfolds at San Francisco’s legendary Cobb’s Comedy Club. Book sales and signings to follow. Co-sponsored by Chronicle Books.

Cobbs Comedy Club
915 Columbus Ave.
Admission: $15; available at cobbscomedyclub.com
21 and over

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010, 11:00AM-1PM
Chronicle Books
Lunch with Kristen Schaal!
Book signing + grub

Chronicle Books Store
680 Second St. (at Townsend)
415-537-4200

More event information to come!

The book…

Cheers,
Hannah
Entertainment Marketing Manager

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In the movie I Am Love by Luca Guadagnino about a prosperous Milanese family, the material quality of everything plays a crucial role in telling the story. The consistency of the food, the shine of the china, and the textures in the architecture and the clothing (they’re a textile family, after all) all set the tone, and in their detailed opulence, transport the viewer. Speaking as a designer (and not a romantic), so much of Italian manufacturing is of an incredibly high level of quality.
 

Italian textiles, tailoring, and printing are consistently some of the best in the world. It’s difficult not to generalize, but these industries earned their reputations over time. Take the Italian-owned Moleskine notebooks for example: They’re super-durable, combining high-quality materials with a practical design. Anyone using one can appreciate the smooth cream stock and hardy covers because they function so well. Here’s Moleskine’s description of how they are made, printed in China with a combination of industrial production and individual handmade craftsmanship.

As nerdy book designers are wont to do, whenever the material quality of a book catches our attention, be it for the paper, printing, or binding, we often check to see who and where it was printed. So often, for the really impressive stuff, it’s Italy. Not that there isn’t great printing coming out of the U.S. or Asia, but there’s something sublime about fine art Italian presses.
 

History and the industrial tradition in Northern Italy may very well have something to with this focus on quality. When the Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione visited our offices recently, they gave us these two beautiful letterpress posters made using old wooden letter forms. In the same way that I imagine a fashion designer would like to feel the textiles filmed in I Am Love, we enjoyed getting up close and feeling the ink and paper of these posters. Fortunately for book and graphic design enthusiasts, publishing still produces high-end products far more affordable than fashion. And I could be biased, but seeing someone reading, writing, or sketching (on a Moleskine or not) does more for their hot appeal than any designer handbag or sunglasses ever could.
 
Suzanne LaGasa
Designer

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Renowned photographer Jim Marshall’s legendary pictures of the “man in black” have been complied into covetable collection in Pocket Cash—now releasing from Chronicle Books.

I thought I’d share some of John Carter Cash’s heartfelt thoughts about these two larger-than-life men from his introduction to the book.

My father was sometimes uncomfortable in front of a camera. Certainly there were other places he would rather be, but he always did his best to smile in the face of one. There were rarely times when he forgot that the camera was there; that was always up to the photographer…

As I look back through the pages of this book, I see the pages of my father and mother’s life, their family, and friends… and also I see mine. The memories come back in a rush. I remember the laughter, the struggle, the friendship, the uneasiness, the triumph, the purpose, the loss, the strength of family, the joy of creation, and the power of love. It is all there. I see the pride in my grandparents’ eyes as they watch their son on stage. Again, though my father is not in the picture, I see this as true as if he were. I see the heart’s bindings that entangled my mother and father so effortlessly but permanently. I see it in the last pages of this book, as real as if I were once again with them—I can almost hear their breath, feel their tender touch. This is real. This is life.

And as I look through these pages I offer a prayer of thanks. I am grateful that their lives were so purposeful, that it was of such worth and import that Jim could be there to capture it with his magic. This book is so much more to me than merely the images of my parents. It is an indissoluble glimpse back, beyond the reality and into a place that feels even greater and more meaningful than the memories.

So join me on this journey back to the life that was and—thanks to Jim Marshall—the life that remains.

Purchase Pocket Cash.

Check out more Art + Design posts.

Patti Quill
Marketing & Publicity Manager

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Todd Davis, extreme athlete, host of HGTV’s Over Your Head, and author of our bestselling book, Handy Dad, takes a little time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about what keeps him inspired.

1. What prompted you to write Handy Dad?

I had such a blast as a kid building various things, but today’s video games are too good. It’s past due to get outside and have a sweet, ol’ fashioned good time!

2. What is your favorite project in the book?

It keeps changing. At first I loved the 200-foot slip-and-slide that ended with an 8-foot ramp into a lake… Now it’s the light box. It really sets the ambiance in a room and is very cool to look at.

3. Handy Dad has been super successful and feedback from dads has been great. What do you do to spend time with your own kids?

My two boys are the driving factor, I expose them to as many fun and crazy things as possible, but sometimes they just stop and change gears, focusing on something entirely different. It’s important to adapt to whatever they want to do at the moment, to keep them excited about everything!

4. What should Dad do if he’s not feeling particularly “handy”?

Start small and build the paper airplane. It can be overwhelming to even think about spending all weekend struggling with something you know nothing about. After a while you should naturally feel more and more ambitious. You will begin to have more fun with “the process,” more familiar with your new tools, and will become addicted to seeing your children faces as they run around screaming with joy, playing with one of your creations… big or small.

5. In addition to book author, you’re also the star of HGTV’s Over Your Head and are an extreme sports athlete. What’s next for you?

I am currently working with an Emmy award–winning production company out of LA, developing my own wild design show that incorporates both indoor and outdoor environments with high action reveals of course! I love to draw and have been designing and making clothing for big and little kids. The concept is putting dad and son, mom, daughter, etc. on the same “team” with clothing. They wear similar or exact designs of one another when they embark on their favorite mission, adventure or activity together. I have witnessed kids as well as my own freak out when they have the same t-shirt as daddy does! I have a few with my own father that are hilarious.

Also, a photographer friend and I are compiling images to make a picture book. One that showcases how many different things can one single man can do? (Yes, me.) We portray each element in the most extreme way possible. We have hundreds of amazing images that are simply unreal, very unique, and terrifying to most! Such a blast, coming up with ideas and planning the odd and dangerous shoots.

I love being a Jack-of-all-trades, or what most people call me, The Renaissance Man, involving myself in as many different experiences as possible.

So much to do and so little time! Off to Beverly Hills to install another indoor project with my own company Epic Spaces… talk to you soon!

Want to get handy? Download instructions to make your very own Lion-Mane Tire Swing here.

Nancy Deane
Senior Marketing Manager

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