Chronicle Books Blog

We’re delighted that Leanne Kitchen is our guest blogger this week. She travels extensively throughout Asia and the Middle East, documenting people and their culinary traditions. Leave a comment on her post and recipe below, and you’ll be eligible to win a copy of her latest book, Turkey (giveaway good in the US and Canada only).

The first time I waddled happily out of Van Khavalti Evi (Van Breakfast House) in trendy Cihangir in Istanbul, a restaurant making a feature of the celebrated breakfast foods of Van, I determined to visit that far-flung city near the border with Iran a.s.a.p. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of any day so anywhere that’s famous for a good one rates with me.

Van is situated on the gorgeous lake of the same name—the largest in Turkey. As I bus in from the north, we skirt this mighty, azure mass of water, sparkling with more shades of blue than I realize existed, long before the city comes into sight. There’s a spectacular show of wild flowers along the shore (it’s spring), a dramatic trail of snowcapped mountains to the south, itinerant beekeepers camped about the roadside, and a highway reduced to a frequent crawl by flocks of sheep and their herders. The environs, it goes without saying, are picturesque. The town itself though is bland and utilitarian but the longer I stay (and the more I return), the more Van grows on me. The atmosphere is laid back. (Generally. Being a largely Kurdish area, I’ve also witnessed edgy demonstrations and the venting of anti-government frustration). It’s friendly here. People I have barely met offer to take me on day trips. Or cart me off to Kurdish weddings. In parks, folk urge me to share their picnics or invite me into their homes for endless rounds of tea. Turks are renowned for their hospitality but in these poorer, Eastern (and largely Kurdish) parts, the desire to look after strangers is ratcheted up several notches from the national norm.

Breakfasting is taken so seriously here there is an entire street, Kahvalti Caddesi (Breakfast Street), devoted to its consumption. Establishments along here I find a touch sanitized so I haunt places on the ramshackle alleys behind the wonderful cheese market, these are grungier and simply more fun. Typically their windows are littered with tubs of glistening olives, neat chunks of gooey comb honey, elegant folds of kaymak (thick clotted cream made around here from sheep’s milk), mounds of rich local butter and some interesting variations on the general theme of cheese. Included in the latter is the fabled otlu paynir, or “green” cheese, so-called on account of the chopped wild mountain herbs that are incorporated into the piquant, white curd. Locals tank up on The Works, which includes plates of all of the above, plus boiled eggs, wedges of tomato, slices of cucumber and mountains of ekmek, crusty, chewy bread delivered hot from wood-burning ovens, in the nearby bake house. Hungrier types order murtaga, eggs scrambled with butter and flour, or kavut, a local specialty made by toasting coarse whole meal flour then cooking it to a thick porridge with butter, milk and sugar. The thing to do with the ubiquitous cacik around here is to stir soft butter through it. Everything is intense and bright with flavor and memorably textural—from the firm snap of sweet cucumbers to the unctuously spreadable fresh cheeses.

Generally I’m happy with a breakfast selection edited down to a few, mind-blowingly great essentials—piles of bread, an indecent amount of kaymak and quantities of the peerless local honey. The cicek, or “flower” honey from Van, is famed all over Turkey. Its flavors are deep and nuanced and it’s the perfect counterpoint to rich, tangy kaymak and the smattering of chopped local walnuts that invariably comes with it. The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvalti, means “before coffee” so consequently tulip-shaped glasses of strong, sweet (make that really sweet) tea are the thing to accompany morning food. Tea and an overloud TV, blasting out details of the latest Galatasaray, Bestiktas or Fernerbahce victory at those who care. And in this soccer-crazed nation, everyone (except me) invariably does.

Back in Istanbul, if I’m not hanging out in a Van-style breakfast house, choosing what to eat in the morning is easy. Simit, oft described as the Turkish bagel, is always my go-to, break-the-fast carb hit. Moreish circlets of dense, chewy crumb and a crunchy sesame-encrusted crust, simit are easy things to conjure at home. I’d rather be eating them in Istanbul of course but when that’s not possible, whipping up a batch at home becomes the next best thing. I turn on a Mercan Dede CD then inhale a spread of fresh simit, ripe tomato, cucumber and crumbly tulum cheese from the Turkish grocer. And pretend I’m about to catch the ferry to Kadakoy. The Van vibe, though, is not so easy to replicate. You really need to be there and for breakfast freaks, it’s utterly worth the schlep.

SIMIT

Simit is, for me, the quintessential Turkish food. To describe these round, chewy bread rings as “sesame-encrusted bread” really isn’t doing them justice; their flavor and deeply satisfying texture are quite unlike anything else. Turks eat simit daily, as a snack, but they really come into their own as fortifying breakfast fare, accompanied by cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives.

INGREDIENTS

1 pinch sugar
3 teaspoons dried yeast
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2/3 cup pekmez (see note)
1 1/2 cups sesame seeds

METHOD

Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup lukewarm water in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the yeast. Set aside for about 8 minutes, or until foamy, then add another 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water.

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl, then add the yeast mixture and stir to form a coarse dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6–7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 425˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 10 even-sized pieces. Combine the pekmez with 1/3 cup water in a large bowl. Place the sesame seeds on a large plate. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your hands to roll the dough out to make ten 22‑inchlong ropes. F old in half so the two ends align, then lift off the board and use your hands to twist each rectangle into a two-stranded “rope.” P lace back on the work surface and join the ends together to make a circle, pressing the ends firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 10 rope circles.

Dip each ring, first into the pekmez mixture, immersing completely to coat, then drain well and toss in the sesame seeds, turning gently to coat. Transfer to the prepared sheets and set aside at room temperature for about 20 minutes, to puff slightly. Bake in the oven for 15–18 minutes, or until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Simit are best eaten on the day of making but will keep, frozen in an airtight container, for up to 1 month.

MAKES 10

Note: Pekmez is a molasses-like syrup made from the juice and must of certain fruits, usually grapes or figs. It is available from Middle Eastern and Turkish grocery stores.

Purchase: Turkey: More Than 100 Recipes with Tales from the Road.

Subscribe to our monthly Cooking Newsletter.

When you think “ebook,” you probably think of novels—or maybe even nonfiction books like dense World War II histories or business books. Certainly text-heavy books were the first to be translated into digital but thanks to improvements in ereading devices and ebook formats, today you can find nearly any type of book in a digital format.

In fact, here at Chronicle we have a goal to publish all of our new titles in both print and digital. Heavily illustrated and custom fonts? No problem. Tons of stunning photos? Bring it! We’re learning to translate even the most design-heavy works into gorgeous ebooks. And this month marks the publication of two very exciting examples of this very trend: Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones and True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps.

The print versions of both books are gorgeous so the bar was very high. Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones includes hundreds of set photos, production and costume designs, storyboards, and insider stories revealing how the show’s creators translated George R. R. Martin’s best-selling fantasy series into the world of Westeros. True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites has recipes from unforgettable scenes, each introduced by True Blood’s most compelling characters, and a total of 85 authentic bayou country recipes and 150-plus photos from the series to give fans a big taste of Bon Temps.

Working very closely with HBO, our team successfully translated each into digital. In the ebook of Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones, users can double click on photos and expand them on their screens. And thanks to new high-definition displays, the behind-the-scenes shots of the world of Westeros look incredibly vivid and rich. Here are a few screenshots for you.

In the digital version of True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps, home chefs can click on links in the Table of Contents and throughout the text to easily jump from recipe to recipe. And all the fun photos from the show are included. A quick double-click and each will expand to full size on your screen. Here’s a sneak peek of the digital version.

Want to give one of these cutting-edge ebooks a test drive? Leave a comment below listing your favorite character on either show (or both!) and you’ll be entered to win a free download from the iTunes store of either book. I’ll choose one winner for each book.

Both free books will be the iBookstore versions.

Ali Presley
Online Marketing Manager

This week, we’re excited to have Steve Sansweet guest posting on the blog. Steve is the author of Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection and chief executive of Rancho Obi-Wan, a non-profit membership museum that houses the world’s largest private collection of Star Wars memorabilia.

To think, it all started with an “empty box”… and survived even that public relations disaster.

We’re talking about the now iconic Star Wars action figures, those 3 ¾-inch pieces of plastic that have been with us for nearly 35 years. Because toymaker Kenner Products signed a Star Wars license only a month before the unexpected hit opened in 1977, it couldn’t get toys made and delivered by the first holiday season. So the company’s president—against strong advice from his marketing and publicity people—offered instead the empty box, actually a sealed cardboard portfolio with a send-away coupon guaranteeing you’d get the first four Star Wars figures produced the following spring.

The infamous empty box.

The media cried foul, parents complained, and many of the 600,000 kits were returned by retailers after the holidays. But the gambit was considered a marketing success because it reminded the public that the figures were on the way.

When I wrote my first Star Wars book in 1992, From Concept to Screen to Collectible (published by Chronicle Books), a total of 108 different action figures had been released. In 1999, when I wrote The Action Figure Archive (also from Chronicle), it included the new figures that Kenner (now owned by Hasbro) had turned out from 1995 through 1998. The total figure count was then up to a whopping 280. After that, the deluge!

I’ve been asked more about a possible update to the action figure book than any of the 15 other Star Wars books that I’ve written. The stars finally aligned late last year, and work on The Ultimate Action Figure Collection was started. The biggest unknown: just how many Star Wars action figures are there?

But first… who cares? It turns out that lots of people do all around the world. A quarter of a billion of those little plastic people, aliens, and droids were sold in the first nine years. Before video games, before even home video, kids could use the figures to recreate great scenes from the three original movies or use their imaginations and make up their own scenarios. And when those kids grew up and felt the tug of pop culture, those familiar figures became the centerpiece of untold thousands of Star Wars collections.

Even many adults who don’t collect feel the warm glow of nostalgia when they see figures they had while growing up, or that their brothers or sisters played with. And many of today’s kids, mimicking their elders, start Star Wars collections when they’re only six or seven years old—taking as much care with the package as the toy inside.

So there I was, faced with the job of figuring out how many different Star Wars figures have been produced to date. From the start, the same figures have been released in numerous packaging variations. Sometimes there’s a slight color change, or an extra part that moves, or a new piece of apparel added—or even subtracted. Since we were looking for unique figures, and needed photos and descriptions of each one, we started by going through my own collection, ripping open packages, creating mountains of debris, and carefully examining each one.

I called in reinforcements to help on the book: my friend and colleague Anne Neumann, and two online action figure experts, Dan Curto and Paul Harrison. I double-checked my data against that of several online sites—mainly rebelscum.com. We called in teams of volunteers to help open, sort, and closely examine the figures. And in the end we came to the conclusion that up to the middle of this year, there had been—give or take a few—some 2,300 unique Star Wars action figures released.

Anne Neumann has action figure overload.

Because the book is the first to arrange the figures by character and then chronologically, we needed the most familiar name, release year, the source of the character (movie, comic, book?), and the line in which it was released. If two figures looked similar, what really made them different?

When you do a project like this, you’re always afraid you’ve left out an entire group of figures. So I was relieved when a Hasbro executive asked me at a fan convention this summer how many unique figures we had come up with. When I told him about 2,300, he shouted, “You’re right!” It turns out that the company, which had long pondered that question itself, had recently done its own internal count, and we matched. I slept well that night, although I dreamt of myself as a plastic action figure!

The author as action figure.

Purchase: Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection

Subscribe to our monthly Pop Culture Newsletter.

We’re excited to share a conversation we had with Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes the author and illustrator of Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth. Sanjay Patel is an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar where he has worked on A Bug’s Life and Cars 2. Emily Haynes is one of our humor and entertainment editors by day and a children’s author by night.

What was your inspiration for Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth?

Sanjay: The original myth of course. Upon hearing the account of the Mahabharata a poet/sage named Vyasa is sent to find Ganesha to have him write down the story/song. There ensues a fun negotiation about how they will recite and record the story. While he is writing, Ganesha’s pen breaks and he cleverly figures out that he must break off his own tusk and use it to continue writing the story down.

Emily: Sanjay told me that he wanted to do a picture book based on this story and I took the idea and ran with it. I came back with a story that I think is more kid friendly and colorful, while still retaining the spirit of the legend.

What is your workspace like?

Sanjay: I work in a loft above the kitchen in our apartment. Sometimes Emily starts cooking and I can’t concentrate because it smells so yummy.

Emily: I work sitting on the couch below his loft space. We call it my office, but it’s really just a comfy couch where I can get as horizontal as possible while still typing. The set-up is a lot like what Sanjay illustrated on the back flap of the book.

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?

Sanjay: I draw and plan everything with paper and pencil until I have a blueprint that I believe in and that meets my publisher’s approval. From there I spend the rest of my time in Adobe Illustrator building vector shapes to create the artwork. At this point the only thing that slows me down is the colors. It’s impossibly hard for me to assign colors and have them all work together.

When you were a kid, what did you think you would be when you grew up?

Sanjay: A comic book artist, or an architect, like the dad in The Brady Bunch.

Emily: I wanted to be a fireman or an astronaut. But then it turned out I was best at being a word worm.

What is your favorite fable?

Sanjay: Virtually any of the Vedic stories. I especially love the legend about Shiva and Parvati and their twice born son Ganesha. First Parvati created him from the earth since Shiva wasn’t cooperating with her, sexually that is. Then it tells how Ganesha was beheaded and then brought back to life by his father Shiva. Great Vedic family drama!

Emily: I loved the Brothers Grimm stories when I was a kid, though I haven’t read them for a long time. It fascinated me that these Disney style fairytales actually had a much darker and more complex side.

What is your favorite type of candy?

Sanjay: That’s a tough one. I have a major sweet tooth. Just bought Cherry Clans and Lemonheads the other day. Still picking out the corn syrup from my teeth.

Emily: Jellybeans! And licorice. Especially licorice jelly beans.

What movie or book do you most wish you could live in?

Sanjay: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Which I kinda lived, but with different parents and on the opposite coast. And I was never named after a Russian writer.

Emily: That’s a tough one. I think I really enjoy most books because I DON’T live in them. It’s hard to write a good book about a really happy and awesome place/situation. Oftentimes the drama that makes for a good story is something I’d much rather experience on the page than in real life.

What books are on your nightstand right now?

Sanjay: Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie

Emily: Lots of issues of The New Yorker as well as How to Be Good by Nick Hornby.

What makes you laugh?

Sanjay: Johnny Ryan, Family Guy, 30 Rock, all funny stuff.

What is your favorite color?

Sanjay: The way J. Otto uses orange.

Emily: I wear a lot of green.

What was your favorite book as a child?

Sanjay: I didn’t have any children’s books that I owned as a kid. I did however have a zillion comics. My favorite was Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

Emily: I had lots of books. I remember loving Where the Wild Things Are and then The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I got a bit older.

Book you bought for its cover?

Sanjay: Our Friend the Atom

Emily: That’s totally Sanjay’s department.

Who would you like to see on a bank note?

Sanjay: Chris Ware

Emily: Jed Bartlett

What profession other than your own would you like to give a try?

Sanjay: Ninja

Emily: I’d be a full time ceramicist.

What is your motto?

Sanjay: Don’t worry, Ghee Happy

Emily: Seriously.

Who is your hero?

Sanjay: Bill Watterson

Emily: I don’t know that I have a hero, I’m much more of a generalist. Right now I’m interested in Louis CK.

Subscribe to our monthly Chronicle Kids Newsletter.

Sprinkled throughout the neighborhood surrounding Chronicle Books are little reminders of the past—typographic treasures scrawled on the sides of buildings. Faded by years of weathering, the signage from previous tenants tells the story of what was, and what might have been.

While some owners opt to paint over these signs and start anew, many others seem to embrace these leave-behinds and allow them to live on. It is almost as if the signs are left as a show of respect—an homage—to those that came before. As a designer, these timeworn signs are an infinite source of typographic inspiration.

And so, with that in mind, and in the spirit of the Halloween season, here are some of the great examples of ghosted typography that I have chanced across thus far in the neighborhood.

And of course, from the window of the design space, the “Townsend Bldg.” sign with the lights of AT&T Park hovering over close behind.

Ryan Hayes
Children’s Design