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The Cheese Board Cookbook
I love cookbooks - mostly as a nice thing to read before drifting off to sleep. When I was a kid, I used to keep The Joy of Cooking beside my pillow and dreamed of dressing squirrels and angels on horseback (oysters wrapped in bacon on toast rounds). I generally did not use my cookbooks for actual cooking, but relied instead on the cook-as-artist's method of inspiration drawn from cookbooks plus constant tasting. One day, however, my husband bought me The Cheeseboard cookbook "The Cheese Board Collective Works". For those who have never heard of The Cheeseboard Collective, it is a worker-owned and -operated bakery, pizzeria, and cheese shop in Berkeley, California in which all members have equal decision-making power. Sadly, I have never been to The Cheeseboard, which is strange because I live maybe forty minutes away. In lieu of eating at The Cheeseboard, I have found that The Cheeseboard Cookbook is a superior cookbook. Everything I have cooked from it tastes unbelievably delicious. The chocolate chip scones are gigantic, flaky, buttery, and studded with bitter bits of chocolate. My cousin keeps asking for the corn cherry scones, which are slightly sweet, crispy with cornmeal, and tender within from buttermilk. Their recipe for sourdough starter worked like a dream for me, despite starting my culture with white whole wheat flour instead of organic rye flour. The baguettes were beautifully sour and chewy, with large holes and a very thick deep brown crust. The piece de resistance was 
when I used some of the master sourdough dough to make their tomato pizza with lemon zest. The mozzarella formed a thick chewy layer under the meaty plum tomatoes, set off by a thinly browned crust of mozzarella and crumbles of feta over top. After it came out of the oven, I brushed the crust with garlic oil and shaved lemon zest over top. In addition, I shaved Asiago cheese and crumbled fresh thyme instead of cilantro over all. I did this because I dislike cilantro in my food unless it is Indian or Mexican. I then squeezed fresh lemon juice on the pizza and served it with lemon wedges on the side. My husband gave it the highest compliment: he proclaimed it the best pizza he had ever tasted. And it truly was: a sour, chewy, crisp crust with sweet tomatoes, melted salty cheese, briny lemon and earthy herbs. It was the utmost compliment coming from a fella who would normally take a slice of Hawaiian pizza any day.
I love cookbooks - mostly as a nice thing to read before drifting off to sleep. When I was a kid, I used to keep The Joy of Cooking beside my pillow and dreamed of dressing squirrels and angels on horseback (oysters wrapped in bacon on toast rounds). I generally did not use my cookbooks for actual cooking, but relied instead on the cook-as-artist's method of inspiration drawn from cookbooks plus constant tasting. One day, however, my husband bought me The Cheeseboard cookbook "The Cheese Board Collective Works". For those who have never heard of The Cheeseboard Collective, it is a worker-owned and -operated bakery, pizzeria, and cheese shop in Berkeley, California in which all members have equal decision-making power. Sadly, I have never been to The Cheeseboard, which is strange because I live maybe forty minutes away. In lieu of eating at The Cheeseboard, I have found that The Cheeseboard Cookbook is a superior cookbook. Everything I have cooked from it tastes unbelievably delicious. The chocolate chip scones are gigantic, flaky, buttery, and studded with bitter bits of chocolate. My cousin keeps asking for the corn cherry scones, which are slightly sweet, crispy with cornmeal, and tender within from buttermilk. Their recipe for sourdough starter worked like a dream for me, despite starting my culture with white whole wheat flour instead of organic rye flour. The baguettes were beautifully sour and chewy, with large holes and a very thick deep brown crust. The piece de resistance was 
when I used some of the master sourdough dough to make their tomato pizza with lemon zest. The mozzarella formed a thick chewy layer under the meaty plum tomatoes, set off by a thinly browned crust of mozzarella and crumbles of feta over top. After it came out of the oven, I brushed the crust with garlic oil and shaved lemon zest over top. In addition, I shaved Asiago cheese and crumbled fresh thyme instead of cilantro over all. I did this because I dislike cilantro in my food unless it is Indian or Mexican. I then squeezed fresh lemon juice on the pizza and served it with lemon wedges on the side. My husband gave it the highest compliment: he proclaimed it the best pizza he had ever tasted. And it truly was: a sour, chewy, crisp crust with sweet tomatoes, melted salty cheese, briny lemon and earthy herbs. It was the utmost compliment coming from a fella who would normally take a slice of Hawaiian pizza any day.
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