February 9, 2010

Bring the Double Take Love to Your World

Okay, I know I tend to write about booze here (I mean, the blog is called “Spiked Punch”), but I figure my lovely readers would also like to know how to make the world better by picking up on the Double Take philosophy. Not sure what that means? Well, then you should check out the book I wrote with pal (and mastermind chef) Jeremy Holt, entitled Double Take: Feeding Vegetarians and Omnivores Together, One Fabulous Recipe, Two Finished Dishes. The book (as you might expect, but hey, just in case it’s not so clear) is designed to teach folks to make meals for both vegetarians and meat-eaters–at the same time. Instead of serving separate dishes for each side at the table, it brings people together. Instead of causing you, the cook, to tear out your hair wondering how to make different dishes for separate culinary needs, it helps you put together one meal that meets all tastes and bridges that once-divided table. To accomplish this worthy and delicious end, it has six chapters with recipes that (in almost every case) deliver a meat and veggie version by the end of the last instruction, and tells how to make the recipe all meat or all veggie, too. Here are the chapters, arranged in entertaining and cook-friendly fashion:

 

Sundry Snacks

A Brunch Bunch

Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches

Comfort Entrees

Entertaining Entrees

Satisfying Sides

 

There is also a jumping introduction that provides helpful hints for stocking your kitchen (what cookware, cutlery, gadgets, and small appliances you might think about buying), and then goes through Meat Alternatives 101 (both classic meat substitutes and newer models) in case you need a refresher. If that isn’t enough to get your mouth watering and to intrigue your culinary mind, the Double Take (which is, by the way, available in paperback and hardback for your shopping pleasure) also has a host of handy and heroic sidebars, covering an assortment of helpful hints and techniques, from Jeremy’s sauce basics (on page 7), recipes for sauces hollandaise and béchamel (on page 168), bacon bests (on page 195), and stock reducing (on page 88) to A.J.’s hints for draining tofu (on page 44) and baking tofu (on page 48), and much more. So, don’t hesitate–head on into the Double Take to avoid any wrasslin’ over the grill (like in the below photo) and to ensure that you make memorable moments around a table that’s brimming with delicious dishes for everyone. Cause that’s what it’s all about.

 

 

jenny said:

Congratulations on the new book! Hooray! A definite must read for a life lived in Lawrence. I can’t wait to pick it up!

Becca said:

Yay, AJ! Can I just say– this book is going to save many a family dinner at my parent’s place! With my sister and I now both (mostly) veg, and growing up with a Dad and brothers who are strictly steak-and-potatoes people… this is already proving to be a lifesaver. I’m bringing a copy down when I go to visit the rents in Florida!

P.S. Have you seen this “Crime Against Cocktails?” http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2010/02/crimes-against-cocktails-retail-edition.html

phismi said:

That picture is $$, as the kids (and embarrasingly aging hipsters), say. Not sure how the broccoli would hold up on the grill, though. Is that addressed in the book?

Nice to know that, in our increasingly bifurcated (trifurcated? – it is too a word) society, you are doing your part to bring us all together.

admin said:

We are the peacemakers. Of course, the veggie ones of us have to make peace, as the meat eaters tend to be meaner.

Jenny, thanks for being our KS rep, and Becca, thanks for being our east coast rep–will get the Double Take lifestyle over the whole world before long (Phismi, you have to take it to the streets, as they say).

PS: Becca, I hadn’t seen the Crimes Against Cocktails, but I dug it. I have (yeah, I’m ashamed) had one of those porta shots before. And I think I have some vodka in a squeeze bottle at home. I’m embarrassed.

Nicole Sholly said:

I can’t believe the Hoosier contingency hasn’t purchased a copy of this fine tome yet. Believe me, it’s on the to-do list! I’m looking forward to having visual aids when the meat-eaters ask the inevitable upon learning that we don’t eat meat: “What DO you eat?” Gee, I don’t know. Ever heard of vegetables? Grains? Nuts and berries? You know, what our ancestors ate before they invented weaponry? Thanks, AJ and Jeremy, for making it just a touch easier (and tastier) to continue living in this cattle town!

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