The BLT Cookbook
Encyclopedia
The BLT Cookbook was written by Michele Anna Jordan about the preparation of various types of BLT sandwich
. The cookbook
was published by William Morrow Cookbooks in the United States
in June 2003. Jordan is a food writer and has written for The Press Democrat; The BLT Cookbook is her 14th published book. She researched the book for ten years, and taste-tested hundreds of variations on the sandwich
in the process. Jordan writes of her passion for the BLT sandwich in the book, describing it as America's most beloved sandwich. She instructs the reader on how to acquire and prepare the best ingredients for the sandwich. The book includes recipes with varying types of ingredients, though each recipe includes tomatoes. Many recipes in the book are not sandwiches, and include appetizers, soups, and salads. The author includes recipes for desserts and suggests wines to have with the sandwich.
The book was positively received, and the National Pork Board
highly recommended it. A review in The Detroit News
commented that the book includes "mouthwatering recipes", and the San Francisco Chronicle
called it a "neat little book" on the subject. The food editor for the Daily Herald noted that recipes in the book "will surely shake up your next toasted meal". The Anchorage Daily News
called it the "definitive book" on the BLT sandwich.
. The BLT Cookbook is Jordan's 14th book. Other books by Jordan include The New Cook's Tour of Sonoma and California Home Cooking. The author is the recipient of a 1997 James Beard Award and Small Press Cookbook of the Year Award.
The author decided to write about the BLT sandwich after discovering it was a good remedy for morning sickness
. She found that others who frequented the food-lovers web site chowhound.com shared her love of the BLT. Jordan spent ten years performing research for The BLT Cookbook, and spent a winter season writing the book. During the research process, Jordan taste-tested hundreds of variations on the BLT sandwich. In 2003, Jordan resided in Sonoma County, California
. In 2003 the author hosted two radio programs on KRCB-FM, "Mouthful with Michele Anna Jordan" and "Red Shoes Rodeo". The year the book was published, the author crafted a large BLT sandwich at the Kendall-Jackson Tomato Festival which was 1248 square feet (115.9 m²) in size.
. Jordan asserts that the BLT is "America's favorite sandwich". The author comments of the sandwich, "There are times when the BLT just tastes right, primal and true, the best thing you could ever eat. The play of the salt and acid, the silk of the tomato against the salt crunch of the bacon ... It is sheer delight." The BLT Cookbook presents ways that the combination can be presented in soups, appetizers, and salads. Recipes are provided for multiple different takes on the BLT sandwich. Jordan advises the reader, "Life is short. Live! Indulge! Slather!"
Jordan writes that in order to make the best sandwich, one should select the finest ingredients. "There is something magical about the combination of ingredients. It has everything. The smoky flavor, fat, the acid of the tomatoes, the lusciousness of the mayonnaise and toasted bread," she comments. She recommends going to a local farmers market for fresh tomatoes, a butcher for choice bacon, and a bakery for fresh bread. The author recommends mayonnaise
brands Hellmann's and Best Foods, and Niman bacon from California. Regarding preparation of the lettuce, Jordan writes, "For lettuce, remove the first outer leaf and then use only the next three layers. Further in, iceberg lettuce gets a little cabbagey."
The BLT Cookbook begins by presenting a recipe for mini cocktail selection of the BLT, followed by a larger version that is recommended for larger gatherings such as a picnic. Non-traditional presentations of the BLT combination include recipes "Tomatoes Stuffed with Bacon Risotto", "Potato Soup with Tomatoes and Bacon" and "Tomato Bread Pudding". The author presents varieties on the BLT that omit one of the ingriedients. "The Fisherman's BLT" is an alternative to the standard sandwich, instead utilizing seafood, and the "ZLT" uses zucchini, lettuce and tomato. "At Pike Place Market in Seattle, there's a stand that offers wonderful salmon sandwiches. I've used that sandwich as inspiration for a BLT with salmon," writes Jordan. The "Bacon, Leek and Tomato Strudel" is a dish that does not use bread. All recipes presented in The BLT Cookbook utilize tomatoes. Some of the final recipes presented in the book include bread pudding, strudel and tomato pie. Selected wines that Jordan recommends having with the dishes in the book include a Rhone-style red, beaujolais
, or pinot noir
.
. Kate Lawson of The Detroit News
wrote that the book offers "mouthwatering recipes ranging from variations on the classic sandwich to soups, salads and pastas." Karola Saekel of the San Francisco Chronicle
commented, "Recipes for recommended basics like aioli and tomato concasse round out the neat little book." Food editor Deborah Pankey of the Daily Herald wrote in her review of the book, "While giving the titled trio its due respect, author Michele Anna Jordan introduces a host of other ingredients that will surely shake up your next toasted meal (yes, she favors toast to help maintain the sandwich's structure.)"
The Cincinnati Post
noted, "Her book presents practically all the possibilities for BLT combinations as she leaves the two slices of white toast far behind". Staff writer for ANG Newspapers
, Jolene Thym commented on The BLT Cookbook, "Not simply a cookbook, the little handbook is a discourse on the sandwich that is elegant enough to coax even the most virtuous eaters to gobble pork fat and mayonnaise with abandon." T.C. Mitchell of the Anchorage Daily News
characterized The BLT Cookbook as the "definitive book" on the sandwich.
BLT sandwich
A BLT is a type of bacon sandwich. The standard BLT is made up of five ingredients: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and bread. The five ingredients can be altered according to preference; for example, the bread can be toasted and the mayonnaise home-made...
. The cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
was published by William Morrow Cookbooks in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in June 2003. Jordan is a food writer and has written for The Press Democrat; The BLT Cookbook is her 14th published book. She researched the book for ten years, and taste-tested hundreds of variations on the sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
in the process. Jordan writes of her passion for the BLT sandwich in the book, describing it as America's most beloved sandwich. She instructs the reader on how to acquire and prepare the best ingredients for the sandwich. The book includes recipes with varying types of ingredients, though each recipe includes tomatoes. Many recipes in the book are not sandwiches, and include appetizers, soups, and salads. The author includes recipes for desserts and suggests wines to have with the sandwich.
The book was positively received, and the National Pork Board
National Pork Board
The National Pork Board, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa is a quasigovernmental body of the United States government that was established under the terms of the Pork Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1985, also known as the Pork Act, which was included as part of the 1985...
highly recommended it. A review in The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
commented that the book includes "mouthwatering recipes", and the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
called it a "neat little book" on the subject. The food editor for the Daily Herald noted that recipes in the book "will surely shake up your next toasted meal". The Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
called it the "definitive book" on the BLT sandwich.
Author
Author Michele Anna Jordan is a food writer, and has contributed columns published in the food and wine section of The Press Democrat. Jordan has written restaurant reviews for the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. The BLT Cookbook is Jordan's 14th book. Other books by Jordan include The New Cook's Tour of Sonoma and California Home Cooking. The author is the recipient of a 1997 James Beard Award and Small Press Cookbook of the Year Award.
The author decided to write about the BLT sandwich after discovering it was a good remedy for morning sickness
Morning sickness
Morning sickness, also called nausea gravidarum, nausea, vomiting of pregnancy , or pregnancy sickness is a condition that affects more than half of all pregnant women. Related to increased oestrogen levels, a similar form of nausea is also seen in some women who use hormonal contraception or...
. She found that others who frequented the food-lovers web site chowhound.com shared her love of the BLT. Jordan spent ten years performing research for The BLT Cookbook, and spent a winter season writing the book. During the research process, Jordan taste-tested hundreds of variations on the BLT sandwich. In 2003, Jordan resided in Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
. In 2003 the author hosted two radio programs on KRCB-FM, "Mouthful with Michele Anna Jordan" and "Red Shoes Rodeo". The year the book was published, the author crafted a large BLT sandwich at the Kendall-Jackson Tomato Festival which was 1248 square feet (115.9 m²) in size.
Contents
The book discusses the author's love of the BLT sandwichBLT sandwich
A BLT is a type of bacon sandwich. The standard BLT is made up of five ingredients: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and bread. The five ingredients can be altered according to preference; for example, the bread can be toasted and the mayonnaise home-made...
. Jordan asserts that the BLT is "America's favorite sandwich". The author comments of the sandwich, "There are times when the BLT just tastes right, primal and true, the best thing you could ever eat. The play of the salt and acid, the silk of the tomato against the salt crunch of the bacon ... It is sheer delight." The BLT Cookbook presents ways that the combination can be presented in soups, appetizers, and salads. Recipes are provided for multiple different takes on the BLT sandwich. Jordan advises the reader, "Life is short. Live! Indulge! Slather!"
Jordan writes that in order to make the best sandwich, one should select the finest ingredients. "There is something magical about the combination of ingredients. It has everything. The smoky flavor, fat, the acid of the tomatoes, the lusciousness of the mayonnaise and toasted bread," she comments. She recommends going to a local farmers market for fresh tomatoes, a butcher for choice bacon, and a bakery for fresh bread. The author recommends mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
brands Hellmann's and Best Foods, and Niman bacon from California. Regarding preparation of the lettuce, Jordan writes, "For lettuce, remove the first outer leaf and then use only the next three layers. Further in, iceberg lettuce gets a little cabbagey."
The BLT Cookbook begins by presenting a recipe for mini cocktail selection of the BLT, followed by a larger version that is recommended for larger gatherings such as a picnic. Non-traditional presentations of the BLT combination include recipes "Tomatoes Stuffed with Bacon Risotto", "Potato Soup with Tomatoes and Bacon" and "Tomato Bread Pudding". The author presents varieties on the BLT that omit one of the ingriedients. "The Fisherman's BLT" is an alternative to the standard sandwich, instead utilizing seafood, and the "ZLT" uses zucchini, lettuce and tomato. "At Pike Place Market in Seattle, there's a stand that offers wonderful salmon sandwiches. I've used that sandwich as inspiration for a BLT with salmon," writes Jordan. The "Bacon, Leek and Tomato Strudel" is a dish that does not use bread. All recipes presented in The BLT Cookbook utilize tomatoes. Some of the final recipes presented in the book include bread pudding, strudel and tomato pie. Selected wines that Jordan recommends having with the dishes in the book include a Rhone-style red, beaujolais
Beaujolais
Beaujolais is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wine generally made of the Gamay grape which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made mostly with Chardonnay grapes...
, or pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
.
Reception
The BLT Cookbook is "highly recommended" by the National Pork BoardNational Pork Board
The National Pork Board, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa is a quasigovernmental body of the United States government that was established under the terms of the Pork Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1985, also known as the Pork Act, which was included as part of the 1985...
. Kate Lawson of The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
wrote that the book offers "mouthwatering recipes ranging from variations on the classic sandwich to soups, salads and pastas." Karola Saekel of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
commented, "Recipes for recommended basics like aioli and tomato concasse round out the neat little book." Food editor Deborah Pankey of the Daily Herald wrote in her review of the book, "While giving the titled trio its due respect, author Michele Anna Jordan introduces a host of other ingredients that will surely shake up your next toasted meal (yes, she favors toast to help maintain the sandwich's structure.)"
The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post is a discontinued afternoon daily newspaper that was published in Cincinnati, Ohio. Distributed in Northern Kentucky as The Kentucky Post, it was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Since the 1980s, its editorial stance was usually conservative. The Post published its final...
noted, "Her book presents practically all the possibilities for BLT combinations as she leaves the two slices of white toast far behind". Staff writer for ANG Newspapers
ANG Newspapers
Bay Area News Group is the largest newspaper publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area and has corporate headquarters based in San Ramon, California with publications offices in San Jose and Walnut Creek, although the Walnut Creek location is scheduled to be closed under a 2011 restructuring.BANG...
, Jolene Thym commented on The BLT Cookbook, "Not simply a cookbook, the little handbook is a discourse on the sandwich that is elegant enough to coax even the most virtuous eaters to gobble pork fat and mayonnaise with abandon." T.C. Mitchell of the Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
characterized The BLT Cookbook as the "definitive book" on the sandwich.
See also
- List of bacon dishes
- Bacon maniaBacon maniaBacon mania refers to passionate bacon enthusiasm in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Especially fervent in the United States, the enthusiasm has been described as forming a "Bacon Nation"...
- Bacon ExplosionBacon ExplosionA Bacon Explosion is a pork dish that consists of bacon wrapped around a filling of spiced sausage and crumbled bacon. The American-football-sized dish is smoked or baked....
- Bacon vodkaBacon vodkaBacon vodka is vodka infused with bacon flavor, part of a larger trend of "carnivorous cocktails" and the addition of savory flavor to mixed drinks...
- International Bacon DayInternational Bacon DayInternational Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an unofficial observance, often celebrated on the Saturday before US Labor Day...
- National Pig DayNational Pig DayNational Pig Day is an event held annually on March 1 in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday celebration was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina...
- Turkey baconTurkey baconTurkey bacon is a meat product usually prepared from smoked, chopped and reformed turkey and commonly marketed as a low-fat alternative to traditional bacon...
External links
- The BLT Cookbook, at Harper Collins
- Michele Anna Jordan, website of author