Big Small Plates

August 7, 2006
In her newest (after Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook
), Pawlcyn explores her love of appetizers and small dishes, emphasizing foods from Spain, Mexico, and Central and South America and including recipes from the her restaurants, past and present. She breaks down chapters into playful categories: "Sticks, Picks, and with Fingers," for example, focuses on foods meant to be eaten by hand, Pawlcyn's admittedly favorite way to eat. Foods served on toast, tortillas or shells appear under "On a Raft," while "Bowls and Spoons" features soups and stews (such as Mussels and Clams with Andouille Sausage in Tangerine Broth). Throughout, Pawlcyn favors seasonal ingredients, be it a recipe for Grilled Radicchio and Scallions with Black Olives or Crispy Fried Rabbit with Dijon-Chervil Sauce. While some dishes, like Pan Roasted Hazelnuts and Chile Garlic Peanuts, are straightforward, others, such as Salt Cod Cakes with Garlic Aioli, require a bit of work. But Pawlcyn is unapologetic: "When it comes to cooking, the little extra you do makes a huge difference, so sweat the details." But the desserts (Baked Peach Crisps, Oranges and Smashed Cherries) are delightfully simple, and the menu suggestions at the end, categorized by season, will inspire any home cook.

August 15, 2006
Pawlcyn has a number of California restaurants to her credit, including the renowned Fog City Diner in San Francisco, and she is also the author of several previous cookbooks. In 2000, she sold her interest in her Bay Area restaurants so that she could concentrate on Mustards Grill, in Napa Valley, and a new restaurant that eventually became Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen. The Jacinto brothers started working in her restaurants in 1983 and went on to become chefs-partners of, respectively, the Backstreet Kitchen and Mustards. Here are recipes for Pawlcyn's favorite type of food, -small plates - -little dishes meant to be shared with friends -organized into categories such as -Sticks, Picks, and with Fingers - and -Knife and Fork. - The recipes are inspired by cuisines from around the world, with an emphasis on those of Latin America, Asia, and the Mediterranean. Many of the casual, mouth-watering dishes are shown in full-page color photographs, and the book concludes with a chapter of desserts, menu suggestions, and a short glossary of ingredients and techniques. Highly recommended.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2006
The rage for tapas caters to the American obsession with grazing, sharing, and consuming a host of small dishes to maximize the count of flavors at a single meal. California restaurateur Pawlcyn uses the idea of tapas as a starting point but expands the genre beyond its origins in Spanish bars. Through imagination she has developed tapas-like dishes from a host of culinary traditions. From France come " gougeres," puff pastries enriched with cheese. Homemade ketchup sauces American fried onion rings. Chinese " mu shu" pork appears wrapped burrito style. Buckwheat pancakes show up in classic Russian style, crowned with caviar. " Arancini," deep-fried Italian rice balls stuffed with melted cheese, profit from an heirloom tomato sauce. Bite-size pieces of fried rabbit make a particularly hearty nibble. More typically Spanish items still exist: chorizo combining with goat cheese, and Serrano ham slices holding shrimp. Pawlcyn concludes with some menus that show how to combine selections of these small plates into full meals. Anyone looking for first courses or cocktail-party-food recipes will find no lack of inspiration here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)