Michael Ruhlman -- you've heard his name before -- is in love with numbers. His previous book, Ratio, focused less on hard-and-fast recipes and more on the proportions of ingredients to one another.

With his latest book, Ruhlman's Twenty, he zeroes in on twenty culinary techniques and ingredients over the course of 100 recipes. While I haven't read his first instructional cookbook "The Elements of Cooking," his new work seems to be a more expansive, visually-rich book filled with glossy photos taken by his photographer wife, Donna Turner Ruhlman.

From salt to water, roast to braise, Michael gives a thorough run down of methods and terms before launching into the recipes. There's nothing in the book that the average home cook couldn't successfully attempt with a modest amount of effort, and "Ruhlman's Twenty" seems geared more for the beginner cook who'd like to add more sparkle to old favorites. The recipes are a collection of comfort food standards, from "Perfect Meat Loaf with Chipotle Ketchup," "Pulled Pork with Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Sauce," "Mac and Cheese with Soubise" and "Rosemary-Brined Buttermilk Fried Chicken" to basic fare such as "Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Chives" and "Tomato Sauce." There's nothing too complicated or exotic within its pages, and it would be a good addition to the bookshelf for any aspiring foodie looking to step up their culinary game.

Under "Soup: The Easiest Meal" -- because he agrees with former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl's assertion that, "You know what they say, if you've got chicken stock, you've got a meal." -- he includes a recipe for "Sweet Bell Pepper Soup" that includes just four ingredients.

Sweet Bell Pepper Soup
Serves 5

1 pound / 455 grams red, orange, and/or yellow bell peppers / capsicums, seeded and cut into 2-inch/5-centimeter pieces
1 cup / 240 milliliters heavy / double cream
Kosher salt
Lemon juice

Combine the vegetables and cream in a saucepan and bring the cream to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Puree, adding a three-finger pinch of salt and leaving the blender cap off and covering the the blender with a kitchen towel until the contents are thoroughly pureed, about 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add a squeeze of lemon. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pan or bowl. Taste again for seasoning and adjust if neceessary. Serve 1/2-cup/60 milliter portions.

Ruhlman says, "The same method works with nearly any vegetable, but the best choices are nongreen vegetables such as root vegetables, fennel, cauliflower, and mushrooms."

If you'd like to meet the author in person, Michael will be appearing at Omnivore Books this Wednesday, November 30, from 6-7 PM. A celebratory dinner at Incanto will follow afterwards, and he'll be present to sign copies for guests. The dinner is standard seating, so reservations can be made online or by phone at 415-641-4500.

There's a new family member in 4505 Meats' "Swine So Fine Product Line" making its debut this month. Aside from their transcendental chicharrones (pillowy clouds of fried pork skin that melts in your mouth), turduckens, spiritual t-shirts, letterpress posters, and the masterminds behind the best burger in the Bay Area (if not the country, aside from Peter Luger's in Brooklyn), they're releasing their visually stunning, prodigious tome of meat wisdom: Whole Beast Butchery: The Complete Visual Guide to Beef, Lamb and Pork.

I've been an ardent fan of chef Ryan Farr since my fellow KQED colleague and I attended a panel discussion UC Berkeley titled, "The Art of the Butcher." We watched in awe as he proceeded to expertly break down an entire side of a pig in front of the audience. (And later on, when hunting for a caterer to roast a whole pig at my wedding, I knew who to call. Ryan and his talented crew prepared this amazing porchetta for our picnic reception several years ago.) Since then, I've also seen him work his magic at various street food festivals and his weekly lunch gig at the Ferry Building.

Ryan Farr holding his book "Whole Beast Butchery" at Eat Real Fest 2011. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

With the release of "Whole Beast Butchery," he's adding author to his list of talents. Ryan teaches butcher and sausage-making classes, but as they're sold out for the rest of the year -- this is the next best thing. This hefty book is beautifully illustrated with color photographs by Ed Anderson that comprehensively depicts the labor-intensive process of cutting up whole slabs of beef, lamb and pork. This short video from Chronicle Books gives a great overview of what you'll find inside.

Whole Beast Butchery starts off with an introduction that outlines why there's an increased interest in taking this ambitious culinary step.

"Home butchering is the next logical step for those who raise their own vegetables and chickens, preserve the bounty of the land and field of off-season meals, and care deeply about what they feed themselves and their families. When you decide to butcher a whole animal or a part of one by yourself, as I hope you will, you are almost always going to be buying that animal locally. By doing so, you are supporting a local business as well as your community."

Ryan then outlines the basic tools you'll need to get started: a hatchet, an array of knives, bone saw, hooks and other accoutrements to break down an animal. But the best advice he gives is to plan ahead -- partner with other families to share the labor and costs of a whole animal, and decide ahead of time how you want to butcher the meat.

"You will need to understand all the different options in order to make the best decision based on your needs. Not every cut of meat with which you are familiar can physically come from the same animal...If you want tenderloin medallions or filet mignon, you won't be able to cut porterhouse or T-bones from the same side of the animal."

Ryan also advises to follow "whole-animal utilization," which is "not just about using all the parts of the animal -- including the offal, the lesser-known cuts and organs -- it's also about making sure there are no scraps left behind, which is also a great way to get the most value from your whole animals. Use the best scraps to make sausage and other scraps to make stock. Then poach your sausage in the stock. Then reduce the stock and make a sauce."

There's loads of recipes in the book how to prepare your cuts of meat once you're done butchering (or if you're just interested in cooking), from spice-cured beef brisket with curry to crispy pork shoulder with shank. Here's one for smoked pork sirloin if you want to prepare yourself a decadent breakfast.

Smoked Pork Sirloin
Serves 4

Master Brine, completely cold - 8.5 cups (67 oz, 1900 g, 28.7%)

Boneless pork sirloin or cowboy "ham" steak - 1 whole (27 oz, 766 g, 71.3%)

Rendered pork fat for cooking (optional) as needed

1. In a nonreactive container, brine the sirloin, fully submerged, in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Rinse well under cold water.

2. Prepare a smoker with about 2 cups / 8 ounces of apple or hickory wood chips. Insert a probe thermometer into the center of the sirloin and smoke the meat, ideally at about 230°F / 110°C, until the internal temperature at the center reaches 150°F / 65°C. (The smoke will peter out after a while; don't add more chips, or the meat will be too smoky.

3. Let the meat cool, the refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into thick slices and fry until crispy and golden, adding a little rendered pork fat to the pan, if you like. Enjoy for breakfast (or anytime of day).

Master Brine

Yield: 4.73 liters / 1 gallon and 1 quart

This recipe is a starting point, but there are many possible variations. If you're not a fan of hot flavors, go ahead and omit the chiles. Always use a tall, narrow nonreactive container only just large enough to hold the protein, so the brine will go up as far up as possible. The brine must cover the protein completely, so scale the quantities here up or down as necessary.

Granulated sugar - 2 cups (13.6 oz/385 g / 6.5%)

Kosher salt - 2.5 cups (20.4 oz / 578 g / 12.7%)

Whole black peppercorns - 1/4 c (1.2 oz / 34 g / 0.7%)

Whole coriander seeds - 6 tbsp (0.8 oz / 24 g / 5%)

Dried bird's-eye chile or Thai chile - 3 small ( 6 oz / 17 g / 0.4%)

Water - 16 cups (123 oz / 3500 g / 77.1%)

Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove form the heat. Transfer to a tall nonreactive container that will fit in your refrigerator and let it sit uncovered to cool. When the brine is at room temperature, refrigerate until it is completely cold. Add the meat, and brine as directed.

Whole Beast Butchery: The Complete Visual Guide to Beef, Lamb, and Pork by chef Ryan Farr and Birgit Binns. Photographs by Ed Anderson. Published by Chronicle Books.

4505 Meats
San Francisco Ferry Building
Saturday market: 8AM - 2PM
Thursday market: 10AM - 2PM

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Twitter: @4505_Meats

A big crowd gathered last night at the Make-Out Room to celebrate Mission Street Food's forthcoming cookbook, "Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas From An Improbable Restaurant," published by McSweeney's new cookbook imprint.

Unfortunately, the cookbooks were tied up at customs and so no copies were to be had for the foodie groupies. But there was music, free beer, a short and funny presentation given by MSF duo Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz and Popeye's fried chicken -- lots of it. Apparently this chicken holds a soft spot in their hearts, especially Anthony's.

Anthony and Karen also took time out of their busy schedules to answer a few questions via email about their new project.

1) You've had quite a journey in the past 3 years, from street food vendor, to Mission Burger, Commonwealth, Mission Chinese Food and now you're launching a cookbook. What was your initial inspiration for the cookbook?

Our editor, Chris Ying, suggested we write about Mission Street Food, because he was starting McSweeney’s food imprint. We hadn’t been planning to write a book—as you mention, the last few years have been a bit of a whirlwind for us—but actually, the process of writing has helped us make sense of everything that’s happened. The story of MSF’s evolution takes about as much space in our book as the recipes, because we wanted to show how the food came out of our peculiar circumstances as an ever-changing pop-up restaurant.

2) There are loads of Chinese cookbooks out there. What will folks come away with from the Mission Chinese Street Food's book that's unique?

In this book, we really focused on recipes from the Mission Street Food era, rather than Mission Chinese Food. The book’s cover is modeled on a classic American-Chinese restaurant placemat, because we wanted to reflect the way that MSF was contained within Lung Shan, though our food was inspired by culinary traditions from around the world. The recipes in our book reflect that international approach to cooking, so you’ll find our version of Peking Duck juxtaposed with our version of a Nordic dessert, and we happily admit that neither is “authentic.”

3) How would you compare the collaborative cookbook writing process to your food ventures? Was it harder, easier, and/or gratifying in other ways?

Writing the book was probably a little bit easier than starting Mission Street Food, because the hours were more flexible. We worked very closely on the book, and literally passed the laptop back and forth between us as we talked. Working in a restaurant can be so ephemeral—if the food is good, then it disappears—so it’s nice to have something so solid that we can point to, and say “We made this!”

4) What's up next for Mission Chinese Food? Any plans to expand?

Hard to say. We’re definitely bursting the seams of our current arrangement, but our priority has always been to make food that’s really personal, so we don’t have any plans to expand right now.

5) The book party for your cookbook served up Popeye's fried chicken. What's the connection to Mission Street Food?

Well, there’s no connection between Popeye’s and Mission Street Food, but we do discuss how Popeye’s deserves culinary respect for their combination of deliciousness and low price—part of a general open-mindedness towards various foods.

The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

"A girl's gotta eat!" quips Jaden Hair, self-taught cook, creator of the popular food blog Steamy Kitchen, and most recently, author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

This is the kind of sass and practicality that makes Jaden's work so enjoyable and relatable. Her new book is dubbed, "101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner" and features fast, simple, and delicious recipes passed down from her mom and inspired by her fellow food bloggers.

I first met Jaden at the BlogHer Food conference a few months ago, and was struck by her focus, drive, and of course, her sparkling personality. Judging from her expansive multi-media reach (Jaden is workin' it -- not only does she have a blog and book, she also writes a weekly column for the Tampa Tribune and has a syndicated show on Tampa Bay's CBS10), it's hard to believe that she's only been at this whole food thing for 2 ½ years.

(Other than feeling a little bad about myself) I find inspiration in her hustle. It was a pleasure chatting with Jaden, and I found myself nodding and smiling as her enthusiasm flowed through the phone line.

It wasn't until she moved away from California to a suburb of Tampa, devoid of good Asian markets and her mother's home cooking, that Jaden learned to cook. She earned her culinary degree via a $448.63 cell phone bill, and when I read her dedication on the front page of her book ("To my Mom, who spent thousands of hours reciting family recipe over the phone...and to my Dad, who patiently translated when our Chinglish didn't suffice."), I was reminded of my own inadequate Chinglish...and all the times I called my own mom from the grocery store, or begged her to just estimate how much soy sauce/rice vinegar/black bean sauce she used in a dish so I could piece together some semblance of a recipe.

Steamy Kitchen honors the passing down of recipes from generation to generation, from friend to friend, and recognizes that in doing so, it becomes more than just a recipe, but a tangible expression of family and community. I love that. I also love that the cookbook lends a real-life perspective on learning how to take what you have available and adapt it to your family meal. And, I love that this is a "homegrown" cookbook, written, styled, and photographed by Jaden herself. (True fact, the photos where you see her hands preparing a dish were taken by her 4-year-old son via tripod, wireless remote clicker, and chocolate bribe.)

Below is a recipe for Firecracker Shrimp, straight from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. It is a recipe that has become a regular at Jaden's dinner parties, and she warns, they rarely make it to the table because guests stand in the kitchen snagging them as they cool on the rack. The recipe is originally from Rice and Noodles by Mae Gabriel, a blog that inspired Jaden to take food photography seriously.

A good indication of the other dishes in The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, these Firecracker Shrimp are enticing and accessible. And, I'm fairly certain they won't be making it past the cooling rack at my next party either.

Firecracker Shrimp, Photo by Jaden Hair

Firecracker Shrimp
From The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair

Serves: 4-6 as appetizer

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour
¼ cup water
24 medium tail-on shrimp, shelled (leave tails on) and deveined
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sweet chilli sauce, divided *Recommended brands: Mae Ploy and Lingham (thicker, spicier and less sweet than Mae Ploy)
12 eggroll or fresh spring roll wrappers, cut in half diagonally and covered with plastic wrap or a damp cloth
High-heat cooking oil for frying

Preparation:
1) In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry.
2) Lay the shrimp flat on a cutting board and using a sharp paring knife, cut a few nicks on the inside curve of the shrimp. Be careful not to cut through the shrimp. Pat the shrimp very dry.
3) Season the shrimp with the salt and pepper. Pour ¼ cup of the sweet chilli sauce on a small plate. Hold the shrimp by its tail and dip both sides of the shrimp in the sweet chilli sauce. Avoid getting the tails wet (if the tail of the shrimp is wet with marinade, it will splatter in the hot oil). Let the shrimp marinade for 10 minutes at room temperature.
4) Use paper towels to pat the shrimp slightly, to soak up the extra marinade. Some of the sticky sweet chilli sauce should still be on the shrimp.
5) Roll the shrimp in the halved wrappers, following the instructions below.
6) In a wok, deep fryer or large sauté pan, add 1 ½ inches of oil and heat it to 375 degrees F. Add the firecracker shrimp a few at a time to the oil and fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes. Drain on a baking rack and serve with a side of sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Option: Add a thin slice of mango with the shrimp with wrapping to make Firecracker Mango Shrimp.

Step by Step Wrapping

Rolling the Shrimp Wrapper
1) Lay an eggroll or spring roll wrapper on a dry, clean surface as shown. Lay a shrimp with the tail sticking out.
2) Bring the left corner of the wrapper over the shrimp and being rolling left to right. Make sure that you are rolling tightly. As you roll, bring the top corner o the wrapper down and over the shrimp. Again, make sure you leave no open pockets of air. Big air pockets and holes will allow oil to seep in.
3) Continue rolling towards the right. Dip your finger or a pastry brush into the cornstarch slurry and pain the final corner. Roll to seal. Lay the roll seam side down on a dry plate or tray. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp and wrappers. Keep all uncooked Firecracker Shrimp covered with plastic wrap or barely damp towel.

I like a challenge as much as the next person. Cooking without any meat, dairy or eggs is a pretty big challenge for me, but every once in a while I do go vegan. My problem with most vegan cookbooks is they tend to veer off into the realm of meat substitutes. Frankly, if I want to eat meat, I will, so I prefer more creative approaches.

To get inspired and learn new cooking techniques there are two cookbooks I rely on, Veganomicon and The Accidental Vegan. Veganomicon was written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, two hipsters and founders of the Post Punk Kitchen. Some great recipes from the book include Pasta e Fagioli and Chickpeas Romesco.

The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein features recipes that are very straightforward and easy to cook. They are definitely the type of recipes that will make you forget you are not eating meat. The Greek Lentil Soup, Szechuan Noodle Salad, Fennel Tapenade and Baba Ganoush recipes are all keepers. Sadly many of the dessert recipes often use non-hydogenated margarine which does not appeal to me.

I spoke to author, teacher and dietician, Jill Nussinow the "Veggie Queen" to to get her thoughts on the subject:

"I think that the big key to going vegan is to make food taste great no matter what. Many ethnic dishes are or can be vegan easily -- think Thai (minus fish sauce and substitute tamari or Bragg's liquid amino acids), Mexican minus the cheese, Indian, Japanese, Chinese. Classic combos such as rice, beans and tortillas are vegan. The salsa and guacamole are too."

"Use the freshest food that that you can buy and don't expect anything to taste like meat because it doesn't. One of the worst things to do is buy vegan cheese or some kind of meat substitute and think that it's going to be the same as eating whatever it resembles, at least by name."

Here are my tips for incorporating more vegan meals into your diet:

Cook Asian & Middle Eastern Food
These cuisines are loaded with easy vegan dishes such as Hummus, Thai Style Vegetable Curry, Tofu Stir Fried with Shiitake Mushrooms and Chinese Peas.

Concoct Creamy Soups
Making soup is a great way to use a variety of vegetables. Pureeing cooked corn, black beans or potatoes will yield a creamy soup without any dairy.

Build Hearty Salads
Salads made from ingredients like avocados, bulgur, edamame and shredded vegetables are anything but rabbit food.

Don't Forget to Snack!
Dips and spreads made from beans, nuts, and even roasted vegetables can be tasty and nutritious.

Invest in Olive Oil
Olive oil adds flavor and nutrition and can often be used in place of butter. Try it in mashed potatoes, popcorn and on garlic bread.

If you have tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

The weather is still dropping cold in San Francisco, so I see no reason not to dip into a new fondue book. Written by fellow Cowgirl, Lenny Rice, and her friend Brigid Callinan, Fondue is witty, cute, and perfectly delicious. Dropping allusions to Laverne and Shirley and Hawaii 5-0, this cookbook takes you through fifty fondue recipes -- sweet and savory -- as well as fondue accompaniments, like mango marshmallows, Irish soda bread, and spiced doughnut holes.

While I didn't make it yet, my favorite recipe by far has to be the one that came out of Lenny's football-watching childhood in Oklahoma. It's called "Whiskey Tango Game Day" and the recipe includes ground beef or pork and Velveeta. (Yes, Velveeta -- stop your pearl clutching.) Lenny writes, "And the name? If you're familiar with military radio alphabet, you'll probably know how we came up with it!" While drink recommendations for other recipes guide you to specific wines and beers, this recipe suggest you pair your WT Game Day fondue with Dr. Pepper, Bud Light, and RC Cola. Awesome.

The other night Big Cheese and I melted up a big pot of California Country Roads, which throws together the tangy-stinky combination of Cowgirl's own Red Hawk and Bellwether Farms Carmody. The recipe notes suggest using walnut bread, Fig Newtons, Graham crackers, and apples as dippers and pairing with a blanc de noirs. The Fig Newtons were definitely an interesting idea and the Fig Newton lovers in the group became addicted to the combo after the first bite.

With all these recipes at the ready, and a whole lotta cheese out there just begging to be turned into bubbly, velvet masses of goo, I hope these cold nights continue for quite awhile.

California Country Roads

Makes 2 cups

1 (12-ounce) round Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk, rind discarded and cubed
8 ounces Bellwether Farms Carmody, grated
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Napa or Sonoma sauvignon blanc
2 tablespoons muscat or other sweet dessert wine

Toss the cheeses with the flour in a bowl and set aside. In a fondue pot, bring the sauvignon blanc to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to low and add the cheese mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until melted after each addition. Add the muscat and stir until smooth. Serve immediately.

Serve with: toasted walnut or other rustic bread cubes, pear chunks, apple chunks, fresh figs, quartered, fig bars, Graham crackers.

Beverage Suggestions: pinot noir, blanc de noirs (sparkling wine), fino sherry