Photo courtesy of Famous Dave

"May you always be surrounded by good friends and great barbecue," says Dave Anderson over the phone in lieu of a goodbye. But he's earned the right to those coined phrases: Dave Anderson, a.k.a. Famous Dave of Famous Dave's BBQ, has an abundance of two very important things: ribs and enthusiasm.

Today happens to be a celebration of Anderson's enthusiasm for ribs. Mayor R.T. Rybak has proclaimed today, June 13, Famous Dave Anderson BBQ Party Day, as a sort of congratulations for Anderson's latest book. Famous Dave's BBQ Party Handbook is the tell-all that grillmasters everywhere have been waiting for: the one where Famous Dave himself sheds light not only on the special flavors that season his renowned BBQ, but throws out over 170 recipes on how to throw, as Anderson calls it, the "ultimate BBQ party." Luckily enough, it seems like the weather might finally allow for an actual day of BBQ!

Today, Anderson be signing copies of his new cookbook at the Barnes & Noble in downtown Minneapolis starting at 11:30 a.m. (Click here to preview the book on Amazon.) Hot Dish caught up with the man himself to talk about the inspiration behind the BBQ.

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The new book, Come In, We're Closed, features recipes for meals that top restaurants serve to their own employees

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Minnesota Historical Society Press

Need some rhubarb inspiration? Look no further.

Summer in Minnesota is a beautiful thing. It may be just a few fleeting months, but the seasonal produce is plentiful, interesting, and inspires some of the most memorable dishes we eat all year. Right now we're nearing the end of rhubarb season, and for those of us with home gardens and CSA boxes that means we have more of these sour pink stalks than we know what to do with. 

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Cooking with Katniss!

​Never has the adult world gone so over the top rabid for a young adult book trilogy.  Except maybe that one other time with the Mormon-inspired sparkly people.  But as the movie for theHunger Games, the first installment of Suzanne Collins' trilogy about a dystopian future approaches and the media surrounding it whips expectant viewers into an unsightly froth, we noticed an interesting food-related trend.

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"We emphasize taking pleasure in the doing," Lynne Rossetto Kasper says. "This is not about 'it's got to be right and it's got to be perfect.' "

One of the very best things I ever ate was an appetizer made by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. She cracked open a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano and drizzled it with a syrup-thick balsamic vinegar. That's it. Creamy and sharp, sweet and salty, the shards of cheese and vinegar startled my senses awake. It was exactly what I wanted at that moment. It was perfect.

The spanking-new cookbook that she and Sally Swift have written, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends: New Recipes, Stories & Opinions (Clarkson Potter, $35), is like that deceptively simple dish.

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Salad Days can be yours

Pam Powell, an alum of Brenda Langton's Cafe Kardamena and owner of the Salad Girl Organic Dressings line, has a new cookbook out. Salad Days outlines a few salad-making basics--a useful guide to the various green types, plus tips on washing and storing produce, and stocking dressing ingredients--and then gets straight to the recipes, arranged by season.

The secret to many an excellent salad is an ingredient list that gets beyond the basic vegetable list, and Powell's selections incorporate all sorts of fruits, nuts, cheeses, beans, and meats. So if you're in a salad rut and need some inspiration, how about Nectarine and Nasturtium Salad, or Crab-stuffed Artichoke with Lemon Tarragon Dressing?

The Hot Dish has two copies of the book. Say why you like your favorite salad--either one you make at home or eat at a local restaurant--in the comments for a chance to win. (Leave your email address, too, it won't be visible.)

Salad Days may be purchased at one of these retailers or signed at one of the following events:

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Modernist Cuisine

"The cookbook to end all cookbooks." -David Chang

Copies of what is surely the most epic cookbook of the contemporary world--the six-volume, 2,438-page, 39.5 pound, five-years-in-the-making Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking--are currently on their way to the hands of the nearly 3,000 people who pre-ordered. The authors--three men with backgrounds in science, technology, and cooking--worked with a 20-person team at their Cooking Lab to thoroughly investigate contemporary cooking techniques, including the molecular gastronomy practiced by restaurants such as elBulli, The Fat Duck, Alinea, and wd~50.

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Your Scandinavian grandmother substitute.

Are you lacking a Scandinavian grandmother and tired of waiting for church bake sales to get your hands on some sandbakkels? A new book, Scandinavian Classic Baking, by local cookbook author Pat Sinclair, rounds up recipes for the best baked goods from northern Europe, including Norwegian julekake, Danish aebleskiver, and Swedish princess cake.

If you'd like to learn to make lefse, Sinclair will be hosting two upcoming cooking demos and book signings. Details follow:

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Andy Lien

Shefzilla- The Book

​An elegantly dressed man in mirror aviator shades guarded the entrance to the stony patio. A small crowd gathered on the sidewalk in Uptown. Hipsters, tweed-suited men, and bedazzled, cowboy-booted women were all waiting their turn to grab a copy of the cookbook Shefzilla: Conquering Haute Cuisine at Home and get their first glimpse inside the hotly anticipated reincarnation of Heidi's.

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