DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe, subtitled “Recipes and Stories from Brother Juniper’s Cafe,” is not exactly a cookbook, although many great recipes are included.

Part cookbook and part confessional, Sacramental Magic is a highly entertaining showcase of Peter Reinhart’s passion for great food and great writing. As if in a personal journal, Reinhart recounts the time he dropped a glass measuring cup into the mixing bowl while making cookies, to have the glass explode, and the mixer insouciantly churn the shards into the batter, along with the chocolate chips.

His quest for the world’s best barbecue sauce is equally amusing. And although he can’t publish the final formula (which is the recipe for the commercially-sold “Holy Smoke” bottled sauce), the recipe he provides is great.

In addition to the essays and cafe-tested recipes, Sacramental Magic contains some useful practical information, such as four ways to roast garlic, and a “secret sauce” blend to add zest to sandwiches.

The book seems to be out of print, but if you can find a copy, you’ll enjoy it. We rely on two of the recipes:

1. Caesar Salad (p. 36)
2. Red Barbecue Sauce (a Holy Smoke variant) (p. 137)

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (hardback)