On a Stick!

First, there would be no drooling of food-on-a-stick photos or book review if it wasn't for Matt. I liked that he calls us readers his "food blogging friends." Second, thank you to Eric Smith from Quirk Books and Jessica Scott from Random House of Canada for sending us a review copy of Matt Armendariz's On a Stick!

On a Stick! 80 Party-Perfect Recipes
Written by Matt Armendariz
Photographs by Matt Armendariz

ISBN 13: 978-1594744891

ISBN 10: 1594744890
Publisher: Quirk Books

Paperback: 184 pages

The first thing I did when I got the book was look up page 142 to see what Matt was eating too much of. Ahh, it all made sense now. Recently, I had been asking around to see who had a deep fryer, because friends should let friends have have deep-fried food parties.

Let me rewind and tell you that this book intrigued me because:

a.) it is by Matt of MattBites.com, who takes beautiful food photos,

b.) I was having food on-a-stick withdrawal (or maybe it's fried-food-that-I-shouldn't-be-eating withdrawal), and

c.) there is a section for Sweet Foods on a Stick.

So guess which section I took my recipe testing from? Yes the sweet section, page 140: Decorated Sugar Cookies. Being a baking and dessert blog, I thought it made sense that I took it upon myself to test this sweets-on-stick business out.

I have to admit, I didn't follow the exact instructions. The cookbook suggests Popsicle sticks while I used candy sticks. It also said to insert the Popsicle sticks after the cookies are baked and while they're still warm on the cooling rack. I inserted the candy sticks into the cookie dough before baking them:

Luckily, they didn't burn, and I really trusted that they would be fine. If you don't want to take that risk, please do it Matt's way. Although, I do believe you can have a bit of fun and leeway when you're creating party food. ;)

Matt also includes a recipe for decorating icing, which I didn't add (the cookie eaters at my house don't want too much sugar).

Let's go through the rest of the cookbook too. Matt starts out with an introduction to sticks and skewers along with dips and sauces. He provides 10 stick and skewer suggestions, which come in a range of different materials (food and man-made). The recipes for the dips and sauces are provided throughout the cookbook, paired with the right food. Each recipe introduction is well written, infused with Matt's humour and voice. It shines through and you can relate the writing style back to his blog.

The savory foods on a stick is obviously more dominant in this book, and I found that most recipes required a grill/grill pan or a heavy pot with vegetable oil (or a handy deep fryer).

Over all, I will be whipping this book out when I finally have a deep fry party or when it's barbecue season here in Toronto! The recipes are fun and easy to do, especially with a group of friends.

Favourite recipes to look out for? Bo La Lot, Chicken and Waffles, Deep-Fried Mac 'n' Cheese, Elote, Fried Mozzarella, Berries 'n' Buttermilk Smoothie Ice Cream Pops, Fresh Mango and Chili Powder, and Fudge Puppies. I know, it was hard to narrow down!

Quirky, no? This isn't icing or fondant, it was made on www.picnik.com when I was feeling goofy. =)