Gastronomy Books - Page 6

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More

Dianne Jacob

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Tight Focus on Food Writing 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have read many advice/guidance books on writing, and I truly found this book to have more practical and thorough information than all others I have read - and solely on the subject of food writing! The 'Interview Subjects,' 'Bibliography,' and 'Selected Web Sites' sections knocked my socks off. It is obvious that Dianne Jacob put a lot of time and effort into this book. I read it completely in just three days, and I will refer to it regularly for my food writing pursuits.

Editorial Review:

Will Write for Food is for food lovers who want to express themselves, guiding them from their earliest creative impulses to successful article writing, restaurant reviewing, and cookbook writing. Dianne Jacob—journalist and food-writing instructor and coach—offers interviews with award-winning writers such as Jeffrey Steingarten, Calvin Trillin, Molly O'Neill, and Deborah Madison, plus well-known book and magazine editors and literary agents, give readers the tools to get started and the confidence to follow through. Comprehensive yet accessible chapters range from restaurant reviewing to cookbooks to memoirs. Focused exercises at the end of chapters stimulate creativity, help organize thought, and build practical skills. Will Write for Food is the first and ultimate ins and outs guidebook to the incredibly popular world of food writing.

In the Kennedy Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections of a Great American Family

Neil Connolly, Elizabeth Benedict

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Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The famed compound at Hyannisport was the Kennedy family's favorite place to relax, and Rose Kennedy's kitchen was the central gathering place. Everyone--including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, JFK Jr., Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, and Arnold Schwarzenegger--came wandering in the back door to visit Rose. Her chef, Neil Connolly, always made sure there was lobster salad, potato salad, and a platter of roast chicken in the fridge, and in this book, he brings these and other favorites to your home. Included in this cookbook are Kennedy family photos and anecdotes collected personally by Neil.

Here he shares an exclusive recipe from the Kennedy kitchen with us:

Sugar Tuile

These thin, crisp cookies can be cooled flat, but here they are formed into edible cups that can hold ice cream, chocolate mouse, or fresh berries. Note that the cookies are baked in two batches, so that you have time to mold them while they are still warm and soft.

Makes about 8 cookie cups 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted 6 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and draw four circles 5 inches in diameter on each piece of paper. 2. Invert four heatproof, 2-inch-wide glasses or cups on the counter so they are ready when the tuiles come out of the oven. 3. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sifted flour, egg whites, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. 4. Spoon the batter into the circles on one baking sheet and spread to the edges with an offset spatula. The batter will be very thin. 5. Bake the tuiles for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown. 6. Remove from the oven and immediately use a wide spatula to invert each tuile over a glass. Using a mitt, gently press to form into a cup shape. As soon as the tuiles are set, gently lift them off the glasses. 7. Whisk the batter briefly and form the remaining 4 tuiles. Bake and form as directed above. When all the tuile cups are cool and set, store in a covered container until ready for use.

On the Line: The Stations, the Heat, the Cooks, the Costs, the Chaos, and the Triumphs

Eric Ripert, Christine Muhlke

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Editorial Review:

Take one top New York restaurant, add danger, drama, and dialogue, toss in their best recipes, and you have a cooking classic.

How does a 4-star restaurant stay on top for more than two decades? In On the Line, chef Eric Ripert takes readers behind the scenes at Le Bernardin, one of just three New York City restaurants to earn three Michelin stars. Any fan of gourmet dining who ever stole a peek behind a restaurant kitchen's swinging doors will love this unique insider's account, with its interviews, inventory checklists, and fly-on-the-wall dialogue that bring the business of haute cuisine to life.

From the sudden death of Le Bernardin's founding chef, Gilbert Le Coze, to Ripert's stressful but triumphant takeover of the kitchen at age 29, the story has plenty of drama. But as Chef Ripert and writer Christine Muhlke reveal, every day is an adventure in a perfectionistic restaurant kitchen. Foodies will love reading about the inner workings of a top restaurant, from how a kitchen is organized to the real cost of the food and the fierce discipline and organization it takes to achieve culinary perfection on the plate almost 150,000 times a year.

Meanwhile, Le Bernardin's modern French cuisine, with its emphasis on seafood, comes to life in sophisticated recipes, including Striped Bass with Sweet Corn Puree, Grilled Shishito Peppers, Shaved Smoked Bonito, and Mole Sauce, and Pan-Roasted Cod with Chorizo, Snow Peas, Piquillo Peppers, and Soy-Lime Butter Sauce.

Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet

Alisa Smith, J.B. Mackinnon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The remarkable, amusing and inspiring adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment.

When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon learned that the average ingredient in a North American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate, they decided to launch a simple experiment to reconnect with the people and places that produced what they ate. For one year, they would only consume food that came from within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver apartment. The 100-Mile Diet was born.

The couple’s discoveries sometimes shook their resolve. It would be a year without sugar, Cheerios, olive oil, rice, Pizza Pops, beer, and much, much more. Yet local eating has turned out to be a life lesson in pleasures that are always close at hand. They met the revolutionary farmers and modern-day hunter-gatherers who are changing the way we think about food. They got personal with issues ranging from global economics to biodiversity. They called on the wisdom of grandmothers, and immersed themselves in the seasons. They discovered a host of new flavours, from gooseberry wine to sunchokes to turnip sandwiches, foods that they never would have guessed were on their doorstep.

The 100-Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted, attracting media and grassroots interest that spanned the globe. The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating tells the full story, from the insights to the kitchen disasters, as the authors transform from megamart shoppers to self-sufficient urban pioneers. The 100-Mile Diet is a pathway home for anybody, anywhere.

Call me naive, but I never knew that flour would be struck from our 100-Mile Diet. Wheat products are just so ubiquitous, “the staff of life,” that I had hazily imagined the stuff must be grown everywhere. But of course: I had never seen a field of wheat anywhere close to Vancouver, and my mental images of late-afternoon light falling on golden fields of grain were all from my childhood on the Canadian prairies. What I was able to find was Anita’s Organic Grain & Flour Mill, about 60 miles up the Fraser River valley. I called, and learned that Anita’s nearest grain suppliers were at least 800 miles away by road. She sounded sorry for me. Would it be a year until I tasted a pie?
—From The 100-Mile Diet


From the Hardcover edition.

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking

Julia Child

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What would you give to see the notes Julia Child keeps in her handwritten loose-leaf kitchen reference guide? Your wish is granted! This clever little volume was inspired by Child's notebook, compiled from her own "trials, remedies, and errors."

Organized by large category and technique, it's a very handy reference guide for anyone reasonably comfortable in the kitchen. Each section contains a master recipe followed by variations. The emphasis is on technique, so if you occasionally find yourself trying to remember at what temperature to best roast a duck, the best way to cook green beans and keep them green, or how to save your hollandaise, then this is the book for you. And what good is a reference guide without an index? As always, Child comes to our rescue with a fantastic, comprehensive index, 19 pages long for 107 pages of text, so we can find the answers to life's burning questions in a flash.

Part of what makes Julia Child such an icon is that she can describe a complicated dish, and in the next breath convince us to make it. Classic Chocolate Mousse, Sabayon, Scalloped Potatoes Savoyarde, and Butterflied Leg of Lamb sound manageable when they follow recipes for Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Scrambled Eggs. And with Child's help, they are. "Quick, snappy answers" for both basic and complicated cooking questions make this a work we'll never outgrow. And if Julia can use a cheat sheet, so can we! Fans of Child will love that her personality shows through in comments like, "Don't crowd the pan... or you'll be sorry," and, to introduce her Basic Vinaigrette Dressing, "I use the proportions of a very dry martini." Eight pages of photos taken by her husband, Paul, including one of Child with the famous dancing goose, make this even more of a treasure.

If there is anyone qualified to offer kitchen wisdom, it must be Julia Child. After a lifetime of cooking and teaching, her knowledge is a perfect gift for fans, novices, or anyone responsible for putting dinner on the table every night. --Leora Y. Bloom

Becoming a Chef

Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The updated edition of the book Julia Child called "a 'must' for aspiring chefs"-the James Beard Award-winning guide to one of today's hottest careers
With more and more chefs achieving celebrity status, interest in the exciting world of today's leading chefs is higher than ever. Essential reading for anyone who loves food, Becoming a Chef gives an entertaining and informative insider's look at this dynamic profession, going behind the scenes to look into some of the most celebrated restaurant kitchens across the nation. More than 60 leading chefs-including some of the newest up-and-coming-discuss the inspiration, effort, and quirks of fate that turned would-be painters, anthropologists, and football players into culinary artists.
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (both of New York, NY) are the authors of the bestselling titles Culinary Artistry, Dining Out, Chef's Night Out. Dornenburg has cooked professionally at Arcadia, Judson Grill, and March in New York City and Biba and the East Coast Grill in Boston. Page, the recipient of the 1997 Melitta Bentz Award for Women's Achievement, is a graduate of the Harvard Business School.

Roast Chicken And Other Stories

Simon Hopkinson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Good cooking depends on two things: common sense and good taste."In England, no food writer's star shines brighter than Simon Hopkinson's, whose breakthrough Roast Chicken and Other Stories was voted the most useful cookbook ever by a panel of chefs, food writers, and consumers. At last, American cooks can enjoy endearing stories from the highly acclaimed food writer and his simple yet elegant recipes. In this richly satisfying culinary narrative, Hopkinson shares his unique philosophy on the limitless possibilities of cooking. With its friendly tone backed by the author's impeccable expertise, this cookbook can help anyone -- from the novice cook to the experienced chef -- prepare down-right delicious cuisine . . . and enjoy every minute of it! Irresistible recipes in this book include: Eggs Florentine Chocolate Tart Poached Salmon with Beurre BlancAnd, of course, the book's namesake recipe, Roast Chicken Winner of both the 1994 Andr+ Simon and 1995 Glenfiddich awards (the gastronomic world's equivalent to an Oscar), this acclaimed book will inspire anyone who enjoys sharing the ideas of a truly creative cook and delights in getting the best out of good ingredients.

My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking

Niloufer Ichaporia King

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Read in bed, dream of mangoes 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Some people use cookbooks, I read them. I believe a cookbook, especially an ethnic or exotic one, should be as entertaining as a novel, as detailed as a travel guide, and as warm and witty as a good neighbor's kitchen. It's rare to find a cookbook that fits the bill as completely--and cleverly--as this one. No tiresome list of esoteric ingredients and daunting prep, Niloufer's explanations of products, procedures and substitutions are clear and organized enough for newcomers to Middle- and Far-East cooking to march confidently, yet salted with options for more advanced cooks to flex their jazz and improv muscles. The obsessive attention to detail and organization presciently addresses issues like storage and substitution, often with memorable mirth. (In a description of a recipe that can be successfully "thawed": "Note, I didn't say 'frozen.' Anything can be successfully frozen.") Moreover, she provides a brief and eloquent history of the Parsi people, giving the reader a solid foundation to better appreciate this somewhat obscure culinary creole.

Of course, the deal breaker is, "How's the food?" Well, her Major Ordle's Chutney is the best mango chutney I've ever made (and she explains why), her Mother's Wobbly Cauliflower Custard slides into a pie shell to become God's own quiche, and her masur (without tongue, thank you) is itself worth the price of admission.

Editorial Review:

The Persians of antiquity were renowned for their lavish cuisine and their never-ceasing fascination with the exotic. These traits still find expression in the cooking of India's rapidly dwindling Parsi population--descendants of Zoroastrians who fled Persia after the Sassanian empire fell to the invading Arabs. The first book published in the United States on Parsi food written by a Parsi, this beautiful volume includes 165 recipes and makes one of India's most remarkable regional cuisines accessible to Westerners. In an intimate narrative rich with personal experience, the author leads readers into a world of new ideas, tastes, ingredients, and techniques, with a range of easy and seductive menus that will reassure neophytes and challenge explorers.

Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar Featuring the Origina

David Wondrich

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Required Reading for any Cocktailian 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

The cocktail has had a glorious 200 year history, much of which unfortunately has gone unheralded for far too long. Thankfully, one of the most diligent cocktail historians of today's milieu has taken it upon himself to rectify this problem.

Using the illustrious "Jerry Thomas" (famous bartender from the mid 1800's and author of the first known bartenders guide) as a focal point, Mr. Wondrich introduces us to the birth and evolution of the cocktail as well as a variety of other categories of "mixed drinks" from that era. With insightful, and often witty explanations he steps carefully through both the drinks and the attitudes of the time which formed the foundation for all that was to follow.

Cocktail recipe books, which cram as many recipes as possible within their pages, are a dime a dozen. To truly understand the cocktail, whether you are a bartender or bar-attender, requires that you have a grasp of the history which preceded our current landscape. For this reason, this book is perhaps the most important book of its kind, and fills a huge void which has surrounded this topic for virtually its entire history.

Editorial Review:

A lively, historically informed, and definitive guide to classic American cocktails.

Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks-and the ultimate mixologist's guide-in this engaging homage to Jerry Thomas, father of the American bar.

Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about this larger- than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with definitive recipes for 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes, toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, plus twenty new recipes from today's top mixologists, created exclusively for this book.

This colorful and good-humored volume is a mustread for anyone who appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the uniquely American history behind it.

Reflections of a Wine Merchant

Neal I. Rosenthal

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A leading importer of limited-production wines of character and quality takes us on an intimate tour through family-owned vineyards in France and Italy and reflects upon the last three decades of controversy, hype, and change in the world of wine

In the late 1970s, Neal I. Rosenthal set out to learn everything he could about wine. Today, he is one of the most successful importers of traditionally made wines produced by small family-owned estates in France and Italy. Rosenthal has immersed himself in the culture of Old World wine production, working closely with his growers for two and sometimes three generations. He is one of the leading exponents of the concept of “terroir”—the notion that a particular vineyard site imparts distinct qualities of bouquet, flavor, and color to a wine. In Reflections of a Wine Merchant, Rosenthal brings us into the cellars, vineyards, and homes of these vignerons, and his delightful stories about his encounters, relationships, and explorations—and what he has learned along the way—give us an unequaled perspective on winemaking tradition and what threatens it today.

Rosenthal was featured in the documentary film Mondovino and is one of the more outspoken figures against globalization, homogenization, and the “critic-ization” of the wine business. He was also a major subject in Lawrence Osborne’s The Accidental Connoisseur. His is an important voice in defense of the individual and the artisanal, and their contribution to our quality of life.