European Books

Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites

Giada De Laurentiis

Amazon Price: $21.45 List Price: $32.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House - Model: 0307346599 Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $14.85

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Could have been better 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I love Giada. I pre-ordered this cookbook with high hopes. Let me just say, that I was disappointed because there was nothing new in regards to recipes. It was everything that was recently seen on Foodnetwork. I was really hoping that she would have tons of new recipes in this cookbook. My hope is that in the future Giada takes this to heart and writes new recipes not seen and shared on the Foodnetwork series Everyday Italian.

More Fun Recipes with Giada! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!Another great cookbook from our gal, Giada. Really nicely put together, with lots of gloss and photos. Her recipes always are clear and very easy, yet looks like you spent the day cooking it. Great variety of new recipes, I am already cooking through them.

Refreshing Change 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I found Giada's new cookbook to be a refreshing change from her earlier cookbooks (although I loved them as well!). The recipes seem easy to prepare and although they are elegant enough for special occasions I would make a lot of them during the week. Well done, Giada! Thank you!

Editorial Review:

Giada's Kitchen, New Italian Favorites By Giada De Laurentiis"SheÆs taught us every facet of Italian cookingùfrom traditional and regional to seasonal and contemporary. She even made us fall in love with pasta again by opening us up to lighter, healthier

A Day at elBulli

Ferran Adria, Juli Soler, Albert Adria

Amazon Price: $32.97 List Price: $49.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Phaidon Press Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $31.28

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

''Ferran stands head and shoulders above any other chef cooking in the world today...truly in a class of his own.'' -- Gordon Ramsay

''Ferran Adria is one of the most generous creative geniuses the world has ever known...this book offers a glimpse into the mind of this amazing man who has revolutionized how we cook today and tomorrow.'' -- Jose Andres

A Day at elBulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria reveals for the first time the creative process, innovative philosophy and extraordinary techniques of the multi-award-winning restaurant, elBulli, and its legendary head chef, Ferran Adria.

Situated on a remote beach on the northeast coast of Spain, elBulli is famous for being the ultimate pilgrimage site for foodies, and a reservation that is nearly impossible to obtain. Each year elBulli is open for just six months, and receives more than 2 million requests for only 8,000 seats. Renowned for his spectacular ever-changing 30-course tasting menu, Adria's pioneering culinary techniques have been applauded - and imitated - by top chefs around the globe for the past decade, and he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of our time.

If you weren't one of the lucky few to get in this year (2008 reservations were booked a year in advance), you can now experience the restaurant like never before. This generously-illustrated 600-page ''day in the life'' features over 800 photographs, menus, recipes and diagrams, and presents a guided tour through a full working day at elBulli.

The book highlights 30 dishes which represent a full elBulli menu, and Adria shows you how he creates the restaurant's innovative cuisines. Sample recipes include Samphire Tempura with Saffron and Oyster Cream, Steamed Brioche with Rose-Scented Mozzarella, and Coulant/Souffle of Granadilla with Cardamom Toffee.

In April 2008, elBulli won the #1 Best Restaurant in the World, for the third year in a row at the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards.

Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes

Giada De Laurentiis

Amazon Price: $21.45 List Price: $32.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarkson Potter Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $16.24

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 311 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In her hit Food Network show Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same—helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is.

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering—perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you’re in the mood for—whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you’ll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù—plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.

What’s more, Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight—whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick sauté for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables—whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that’s what Giada De Laurentiis offers here—the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight.

Jacques Pépin More Fast Food My Way

Jacques Pepin

Amazon Price: $21.12 List Price: $32.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $18.99

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Editorial Review:

From "a great teacher and truly a master technician" (Julia Child), a new cookbook full of faster-than-ever food, including dozens of elegant "minute" recipes

Jacques Pépin Fast Food My Way was an immediate sensation, captivating cooks and critics, who called it "fabulous," "chic," and "elegant." Now America's first and most enduring celebrity chef does himself one better, with recipes that are faster, fresher, and easier than ever. Only Jacques could have come up with dishes so innovative and uncomplicated.

"Minute recipes": Nearly no-cook recipes fit for company: Cured Salmon Morsels, Glazed Sausage Bits

Smashing appetizers: Scallop Pancakes, zipped together
in a blender (10 minutes)

Almost instant soups: Creamy Leek and Mushroom Soup (7 minutes)

Fast, festive dinners: Stuffed Pork Fillet on Grape Tomatoes (18 minutes)

Stunning desserts: Mini Almond Cakes in Raspberry Sauce (15 minutes)

Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 By: Cookbook - Model: BASTIANICH Amazon Marketplace: 66 new & used starting at $16.09

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A history lesson within a cookbook 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is like a "mini history lesson" about SOME (not all) regions in Italy. And also, this is a cookbook about some of the interesting regional foods mentioned in each Chapter.

Lidia and her daughter Tanya took a tour of some of their favorite regions in Italy (not ALL regions,but SOME regions), for example: Piedmont, Romagna, etc...

Then, Lidia and Tanya wrote this book by describing each of the Italian regions visited, broken down into Chapters. Also, at the end of each Chapter (and there are 10 chapters) Tanya ,who has a PHD from Oxford, added her own personal take on the visits to each region, by sub-categorizing many of the "sights" worth visiting.

Along with the mini history lessons throughout this book, there are many recipes that Lidia has developed, or recipes that Lidia has discovered during her Italian travels.

I think this is a very "different" Italian cookbook, and not your average Italian cookbook seen in most bookstores. Therefore, if you collect a variety of cookbooks (not only Italian cookbooks, but multi-national cookbooks in general) then this book could be a very nice addition to your library.

Many of the recipes would be difficult to reproduce because of "difficulty" levels. To me, some of the recipes did not seem "simple" as stated in the title.

It seems to me that most of the recipes are not for an average or beginner cook. Also, since many of the recipes come from obscure towns that have their own "flavors", I would say that many of the recipes may not appeal to the average taste buds. For example, here are a few recipes that are either too difficult to reproduce by a novice, and/or recipes that would entail an acquired taste:

~~Farro with Tuna and Tomatoes, p.333
~~Anchovy Garlic Dip,p.141
~~Pasta with Anchiovi-Onion Sauce,p.108
~~Tiella filling of Octopus with Garlic and Oil, p. 250
~~Filet of Wild Boar with Prunes and Apples,p.193
~~Cooked Duck Sugo with Pasta,p.183

On the other hand, there are a few recipes that COULD be duplicated and enjoyed...(although,some of these recipes are quite "common" and are often included in most Italian cookbooks):

~~Water Soup, p. p.168
~~Asparagus and Rice, p. 11
~~Peaches with Almond Crust, p. 118-119
~~Tiramisu Limoncello,p. 120
~~Chicken Cacciatore,p.301
~~Beef Braised in Peppercorns, p. 195
~~Braised Pork Chops with Savoy Cabbage, p. 83

The last thing I should mention is that I would have loved to have seen more photos of the recipes,and especially those recipes that are very unusual.

All in all,though, I give this book 4 stars because of it's novelty and because of the interesting mini-history lessons scattered throughout.

Editorial Review:

From the Tuscan countryside to the ruins of Rome, celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich takes you on a culinary tour of the ten places in Italy most near and dear to her heart... and stomach.

Spain...A Culinary Road Trip

Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Not yet published By: Ecco Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $22.25

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Editorial Review:

From Mario Batali, superstar chef and author of Molto Italiano and Italian Grill, comes an eating tour throughout Spain with his friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

Spain...A Culinary Road Trip is the companion book to the prime-time public television series Spain...On The Road Again. The premise is simple: Mario Batali and Mark Bittman are single-minded, food-obsessed friends who are constantly on the lookout for the food, wine, and cooking that is unique to Spain—and in this series they will find it. Gwyneth Paltrow and the Spanish actress Claudia Bassols are eager to enjoy all the pleasures the country has to offer, and each pair will be lured into the worlds of the other.

The foursome take the ultimate road trip adventure, showcasing the pleasures of Spain, the country's regional cuisine, art, history, and culture, as they've never been seen before. Hundreds of gorgeous and candid photos, anecdotes, and more than seventy recipes from Mario appear in this scrapbook of the dream vacation through Spain.

The Classic Italian Cookbook

Marcella Hazan

List Price: $27.50 By: Knopf Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $12.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 113 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Watch the cooking times! 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the depth of her knowledge of Italian cookery is amazing, on the other, the lack of specifics and inaccurate cooking times can be quite frustrating. This caveat should suffice: when making use of these recipes, make constant use of your tasting spoon!

I made Pasta e fagioli with fresh cranberry beans according to Ms. Hazan's recipe, and, because of Ms. Hazan's widely-acknowledged eminence, I followed her recipe precisely, something I rarely do, as I am an experienced cook. Her time for cooking the beans (45 minutes), left me with undercooked beans; they should have cooked for at least an hour and fifteen minutes, if not an hour and a half. No big deal, except I added the pasta at the point Ms. Hazan recommended.

I am sure that this book will be an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to learn Italian cooking, just make sure to test and modify these recipes as necessary ahead of time; following them as is can result in flubbed meals.

Editorial Review:

With more than 100 illustrations by Karin Kretschman.

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures As Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, And Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany

Bill Buford

Amazon Price: $29.95 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 7 to 12 days By: Thorndike Press Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $4.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 157 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From one of our most interesting literary figures – former editor of Granta, former fiction editor at The New Yorker, acclaimed author of Among the Thugs – a sharp, funny, exuberant, close-up account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook.

Expanding on his James Beard Award-winning New Yorker article, Bill Buford gives us a richly evocative chronicle of his experience as “slave” to Mario Batali in the kitchen of Batali’s three-star New York restaurant, Babbo.

In a fast-paced, candid narrative, Buford describes three frenetic years of trials and errors, disappointments and triumphs, as he worked his way up the Babbo ladder from “kitchen bitch” to line cook . . . his relationship with the larger-than-life Batali, whose story he learns as their friendship grows through (and sometimes despite) kitchen encounters and after-work all-nighters . . . and his immersion in the arts of butchery in Northern Italy,
of preparing game in London, and making handmade pasta at an Italian hillside trattoria.

Heat is a marvelous hybrid: a memoir of Buford’s kitchen adventure, the story of Batali’s amazing rise to culinary (and extra-culinary) fame, a dazzling behind-the-scenes look at a famous restaurant, and an illuminating exploration of why food matters. It is a book to delight in, and to savour.

The Complete Robuchon

Joel Robuchon

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Not yet published By: Knopf

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Editorial Review:

An incomparable culinary treasury: the definitive guide to French cooking for the way we live now, from the man the Gault Millau guide has proclaimed “Chef of the Century.”

Joël Robuchon’s restaurant empire stretches from Paris to New York, Las Vegas to Tokyo, London to Hong Kong. He holds more Michelin stars than any other chef. Now this great master gives us his supremely authoritative renditions of virtually the entire French culinary repertoire, adapted for the home cook and the contemporary palate.

Here are more than 800 precise, easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes, including Robuchon’s updated versions of great classics—Pot-au-Feu, Sole Meunière, Cherry Custard Tart—as well as dozens of less well-known but equally scrumptious salads, roasts, gratins, and stews. Here, too, are a surprising variety of regional specialties (star turns like Aristide Couteaux’s variation on Hare Royale) and such essential favorites as scrambled eggs. Emphasizing quality ingredients and the brilliant but simple marriage of candid flavors—the genius for which he is rightly celebrated—Robuchon encourages the beginner with jargon-free, impeccable instructions in technique, while offering the practiced cook exciting paths for experimentation.

The Complete Robuchon is a book to be consulted again and again, a magnificent resource no kitchen should be without.

My Life in France

Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Anchor Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $6.34

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 116 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Julia Child singlehandedly created a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, but as she reveals in this bestselling memoir, she was not always a master chef.


Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia’s unforgettable story – struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, a wonderful, nearly fifty-year long marriage that took them across the globe – unfolds with the spirit so key to her success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of the most endearing American personalities of the last fifty years.