Cooking, Food & Wine Books - Page 26

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Ruth Reichl

Amazon Price: $10.40 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Penguin (Non-Classics) Amazon Marketplace: 118 new & used starting at $0.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 131 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Audio CD review: overly dramatic narrative grates on the nerves 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was very disappointed in this audio CD book. First of all, something about this book seems very self-indulgent. For example, CD1 goes on endlessly about how the author doesn't really want this top job, but of course, she interviews and ends up with it. It seems very disingenous. Second, stories from a job of eating out at mostly very fancy restaurants seems pretty irrelevant in 2008, when most people are struggling to pay their monthly bills and save for retirement. Listening for 20 minutes to someone describe perfect buckwheat noodles is rather tiresome. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the publisher has chosen a reader who is very dramatic and overly inflects each and every voice. She mimics a 4 year old child, a portly Yankee editor, old Jewish men, the author, a haughty, constipated sounding friend (Claudia),Italian waiters, etc. I guess some listeners might enjoy this, but it personally drove me bonkers. A matter of personal preference, I guess. Be careful you can handle this type of a narration before you opt for the audiobook.

Editorial Review:

Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world—a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us—along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews—her remarkable reflections on how one’s outer appearance can influence one’s inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives.

Napkin Origami: 25 Creative and Fun Ideas for Napkin Folding

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Easy to follow 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Well-written with clear instructions and good step-by-step. I liked that there are a variety of shapes included. Many of them are quite challenging. Overall, think this book has the proverbial "something for everyone." If you're looking to dress up your table, this book is a good choice.

Editorial Review:

Why fold a napkin into an ordinary square when it can become a swan, bread holder, or pirate’s ship? Like magic, these amazing origami projects turn humble paper or fabric napkins into restaurant-worthy centerpieces that transform the table. There’s a napkin sculpture for any and every occasion: simple patterns, such as a leaf, fish, or heart; designs for those special moments, including a baby bootie for a shower or a bunny for Easter dinner; innovative creations like a peacock, dessert server, and carousel; and complex shells, rosettes, and pleated wraps for formal dining. All the traditional origami techniques, tips, and symbols are beautifully explained; elegant photography throughout makes the process easy to follow and showcases the remarkable results.

 

The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles

Cook's Illustrated

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

Editorial Review:

How do you boil pasta? How much water and salt do you need? Should you add oil to the water? How well should you drain it? (Turn to page viii for the answers.)

One part cooking course, one part kitchen reference, and one part foolproof recipes, The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles tells the story of flour and water like no other book on the market. Extensively covering the basics of pasta and noodles, this thoroughly researched and taste-tested guide is dedicated to the home cook who needs practical advice on everything from penne to pad thai. The experts at Cook's Illustrated present their knowledge and techniques in a hands-on way so that each and every step of the cooking process can be understood and easily executed. The authors leave room for interpretation and taste, of course, but you will not walk away from this book without knowing which olive oil to buy, why egg pastas tend to complement cream sauces, or how to mince garlic.

The book is arranged in four sections, exploring first dried semolina pasta, then fresh Italian-style pasta, Mediterranean pasta and European dumplings, and finally, Asian noodles. There are thirteen chapters devoted to sauces alone, and recipes are included with the type of pasta with which they work best -- from the simplest to the complex, but all within reach of the home cook. As a bonus, the book includes excellent photographs of the various pasta and noodle shapes, and impeccable illustrations clearly depict each step of key techniques. Special sections are devoted to such specific topics as "Are Electric Pasta Machines Worth the Money?" and "A Guide to Popular Cheeses."

"Cook's has always been the definitive word on any subject it tackles," says The Post and Courier, and The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles will serve as the definitive reference volume for pasta lovers.


From the Hardcover edition.

Humble Pie

Gordon Ramsay

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Change the way you view Gordon! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the many complaints about Gordon Ramsay is his harshness. Many people I know dislike him because of his treatment and apparent belittlement of his contestants on Hell's Kitchen. (Season 1 now available on DVD - Hell's Kitchen: Season 1)

Read this book and you will have that feeling no more.

The best attribute of this book for me was reading about all of his life experiences and to see how they shaped who he is today. It really becomes evident when you watch him on television. If you think he is harsh to the Hell's Kitchen contestants, listen to what happened to him working for Joel Robuchon and Marco Pierre White. Incredible.

Not only do you feel for him because of his situations with his family, but you really develop a full-blown respect for him. He was, is and always will be a very classy and mature man.

His narrative just sails you through this book. It is quite a wonderful story to read. You will love the stories that you read. It will change the way you look at Gordon forever!

The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours

Bette Hagman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Big disappointment! 1 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

The front cover of this book shows a mouth-watering chicken pot pie with a gorgeous crust. That's what interested me in the book. But guess what, the crust recipe is not included! When I person needs to cook gluten-free, it's pretty simple to figure out what recipes are OK--salad, cheese and eggs, chicken and other meats, etc. What you need a book to teach you is how to make breads, pie crusts, and stuff like that. This book has a few good recipes, but it's definitely not worth what I paid for it -- and I didn't pay full price, I bought a used version that looks totally new... maybe the last owner found out what I did: this cookbook is a disappointment.

Editorial Review:

The latest addition to the bestselling series of cookbooks that have sold more than 350,000 copies—now in paperback

In this latest addition to the Gluten-free Gourmet series, Bette Hagman turns her hand to hearty, filling foods that were once off-limits to celiacs. Using the new gluten-free flours that are now available she puts old favorites such as macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, and lasagna back on the menu. Best of all, these more than two hundred all-new recipes are so mouthwatering delicious you won't believe they're gluten free.

Tender Bar, The

J.r. Moehringer

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Total reviews: 154 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me," asserts J.R. Moehringer, and his compelling memoir The Tender Bar is the story of how and why. A Pulitzer-Prize winning writer for the Los Angeles Times, Moehringer grew up fatherless in pub-heavy Manhasset, New York, in a ramshackle house crammed with cousins and ruled by an eccentric, unkind grandfather.Desperate for a paternal figure, he turns first to his father, a DJ whom he can only access via the radio (Moehringer calls him The Voice and pictures him as "talking smoke"). When The Voice suddenly disappears from the airwaves, Moehringer turns to his hairless Uncle Charlie, and subsequently, Uncle Charlie's place of employment--a bar called Dickens that soon takes center stage. While Moehringer may occasionally resort to an overwrought metaphor (the footsteps of his family sound like "storm troopers on stilts"), his writing moves at a quick clip and his tale of a dysfunctional but tightly knit community is warmly told. "While I fear that we're drawn to what abandons us, and to what seems most likely to abandon us, in the end I believe we're defined by what embraces us," Moehringer says, and his story makes us believe it. --Brangien Davis

William-Sonoma: The Kid's Cookbook: A Great Book for Kids Who Love to Cook! (Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles)

Abigail Johnson Dodge

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Buy It Now 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I bought this cookbook for a close girlfriend of mine who has a couple of little girls who love to cook just like their mommy. This book is so easy for children to follow and almost every recipe has a picture for them. The recipes are something we all eat everyday and they are all healthy! I recommend giving this as a gift to any child in your life.

Great cookbook! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I love that each recipe has a picture, the instructions are easy to follow, and the ingredients are things you would normally have on hand. So far my family has loved every recipe that we have made!

Great kids cookbook 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book for kids and kids at heart a like. Explains some important concepts in cooking as well as kid friendly recipies.

Editorial Review:

Designed especially for kids ages 9 and up, The Kids Cookbook is packed with kid-friendly recipes-and great photos to match. Each recipe includes an equipment list and all instruction young cooks need to have a great time whipping up something delicious. (Super-easy recipes are flagged, so kids can choose their challenges.

The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim, the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status, winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich and Julia Child/IACP awards, as well as writer and woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit, The Oxford Companion to Wine offers almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable, from regions and grape varieties to the owners, connoisseurs, growers, and tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture and oenology to the history of wine. Tracing the consumption and production from the ancient world to the present day, the Companion is a remarkable resource for gaining further appreciation for a beverage whose popularity has only increased with time.
Now exhaustively updated, this third edition incorporates the very latest international research to present over 400 new entries on topics ranging from globalization and the politics of wine to brands, precision viticulture, and co-fermentation. Hundreds of other entries have also undergone major revisions, including yeast, barrel alternatives, climate change, and virtually all wine regions. Useful lists and statistics are appended, including controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, as well as wine production and consumption by country.
Illustrated with maps of every important wine region in the world, useful charts and diagrams, and stunning color photography, this Companion is unlike any other wine book, offering an understanding of wine in its many wider contexts - notably historical, cultural, geographic, and scientific - and serving as a truly companionable point of reference into which any wine-lover can dip, browse, and linger.

More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook)

Doris Janzen Longacre

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great, but... 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This cookbook is a great start to learning how to stretch your dollar. Just a few things to note before purchasing: 1) it does not allow for gluten intolerance or other allergies (I wasn't able to use any of the bread recipes, for instance), 2) the philosophy it teaches of using less meat and more complimentary vegetable proteins is common sense and some may not be willing to do this, 3) even though it teaches the use of complimentary proteins, there are a lot of recipes which use white rice and regular flour, both of which have very little protein to offer (use whole grains instead). They make up for this by using lots of soy, legumes and some dairy. 4) Most recipes are hearty, standard fair. No mediteranean flavors like olive oil, etc. That being said, so far the recipes are tasty. I just add vegetables to the recipes for color, texture and nutrition.

Editorial Review:

Longacre has gathered 500 recipes from Mennonite kitchens that tell us how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources. All recipes have been tested by professional home economists. This cookbook is written for those who care about their own health and the food needs of others in the world.

Toddler Café: Fast, Healthy, and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest Eater

Jennifer Carden

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Your child enjoy healthy meals without being duped! 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

As a former early childhood educator, I was a little dismayed about the trend to sneak healthy foods into children's meals. In my years of working with young children, I found that their palates are much more sophisticated than we know.

By preparing a limited menu and keeping them out of the process, parents unwittingly create picky eaters who'll explode at anything but chicken fingers, cereal, and peanut butter sandwiches. If you cook yummy healthy meals, they will eat them! Of course, some foods might take a few tries and incarnations, but isn't that how you learned to love avocados, brussel sprouts, fish, and other formerly yucky stuff?

I love that Jennifer Carden has such respect for the littlest budding gourmets. I really enjoyed flipping through the inventive and inspired recipes in this book. Can't wait to try them out with my favorite tiny chefs!

Editorial Review:

Every toddler goes through the stage where they want nothing but "O"-shaped cereal. The challenge for parents is getting kids to ask for fruit salad instead of cupcakes. Faced with this seemingly impossible task with her own child, Jennifer Carden has created The Toddler Caf , a guide to making mealtime with children fun and interactive. It offers simple, creative ways for kids to identify with their food, like saying tuna salad is what mermaids eat, or making Minty Pea Pops in ice cube trays. Carden has created over 50 unique recipes that encourage families (including toddlers) to work together to prepare, eat, clean up, and best of all, look forward to a healthy, delicious meal.