Salads books: 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Mediterranean Feast or How to Cook Everything

Mediterranean Feast: The Story Of The Birth Of The Celebrated Cuisines Of The Mediterranean, From The Merchants Of Venice To The Barbary Corsairs, With More Than 500 Recip

Author: Clifford A Wright

The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean, from the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More than 500 Recipes The story of the birth and evolution of the cuisines of the Mediterranean Basin is the story of wars and plagues, political intrigue and pirates, the Silk Road and the New World, the rise of capitalism and city-states, the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, and the obsession with spice. A groundbreaking cookbook based on original, primary research in eight languages, A Mediterranean Feast weaves together historical and culinary strands from Moorish Spain to North Africa, from Sicily and the kingdoms of Italy to Greece, the coasts of the Balkans, Turkey, and the Near East. Author Clifford Wright shows how the cuisines of the Mediterranean have been indelibly stamped with the uncompromising geography and climate of the area and a past marked with both unstinting poverty and wildly outrageous wealth. The 500 recipes included, adapted for today's kitchen, show the range of culinary ingenuity and indulgence, from the peasant kitchen to the merchant pantry. They also show the migration of local culinary predilections, tastes for foods and methods of preparation carried from home to new lands by seafarers, soldiers, merchants, and religious pilgrims. Historical illustrations and maps of the Mediterranean, from the past to the present, also highlight this epic book. An astonishing accomplishment of culinary and historical research and detective work, A Mediterranean Feast is required-and intriguing-reading for any cook, armchair or otherwise.

Library Journal

Wright's first cookbook was Cucina Paradiso, a fascinating exploration of the Arab influences on Sicilian cuisine. Since then he has published several collections of quick and easy Italian food, but now he has returned to the culinary history and anthropology that is obviously his true love. Originally a Middle Eastern scholar, Wright has devoted an enormous amount of research to answering the question, "What is Mediterranean cuisine?" He debunks the common view of the region as one of historical culinary bounty, and he traces the influences and interconnections among the food and cooking of the diverse cultures that ring the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way, he considers such topics as "The History of the Fork" and provides dozens of what he refers to as "heirloom recipes"--they have a history to them, but they are contemporary rather than re-creations of medieval or other early dishes. A unique work, this is recommended for history as well as cookery collections. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Smithsonian

At first glance, this book seems a jumble of topics, traditions, tastes and techniques. Broad reviews of political and economic history are interspersed with discussions of topics like shipbuilding, irrigation, spices and the Mediterranean grain trade. Recipes for seafood, lamb, pasta and vegetables are scattered throughout the book; recipes from different regions are shuffled together like a deck of cards. But two good indexes—one of general topics, the other of recipes—guide readers through the confusion; the recipes I tested were very good. Wright's enthusiastic investigation of Mediterranean cuisines is a fine feast for readers interested in culture, history, and most of all, food.

What People Are Saying

Paula Wolfert
Paula Wolfert, author of The Cooking of South-West France and The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean

I always felt it would take several lifetimes to research the many faces of Mediterranean cooking — history, languages, influences, the range of culinary resourcefulness and extravagance, and the varied tastes of fourteen countries. In this monumental work, Clifford Wright has made a huge contribution. An astonishing accomplishment!

Book about: Timed Readings or Leading Your Team to Excellence

How to Cook Everything: Quick Cooking

Author: Mark Bittman

Make a quick home-cooked meal tonight!

Ziti with Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce. Shrimp Marinara. Broiled or Grilled Chicken with Pesto. Stir-Fried Spicy Beef with Basil. With How to Cook Everything™: Quick Cooking, great-tasting, satisfying dishes like these can be made in 30 minutes or less!

Mark Bittman, the award-winning author of the bestselling kitchen classic How to Cook Everything™, shares his favorite simple–and infinitely flexible–quick recipes. You’ll be able to prepare family-pleasing everyday meals, spur-of-the-moment dinners for friends, even special-occasion feasts. To inspire you and help you plan your meals, you’ll find Bittman’s straight talk on cooking and special features, including:

• Creative recipe variations and ideas

• Tips for shopping, preparing, and cooking the recipes

• Illustrations to demystify trickier techniques

• Menu suggestions for a Weeknight Family Dinner Classic, an Elegant Dinner Party, and more

• At-a-glance icons highlighting recipes done in 20 minutes or less

How to Make 75 Great Juices or Tea for 2

How to Make 75 Great Juices: Fabulous Step-by-Step Recipes for Delicious Drinks Which Are Healthy Too

Author: Joanna Farrow

Juices made from raw ingredients offer a vitamin-packed punch that can't be beaten, and these recipes use a wide range of fruit and vegetables from everyday fruits to exotic seasonal products.

Book review: Dr Atkins New Diet Cookbook or Nutritional Yeast Cookbook

Tea for 2

Author: Running Press

Perfect for tea enthusiasts, this kit offers a pair of perforated balls to fill with loose leaves, a saucer to hold them, and a honey dipper to help sweeten the brew. The 32page book, excerpted from our popularTea Time Miniature Edition™, contains recipes for delicious sandwiches, tea breads, and cookies.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Everything I Know I Learned Over Tea or Joie de Vivre

Everything I Know I Learned Over Tea

Author: Emilie Barnes

A collection of floral-infused paintings by Susan Rios welcomes tea-lovers and those who appreciate the beauty of simplicity to join Emilie Barnes for a cup of wisdom. With the warmth of a conversation between friends, Emilie shares 13 inspirational life lessons learned over tea, including:

everyone brings something special to the table
a teacup, like life, is fragile...and resilient
tradition is a comfort
variety infuses your cup with flavor
always say please and thank you

Alongside Emilie's reflections, excerpted from her popular book If Teacups Could Talk, a gathering of inspiring quotes, Scriptures, and teatime ideas will delight the senses and spirit of those who cherish everyday moments that turn into celebrations over tea.

New interesting book: Gender on the Market or Age Discrimination in the American WorkPlace

Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living

Author: Robert Arbor

When it comes to making the most of life, nobody does it better than the French. Now, with Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living, an inspired fusion of art, style, and easy-to-implement ideas, anyone can feel like they spent a weekend in the French countryside, no matter where they live.

Renowned restaurateur Robert Arbor puts a refreshing emphasis on simplicity and accessibility, explaining the rituals and traditions that comprise a typical French day. Featuring dozens of simple, everyday recipes, Joie de Vivre captures the family meals, market trips, and charming domestic settings that make the French way of life so plea- surable. In eight chapters, illustrated with 85 full-color and black-and-white photographs, Arbor details how you, too, can achieve the simplicity and relaxing life the French treasure.

Le Matin (The Morning) lays out the elements of a relaxing breakfast (as well as the secret to great coffee), and Le Potager (The Garden) describes the pleasures and rewards of growing your own own vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Le Marché (The Market) and Le Déjeuner (Lunchtime) follow Arbor to the market, the butcher, and the baker before serving up a trove of delicious ideas for light lunches and snacks. Le Dîner (Supper) outlines strategies for crafting cozy family dinners; creating enchanting dinner parties of all sizes; and preparing fun, simple meals for children.

Arbor's memories and experiences of growing up in France and his flair for casual elegance can't help but inspire the chef and decorator in everyone.

Sidebars sprinkled throughout the book offer tips and insights on how to make theperfect cup of hot chocolate, a French perspective on truffles and foie gras, the French and their love of chocolate, and why French butter tastes so good.

Joie de Vivre is a lavishly illustrated guide to the French style of living that will show you how to bring a little joie to your life.

Library Journal

Arbor is the personable chef/owner of the Le Gamin cafes in New York City and Boston, with plans for one or more to come in Philadelphia. The cafes are open from early morning until late at night, offering a casual menu ranging from the classic French breakfast of a bowl (not a cup) of coffee and a tartine to crepes, soups, and salads to bistro-style entrees such as hanger steak. Arbor has organized Joie de Vivre more or less by times of day, from the first chapter, "Bonjour"-on breakfast in France and America-to "La Pause Gourmande," the afternoon break, to "Le D ner," with appropriate recipes throughout. This title is as much a memoir as a cookbook, however, underscoring the author's hope that readers with frantic lifestyles can learn to take time to enjoy the simpler pleasures of life, such as that pause gourmande or even a lunchtime sandwich eaten on a park bench instead of in the office. Arbor has an almost old-fashioned but hardly unsophisticated charm, and his engaging book is recommended for most cookery collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

James Beards New Fish Cookery or The Storm Gourmet

James Beard's New Fish Cookery

Author: James A Beard

A healthful, dramatically simplified book on cooking techniques for preparinglow cholesterol, low calorie seafood, with over 500 recipes.

Look this: Handbook of Public Relations or Organizational Justice and Human Resource Management

The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity

Author: Daphne Nikolopoulos

This book proves that, with a little planning and minimal effort, you can eat surprisingly well during power outages. In hurricane season, this book is a crucial resource. It can be used for any emergency or anytime you are without power. And you can use this book for quick, easy meals anytime, especially for camping or for quick summer meals. You will find shopping lists for creating the ultimate emergency pantry; more than 70 recipes using nonperishable and shelf-stable food items; suggested menus for quick, well-balanced meals; a practical guide to growing a storm-proof herb garden; advice, tips, and anecdotes about weathering the storm. The 12-page color insert displays the colorful and appetizing-yes, gourmet!-meals that can be prepared from canned goods with some fresh ingredients.

Library Journal

A survivor of Florida's recent hurricanes and the managing editor of Palm Beach Illustrated magazine, Nikolopoulos was struck by the lack of recipes for interesting meals that could be prepared without cooking appliances. Her attempt to fill that gap might be considered a niche cookbook whose usefulness extends beyond the disaster-stricken public that the author hopes to serve. Although Nikolopoulos claims that her recipes-more than 70 using nonperishable food items, e.g., Cranberry Orange Chicken and Rose Water-Scented Pistachio Pudding-can be prepared in blizzard conditions as well as in tropical climates, there are too many references to picking up tropical fruit from your neighbor's yard to make these dishes truly useful without some adaptation for those living in northern areas. Most of the ingredients are readily available, but some, often crucial items-like orange- and rose-blossom water, guava paste, instant pasta, and the ubiquitous "table cream"-are uncommon. With creativity, however, campers and those who don't have ready access to mangoes and avocados year-round could make use of this book. The recipes are easy to follow, and the variations in meals would certainly be welcomed during a crisis that resulted in power outages for more than a few days. For larger cookbook collections in public libraries, particularly where weather crises or campers create a demand.-Elizabeth Rogers, CEF Lib. Syst., Plattsburgh, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Flatbreads and Flavors or American Frugal Housewife

Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas

Author: Jeffrey Alford

Flatbreads & Flavors
A Baker's Atlas

Sweet Persian Bread

nane sheer / Persia

These breads are more like cookies than flatbreads, but they are so simple and delicious we had to include them. They are made with milk and flavored with brown sugar and vanilla. We should warn you that they can be somewhat hard-to-the-bite once they've cooled, so enjoy them as they are customarily served, with a cup of hot tea or coffee, and dunk the breads to soften them. They are also delicious dunked in hot milk for a milk-and-cookies-style snack.

2 cups hard unbleached white flour, or more as necessary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk, or more as necessary
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

You will need a medium-sized mixing bowl, two small (10- by 14-inch) baking sheets that can fit side by side in your oven, a rolling pin, and a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Whisk or stir together. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir the flour into the milk until a soft, kneadable dough begins to form. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour; if too dry, add a little more milk. Turn out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 2 to 3 minutes.

Dust two 10- by 14-inch baking sheets with flour. Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece to the size of the baking sheets (the dough should be less than 1/4 inch thick).

Place in the center of your oven, and immediately turn the heat down to250°F. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven. Working with one sheet at a time, turn out onto a large cutting board, and cut into 3- to 4-inch squares while the bread is still warm; it will harden quickly as it cools.

Makes approximately 2 dozen 3- to 4-inch square thin flatbreads.

Three-Color Focaccia

focacels alla pugliese / Italy

Focaccia is a flatbread traditionally cooked on the hearth, often in a skillet covered with hot embers. Nowadays it is more often baked in an oven, though a skillet is still used, as in this recipe.Focaccia comes in many forms; all tend to be thicker than most pizza and to carry their flavor in the dough rather than on the top surface. In the north of Italy focaccie are made with wheat-flour doughs and usually flavored with herbs. The potato-based dough used in this focaccia from Puglia, in the south, produces a dense-looking tender dough. This version of a focaccia recipe in Carol Field's classic The Italian Baker has the colors of the Italian flag: the red of sun-dried tomatoes and the green of sage and parsley, all floating in a pale dough -- a pleasure to look at as well as a satisfying snack or accompaniment to soup.

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 to 5 cups hard unbleached white flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups chopped cooked peeled potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
1/2 cup potato-cooking water (or spring or tap water)
3/4 cup packed flat-leafed parsley, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
Olive oil for brushing
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

You will need a large bread bowl, a medium skillet, a blender, a large bowl, and four heavy ovenproof skillets or metal pie plates 8 to 9 inches in diameter.

Place the warm water in a large bread bowl and add the yeast and 2 cups flour. Stir to blend, then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to develop the gluten. Let this sponge stand, covered, for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet, and fry the onions over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Puree the potatoes in a blender with the potato cooking water or spring or tap water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the onion, parsley, sage, oil, and salt.

Add 1/2 cup flour to the sponge and stir well. Then add the potato mixture and stir thoroughly. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes, dusting both your hands and the kneading surface generously with the remaining 1 to 2 cups flour at intervals as you work, until the dough is no longer sticky, but soft and tender to the touch. Clean the bread bowl, oil lightly, and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 to 3 hours until at least doubled in volume.

Gently punch down the dough, and cut it in half. Set one half aside, covered with plastic wrap.

Cut the remaining dough in half. Form each piece into a ball. Generously oil two 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillets or pie plates. Place a ball of dough in each skillet or pie plate. Press down on the center of each ball of dough and gently press it out toward the edges. Let rest for 5 minutes, then press each bread out again until it reaches or comes close to the edges of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400°F.

just before the first batch of focaccia has finished rising, shape the remaining dough into 2 loaves. (Alternatively, refrigerate the remaining dough, well sealed in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Uncover and bring to room temperature before shaping and baking.)

When the first breads have risen, brush the tops gently but generously with olive oil. Press your fingertips firmly into the dough to create deep dimples an over. Lightly sprinkle each one witht 1/8 teaspoon sea salt. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Turn the breads out onto a rack and let stand for at least 10 minutes to firm before slicing. Turn the oven temperature back up to 400°F, and bake the remaining breads. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Note: If you use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, soak them in warm water for 30 minutes, drain, and pat dry before using.

Makes 4 round breads about 8 inches across and 2 inches thick.

Flatbreads & Flavors
A Baker's Atlas. Copyright © by Jeffrey Alford. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Epicurious.com

This is one of the most interesting and beautiful cookbooks ever published.

Book about: An Introduction to Auction Theory or Organizational Communication

American Frugal Housewife

Author: Lydia Maria Child

Along with simply written recipes for roasting a pig and preparing corned beef, hasty pudding, carrot pie, buffalo tongue, and scores of other dishes, this fascinating book, with its lively and direct style, also offered 19th-century readers suggestions for treating chilblains and dysentery, cleaning white kid gloves, educating one's daughters, and much more.

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Jane Austen Cookbook or Diabetes Meals On 7 A Day Or Less

The Jane Austen Cookbook

Author: Maggie Black

Literature meets cuisine in this celebration of the meals and manners of Jane Austen and her literary characters. A selection of this family fare, thoroughly tested and modernized for today's cooks, is re-created here, from Vegetable Pie and Herb Pudding to Gooseberry Vinegar and Ginger Beer. Illustrated throughout.

Library Journal

When a food historian and an Austenian scholar collaborate, you get a cookbook that is both intelligent and charming. Georgian and Regency recipes out of context would be cute but not necessarily a chef's first choice. Set against a backdrop of the era's social and domestic history, however, the cuisine finds its place. Black-and-white photos and drawings extend the descriptions. The first half is full of facts about and analyses of Austen's friends, novels, and letters; the second half has the recipes, most of which have been adapted to the modern kitchen, e.g., macaroni, jugged steaks with potatoes. It was more difficult to adapt the pigeon pie! Black and Le Faye's work offers interesting tidbits about 19th-century English social life and customs, and if anyone wants to know what "salmagundy" is, the answer lies here. Recommended for food history collections.Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., Ky.

Interesting textbook: Faithfully Fit or Miladys Illustrated Cosmetology Dictionary

Diabetes Meals On $7 A Day--Or Less!

Author: Patricia Bazel Geil

Completely updated, recipes are now lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol

This second edition of an American Diabetes Association classicis better than ever with updated recipes, all-new information,and the same low price that you want. Almost adecade after the first edition was published, youcan still enjoy Diabetes Meals on $7 a Day—or Less!

Way to Make Wine or Big Book of Easy Suppers

Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home

Author: Sheridan F Warrick

Written by a vintner and science editor with twenty-five years experience, The Way to Make Wine is the most readable and reliable handbook among the many winemaking guides. In engaging conversational prose, Sheridan Warrick shows that making your own wine is not only easy, but also fun. Geared to everyday wine lovers who want to drink well, save money, and impress their friends, this book reveals everything needed to make delicious wines--both reds and whites--from start to finish.
Warrick demystifies winemaking by explaining the nuts and bolts and demonstrating that if readers can replace a faucet washer or cook a pasta sauce, they can make food-friendly wines that cost less than the bottles they're now opening. He enables amateur vintners to equip a home winery, procure top-quality grapes, run a flawless fermentation, and enjoy their wine--its nose, its body, and finish--with renewed awareness and appreciation. At the same time, the author points experienced home vintners to new skills, describing top wineries' techniques. Rich with insiders' know-how, this book also divulges the many advances that have been made in the past few decades and makes clear that, with enologists' innovations, home winemaking is easier than ever. With straightforward illustrations of key steps, this book offers one-stop shopping for anyone who's ever dreamed of making table wines at home.
* two step-by-step sections: one for beginners, one for experienced home vintners
* sidebars offer quick tips and key elements of winemaking lore
* includes the only clear and comprehensive guide to minimizing the use of sulfites in wine
* section on suppliers and labs provides a wealth of informationon sources of fine wine grapes

Library Journal

The Way To Make Wine is a concise and readable handbook by Warrick, a Northern California winemaker and magazine editor. Focusing on dry table wines, he demystifies winemaking for the amateur vintner with informative chapters on equipping a home winery, supplies needed (grapes, wine yeast), and fermentation. Chapters are laid out in a logical sequence along with sidebars offering good tips. A step-by-step recap of the winemaking process detailed in previous chapters is an added bonus as are the checklists and tables. A list of suppliers and laboratories and a short bibliography are included. Recommended for academic and medium to large public libraries. Christine Holmes, San Jose State Univ. Lib., CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

	Introduction. Real wine, real enjoyment	1
Pt. 1	Success with reds and whites
1	Grapes and other ingredients	13
2	The ins and outs of a home winery	23
3	When red means go	37
4	Then a miracle happens	49
5	A pressing engagement	59
6	The quiet stage	69
7	Watchful waiting	81
8	Bottling and beyond	93
9	Vive la difference!	103
10	Clear and clean	115
	Part one recap. Winemaking step by step	125
Pt. 2	Making even better wine
11	Getting a grip on your grapes	137
12	Testing, testing	151
13	Taking control	169
14	Mastering sulfur dioxide	189
15	Making the wine you wish you'd made	203

Books about: Introducing Windows Server 2008 or The Cathedral and the Bazaar

Big Book of Easy Suppers: 270 Delicious Recipes for Casual Everyday Cooking

Author: Maryana Vollstedt

What nine-to-fiver, busy mom or stay-at-home dad isn t looking for the Big Easy? Enter the next title in the best-selling Big Book series a guaranteed hit for anyone whose duty it is to put a nutritious meal on the table as quickly as possible. With more than 270 recipes at the ready, cooking dinner will be a pleasure, any and every night of the week. Each chapter offers a full range of choices, from soups and salads to hearty entrees and side dishes to stir-fries and grilled favorites. And a selection of simple desserts makes an already sweet deal even sweeter. For easy recipes and big taste, look no further than The Big Book of Easy Suppers.

Publishers Weekly

Food columnist Vollstedt's latest entry in her Big Book cookbook series (Casseroles, Breakfast, Potluck, Soups & Stews) is invaluable, as it contains an enormous assortment of easy-to-follow recipes that make putting dinner on the table a stress-free and even enjoyable experience. The "casual, lighter, and fun suppers for family" run the gamut from traditional (e.g., Hamburger Stroganoff, Chicken Florentine, Linguine with Clam Sauce, Bread Pudding) to modern (e.g., Salmon Chowder; Lamb and Turkey Loaf with Cranberry-Horseradish Relish; Egg, Ham, and Chile Strata; Smashed Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Chives). Many of the sweets in the book are light and incorporate a variety of popular fruits available year-round (some are heirloom recipes from the author's family). All can be prepared with a minimum of time and effort, and many call for common pantry ingredients. Introductions to each section (and there are 15, including main course salads, pasta, soups, stir-fries and grilling) are brief, informative and friendly, welcoming any level of cook, beginners included. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Taste of Africa An African Cookbook or Martha Stuarts Better than You at Entertaining

Taste of Africa: An African Cookbook

Author: Tebereh Inquai

Get the genuine taste of Africa by learning how to make mouth watering cuisine from all over the continent. Included here are snacks like kelewele (fried plantain) from Ghana and matoke from Uganda; rich, juicy soups like the okra soup from Sierra Leone; tasty meat entrees such as jollof rice and side-dishes such as akla (Blackeye Bean Fries) which are eaten all over West Africa. Discover a unique tasty bread by making injera from Ethiopia and Eritrea in East Africa. Even learn how to make fish tastier and the different ways of preparing vegetables. Try various types of hot sauces, sweet beverages, coffee, salads, cakes, biscuits and other comestibles originating in Africa.

New interesting book: Peaceful Palate or Eggs

Martha Stuart's Better than You at Entertaining: A Parody

Author: Tom Connor

Martha Stuart's Better Than You at Entertaining does to Martha Stewart's books what Is Martha Stuart Living? did to her magazine. Hopelessly irreverent, this hilarious new spoof of the uncontested queen of homemaking presents recipes, dinner party plans and home projects that only a crazed Stepford Wife on steroids could hope to accomplish.

From garden parties to circumcisions, Martha Stuart's Better Than You at Entertaining provides an unceasing barrage of clever and ludicrous tips to make any occasion unforgettable. Be constructive on your wedding morning and impress the guests with a freshly baked 10-tier cake (from scratch, of course). For Mother's Day, Martha has the perfect recipes and tips to show Mom how inadequate as a homemaker she really is. Revive the pioneer spirit and have a genuine Thanksgiving -- Martha shows you how to breed, feed, kill and prepare your own turkey. As a special treat, see Martha in action for Easter, as she welcomes the Pope to her home. (She even tries to teach His Holiness how to turn water into an '89 Petrus or a '93 White Bordeaux.)

Only slightly more impossible than the Hospitality Guru's own projects, these instructions are guaranteed to have the legions of Martha fans (and their critics) roaring with delight.

Best Quick Breads or Devil in the Kitchen

Best Quick Breads: 150 Recipes for Muffins, Scones, Shortcakes, Gingerbreads, Cornbreads, Coffeecakes, and More

Author: Beth Hensperger

With The Best Quick Breads, a busy schedule no longer stands in the way of fresh baked goods. Most of the recipes can be prepared in a hurry -- in less time than it takes to run to the corner bakery. This new collection of recipes from Beth Hensperger, 100 of them from her much-loved The Art of Quick Breads (now out-of-print) plus 50 brand-new creations, has favorite fare for breakfast on the run, lazy Sunday morning repasts, and elegant holiday brunches. A delightful array of savory recipes brings quick breads into all the meals of the day. Beyond the 150 breads, there are recipes for flavored syrups, sweet and savory sauces, and fresh jams and curds to add extra elegance when the occasion calls for it.

Publishers Weekly

In her no-fuss, straightforward style, Hensperger (The Bread Bible, etc.) expertly lays out the basics for making quick breads in this exhaustive, offbeat book. She offers 150 recipes in all: 100 from her now out-of-print The Art of Quick Breads and 50 brand new. Classic loaves, such as Lemon-Poppy Seed Bread, appear alongside innovative items like Fresh Orange-Oatmeal Bread and Amaretto Nut Bead. Standout muffins include Rye Muffins with Orange and Fennel, Zucchini-Basil Baby Cakes and Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins. Gingerbreads are redolent with spices and unusual ingredients such as stout and peaches. This is not to imply that all of Hensperger's recipes rely on wacky ingredient combinations. She includes plenty of staid recipes like Fresh Apple Coffee Cake and Chicken-and-Mushroom-Filled Cr pes with b chamel. But just as Hensperger expands the definition of quick breads to include pancakes, cr pes, dumplings and even latkes, she also enlarges the pool of potential quick bread ingredients to incorporate some new tastes: Autumn Persimmon Pancakes, Graham Popovers, and Soda Bread with Caraway and Drambuie. The entries sometimes border on the unorthodox (Chinatown Green Onion Cakes; Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Butter), but with recipes this concise and inviting, readers are unlikely to complain. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

Hensperger's smaller quick breads book includes 100 recipes from her earlier Art of Quick Breads, now out of print, as well as 50 new ones. In addition to quick loaves, both sweet and savory, there are waffles, dumplings, biscuits, popovers, and a variety of other easy baked goods, along with some tasty accompaniments, such as the Fruit Salsa for her Hopi Blue Corn Hotcakes. For most collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Internet Book Watch

The Best Quick Breads showcases 150 outstanding recipes for breads suitable for all dining occasions. From Indian Pumpkin Bread, Cornmeal Savarins, Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Whole Wheat Waffles with Cherry Sauce, to Blueberry Cheese Crumbcake, Oat Scones with Apple-Pear Butter, Apricot and Prune Coffee Cake, and Savory Black Olive Bread, The Best Quick Breads is a welcome addition to any family's cookbook collection. Of special interest are the sections dedicated to: "Notes from the Kitchen"; "Ingredients, Techniques, and Basic Recipes", "Kitchen Equipment", and a user-friendly index.

Book review: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book or The DV Rebels Guide

Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef

Author: Marco Pierre Whit

What do Mario Batali, Heston Blumenthal, and Gordon Ramsay have in common? Answer: They all survived tours of duty in the kitchen of Marco Pierre White. In the UK, White’s brilliant cooking and high-wattage antics have made him a legend: the first British chef (and the youngest chef anywhere) to win three Michelin stars, a chain-smoking, pot-throwing, multiply married culinary genius whose fierce devotion to food and restaurants has been the only constant in a life of tabloid-ready turmoil. In The Devil in the Kitchen, he tells the story of his life in food, spanning his apprenticeship with Albert and Michel Roux, his wild years in the bacchanal of 1980s Chelsea, his ferocious pursuit of the highest Michelin rating, and his “retirement career” as a hugely successful restaurateur. With cameos from the likes of Michael Caine, Madonna, and Damien Hirst, The Devil in the Kitchen leaves no dish unserved, relating the backroom antics, the blood feuds, and the passion for great food that have driven London’s greatest restaurants for decades.

The New York Times - David Kamp

… The Devil in the Kitchen is a moving, unaffected, delightfully honest book. At times it's almost sweet. The culinary memoir it most recalls is, of all things, Jacques Pйpin's Apprentice. Like Pйpin, White grew up in a family that had little but an appreciation of good food. And like The Apprentice, White's book has early moments of heartbreaking privation and loss that give way to a happy momentum — a dawning on the protagonist's part and, eventually, on that of his bosses, peers and the public, that he is preternaturally gifted at cooking.

Publishers Weekly

Reviewed byJames Oseland

The world's most celebrated chefs are divided into two opposing camps these days. In one, there are the do-gooder humanists like Alice Waters of Berkeley's Chez Panisse. In the other, there are the self-avowed holy terrors like Britain's Marco Pierre White, author of this plodding autobiography, co-written with James Steen and originally published in the U.K. in 2006 under the untoward title White Slave. An influential figure in English cooking in the 1980s and '90s, White built an empire of London restaurants that included Harveys (where he became the youngest chef—at age 28—to win two Michelin stars), Mirabelle and the Oak Room. Famous folks like Michael Caine and Prince Charles were admirers of White's smart, decadent interpretations of classic French dishes.

But while White was widely lauded for his culinary skill, it was his flamboyant temper that most frequently earned him headlines. An avowed proponent of tongue lashings (White calls them "bollockings") toward kitchen staff for all manner of infractions, the chef claims that such harsh behavior is justified in the pursuit of excellent dining. "If you are not extreme then people will take short cuts because they don't fear you," White explains. What he dubbed his "theatre of cruelty" extended beyond his kitchen. During White's glory years, getting thrown out of one of his establishments by the enfant terrible himself was considered a badge of honor by some Londoners. White recounts in the book one such eviction, of a patron who had criticized his meal: "Staring at this dwarfish, patronizing man... I found myself saying, 'Why don't you just f— off?'"

Scenes like this make upthe lion's share of The Devil in the Kitchen; indeed, after a point, they become dirge-like in their predictability. Why, I asked myself midway through this book—right around the time that my discomfort at White's antics gave way to boredom—would readers, much less diners, want to be in the company of such a gregariously antisocial character? As is the case with virtually any autobiography, the answer is that we are seeking a window into the subject's soul, no matter how, well, unsavory that subject might be. His book, unfortunately, provides no such insights, offering readers little more than a continual, atonal concerto of scuffles with customers and insults to co-workers. Please, I wanted to say to White as I was reading, stifle all that alpha male stuff and just cook. (May)

James Oseland is the editor-in-chief ofSaveur magazine and the author ofCradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia (Norton, 2006).

Off My Trolley     1
Blue Skies over Leeds     5
Gambling, Greyhounds and Grief     10
I Delivered (the Milk)     17
The George     24
Black and White into Color     35
It Was Meant to Be     46
The Boss of Bosses     53
Dining with the Bear     64
Raymond Blanc: The Oxford Don     73
White-Balled     85
Coming Home     92
The Christening     101
Beautiful Doll     120
No Bill, No Mink     134
Banged Up and Butchered     148
Not a Lot of People Know This     157
The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me     164
The Dream Becomes Reality     171
Just Another Day     184
Everything I'd Worked For     196
Blue Skies over Leeds, Again     201
Rough Seas     205
Letting Go of Status     214
Life Without the Props     221
Acknowledgments     233
Index     235

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sushi Made Easy or Pressure Cooker Gourmet

Sushi Made Easy

Author: Kumfoo Wong

Preparing sushi is more than mere cooking--it's an art, a creative act of beautifully presenting colors, textures, subtle tastes, and unmatched sensations. Every page here shares that refined philosophy, so it not only shows you how to make a feast for your friends, it is a feast for the eyes. Even the small line drawings accompanying the luscious photography--which show in detail how to create each perfect piece of sushi--seem infused with the elegant feel of Japanese culture. Immerse yourself in the lifestyle as you learn how to wrap, make, and arrange delicacies such as nigiri-sushi out of fish (yellowtail, salmon, tuna, surf clam, flounder, or prawn) and vinegared rice; thick futomaki, hosomaki (omelette), and fish and vegetable rolls; a battleship wrap stuffed with roe; inside-out rolls; a California hand roll with ripe avocado and crab; and soups. With advice on setting an eye-catching table to complete the wonderful atmosphere.

Publishers Weekly

Preparing sushi is intimidating to most Americans, not least because it requires meticulous attention to presentation, as well as an intricate and subtle understanding of textures and tastes. In Sushi Made Easy, Michele Gomes and Noel Cottrell demystify one of the urbanite's favorite foods, outlining the necessary utensils, equipment (yes, readers should get one of those cool bamboo rolling mats) and main ingredients, and explaining how to cook the sticky rice exactly right and how to buy and cut the fish. They guide the reader through the process of preparing nigiri-sushi (fish served over balls of rice), then explain how to make sushi rolls, inside-out rolls (rice outside the seaweed), hand rolls, California hand rolls, rolled sweet omelets and clear soups, concluding with the all-important setting of the table. Fittingly, the book is a beautiful aesthetic experience; sensuous, tactile color photographs appear on almost every page. ( June) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Pressure Cooker Gourmet: 225 Recipes for Great-Tasting, Long-Simmered Flavors in Just Minutes

Author: Victoria Wis

Victoria Wise explains how to use the modern pressure cooker and what it particularly excels at, and presents outstanding dishes.

Publishers Weekly

As Wise notes in a thorough introduction that covers general methods, the pressure cooker is a time-saver; she then offers a nice range of recipes, from a relatively simple Trout la Vapeur with Toasted Almonds and Parsley Sauce to a more complex Salmon Terrine with Asparagus Tip and Spinach Root Garnish that is packed into a loaf pan and steamed. However, Wise (who was the first chef at Chez Panisse) often undermines that savings in time. For example, a recipe for beef broth calls for roasting the bones for 30 minutes before cooking the broth. Other recipes simply would be almost as quick when prepared using normal stovetop methods, like a Spring Spinach and Scallion Soup that takes six to seven minutes to come to pressure, then sits for eight minutes as the pressure escapes. The pressure cooker works best for braised dishes such as Chicken Marengo with Porcini-Topped Fried Bread Rounds and Rabbit with Fennel Seed, Parsnip, and Prunes in Brandy Cream, but perhaps is not the optimal choice for delicate vegetables such as Asparagus with Shallot, Lemon, and Olive Oil Dressing. While the writing in their headers tends to be awkward (Chilled Potato Soup Mexican-style with Cantaloupe and Toasted Almonds begins: "It was the gazpacho in Grenada that showed, in the right setting at the right time, cold soup is an oxymoron of a notion but a lilt in the day's repasts"), the recipes themselves are clear and simple. (Jan.) Forecast: This is a good effort, especially in the context of a small field, but not the equal of earlier pressure-cooker books like Pressure Cooking for Everyone, by Rick Rodgers and Arlene Ward, and other titles from Lorna Sass.

Library Journal

Wise is the author and coauthor of numerous other cookbooks, including The Well-Filled Microwave Cookbook. Here she provides dozens of recipes for today's "100% Safe" pressure cookers, from streamlined versions of pot roast to more contemporary, elegant dishes such as Pheasant Braised with Walnuts and Shallots. There are stews of all sorts, or course, but there are also quick (no-stir) risottos, vegetable dishes ranging from Baby Artichokes and Two Sauces to an easy Ratatouille, preserves like Green Tomato Chutney, and even desserts. A good companion to Lorna Sass's now-classic Cooking Under Pressure and its follow-up, The Pressured Cook, this is recommended for most collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lovers Soul or Bone Appetit

Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul: Celebrating the Perfect Blend

Author: Jack Canfield

Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with.
~Drew Sirtors

Is a trip to the local coffeehouse part of your daily routine? Are you transformed by the ritual of selecting and grinding the perfectly roasted bean for a midday treat? Whether you take it black, with sugar, or with cream, the stories in Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul will delight you. Join us as we celebrate this unique beverage's place in our rituals and relationships. This delectable collection of stories is full of interesting facts and anecdotes about coffee's history and culture, how a bean goes from field to cup, and the many varieties available.

You'll laugh along with others who are obsessed with brewing the 'perfect cup' in these delightful tales. You might even recognize yourself in the confessions of so many who can't--or won't--live without their favorite daily elixir! So curl up with a freshly brewed cup of your favorite blend and prepare to laugh out loud with others who share your passion for one of the world's most popular and beloved beverages.

Go to: Writing News for Television or The Building of Renaissance Florence

Bone Appetit!: Gourmet Cooking for Your Dog

Author: Suzan Anson

More than 100 delicious recipes to cook for your dog, heartily recommended by Dog World and Actors & Others for Animals.

Best of the Best from Florida Cookbook or Indulge

Best of the Best from Florida Cookbook: Selected Recipes from Florida's Favorite Cookbooks

Author: Gwen Mcke

Imagine having the favorite recipes from 83 of Florida's leading cookbooks -- all in one book! Here are over 400 Sunshine State Best of the Best recipes, including the unbelievable Sirloin with Grilled Shrimp and Brie; the tasty, not-just-for-tailgating Gator Gumbolaya; the exotic Jamaican Grilled Fish; the totally decadent White Chocolate Key Lime Cheesecake... Best of the Best from Florida Cookbook, created with the everyday cook in mind, has been carefully edited for clarity and taste.

New interesting book: Cadillac Desert or Hells Cartel

Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts

Author: Claire Clark

Learn to craft desserts from a master pâtissier.

Claire Clark is the pastry chef at The French Laundry (Napa Valley in California), one of America's most renowned restaurants. Its innovative and creative menus always deliver the highest standards of quality and great taste. Its celebrated desserts, made by Clark, are nothing short of remarkable.

Indulge is a collection of Claire Clark's favorites dishes that any home chef can re-create. Perfectly decadent, the recipes in this new cookbook range from the deceptively simple to the more exotic. Included are cookies, cakes, pastries, mousses, ices, meringues, custards and creams, and more. Clark's down-to-earth writing style demystifies such sumptuous sweets as:

• Red wine and chocolate cake
• Bitter chocolate, praline brûlée and espresso torte
• Orange and pistachio semolina cake
• Fig and blueberry and créme fraîche tart
• Rich chocolate ganache tart with salted caramel and candied peanuts
• Tropical fruit Pavlova
• Mango, ginger and lime sorbet.

Along with the recipes there are valuable tips and techniques learned during Claire Clark's 20 years as a pastry chef in world famous restaurants.

Friday, December 26, 2008

100 Greatest New Orleans Creole Recipes or Visual Food Encyclopedia

100 Greatest New Orleans Creole Recipes

Author: Roy F Gust

Introducing the catalogue raisonne of Louisiana cookery from restaurateur and French-trained chef Roy F. Guste, Jr. Each recipe is accompanied by reminiscences and anecdotes of its origin as only a few Louisianians could know. Using a bare minimum of cookware and utensils, these recipes make Creole dining elegant and effortless.

Visual Food Encyclopedia: The Definitive Practical Guide to Food and Cooking

Author: Francois Fortin

What does a tree tomato look like? Whats the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga? Where does malanga come from? How do you trim an artichoke bottom? The Visual Food Encyclopedia answers all these food questions - and thousands more. The Visual Food Encyclopedia is the cooks companion in the market and the kitchen, illustrating and explaining everything other cookbooks assume you already know. It takes you by the hand and, with a no-nonsense approach, tells you how to look for freshness, when to buy each ingredient at its peak, how to store it once you get it home, and the best methods of preparation and cooking. This extensive guide covers more than 1,000 ingredients, including: ·
70 different kinds of vegetables ·
63 varieties of fruits ·
37 types of meat ·
62 species of fish ·
34 different cereals and grains ·
47 herbs, spices and condiments ·
30 kinds of cheese and milk products ·
Varieties of nuts and seeds, mushrooms, seaweed, sugars, fat and oils, and coffee and tea. In large part, the explaining is done with pictures, over 1,200 of them. The state-of-the-art computer images are so clear and richly colored, youll want to eat the food right off the page. And because you just have to see how some things are done, like cutting a chicken into serving pieces, basic techniques are clearly illustrated with original step-by-step photographs. This unique book doesnt ignore health benefits either. All the entries include nutritional highlights. A glossary of terms along with a comprehensive index of the technical and most commonly known names for each entry is provided at the end of the book. Plus, while this is an encyclopedia, not acookbook, serving ideas and traditional recipes using selected ingredients are featured/ From the novice cook to the experienced chef, there are timeless lessons to be learned from The Visual Food Encyclopedia.

Ice Cream or Off the Shelf Baking

Ice Cream: 52 Easy Recipes for Year-Round Frozen Treats

Author: Sally Sampson

A fabulous frozen treat for every week of the year

If you're looking for new ice cream flavor sensations, this cookbook is just what you need. It gives you a year's worth of delectably different recipes for your ice cream maker—from Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream to Green Tea Gelato. Whether you want a delicious dessert for your family or an elegant ending for a dinner party, this full-color book is chock-full of great ice cream ideas—everything you need to unleash your ice cream creativity and put a smile on everyone's face!

Kristen Mastel - Library Journal

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream" are lyrics many kids can be heard saying on any given summer day. This book presents 52 frozen dessert recipes appropriate for the entire year. Sampson (Throw Me a Bone) has written numerous other books in this series; she's also a senior writer for Cooks Illustrated and was nominated for the James Beard Award. Her concoctions range from the classic store-bought French Vanilla to the exotic Avocado Gelato, Grape-Nuts® Ice Cream, or an Orange Granita. Each recipe contains a clear ingredient list, step-by-step directions, and often a beautiful photograph of the treat. Each week one could sample a new ice cream, progressing through the seasons (though eggnog ice cream is listed halfway through), as the recipes are listed to take advantage of spring and summer fruits and later hearty nuts and heavenly chocolates. Sure to fly off the summer display shelves when accompanied by other summer food favorites such as grilling, this text is a solid collection of unique frozen treats.

Book review:

Off the Shelf Baking

Author: Better Homes and Gardens

Make baking quick and easy with the Off the Shelf series.

Each recipe combines the best quality step-saving convenience foods such as prepared pastries, fruit fillings, prepackaged cake, cookie mixes and more with fresh ingredients to create delectable desserts and dishes.

Chapters feature party-favorite potluck foods, fabulous appetizers, holiday treats and tips on baking with the kids.

Dozen of helpful hints, baking tips and special icons make baking easy, fun and fast without sacrificing taste.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Cooking for Two or The 10 Solution for a Healthy Life

Cooking for Two

Author: JoAnna M Lund

Anyone can make tea for two-but cooking a balanced, interesting meal of two servings can be a challenge for newlyweds and empty-nesters alike. In this essential cookbook, JoAnna Lund shows how to get the half-used cans and never-ending leftovers out of the refrigerator. This all-new collection includes more than 200 two-portion Healthy Exchanges® recipes for salads, side dishes, entrees, and even traditional big-portion items like soups and desserts. And of course, like all of JoAnna's recipes so beloved by home cooks over the years, every one is quick, tasty, and healthy.

Interesting textbook:

The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life: How to Reduce Fat in Your Diet and Eliminate Virtually All Risk of Heart Disease and Cancer

Author: Ray Kurzweil

Reducing the level of fat in your diet to 10% can save your life, and this book gives you all the tools you need to do just that. Everything you need to know about is in this book: recipes, conversion charts, pantry staples, dining-out tips, progress tables, an exercise program, and detailed appendixes.

Lesley Herberts Complete Book of Sugar Flowers or Stalking the Healthful Herbs

Lesley Herbert's Complete Book of Sugar Flowers

Author: Lesley Herbert

This book focuses on the techniques involved in creating and arranging thirty types of sugar flowers and foliage. In addition, fourteen arrangements are featured, each displayed on a finished cake.

Go to:

Stalking the Healthful Herbs

Author: Euell Gibbons

Here Euell Gibbons shows the reader how to enjoy the culinary and medicinal virtues of herbs and wild plants. Drawn from the author's wide knowledge of plants as well as from the lore of native Americans and early settlers, the information is supplemented by nutritionists at Pennsylvania State University who worked with Gibbons on analysis of the entries.

Publishers Weekly

Even those who have no intention of combing the countryside for cleavers, slippery elm or velvet dock will welcome the return to print of this 1966 classic guide to American wild herbs for its wealth of knowledge. Many since the late Gibbons ( Stalking the Wild Asparagus ) have written about the medicinal and nutritive properties of indigenous flora, and nouvelle cuisine has domesticated the notion of edible flowers, but the author's good-humored approach to preparing pine tree needles, boiled nettles and similar treats establishes his as a uniquely charming voice in the self-important world of health foods (``I would like to think that it was sheer genius that caused me to get all the proportions right in my first attempt to make this fragrant ambrosia rose petal jam, but I know it was just blind luck''). Gibbons is the quintessential American naturalist, rhapsodic about nature but eminently practical as well--and never above looking for get-rich-quick schemes, as demonstrated by his experiments to produce a chocolate substitute from basswood. Illustrated. (Sept.)

Joan Lee Faust

A handful of crushed pennyroyal rubbed on exposed skin will keep mosquitoes away. A half-cup of violet leaf greens has as much Vitamin C as four oranges. Lemonade flavored with a jigger of borage juice is an especially cooling drink. The roots of Queen Anne's lace will do for a meal in an emergency. That insatiable stalker of the wildlings, Euell Gibbons, had been out hunting again.—The New York Times Book Review

Elizabeth C. Hall

The author of Stalking the Healthful Herbs brings to our attention in a delightful fashion many of the culinary and medicinal herbs native to North America -kinds that were well known to the Indians and early settlers. His intimate knowledge of these plants is based on countless field studies as well as on painstaking research. Once clearly gets the feeling that he writes of what he knows and of what he has learned from endless experience and experiment.—The New York Botanical Garden

Phoebe-Lou Adams

The author of Stalking the Wild Asparagus and Stalking the Blue-eyed Scallop explores the nutritional, medicinal and useful elements of wild herbs and plants. His search took him into the field, the kitchen (and) into the laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, where nutritionist analyzed food values in plants he brought them. Taken preventively, he discovered, wild plants furnish rich amounts of natural vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that help build the body's natural defenses…—The Atlantic Monthly

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Ultimate Barbecue Bible or The Turkey Cookbook

The Ultimate Barbecue Bible

Author: Beverley Jollands

The ultimate collection of 400 fabulous barbecue recipes to skewer, sear and sizzle this summer. Cooks of all levels can experiment with new ingredients, and every recipe is clearly illustrated with over 1500 step-by-step photographs to ensure success.

Includes perfect dishes for all occasions, including elegant Grilled Lobster, crowd-pleasing Tandoori Drumsticks or tender, juicy Peppered Steaks in Beer and Garlic. Treat vegetarian guests with dishes such as the fragrant Thai Vegetable Cakes or meltingly delicious Grilled Aubergine Parcels, and discover a wide range of side dishes and salads to compliment every meal. Serve wonderful homemade appetizers, breads, relishes, ice creams and grilled desserts, as well as fruity drinks for kids and cocktails with a kick for adults.

Book review: The Everyday Arthritis Solution or The Appetite Awareness Workbook

The Turkey Cookbook

Author: Rick Rodgers

The tools and tips offered in The Turkey Cookbook will have cooks preparing juicy, tender, and perfectly cooked turkey dishes every time! More than 100 recipes are sure to delight anyone who enjoys cooking a healthy meal that's low in fat and cholesterol and high in protein.

Americas Best Slow Cooker Recipes or Elegantly Easy Creme Brulee

America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes

Author: Donna Marie Py

Imagine coming home from a long, tiring work day only to find a delicious aromatic stew waiting for you. Or enjoying a day on the slopes and arriving to find mulled red wine already prepared and simply waiting to be poured and savored. By using a timesaving slow cooker, you can have a hot meal or warm drink ready and waiting when you are, without any fuss.

In the last five years, slow cookers have enjoyed a huge increase in popularity. By simmering food at a constant low temperature, slow cookers create food that enjoys a flavor and texture not normally found in stovetop or oven cooking. Ingredients need only be prepared in advance, then tossed into a slow cooker and the results are an easily prepared but satisfying meal.

America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes features over 125 newly developed and tested recipes. Banish the winter blahs by making 'Beef Goulash Soup with Red Wine' or 'Comfy Maple Baked Beans.' Busy families will enjoy the 'Chicken and Broccoli Casserole' or 'All Day Mac & Cheese.' When entertaining dazzle your guests with a 'Hot Crab, Artichoke & Jalapeno Dip' followed by a tantalizing 'Pork Roast with Peach Chutney.' Sensational recipes for desserts such as 'Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake' and 'Caramel Peaches' can also be created in a slow cooker. These are recipes for today's tastes and today's homes.

As well as including fabulous recipes, America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes contains useful information on the type of slow cookers available, food safety, tips for success, adapting favorite recipes, and leftover hints. Recipes for accompanying delicious side dishes are also included.

Internet Book Watch

America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes presents over a hundred recipes for slow cooker dishes ranging from appetizers to desserts, beverages to finger foods. Meatloafs to casseroles, pasta bakes to plum chicken: this goes beyond the soup and stew orientation of competing titles to provide a wide range of options for crock pot cooks.

Interesting textbook:

Elegantly Easy Creme Brulee: And Other Custard Desserts

Author: Debbie Puent

At last, creme brulee has been demystified. Debbie Puente has taken the complexity out of making this delicious delicacy, and has compiled 70 irresistible recipes that include a wide variety of silken and sinfully rich desserts, as well as some unexpected savory recipes guaranteed to surprise and delight the palate.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Kitchen Diaries or Year Round Cupcakes

Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater

Author: Nigel Slater

"Right food, right place, right time. It is my belief—and the point of this book—that thisis the best recipe of all. A crab sandwich by the sea on a June afternoon; a slice of roast goose with apple sauce and roast potatoes on Christmas Day; hot sausages and a chunk of roast pumpkin on a frost-sparkling night in November. These are meals whose success relies not on the expertise of the cook but on the more basic premise that this is the food of the moment--something eaten at a time when it is most appropriate, when the ingredients are at their peak of perfection, when the food, the cook and the time of year are at one with each other."
—Nigel Slater, The Kitchen Diaries

Nigel Slater writes about food in a way that stimulates the imagination, the heart, and the palate all at once. The Kitchen Diaries brings an especially personal ingredient to the mix, letting us glimpse his pantry, tour local farmers' markets with him, and savor even the simplest meals at his table.

Recording twelve months in his culinary life, Slater shares seasonal dishes and the intriguing elements behind them. As someone who celebrates each visit to the cheese shop or butcher, he enthusiastically conveys the brilliant array of choices and encourages his view of food shopping as an adventure rather than a chore. A rainy day in February calls for a hearty stew; summertime finds him feasting on a lunch as simple as baked tomatoes with grated Parmesan. If an exotic mood strikes him, slow-roasted duck with star anise and ginger is in order. In The Kitchen Diaries, Nigel interweaves his meditations on how food should be enjoyed and prepared with his delicious recipes. No matter the season, The Kitchen Diaries offers a year-round invitation to cook and dine with the world's most irresistible lover of food.

About the Author:
Nigel Slater's autobiography, Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger won six major awards, including British Biography of the Year. The author of numerous classic cookbooks, including Appetite and Real Food, he writes a highly popular column for the Observer in London.

Publishers Weekly

Few writers could get away with what London Observer columnist Slater does here: jotting down what he eats and recording recipes for the homemade items over the course of a year. Slater, though, has the writing chops to make it work as proven in his memoir Toast. His style is lazily thoughtful, but also honest and unfussy: January 9 sees a "gray, endless drizzle" that makes it "the sort of day on which to light the fire, turn on the radio and bake a cake." The recipe for Double Ginger Cake that follows, however, highlights this book's sometimes problematic Britishness when it calls for both golden syrup and stem ginger in syrup, available, a footnote claims, "in some supermarkets and specialty shops." Slater's food isn't British in the stodgy sense. Indeed, he smoothly incorporates the flavors of other cultures into his cooking to make Indian-influenced Spiced Roast Potatoes with Yogurt and Mint, for example. Yet local references and recommendations, such as a tip that the best hummus may be purchased "at the Green Valley, just off the Edgware Road," will frustrate readers in the U.S. As George Bernard Shaw once said, the British and the Americans are two peoples divided by a common language. Sadly, much of this wonderful book is lost in translation, or lack thereof. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

See also: New Food Fast or Bacchus and Me

Year-Round Cupcakes

Author: Sara Neumeier

Cupcakes have always been crowd-pleasers at school birthday parties and neighborhood bake sales. But today they are also among the hottest culinary trends for sophisticated adults. Cupcakes Year-Round offers a platter full of delicious, grown-up recipes-Black Forest Cherry Cupcakes, Hot Buttered Rum Cakes, Carrot and Zucchini Cakes, and many more-along with kid-friendly PB & J's, Snowballs, and Spelling Bee Alphabet Cakes.

In addition to 50 tasty recipes, organized by season (Easter Egg Nests for spring, Reindeer Snacks for winter), the book includes helpful information on the basics of making cupcakes, from mixing to icing, as well as instructions for piping techniques and tips on customizing cupcakes with syrups, fillings, and decorations. Mix-and-match batter and icing combinations give the baker more than 100 delectable cupcake options. With its unique easel format and retro design, this book proves that cupcakes are just as much fun to make as they are to eat.

Author Bio: Sara Neumeier, a former food editor at Martha Stewart Living, is a recipe developer, food stylist, and writer whose work has appeared in Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Real Simple, along with Martha Stewart Living. This is her first book. Jonelle Weaver is a professional photographer whose work has appeared in such publications as Food & Wine, Condй Nast Traveler, and Gourmet.

Food of Italy or Essentials of Asian Cuisine

Food of Italy: A Journey for Food Lovers

Author: Kay Halsey

The Food of Italy gives you a taste of a country that is passionate about its food. Join our culinary journey from the kitchens of Sicily to the cheese-makers of Naples, through the vineyards of Tuscany to the restaurants of Bologna, and discover some of the dishes that define today's Italian cooking. Try a simple seafood antipasto, a rich polenta with wild mushrooms, or strawberries drizzled with balsamic.

Each recipe is photographed as it is made, and is accompanied by useful tips on preparation and ingredients. Vivid photographs illustrate the very best produce: from market fresh vegetables to Mediterranean and regional cheeses.

New interesting textbook: A Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC Sixth Edition Comprehensive or Windows Vista Plain Simple

Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite Recipes

Author: Corinne Trang

With eight major national cuisines, and dozens of regional variations, a comprehensive exploration of Asian cuisine might seem too daunting to present in one volume. But with Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite Recipes, award-winning author Corinne Trang successfully brings the fundamentals of Asian cooking into the home kitchen in a collection that includes both contemporary and time-honored recipes.

Trang takes the reader on a journey of Eastern culinary discovery as seen through a practiced Western culinary lens. Explaining how and why Chinese cuisine is at the root of all Asian cooking, she describes in familiar terms the techniques that incorporate the five senses and embody the Chinese yin yang philosophy of balanced opposites. Trang uses Asian ingredients commonly found in supermarkets and through mail-order sources -- such as fish sauce, lemongrass, and rice noodles -- to guide home cooks through the preparation of healthy, sensual meals. She illuminates the mysteries of authentic Asian cooking, explaining the aromatic herbs and spices that make Asian cuisine vibrant, colorful, and distinctive.

Trang brings together more than three hundred traditional and cutting-edge recipes for condiments, appetizers, main courses, vegetables, and sweets and drinks from China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Mouthwatering items include Chinese Scallion Pancakes, Filipino Fried Spring Rolls, Spicy Indonesian Crab Fried Rice, Japanese Miso-Marinated Black Cod, Japanese Spring Water Tofu with Sweet Sake Sauce, Stir-Fried Leafy Greens, Chinese Pork Ribs with Black Bean and Garlic Sauce, Green Tea Ice Cream, and Thai Coffee.

In organizing the book bytype of food, Trang allows cooks to see both the common elements and the distinctive individualities of Asian national and regional cooking. Trang explains the roots of major recipes and discusses where they appear in various guises in different countries. Vietnam's Canh Ca Chua (Hot and Sour Fish Soup), for example, can also be found in Cambodian, Indonesian, and Thai cuisines; Trang provides the recipes for both the master soup and its variations.

Trang includes a comprehensive glossary of Asian ingredients, plus a detailed list of resources for purchasing special ingredients and equipment. She offers sample menus, including a Chinese Dim Sum, a Filipino Dinner, and a Japanese Lunch. A special section on feng shui demonstrates how to organize and beautifully present a meal.

In this lavishly designed and illustrated volume, more than eighty-five original black-and-white and color photographs bring to life the ingredients, dishes, and people of Asia. The book is rich with personal anecdotes and intriguing information about Asian culture, and nowhere else will you find such a clear, comprehensive, and accessible treatment of Asian cuisine. More than a cookbook, Essentials of Asian Cuisine is a celebration of exotic culinary delights.

Publishers Weekly

There are some books you never knew you needed until they appear, and then you can't imagine how you did without them. Trang's newest (after Authentic Vietnamese Cooking) is an encyclopedic summation of the history, techniques, ingredients and recipes of the major Asian nations (China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines). It's an ambitious undertaking, but Trang delivers and shows an astonishing mastery of the often subtle differences among the cuisines. (For example, she clearly differentiates between three kinds of hot pots-Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese.) In this vast catalogue, some recipes are relatively familiar, like Bibimbap, Tempura, Hot and Sour Soup, Chicken Adobo; Curried Conch Shells, Fish and Coconut Custard and Oxtail braised in Peanut Sauce are more exotic. While some staples have not been included (such as Kungpao Chicken), the book can hardly be accused of brevity. A true instructor, Trang spends 60 pages on fundamentals before offering any cooking instruction. She fills out each chapter of recipes with an extensive essay on the different permutations taken by shared ingredients-there are 140 pages on "Rice, Noodles, Dumplings, and Breads" alone. The protein chapters are somewhat less impressive; still, this volume should be a first port of call for home cooks eager to undertake a serious study of Asian cooking. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Though she now lives in New York, food writer and former Saveur magazine editor Trang grew up in Vietnam as well as Paris, and she has traveled widely throughout Asia. In her impressive new cookbook, she explores the "continuities" among the centuries-old Chinese culinary tradition and the cuisines of the rest of Asia, from Japan to Vietnam and Thailand to the Philippines. She starts with a detailed, illustrated pantry section and another on equipment and techniques, followed by an overview of the "fundamentals," the guiding principles of Chinese cooking, along with brief introductions to the foods of the other Asian countries. The following chapters, from "Condiments" to "Rice, Noodles, Dumplings, and Breads" (the longest one and, to a certain extent, the heart of the book) to "Sweets and Drinks," offer more than 250 recipes. Trang's readable and informative headnotes provide provenance and explore the connections among similar dishes found in the various cuisines; she also includes useful tips on using unusual ingredients and suggests substitutions if necessary. The lengthy chapter introductions are equally impressive, serving as mini-encyclopedias in themselves. Authoritative and thoroughly researched, this will be invaluable as both a reference and a cookbook. Highly recommended. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

The Botanist and the Vintner or Paying the Tab

The Botanist and the Vintner

Author: Christopher Campbell

In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-Émile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were and where they had come from was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army and within a few years had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. The wine industry was on the brink of disaster. The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a remedy. Planchon believed he had the answer and setout to prove it.

In the tradition of the bestseller Wine and War, this is a sweeping and intoxicating tale for wine enthusiasts and armchair historians.

Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control

Author: Philip J Cook

What drug provides Americans with the greatest pleasure and the greatest pain? The answer, hands down, is alcohol. The pain comes not only from drunk driving and lost lives but also addiction, family strife, crime, violence, poor health, and squandered human potential. Young and old, drinkers and abstainers alike, all are affected. Every American is paying for alcohol abuse.

Paying the Tab, the first comprehensive analysis of this complex policy issue, calls for broadening our approach to curbing destructive drinking. Over the last few decades, efforts to reduce the societal costs--curbing youth drinking and cracking down on drunk driving--have been somewhat effective, but woefully incomplete. In fact, American policymakers have ignored the influence of the supply side of the equation. Beer and liquor are far cheaper and more readily available today than in the 1950s and 1960s.

Philip Cook's well-researched and engaging account chronicles the history of our attempts to "legislate morality," the overlooked lessons from Prohibition, and the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous. He provides a thorough account of the scientific evidence that has accumulated over the last twenty-five years of economic and public-health research, which demonstrates that higher alcohol excise taxes and other supply restrictions are effective and underutilized policy tools that can cut abuse while preserving the pleasures of moderate consumption. Paying the Tab makes a powerful case for a policy course correction. Alcohol is too cheap, and it's costing all of us.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Bagel Bible or Simple Japanese

Bagel Bible: For Bagel Lovers

Author: Marilyn Bagel

You won't find a more enthusiastic celebration of bagel noshing than this fun, informative cookbook and reference guide tot he world of bagels. Marilyn Bagel, (yes, Bagel) was destined to write this book celebrating the joys of bagelicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and munchies. This third edition has innovative, enjoyable, and useful recipes including ideas for vegetarian, dessert, and low-fat bagels. It also has a brand new chapter called "Bagels 'Round the World." Become a bagel believer. If you're not one already, this book will convert you!

New interesting book: Careers in Sociology or Money and Banking

Simple Japanese: With East and West Flavors

Author: Silla Bjerrum

In Simple Japanese, Silla Bjerrum demystifies Japanese cooking, showing us how easy it can be to prepare. There are chapters on sushi and the key elements of sushi: sashimi, nigiri, and sushi making, as well as tempura, salads, noodles and rice, and desserts. Each chapter begins with a basic illustrated technique and some simple Japanese recipes. With over 100 flexible recipes, using a mix of Japanese and Western ingredients, and Silla's conversational instruction style, you can easily recreate the Japanese dining experience in the comfort of your own home.

Mon Docteur Le Vin My Doctor Wine or 75 Wok and Stir Fry Recipes

Mon Docteur, Le Vin [My Doctor, Wine] (Henry McBride Series in Modernism and Modernity)

Author: Raoul Dufy

This witty little volume, first published in French in 1936, extols the many joys and benefits of wine. Wine drinkers will take pleasure in Gaston Derys's quaint appreciation of the grape, and art lovers will admire Raoul Dufy's joyful watercolors. Reflecting the exuberance and élan of an earlier day, Derys takes us back to a time when the doctor's favored prescription was an amiable glass of wine. In Derys's ode to wine, here translated into English, we discover that the medicinal and therapeutic uses of wine are many: it assists in fighting typhoid, infant sicknesses, and diabetes; it exerts a positive effect on one's character, beauty, and creativity; and it lends a fortifying power to athletes and soldiers. Supported by the comments of French doctors as well as Dufy's beautifully reproduced paintings, Derys's argument to raise a glass of wine becomes pleasantly irrefutable."In the 1930s a group of leading French doctors set out to convince the rest of the world that wine was the best medicine you could have, and Benjamin Ivry's delightful translation of Mon Docteur le Vin is just what the doctor ordered. Paul Lukacs's introduction provides an essential historical context that reveals as much about the country as it does about wine itself."-Donald and Petie Kladstrup, authors of Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

Author Biography: Gaston Derys, also known as Gaston Columb, was a prolific French writer in the 1920s and 1930s. He was an associate director of the Paris Museum of Design. The French painter and designer Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) was born in Le Havre and trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Often associated with Fauvism, he is known for his vivacious use of color in compositions that seem intended solely to please and entertain. Paul Lukacs is a wine columnist for the Washington Times and Washingtonian magazine. He is author of American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine and chairman of the English Department at Loyola College. Benjamin Ivry is a New York-based writer on the arts, a broadcaster and lecturer, and the translator of Albert Camus: A Life. He was cultural correspondent in Paris for such periodicals as Newsweek and The Economist for nine years.

Henry McBride Series in Modernism and Modernity

	Introduction
1	Wine as Food
2	Vitamins and the Radioactivity of Wine
3	Wine and Childhood Ailments
4	Wine as a Treatment for Typhoid Fever
5	Wine for Healthy Kidneys
6	Wine as a Treatment for Depression and Anemia
7	Wine as a Treatment for Appendicitis
8	Wine as a Treatment for Diabetes
9	Wine as a Remedy for Convalescents
10	How Wine Affects the Disposition
11	How Wine Affects the Morale
12	Downfall of a Lady Teetotaler
13	Wine as a Treatment for Obesity
14	Wine Maintains Youth and Beauty
15	Wine is Essential for Writers
16	Wine is Necessary for Artists
17	Wine is Essential for Athletes
18	Wine Makes a Fine Figure of a Man
19	Long Life Thanks to Wine
	Luncheon in Paris with Raoul Dufy

New interesting book: Global Issues and Adult Education or Principles of the Business Rule Approach

75 Wok and Stir-Fry Recipes: A special collection of fabulous spicy and aromatic Far Eastern recipes shown step by step in 300 color photographs

Author: Jenni Fleetwood

Inspired by its versatility, and the delicious flavours of China, India and South-East Asia, this irresistible book brings together a mouthwatering collection of 75 classic, famouse and popular dishes that are speedy and easy to make.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Endangered Recipes or Small Batch Baking

Endangered Recipes: Too Good to Be Forgotten

Author: Lari Robling

Great recipes are family treasures and America’s culinary legacy. But what should be enduring heirlooms are easily lost—gone out of fashion, or locked up in one cook’s recipe box. Endangered Recipes showcases dishes in danger of extinction—homey favorites, the kind of food eaten on the summer porch, at the neighbor's house, or with your grandparents. Lari Robling unearths almost-forgotten classics such as Welsh Rarebit, Green Goddess Dressing, and French Onion Dip. The recipes she’s collected reflect the extraordinary range of American cooking, from Parker House Rolls to Crispy Fried Chicken to Rice Pudding. This new paperback edition includes 80 recipes, along with Robling’s cooking memories and great food stories, sidebars that spotlight people who are "recipe rescuers," and a guide to preserving your family’s food legacy. Now is the perfect time to begin saving—and savoring—these beloved dishes.

Go to: Toast to Omaha or Wheat Free Gluten Free

Small-Batch Baking

Author: Debby Maugans Nakos

Perfect for romantic occasions, small households, or just whipping up something for the kids when they come home from school, Small-Batch Baking delivers more than 225 smashing, small-yield recipes for all types of baking.

Publishers Weekly

Even the most enthusiastic home bakers may admit there are times when they really only need a few muffins for breakfast or a couple of cream puffs for a dinner party-not a dozen or more of each. When standard recipes won't reduce neatly (how do you halve an egg, for example?), frustration ensues. Nakos, a Shape, Southern Living and Cooking Light contributor, takes more than 250 classic cakes, pies, cookies, cobblers, puddings and breads and downsizes their proportions to yield just the right number of goodies for small families, singles, newlyweds, empty-nesters or the leftovers-averse (do such people exist?). Nakos certainly is creative: she uses tin cans to bake two-layer coconut cakes and chocolate cakes, jumbo muffin tins for Peach Pie and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, and small loaf pans for Moist Fudgy Brownies. Meanwhile, a full-size loaf pan turns out Mississippi Mud Cake or Gingerbread Roulade, and one regular baking sheet does the job for Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti. Small-batch baking as formulated by Nakos is liberating: with quick mixing, baking and clean-up times, the whole process of producing, say, eight Pecan Snowball Cookies for tea time, or two Honey Apple Oatmeal Crisps for a sweet breakfast, is less overwhelming. (Dec.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Food writer Nakos started baking in small batches so she wouldn't have to face the temptation of leftovers. Here she provides recipes for all sorts of diminutive desserts, from White Chocolate Layer Cakes to Petite Pear Tartes Tatins to miniature Sweet Potato Bundt Cakes. Her layer cakes are baked in soup cans, and her upside-down cakes in muffin tins; most recipes make two or three servings. While some of these desserts are quicker than their bigger versions, some take almost as long to prepare, so bakers with more self-control may prefer to stick to recipes that yield larger quantities. On the other hand, busy moms will certainly find the idea of small-batch cookies made from start to finish in minutes very appealing. And many dessert lovers will find these little sweets quite charming-who could resist the idea of her very own Chocolate Birthday Cake? For all baking collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

What People Are Saying

"Here's the perfect solution to dessert for you and that special someone."
—Holly Clegg, author of the Trim & Terrific cookbook series

The Cafe Brenda Cookbook or How to Pick a Peach

The Cafe Brenda Cookbook: Seafood and Vegetarian Cuisine

Author: Brenda Langton

For more than twenty-five years, Brenda Langton has been serving her customers in the Twin Cities a delicious blend of American and international cuisines made from the finest ingredients. This book contains her most requested recipes, including Miso and Herb Pâté, Poached Rainbow Trout, and Burgundy Mushroom Stew. Desserts, like Almond-Hazelnut Tart and Chocolate Carrot Cake, feature reduced amounts of dairy products and natural sweeteners.The Cafe Brenda Cookbook brings the tastiest secrets of one of Minneapolis's best-loved restaurants into your own home. Brenda Langton is the owner and chef of Cafe Brenda in Minneapolis and has been a natural foods restaurateur for twenty-five years. Margaret Stuart is a horticulturist, natural foods expert, and pastry chef.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

This book will be of interest to three groups of readers: lovers of light and attractive food, vegetarians and collectors of Minnesota recipes.

Minnesota Monthly

...a feast for Cafe Brenda regulars and uninitiated...recipes, ingredients and preparations are amply explained.

New interesting book: The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits or Leveraging the New Human Capital

How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table

Author: Russ Parsons

Critics greeted Russ Parsons' first book, How to Read a French Fry, with raves. The New York Times praised it for its "affable voice and intellectual clarity"; Julia Child lauded it for its "deep factual information."Now in How to Pick a Peach, Parsons takes on one of the hottest food topics today. Good cooking starts with the right ingredients, and nowhere is that more true than with produce. Should we refrigerate that peach? How do we cook that artichoke? And what are those different varieties of pears? Most of us aren't sure. Parsons helps the cook sort through the produce in the market by illuminating the issues surrounding it, revealing intriguing facts about vegetables and fruits in individual profiles about them, and providing instructions on how to choose, store, and prepare these items. Whether explaining why basil, citrus, tomatoes, and potatoes should never be refrigerated, describing how Dutch farmers revolutionized the tomato business in America, exploring organic farming and its effect on flavor, or giving tips on how to recognize a ripe melon, How to Pick a Peach is Parsons at his peak.

Publishers Weekly

Equal parts cookbook, agricultural history, chemistry lesson and produce buying guide, this densely packed book is a food-lover's delight. California food writer Parsons (How to Read a French Fry) begins with a fascinating tale of agribusiness trumping our taste buds en route to supplying year-round on-demand produce, and how farmer's markets are bringing back both appreciation of, and access to, local and seasonal foods. He then takes readers on a delectable season-by-season produce tour, from springtime Artichokes Stuffed with Ham and Pine Nuts to midwinter Candied Citrus Peel, and provides readers with the lowdown on where each fruit or vegetable is grown and how to choose, store and prepare it. Along the way, he detours into low-stress jam making, the chemistry of tomato flavor, a portrait of two peach-growing stars of the Santa Monica farmer's market and why cucumbers make some people burp. For readers who have always wondered where their food comes from, why it tastes the way it does and how to pick a peach, a melon or a green bean, this book will be an invaluable resource. (May)

The Vegetables and Fruits Alphabetically     xi
The Recipes by Category     xiii
Introduction     1
The Plant Designers: Factories in the Field     21
Spring
Artichokes     35
Asparagus     47
Onions, Leeks and Garlic     59
Peas and Fava Beans     74
Salad Greens     86
Strawberries     101
Big Farmers, Small Farmers: The Cost of Compromise     113
Summer
Corn     129
Cucumbers     140
Eggplants     146
Green Beans     154
Summer Squash     160
Tomatoes     169
Cherries     181
Grapes     190
Melons     198
Peaches and Nectarines     209
Plums     218
Growers and Global Competition: Reinventing the Tomato     223
Fall
Broccoli and Cauliflower     235
Mushrooms     248
Peppers     256
Winter Squash     267
Apples     279
Pears, Asian Pears and Quinces     288
Persimmons and Figs     304
Market Corrections: The Return of the Small Farmer     311
Winter
Cabbages and Brussels Sprouts     321
Cooking Greens     330
Potatoes     339
Root Vegetables     349
Lemons and Limes     364
Mandarins (Tangerines), Grapefruits and Pummelos     376
Oranges     384
Index     395

	Acknowledgments	vi
	About This Book	vii
	What to Know About Quick Cooking	viii
1	Starters	1
2	Pasta	17
3	Fish	33
4	Poultry	49
5	Meat	63
6	Rice and Beans	83
7	Vegetables	93
8	Desserts	105
	Quick Menus	112
	Recipes That Take 20 Minutes or Less	114
	Tips Reference	116
	Index	123
	Conversions, Substitutions, and Helpful Hints	131

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Mediterranean Feast: The Story Of The Birth Of The Celebrated Cuisines Of The Mediterranean, From The Merchants Of Venice To The Barbary Corsairs, With More Than 500 Recip

Library Journal

Smithsonian

What People Are Saying

How to Cook Everything: Quick Cooking

Table of Contents:

How to Make 75 Great Juices: Fabulous Step-by-Step Recipes for Delicious Drinks Which Are Healthy Too

Tea for 2

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Everything I Know I Learned Over Tea

Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living

Library Journal

James Beard's New Fish Cookery

The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity

Library Journal

Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas

Sweet Persian Bread

nane sheer / Persia

Three-Color Focaccia

focacels alla pugliese / Italy

Epicurious.com

American Frugal Housewife

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Jane Austen Cookbook

Library Journal

Diabetes Meals On $7 A Day--Or Less!

Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home

Library Journal

Table of Contents:

Big Book of Easy Suppers: 270 Delicious Recipes for Casual Everyday Cooking

Publishers Weekly

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Taste of Africa: An African Cookbook

Martha Stuart's Better than You at Entertaining: A Parody

Best Quick Breads: 150 Recipes for Muffins, Scones, Shortcakes, Gingerbreads, Cornbreads, Coffeecakes, and More

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

Internet Book Watch

Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef

The New York Times - David Kamp

Publishers Weekly

Table of Contents:

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sushi Made Easy

Publishers Weekly

Pressure Cooker Gourmet: 225 Recipes for Great-Tasting, Long-Simmered Flavors in Just Minutes

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul: Celebrating the Perfect Blend

Bone Appetit!: Gourmet Cooking for Your Dog

Best of the Best from Florida Cookbook: Selected Recipes from Florida's Favorite Cookbooks

Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts

Table of Contents:

Friday, December 26, 2008

100 Greatest New Orleans Creole Recipes

Visual Food Encyclopedia: The Definitive Practical Guide to Food and Cooking

Ice Cream: 52 Easy Recipes for Year-Round Frozen Treats

Kristen Mastel - Library Journal

Off the Shelf Baking

Table of Contents:

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Cooking for Two

The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life: How to Reduce Fat in Your Diet and Eliminate Virtually All Risk of Heart Disease and Cancer

Lesley Herbert's Complete Book of Sugar Flowers

Stalking the Healthful Herbs

Publishers Weekly

Joan Lee Faust

Elizabeth C. Hall

Phoebe-Lou Adams

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Ultimate Barbecue Bible

The Turkey Cookbook

America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes

Internet Book Watch

Elegantly Easy Creme Brulee: And Other Custard Desserts

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater

Publishers Weekly

Year-Round Cupcakes