http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com collaborative book reviews about all things food and wine Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:32:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7688_iron-chef-chens-knockout-chinese-chen-kenichi-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7688_iron-chef-chens-knockout-chinese-chen-kenichi-2009-us#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:32:31 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7688 Iron Chef Chen's Knockout Chinese is a charming, lightweight book from a Japanese master of Sichuan cooking, and one of the original Iron Chefs. For better or for worse, this first translated work skips the traditional, authentic fare and goes straight for the innovative and personal recipes (with a few classics thrown in). The organization is strange and some things are lost in translation, but the recipes are often simple and inviting enough for most people to pick up immediately.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7688_iron-chef-chens-knockout-chinese-chen-kenichi-2009-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7500_molto-gusto-mario-batali-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7500_molto-gusto-mario-batali-2010-us#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:47:49 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7500 Patterned after Mario Batali's New York pizzeria Otto, Molto Gusto takes the focus away from complicated "meat-and-potatoes" Italian dishes and towards simple, easy-to-prepare everyday fare (or as limited by your budget for the deli). The recipes are all approachable and the photographs are inviting, but some readers might be turned off by some extremely simple recipes and the dependence on a specific brand of tomato product.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7500_molto-gusto-mario-batali-2010-us/feed 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7378_rasoi-new-indian-kitchen-vineet-bhatia-2010-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7378_rasoi-new-indian-kitchen-vineet-bhatia-2010-uk#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:00:10 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7378 For those readers old enough to remember when parental warnings were placed on certain music, you might remember how that music became the ‘must have’ CDs and records for your collection. Vineet Bhatia opens his recently released Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen with “This book is probably not for the novice cook.” Such sweet warnings are rarely uttered in culinary books. In this very attractive volume, Bhatia presents a wide range of impressive, at times labour-intensive (though rarely too complex) dishes that are a pleasure to eat. Along the way you learn about new ingredients, and realise that the common cliché of Indian dishes can easily be surpassed.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7378_rasoi-new-indian-kitchen-vineet-bhatia-2010-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:35:02 +0000 Lucy http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7415 Aimed squarely at the teenage market, The New Students’ Veggie Cookbook addresses not just what a young vegetarian should eat, but also how to keep fit and healthy while doing so. The book covers the basics of setting up a kitchen, stocking a pantry, offering helpful and very clear instructions on how best to chop an onion, boil an egg and, interestingly, how to store food. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7302_tender-volume-1-nigel-slater-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7302_tender-volume-1-nigel-slater-2009-uk#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:16:17 +0000 Alison http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7302 Nigel Slater tells the story of his vegetable patch and provides over 400 recipe ideas for using the vegetables he grows. Already well known for seven previous recipe books, his much admired autobiography Toast and his regular columns in The Observer, Slater's enthusiasm will no doubt tempt some readers to start a vegetable garden of their own, although this is predominantly a book about cooking. As in his previous books, Slater's recipes are straightforward and unfussy and his approach to using fresh produce should appeal to many home cooks. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7302_tender-volume-1-nigel-slater-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 18:17:36 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7159 Karen DeMasco's The Craft of Baking aims to inspire the home baker to try new variations of homely desserts and sweets, and is successful at encouraging creativity to some degree. There is a wide range of recipes and some modest but interesting suggestions. However, it is lacking in helpful explanations and is too narrow in its selection of ingredients and special brands, and the use of US-centric measures and terminology may be frustrating to international readers.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7048_ready-for-dessert-david-lebovitz-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7048_ready-for-dessert-david-lebovitz-2010-us#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 07:16:19 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7048 I come from the school of thought that says rock bands shouldn’t release their Greatest Hits album until their career is complete. Likewise, chefs should restrain themselves from re-releasing their favorite recipes until their career enters a culminating phase. That said, David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes will be excused since some of his previous books are no longer in print, and his greatest hits truly are classics worth reprinting.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7048_ready-for-dessert-david-lebovitz-2010-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6783_the-italian-cookery-course-katie-caldesi-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6783_the-italian-cookery-course-katie-caldesi-2009-uk#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 12:30:19 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6783 Katie Caldesi's Italian Cookery Course (published as Cook Italy in the USA) is in equal measure an exceedingly attractive and enjoyable exploration of Italian cooking, and a mild disappointment as a "cookery course". Caldesi, co-owner of the UK restaurants Caffè Caldesi, Caldesi in Campagna, and an Italian cooking school, seemed to embark on a voyage of discovery in order to find the knowledge to write this book. The result is an enormous range of recipes with many personal preferences, sometimes deviating from what a reader might expect of recipes in a course in Italian cooking. In the end, the book could have been titled "Katie goes to Italy". Many people will enjoy this attractive, well written book, forgiving or overlooking the weakness of many of the "masterclasses" and occasional gaps in information.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6783_the-italian-cookery-course-katie-caldesi-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6815_macaron-alison-thompson-2010-au http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6815_macaron-alison-thompson-2010-au#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 22:00:41 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6815 Alison Thompson’s Macaron is a nicely presented book that offers 35 flavors ranging from classic to creative. However, for such a notoriously difficult petit four to make, the recipe presented is too temperamental and the information too lightweight, with little to offer in terms of troubleshooting and technique.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6815_macaron-alison-thompson-2010-au/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6701_ad-hoc-at-home-thomas-keller-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6701_ad-hoc-at-home-thomas-keller-2009-us#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:23:37 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6701 Ad Hoc at Home is the latest cookbook from award-winning chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se, featuring casual family-style dishes. Compared to his previous works, the book is charmingly earnest and the recipes approachable, consisting of mostly American dishes with a touch of French influence, and plenty of helpful hints from Keller. However, Keller's meticulous nature still comes through, elevating the dishes in terms of flavor and presentation, but at the same time making them time-intensive and at times expensive and unfamiliar. Even with its lavish production, the book still has relatively few illustrations.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6701_ad-hoc-at-home-thomas-keller-2009-us/feed 3