http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com collaborative book reviews about all things food and wine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:58:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12921_the-complete-asian-cookbook-charmaine-solomon-2011-au http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12921_the-complete-asian-cookbook-charmaine-solomon-2011-au#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:37:16 +0000 Alison Vincent http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=12921 Charmaine Solomon, well known to Australians from her books and newspaper and magazine columns, became an international success with the original publication of 'The Complete Asian Cookbook' in 1976. Since then her name has been synonymous with the flavours of the East. The revised version of this ground breaking book is a must for anyone interested in the food of this region – either to cook from or simply to refer to – that is of course if they don't already have the original.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12921_the-complete-asian-cookbook-charmaine-solomon-2011-au/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12846_made-in-sicily-giorgio-locatelli-2011-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12846_made-in-sicily-giorgio-locatelli-2011-uk#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:56:58 +0000 Alison Vincent http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=12846 Giorgio Locatelli is often referred to as one of the world’s best Italian chefs (or words to that effect) so it goes without saying that he knows a thing or two about Italian food. In this book he takes the reader on a most enjoyable journey around Sicily as he explores and explains the traditions and history of Sicilian food, meeting growers, producers and restaurateurs along the way. Locatelli’s enthusiasm and personality and the collection of recipes which admirably demonstrates the simplicity and strong flavours of Sicilian food make Made in Sicily both a good read and a good resource for anyone wanting to capture a little bit of Sicily for themselves.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12846_made-in-sicily-giorgio-locatelli-2011-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11773_the-art-of-eating-cookbook-edward-behr-2011-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11773_the-art-of-eating-cookbook-edward-behr-2011-us#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:50:44 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=11773 Recipes that are timeless. Recipes that have endured. Recipes that hold enough cultural significance that they’ve adorned the pages of Art of Eating magazine. The Art of Eating Cookbook is a no fuss, no frills anthology of recipes that work, taste great, and are doable by any level of cook.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11773_the-art-of-eating-cookbook-edward-behr-2011-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11258_odd-bits-jennifer-mclagan-2011-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11258_odd-bits-jennifer-mclagan-2011-us#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:54:51 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=11258 Jennifer McLagan’s final stage of her trilogy, including the much lauded Bones (2005) and Fat (2007), is a comprehensive exploration of those animal parts that are ignored or tossed in the bin, and the word fascinating would be the ultimate understatement in describing this book. Odd Bits is her final manifesto to the world of daring or squeamish cooks to take a new look at less common parts of the animals, and is one of the best cookbooks of 2011.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11258_odd-bits-jennifer-mclagan-2011-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/10908_hunt-gather-cook-hank-shaw-2011-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/10908_hunt-gather-cook-hank-shaw-2011-us#comments Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:28:00 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=10908 At a certain point many foragers grow hungry for bounty beyond mushrooms and cattails. They seek meat - raw and wild - yet making the leap from acorn gatherer to elk killer is a daunting one that seems beyond grasp. Hank Shaw’s Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast narrows that gap with an entertaining, informative and approachable perspective on all forms of wild dining.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/10908_hunt-gather-cook-hank-shaw-2011-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9412_ice-creams-sorbets-and-gelati-caroline-and-robin-weir-2010-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9412_ice-creams-sorbets-and-gelati-caroline-and-robin-weir-2010-uk#comments Sun, 06 Mar 2011 09:45:24 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=9412 An impressive, compendious work about ice cream and other frozen sweets for home cooks. The much-awaited revision of an earlier book by the authors has yielded a greatly expanded range of delicious recipes, plus some additional history and trivia. The authors' insistence on precision and recommended formulae for making ices is undermined by their own mistakes and inconsistencies, but despite this, Ice Creams, Sorbets and Gelati: The Definitive Guide is a work worth considering for any avid home ice cream maker.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9412_ice-creams-sorbets-and-gelati-caroline-and-robin-weir-2010-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9300_ideas-in-food-aki-kamozawa-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9300_ideas-in-food-aki-kamozawa-2010-us#comments Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:05:21 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=9300 If a book’s worth can be measured by the number of dog-eared pages, then Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work could turn around the international financial crisis. In fact, my copy has so many turned page corners that I’m expecting a ‘Cease and Desist” order to arrive at my home any day now. Well over 75 pages are marked as requiring my re-reading and note taking. And lest you think I’m a chronic book destroyer, a quick scan of my most favorite and used books show less than ten dog-eared pages in any one book. This is one worthy book for anyone who cares about the inner workings of their food or for anyone who wants someone to do the homework for them so they can simply follow instructions and put out great dishes.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9300_ideas-in-food-aki-kamozawa-2010-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8006_the-prawn-cocktail-years-simon-hopkinson-2006-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8006_the-prawn-cocktail-years-simon-hopkinson-2006-uk#comments Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:31:21 +0000 Alison Vincent http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=8006 If you're old enough to know that a Prawn Cocktail is not some new alcoholic beverage, then perhaps you also remember a time when the Prawn Cocktail was an exotic dish, and dining in a restaurant was a rare and exciting experience. What Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham set out to do in this book is rehabilitate some of those once novel, subsequently much abused, and now almost forgotten dishes which were the mainstay of restaurant menus in the 1960s and 1970s. The recipes here are a reminder that good food results from cooking with care and attention rather than just following the latest fashion.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8006_the-prawn-cocktail-years-simon-hopkinson-2006-uk/feed 0 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/6550_kitchen-garden-companion-stephanie-alexander-2009-au http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6550_kitchen-garden-companion-stephanie-alexander-2009-au#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 10:53:08 +0000 Alison http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6550 Part recipe book, part gardening guide and part primer for encouraging children to take an interest in the food they eat Australian food icon Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion is an ambitious undertaking. Covering seventy-three different food crops, the gardening section combines Alexander's experiences in her own kitchen garden and her work with school children, with detailed cultivation notes. The recipes, some of which have appeared elsewhere, cover a variety of cuisines and dishes and in some cases have been modified to be suitable for children to prepare. This is an impressive publication, the information is well presented and there is much here that is interesting and useful, but the wide scope of this book makes it difficult to categorise and may in the end limit its appeal.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6550_kitchen-garden-companion-stephanie-alexander-2009-au/feed 0