The Gastronomer's Bookshelf » seasonal food

New release: The Minnesota Table

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:13:51 +0000

The Minnesota Table: Recipes for Savoring Local Food Throughout the Year is a collection of travel stories, recipes, and menu ideas that follow Minnesota's growing seasons. Travel along the seasons to hunt morels, pick blueberries, and winnow wild rice.

Kitchen Garden Companion, Stephanie Alexander | 2009 | AU

Mon, 10 May 2010 10:53:08 +0000

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.

New release: Canal House Cooking Volume N°3 Winter & Spring

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:18:34 +0000

Canal House Cooking Winter & Spring is a collection of our favorite winter and spring recipes, ones we cook for ourselves, our friends, and our families all during the cold winter months and straight through the exciting arrival of spring.

The Dumpling, Wai Hon Chu | 2009 | US

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:34:06 +0000

The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide is one of the first books to collect dumpling recipes from around the world into a single volume. There is an excellent variety of dumpling types and flavors, the recipes are clear and there are plenty of tips for beginners. Unfortunately, a forced definition of the word dumpling as a category limits the book unnecessarily and may disappoint people who are looking for a dish they recognize as a dumpling but has been excluded.

Valvona and Crolla, Mary Contini | 2009 | UK

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:37:15 +0000

Based on the food served at Edinburgh's best-known Italian deli-cafe, Valvona and Crolla, this new recipe book makes for an evocative and mouth-watering read. Organised around the four seasons, there are recipes, personal stories and mini-travelogues, hints and tips, and detailed ingredient information specific to each time of year. Inspiration abounds throughout, supported by recipes which are as reliable as they are tempting. All in all, 'Valvona and Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table' is a veritable feast for foodlovers.

Year-end Countdown: Baking and Christmas Cookbooks

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:20:25 +0000

As the year draws to and end, cookbook publishers around the world bring out their big guns to take advantage of the gift-giving season. Here at The Gastronomer's Bookshelf we've compiled bucketloads of new books to help you fill out that gift-list (and maybe find a few titles you'd want to keep for yourself!). Many of these are novel or noteworthy, while some are just titles we know will be popular gifts. We'll be featuring these books over the next month. This week we start with pastry, baking, and Christmas-related titles for you to get a head start on all the seasonal treats you might want to make.

New release: Canal House Cooking Volume N° 2 Fall & Holiday

Christopher Hirsheimer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:03:14 +0000

Canal House Cooking Volume N°2, Fall & Holiday is a collection of recipes we cook for ourselves and our friends and families throughout this wonderful season. Cooking our grandmothers’, aunts’, and mothers’ recipes brings them to life and invites the people we miss to the table again.

Snowflakes and Schnapps, Jane Lawson | 2009 | AU

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:41:03 +0000

The front cover of “Snowflakes and Schnapps” shows a dinner table with a white painted antler in the middle of it. On first impressions it looks very stylish. But then you ask yourself, “Why is it there? Is there a purpose to it? Won’t it get in the way?” Look at the photo a bit longer, and the realisation hits that there is no food on the table. This book is like the photograph. There's lots of style, with food almost as a secondary consideration.

Despite the glossy magazine feel of the book, and the expectation that it’s destined for the coffee table rather than the kitchen bench, it does contain recipes that would tempt even the most experienced of home cooks. A very impressive winter dinner could be built upon the offerings in this book.

“Snowflakes and Schnapps” will certainly satisfy those looking for a gift and many who are looking for a good cookbook. However, anyone who wants a more detailed and authentic look at the winter foods of Europe would be best advised to look elsewhere.

The Clatter of Forks and Spoons, Richard Corrigan | 2008 | UK

Daniel Chan — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:06:05 +0000

In “The Clatter of Forks and Spoons”, Irish chef Richard Corrigan covers the food that he grew up with as the child of a farmer in Ireland, traditional recipes, and the dishes he serves at his restaurant. Many of the dishes are simple and comforting, and will rarely require any searches for exotic ingredients or specialist equipment. Corrigan is also a storyteller, so you will find essays, anecdotes, and observations throughout the book. He presents his views with a great passion, but it’s done in a similar manner to what you would get from having a feisty debate with a good friend over a beer. He is also a champion of artisanal producers and allows many of these producers their own voice in his essays. This is an outstanding book from three viewpoints. Firstly, in Corrigan’s writing, no words are wasted and his essays could be a book in their own right. The second are the recipes. It is food for the soul, the ingredients are listed in a clear manner, and the instructions are presented in a conversational tone. Finally, it’s a beautiful book. The photography suits the book in that it has a feel more like a family photo album than food porn. Many people will find this book a worthwhile purchase, including those who want to rediscover their Irish and British roots, those who simply enjoy good food writing, and anyone who simply wants to cook a delicious meal.