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/7660_new-release-hix http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7660_new-release-hix#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:49:25 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7660 Hix Oyster & Chop House features 100 mouth-watering recipes for dishes that appear on the menu of the famous British restaurant. Oysters are a speciality and the book includes a guide to native oysters, producers in the British Isles, and tips for preparing.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7660_new-release-hix/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/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 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6738_new-release-fleischeslust http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6738_new-release-fleischeslust#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:23:15 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6738 This book contains recipes, detailed guides for which cuts of which meat (beef, veal, pork, poultry, lamb and game) are suitable for different preparation methods - whether roasted, braised, or baked, and tips on purchasing, storage, processing, seasoning and serving.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6738_new-release-fleischeslust/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6475_fish-tales-bart-van-olphen-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6475_fish-tales-bart-van-olphen-2009-uk#comments Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:31:23 +0000 Sarah http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6475 Line caught, farmed, wild, sustainable, line-caught, organic – for the conscientious foodie, seafood can be an ethical minefield. This is where Fish Tales comes in. More than a recipe book, authors Bart van Olphen and Tom Kime take readers on a journey across the globe, to nine different sustainable fisheries. Sharing the fishermen’s stories, they give the reader a sense of the breadth and variety in fishing practices, and show us just how precarious our seafood supply is.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6475_fish-tales-bart-van-olphen-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5848_new-release-ham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5848_new-release-ham#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:57:27 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5848 Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter takes readers on a globetrotting tour of the whole wide wonderful world of ham in 100 recipes, from the Philippines to Spain, the Caribbean, the American South, and the authors' home corner of rural Connecticut.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5848_new-release-ham/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:06:10 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5558 Over the past few years publishers Phaidon have been establishing a presence in the cookbook market. “The Silver Spoon For Children” is their first move into the area of cooking with children. Often, books in this area of cooking, like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “The River Cottage Family Cookbook”, are written for adults as a guide to teaching children how to cook. This book’s approach involves having a child read it, and then prepare the recipes with the aid of an adult. By simplifying the recipes to their essence, and using large pictures and bright colours to grab attention, this book is one that has a great chance of engaging young minds. The book takes its recipes from “The Silver Spoon”, and is aimed at children aged at least nine years old. The recipes have been tested by children, so parents can be reasonably confident that the recipes will work. As someone who has not been impressed by Phaidon’s cookbooks, this one has been surprisingly good.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5428_where-are-the-good-meat-books http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5428_where-are-the-good-meat-books#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:33:35 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5428 Finding a good meat book is a challenge in the feedlot of cookbooks. If you just want recipes, there's a lot to choose from, but if you want more than that -- information, tips, wisdom -- satisfaction is lean. What on earth is the problem with producing a book that actually explains meat to home cooks? This feature surveys some of the recent and/or better meat books out there. (Not a feature for vegetarians, naturally.)]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5428_where-are-the-good-meat-books/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5232_momofuku-david-chang-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5232_momofuku-david-chang-2009-us#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:49:47 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5232 David Chang, owner of the famed New York restaurants Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar and Ko, chronicles his journey from noodle-eater to noodle-maker and guides us through more than 50 of his most popular recipes that showcase the fusion of modern technique and classic Asian comfort food. Throughout the book he gives us a peek into the creative process and the story behind each dish, citing his influences, failures, and inspirations. The recipes can be daunting and the flavors sometimes need tweaking, but ambitious home cooks should have little problem replicating or improving on the dishes, though the weak instructions and badly converted measurements might lead them astray. While there has been plenty of media focus on Chang's "bad-boy" image, he still comes across as approachable and self-deprecating at best, and at worst annoying and trying too hard, but never offensive. Fans of modern Asian cuisine and the Momofuku empire will find the book both entertaining and fascinating. [Editor's note: Don't miss our book giveaway too!]]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5232_momofuku-david-chang-2009-us/feed 0