Leiths Meat Bible is the ultimate meat cookbook. Packed with recipes from all over the world, it has something for every occasion, from a simple after-work supper to an elegant dinner. All recipes are foolproof with an emphasis on proper technique.
Books in the category: Content type
02 Aug 2010 – 09:56
In Ottolenghi The Cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamini share recipes for the sort of dishes which have made their London Ottolenghi food stores popular. Their food is based on the generous use of fresh ingredients and bold flavour combinations, drawing heavily on a wide range of culinary traditions not least those of their homeland, Israel. The recipes here cover a range of ideas for vegetables, through meat and fish to cakes and meringues and offer a modern and imaginative approach which will appeal to the adventurous and curious home cook.
02 Aug 2010 – 09:54
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.
16 Jul 2010 – 15:32
Great Beers features more than 700 beers from 350 breweries worldwide, hand-picked by a team of local experts. Brewery details, histories, recommendations, and tasting notes make this an essential book for beer lovers everywhere.
16 Jul 2010 – 15:13
Microgreens is a practical guide to growing arugula and other popular mini-greens that offer a multitude of colors, textures and flavors, as well as concentrated active compounds. The book also includes 15 easy recipes that make the most of microgreens.
16 Jul 2010 – 15:12
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.
06 Jul 2010 – 12:49
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.
06 Jul 2010 – 12:47
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.
23 Jun 2010 – 14:00
In It Tastes Better, Kylie Kwong has created over 100 recipes inspired by fresh, seasonal and sustainably produced food. Embarking on a journey around Australia to meet the people behind sustainable produce, she learns about the care they take to produce food that tastes better.
13 Jun 2010 – 16:36
Whether you’re hosting a casual get-together with friends or throwing an outdoor shindig, no one can teach you the art of fiesta like Rick Bayless. With 150 recipes, Bayless offers you the key to unforgettable parties that will have guests clamoring for repeat invitations.
13 Jun 2010 – 16:36
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.
13 Jun 2010 – 16:35
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.
06 Jun 2010 – 15:16
Medium Raw explores changes in the restaurant subculture since Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain takes no prisoners as he dissects what he’s seen, pausing along the way for a series of confessions and investigations of some of the most controversial figures in food.
06 Jun 2010 – 14:15
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.
20 May 2010 – 04:17
Full of ingenious advice on styling in any media, Food Styling reveals every trick of the trade, from making a beverage appear to sweat to producing those perfect grill marks on meat. This is an ideal resource for both experienced foods styling pros and first-timers alike.
20 May 2010 – 04:17
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.
20 May 2010 – 04:13
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.
15 May 2010 – 17:16
The premier gelato and sorbetto maker in America may be known for using the world’s finest ingredients, but you don’t need to travel the globe to experience the bold flavors yourself. All you need is a handful of simple ingredients, an ice cream machine, and your imagination.
15 May 2010 – 17:15
Feel like all-chocolate desserts? Have a craving for an ice cream or cake classic? Chocolate, ice cream, cakes: this set features 120 recipes of master patissier Christophe Felder, with 120 recipes that are easy and delicious to share, for moments of pure pleasure.
15 May 2010 – 17:10
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.
10 May 2010 – 20:53
This book is the tie-in to Heston Blumenthal’s highly acclaimed TV programme, where he creates six Fantastical Feasts based on history, fairytales and legends. Inside are tales of extravagant ingredients, of revolutionary techniques, of familiar kitchen appliances put to unfamiliar uses.
10 May 2010 – 20:40
With information on educational programs and a bird’s-eye view of the industry, Culinary Careers is a must-have resource for anyone looking to break into the food world, whether you’re a first-time job seeker or a career changer looking for your next step.
06 May 2010 – 22:31
William Alexander is determined to bake the perfect loaf of bread. He tasted it long ago, in a restaurant, and has been trying to reproduce it ever since. Without success. But now he’s going to try again—every week for one year—until he gets it right.
06 May 2010 – 22:30
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.
03 May 2010 – 08:00
This is the first cookbook devoted to Latin-American sweets, uncovering a whole new world of exotic flavors. The desserts presented range from baked cakes to ice cream to chocolate, with step-by-step recipes for both traditional favorites as well as original creations.
03 May 2010 – 07:59
Loving cake is a natural part of Warren Brown’s constitution. Now, in order to form a more perfect union of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar, he’s offering his unique take on classic dessert recipes from all fifty states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
03 May 2010 – 07:58
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.
28 Apr 2010 – 02:23
Nuts in the Kitchen is the ultimate culinary guide for using nuts in inventive, sophisticated, and astonishing ways. Whether you are a vegetarian, a vegan, or a meat eater, you’ll find yourself turning to this book over and over as you prepare meals large or small.
28 Apr 2010 – 02:23
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.
28 Apr 2010 – 02:23
Jacques Reymond and his restaurant are institutions in Melbourne, Australia. Over the years, the French-born chef has gradually introduced Asian elements into his cuisine. In some respects, he is the other side of the coin to Sydney’s Tetsuya Wakuda, who gradually fused French methods into his Japanese cuisine.
Cuisine du Temps is a book reflecting on Reymond’s career in the kitchen. Many recipes that people will recognise from his restaurant appear in this book, as do dishes that he learned during his time working in South America and the South Pacific. The recipes and photography speak for Reymond, but there’s a part of me that would have liked to read about the man himself and what motivates him.
22 Apr 2010 – 17:23
With his fabulous restaurants and bestselling Ottolenghi Cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi has established himself as one of the most exciting new talents in the world of cookery. This collection of vegetarian recipes is drawn from his column ‘The New Vegetarian’, and also features brand-new recipes.
22 Apr 2010 – 17:23
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.
18 Apr 2010 – 19:31
The Book of Tapas presents a complete guide to this convivial way of eating with over 250 easy-to-follow recipes that can be combined to create a feast. Also included in this book are modern tapas recipes from some of the world’s best-known tapas chefs.
18 Apr 2010 – 19:26
Marcus Samuelsson’s New American Table is perfect for the aspiring foodie with its vast array of cuisines. Although you’ll find nothing ground-breaking or especially innovative, adventurous cooks will enjoy the challenge of cooking across the globe and, ultimately, a modern definition of American Cuisine will appear right on their own dinner table.
12 Apr 2010 – 16:58
In the Green Kitchen presents Alice Waters’ essential cooking techniques to be learned by heart, plus more than 50 recipes from Alice and her friends. She gives you everything you need to bring out the truest flavor that the best ingredients of the season have to offer.
12 Apr 2010 – 16:57
Jamie Does… is Jamie’s personal celebration of amazing food from six very different regions – Marrakesh, Athens, Venice, Andalucia, Stockholm and the Midi Pyrenees region of France. Classic recipes sit alongside new dishes that Jamie learns along the way.
12 Apr 2010 – 16:55
At first glance, you may wonder what the fuss over Okashi is all about. A fairly simple book with attractive photographs, it presents appealing recipes that showcase author Ishida’s particular style, incorporating numerous Japanese flavours into many familiar baked goods and dessert items. Creative and suitable for a broad audience, this book should delight many bakers.
04 Apr 2010 – 14:53
A must-have for professional cake decorators, pastry students, and even advanced cake decorating hobbyists, Wedding Cake Art and Design is the only resource a decorator needs to design, plan, and execute picture-perfect wedding cakes for every client.
04 Apr 2010 – 14:51
David Lebovitz is known for creating desserts with bold and high-impact flavor, not fussy presentations. In this book he serves up a tantalizing array of more than 170 recipes for cakes, pies, puddings, ice creams, cookies, candies, preserves, and much more.
04 Apr 2010 – 14:49
Field Guide to Candy packs a lot of recipes for homemade candy from around the world in a compact volume. It manages to include several lesser-known recipes from outside the US, UK and France, even though there are a few glaring omissions and curious inclusions. However, the lack of detail in the recipes make this more suitable as a reference book for more experienced candy-makers.
30 Mar 2010 – 16:48
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.
30 Mar 2010 – 15:18
Peter Reinhart has produced another knockout bread book… but do we need it? Whereas the advanced baker may find this material redundant, those who are still rising to the occasion will find the consolidation of up-to-the-minute techniques in Artisan Breads Every Day easy to digest and incorporate.
26 Mar 2010 – 18:27
The National Trust’s (UK) book on apples is probably everything a good British gardener would need to develop an orchard of delicious lesser-known apple varieties. One of a series of useful little books, this volume covers some history of the apple, culinary and cultural, the supposed health benefits, origins of various cultivars old and new, and horticultural tips for growing trees in various settings. This is a valuable and charming book for British readers and for curious fruit growers and apple lovers in other places.
20 Mar 2010 – 21:59
In Gourmet Game Night, Cynthia Nims’s creative recipes will liven up any event where free hands are of the essence, whether you’re gathering friends for a poker night, rolling those dice for a board-game party, or impressing your book club or knitting group!
20 Mar 2010 – 21:54
What if Mozart or Einstein handed you their notebook and said, “Here, go have fun.” Such a gift would be overwhelming in generosity as well as challenge. When Paco Torreblanca offers this gift in Paco Torreblanca 2, he adds, “Now let’s see what we can do together.” A serious, no-nonsense book for people who take pastry seriously, Paco Torreblanca 2 focuses on integrating natural ingredients into microcosmic eye candy.
12 Mar 2010 – 22:54
If you thought cake decorating was costly and difficult, this is the book that will change your mind forever. Fiona Cairns is bursting with new ideas for making delicious, visually stunning cakes and biscuits easy – even for the least experienced cook – and for far less money than you thought.
12 Mar 2010 – 22:52
Cake: A Global History explores the origin of modern cake and its development from sweet bread to architectural flight of fancy, with the meanings, legends and rituals attached to cake throughout the world, while relating the food’s place in literature, art, and symbolism.
12 Mar 2010 – 22:51
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.
07 Mar 2010 – 17:34
Giada at Home presents recipes from Giada’s Italian and American traditions, all with her signature style. She shares classic Italian recipes passed down through the years and new family favorites, all bursting with fresh, vibrant flavors.
07 Mar 2010 – 17:33
Canteen took the London restaurant scene by storm in 2005 – a restaurant serving proper British foodwith passion and pride. Unapologetically nostalgic, their first, much-anticipated cookbook is a splendidly comforting collection of 120 British dishes.
07 Mar 2010 – 17:33
An enjoyable book containing an impressive range of information about common and exotic ingredients, including many pictures and nutritional information. It’s suitable for people who already know a bit about ingredients, although the organisation of the book can be quite frustrating. For beginners, this would only be suitable for US readers, with some reservations.
01 Mar 2010 – 13:57
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.
01 Mar 2010 – 13:57
Now in its thirteenth edition, this classic text is the resource for learning how to prepare and serve quality food in quantity. This book provides reliable quantity recipes and methods for planning, selecting and preparing menus for all types of food services.
01 Mar 2010 – 13:53
Once upon a time, the marking point of a chef’s success was the awarding of a Michelin star or equivalent. The professional recognition and a dining room full of satisfied diners was all that was needed to make your mark on the culinary landscape. But chefs and restaurants have now evolved to a stage where global brand recognition has become a part of the game. Cookbooks featuring the flagship restaurant are a part of that marketing strategy.
Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road is the flagship of Ramsay’s empire, and “Three Star Chef” is his homage to it. As you’d expect, it is a beautiful book that will draw attention whether you keep it in the kitchen or on the coffee table.
The photography is of a high quality and the dishes presented are remarkable in terms of the skills behind them and their presentation. Given the time, skill, and ingredients, this is food that would impress at a dinner party. Ramsay’s words display his customary bluntness when discussing restaurant life in the first half of the book, but change to a more encouraging tone in the recipe section. Does this book, like the restaurant, stand alongside corresponding works by the likes of Thomas Keller, Heston Blumenthal, and Michel Bras? While the Ramsay book matches these others in terms of recipe content and production values, it falls short in that you never truly get a sense of what drives him, his food, and his restaurant.
24 Feb 2010 – 23:16
This book tells the story of how people coped with wartime food shortages and became healthier than ever before, with step-by-step illustrations showing how to grow your own vegetables, baking, preserving and lots of thrifty family recipes.
24 Feb 2010 – 22:53
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.
18 Feb 2010 – 14:06
Cocktail expert Yuri Kato collects more than 60 recipes for cocktail classics (such as the Hinomaru, the Yuzu Bath, and the Echo Julep) as well as original creations that infuse such non-Japanese spirits as vodka, rum, and tequila.
18 Feb 2010 – 14:05
Successful Restaurant Design shows how an understanding of the restaurant’s concept, market, and menu enables you to create a design that not only facilitates a seamless operation but also enhances the dining experience.
14 Feb 2010 – 11:00
Allergy-free Desserts includes recipes for all of your favorite baked treats—cakes, cupcakes, pies, quick breads, cookies, and dessert bars. Written by Elizabeth Gordon, this indispensable cookbook will finally let you enjoy desserts safely again.
14 Feb 2010 – 11:00
The Modern Café is an excellent guide and inspiration for culinary professionals and those aspiring to have a great café. Beautiful photographs and informative side boxes generously fill the pages. The knowledge is invaluable, the recipes are fresh and exciting, and the business acumen could move you from failed restaurant to the star of your community.
14 Feb 2010 – 10:45
Inspired by his heritage and embracing the tastes of Asia, Melbourne chef Jacques Reymond takes the freshest, simplest ingredients and focuses on bringing out their best. His first book will inspire and excite everyone from the humble weekend cook to food connoisseurs and chefs.
08 Feb 2010 – 11:34
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.)
08 Feb 2010 – 11:33
An exciting new book by a renowned and pioneering master chocolatier for anyone serious about their chocolate, filled with innovative and unusual recipes that will challenge, intrigue, and delight the tastebuds in equal measure.
01 Feb 2010 – 14:01
An exquisitely photographed introduction to the great French tradition of baking—from the simple croissant to the light and flaky millefeuilles, drawn from the best pastry chefs in Paris.
01 Feb 2010 – 14:00
The Bikers send out a call-to-arms for mums, daughters and their grandmothers to unlock their private recipe archives and share with, and learn from, other mums of all races and backgrounds.
01 Feb 2010 – 13:58
This book is perfect for home bakers who want to go beyond the basics to create delicious artisan breads. Backed by the CIA’s expertise, Eric Kastel leads readers through simple and challenging recipes from Baguettes, Peasant Bread, and Ciabatta to Coffee Cake, and even Sourdough.
24 Jan 2010 – 17:27
This contemporary introduction to cooking and food preparation focuses on information that is relevant to today’s aspiring chef. It emphasizes an understanding of cooking fundamentals, explores the preparation of fresh ingredients, and provides information on other relevant topics.
24 Jan 2010 – 17:26
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!]
24 Jan 2010 – 16:49
In the world of the celebrity chef, where books are churned out every year along with the television show and the newly endorsed kitchen products, it can be easy to forget that at some point there was a reason why these people became famous in the first place. Nigella Lawson is a case in point – the same flirtatious looks to the television camera, the coquettishness of her manner, and the double entendre laden words. The constant mining of a new angle – quick food, summer food, baking, this fashion, that trend – a battle to keep the personality fresh and the profits flowing.
Lawson started her career in food as a columnist, and the quality of her work led to her writing a book. “How To Eat” was first published in 1998 and it became a bestseller. The two keys to its success were the high quality of Lawson’s writing and the common sense she offers about cooking. The first sign of a practical mind is the way she arranged this book. Chapters devoted to cooking for one or two, weekend lunches, and feeding babies and small children, shows someone who understands modern life. The recipes she provides use ingredients that are easy to find and use reasonably straightforward techniques. Ten years down the track and “How To Eat” is as joyful a read as ever. I suspect that in fifty years’ time, people will still be reading it.
18 Jan 2010 – 07:07
The Modern Café is the first comprehensive reference for the aspiring restaurateur or café owner who wants to get every detail right. Ir offers information on all aspects of the café business — finances, human resources, food production, recipe/menu development, and even décor.
18 Jan 2010 – 06:56
Food Presentation Secrets provides professional cooking school instruction, tips and recipes for more than 100 sweet and savory garnishing ideas. Using this comprehensive guide, any home chef can make professional-looking garnishes with delicious edible ingredients.
18 Jan 2010 – 06:33
Eating healthy and monitoring calories has never been easier-or more delicious-with this tempting collection of recipes from Betty Crocker. It offers slimmed-down versions of your favorite foods, with family-pleasing recipes for sandwiches, soups and stews, salads, main courses, even casseroles.
06 Jan 2010 – 17:24
The Athlete’s Palate Cookbook collects the dishes from Runner’s World magazine’s popular monthly column, along with 60 new recipes for breakfasts, entreés, soups, salads, sides, and desserts. The recipes are presented alongside profiles of the famous chefs and athletes who created them.
06 Jan 2010 – 17:22
Food historian Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra takes us on a gastronomic journey to more than twenty countries with the recipes she’s collected from her friends and artisan bakers around the world during her colorful life. For many of the recipes, she provides the history and shares the experience of tasting the authentic article. With plenty of beautiful photographs, the book will transport you out of the rut of your usual French and American breads and pastries and take you to less familiar locales.
06 Jan 2010 – 16:05
Tartine is a remarkable book that allows the home baker to recreate breakfast pastries, tarts, cakes, and puddings from the renowned California bakery. The authors didn’t hold back anything in making the book, taking from most of their entire menu, yet the recipes are mostly accessible and the skill level required ranges from beginner to intermediate. Most importantly, many of the desserts from the book have a rustic charm but are still delicious and beautiful enough to be showstoppers. The photography of the book, taken behind the scenes at the Tartine Bakery, captures the dream-like quality of the desserts and the remarkable skill of the artisans who make them.
29 Dec 2009 – 06:00
Lucid Food offers healthy, eco-oriented recipes based on conscientious yet practical environmental ideals. Sustainable chef Louisa Shafia demystifies contemporary food issues for the home cook and presents simple, seasonal dishes that follow nature’s cycles.
29 Dec 2009 – 06:00
Students seem to have been a new target for publishers in 2009, with at least four student-oriented cookbooks appearing. I guess publishers anticipated that students wouldn’t be able to afford the stereotypical diet of burgers, chips, pizzas, noodles and beer. An entertaining and attractive book, From Pasta to Pancakes, the Ultimate Student Cookbook is the work of young British food personality Tiffany Goodall. Unfortunately, despite the innovative presentation and the worthy intention of teaching food-illiterate students how to cook, the book is disappointing.
17 Dec 2009 – 20:04
In the last installment of our feature on year-end releases, we’re taking a look at cookbooks from famous chefs and restaurants, as well as the un-cookbooks: books with essays on food, food issues, and guidebooks on specific subjects.
14 Dec 2009 – 17:47
Rose’s Heavenly Cakes is Rose Levy Beranbaum’s follow-up to the acclaimed The Cake Bible, with almost 100 cakes that aim to please a wide variety of tastes. Beranbaum’s meticulous style may please some well-equipped home bakers in a temperate climate, but others might find them too fastidious, controlling, limiting, and overly complicated for what are really supposed to be simple cakes. Frustratingly, even following the recipe to the letter can give results that still leave something to be desired.
10 Dec 2009 – 01:20
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.
07 Dec 2009 – 13:37
