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/12661_short-and-sweet-dan-lepard-2011-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12661_short-and-sweet-dan-lepard-2011-uk#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:08:42 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=12661 Packed with more than 250 imaginative recipes, Short and Sweet encourages bakers of every skill level to explore new ways of approaching baking without spending a lot of time, effort, or special equipment. The instructions are simple but never lacking in necessary detail, and Lepard leaves just enough room in the instructions for your own innovations and variations.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/12661_short-and-sweet-dan-lepard-2011-uk/feed 3 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11520_new-release-river-cottage-veg-every-day http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11520_new-release-river-cottage-veg-every-day#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:15:34 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=11520 Vegetables are healthy, cost-effective and, above all, delicious. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall presents an abundance of fantastic recipes in this brilliant new book from the popular River Cottage series.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11520_new-release-river-cottage-veg-every-day/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11502_new-release-from-season-to-season-a-year-in-recipes http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11502_new-release-from-season-to-season-a-year-in-recipes#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:15:14 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=11502 Taking a gastronomic journey through the seasons, from the Victorian Beeton era to a recent sodden Parisian evening, food writer Sophie Dahl captures the seasons with simple, family-friendly food.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/11502_new-release-from-season-to-season-a-year-in-recipes/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9088_how-the-british-fell-in-love-with-food-the-guild-of-food-writers-2010-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9088_how-the-british-fell-in-love-with-food-the-guild-of-food-writers-2010-uk#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:08:21 +0000 Harry http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=9088 How the British Fell in Love with Food is the sort of book you could either read from cover to cover, or simply pick up casually from time to time to read a chapter or two. The articles from members of the Guild of Food Writers, many award-winners, provide an interesting historical perspective on modern food history in Britain, combined with a fair range of recipes. The book is not without a few quirks, not least of which the choice of period (mid-70s to 2010). The book only includes works by the Guild’s writers, as it was published to celebrate the Guild's 25th anniversary. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/9088_how-the-british-fell-in-love-with-food-the-guild-of-food-writers-2010-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7837_new-release-the-great-british-book-of-baking http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7837_new-release-the-great-british-book-of-baking#comments Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:12:32 +0000 admin http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7837 From Eccles cakes to Cornish pasties, Chelsea buns to Scottish gingerbread, The Great British Book of Baking takes us on a tour of the very best in baking Britain has to offer. Over 120 recipes cover the whole range of baking skills from sweet jam tarts to savoury game pie.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7837_new-release-the-great-british-book-of-baking/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 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4567_life-is-sweet-hope-and-greenwood-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4567_life-is-sweet-hope-and-greenwood-2009-uk#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:26:41 +0000 JudithM http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4567 Life is Sweet is about making various types of confectionery at home, traditional and modern. The authors are the owners of the Hope and Greenwood confectionery shops in London and are experienced sweet makers. The recipes include a wide range of cooked and uncooked sweets, from rich dark truffles and chocolate with chilli and lime to marshmallows, nougat, toffee apples, old fashioned ‘pulled’ toffees and salt licorice. If you enjoy astonishing your friends with new home cooked goodies, this is a book to add to your bookshelf.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4567_life-is-sweet-hope-and-greenwood-2009-uk/feed 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:30:05 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4031 Heston Blumenthal is known as a gastro-wizard. Not only does he helm the Fat Duck, once considered the top restaurant in the world, but he also has popular notoriety through his In Search of Perfection television series on the BBC. In Search of Total Perfection is the culmination of the TV series put in print (combining his two previous books from the series into one volume), and offers not only the recipes and exploratory work leading to the recipes, but also the behind-the-scenes tales from the studio. And whereas a movie can drop a book’s plot, story lines and even characters to help the story fit into a two-hour reel, this book flips a page and gathers all of the information presented in the series and expands on the shows with useful and fun details. The reader is left as plump and saturated as Blumenthal’s roast chicken. And that’s where we’ll peck away at this book – roast chicken.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1965_an-omelette-and-a-glass-of-wine-elizabeth-david-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1965_an-omelette-and-a-glass-of-wine-elizabeth-david-2009-uk#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:56:30 +0000 Lucy http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=1965 An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, a collection skillfully pieced together by Elizabeth David herself, is the perfect introduction to the breadth and depth of her writing. First published in 1984, this collection of articles spanning many decades was inexplicably out of print in Britain for some years (but still available in the US). Here you will find remarkably candid – often hilarious - reviews of books and restaurants; historical essays sit comfortably with the well-loved romance of markets in rural France. Culinary gems are peppered throughout.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1965_an-omelette-and-a-glass-of-wine-elizabeth-david-2009-uk/feed 3 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1009_the-big-fat-duck-cookbook-heston-blumenthal-2008-uk-review http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1009_the-big-fat-duck-cookbook-heston-blumenthal-2008-uk-review#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:24:18 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=1009 It’s 43cm long, 33cm wide, 8cm thick, weighs about five kilograms, has 534 pages, and was one of the most anticipated cookbooks in 2008. From the silver embossed slipcase to the photography and artwork, the writing and the feel of the paper, it would be hard not to notice and admire the Big Fat Duck Cookbook on the shelves of a bookstore. On initial impressions, perhaps like the restaurant itself, the book appears to be an intimidating creature. Open it and you will be hit by Heston Blumenthal’s passion. Inside is the story of Blumenthal and his restaurant, the recipes and stories behind many of the dishes from the Fat Duck, and a series of essays explaining the science behind the food. Beyond the science, there are journeys into food history, philosophy, personal anecdotes, humour, and the sheer dumb luck that can trigger a great idea. It is a dizzying amount of information in one book. But for those who have read Blumenthal’s previous books, his newspaper columns, or seen his TV show will know that he has a gift for explaining complicated concepts in terms that the layman can understand.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/1009_the-big-fat-duck-cookbook-heston-blumenthal-2008-uk-review/feed 2