http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com collaborative book reviews about all things food and wine Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:46:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8038_medium-raw-anthony-bourdain-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8038_medium-raw-anthony-bourdain-2010-us#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:05:32 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=8038 In the introductory chapter of his new book, “Medium Raw”, Anthony Bourdain asks “What the fuck am I doing here?” While that statement is made in the context of a dinner with chefs that he admits are countless levels above his own abilities, he also intends as a question about how he has ended up as a fulltime writer and television presenter. While he puts it down to a series of lucky breaks, the other factors he doesn’t mention are a combination of keen observation and very good writing skills. “Medium Raw” is promoted as a sequel to “Kitchen Confidential”, and in one sense it fulfils that with chapters that update us on the lives of the people in that breakthrough book. But the book also offers writing about his own life, the food world as he sees it and, to his credit, saying how some of his views have changed over time. The usual Bourdain elements are there: the gonzo style of writing, his refusal to sugar coat his opinion, and a healthy splash of swearing. But with marriage and parenthood, a gentler and more sentimental Bourdain emerges too.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/8038_medium-raw-anthony-bourdain-2010-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7927_roast-chicken-and-other-stories-simon-hopkinson-2006-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7927_roast-chicken-and-other-stories-simon-hopkinson-2006-us#comments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:22:55 +0000 Alison http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7927 In Roast Chicken and Other Stories Simon Hopkinson presents a collection of some of his favourite recipes for a diverse and very personal selection of his favourite ingredients. Much lauded when it first appeared in print in 1995 Roast Chicken was subsequently labelled 'the most useful cookbook of all time'. Whilst this is a hard claim to justify the book is informative and interesting, with straightforward recipes for timeless dishes, its usefulness limited only by its narrow range.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7927_roast-chicken-and-other-stories-simon-hopkinson-2006-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7777_ablas-lebanese-kitchen-abla-amad-2010-au http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7777_ablas-lebanese-kitchen-abla-amad-2010-au#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:01:41 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7777 Lebanese Australian chef Abla Amad, renowned in Melbourne for her delicious homestyle cooking, this year updated her 2001 book The Lebanese Kitchen. The new edition, renamed to Abla's Lebanese Kitchen comes on top of the peak of interest in Eastern Mediterranean cuisines. Unlike the first edition, the 2010 version is an attractive hardcover book with numerous photographs to entice the reader, but beyond that there's barely anything new. The lack of new content is not necessarily a drawback, however, as Abla's Lebanese Kitchen retains the original simple, personal focus on some delicious food.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7777_ablas-lebanese-kitchen-abla-amad-2010-au/feed 2 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7730_ottolenghi-the-cookbook-yotam-ottolenghi-2008-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7730_ottolenghi-the-cookbook-yotam-ottolenghi-2008-uk#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:54:34 +0000 Alison http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7730 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.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7730_ottolenghi-the-cookbook-yotam-ottolenghi-2008-uk/feed 0 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/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/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/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:35:02 +0000 Lucy http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7415 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. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7415_the-new-students-veggie-cook-book-carolyn-humphries-2009-uk/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 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 18:17:36 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=7159 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.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/7159_the-craft-of-baking-karen-demasco-2009-us/feed 0