15. THE SWEETER SIDE OF AMY'S BREAD (John Wiley & Sons, 2008, 254
pages, ISBN 978-0-470-17074-8, $34.95 US hard covers) is by Amy
Scherber, owner of Amy's Bread in NYC since its launch in 1992. Today,
it is in three locations. She also supplies wholesale to more than 300
restos and food stores. She has appeared on many TV shows. Check out
www.amysbread.com. She specializes in breads and in muffins, cookies,
bars, biscotti, layer cakes, and pastries. There are 71 preps here for
most of her products, ranging from breakfast to after dinner desserts.
Also included are recipes for sandwiches and sandwich breads. All preps
have weights and measures in grams, ounces and avoirdupois volumes. Try
cherry cream scones, lemon poppy seed muffins, soft brioche rolls with
melting chocolate centres, and coconut cream cake. Quality/Price
rating: 86.
16. LATIN EVOLUTION (Lake Isle Press, 2008; distr. By National Book
Network, 303 pages, ISBN 978-1-891105-37-1, $38 US hard covers) is by
Philadelphia restaurateur Jose Garces, who owns three establishments:
Armada and Tinto (both tapas) and Chilango. He is also executive chef
of Mercat a la Panxa in Chicago, has been nominated for a few Beards,
and was an Iron Chef challenger. This is a collection of contemporary
Spanish-Latin American cuisine, as reflected by his restos. The preps
are all based on the Spanish Basque region, the Yucatan Peninsula, and
the beaches of Ecuador. Each prep has avoirdupois measurements, but
there is no table of metric equivalents. The typeface is large enough
to read, especially with the leading. There's a glossary of foods, with
substitutions, and this is followed by a terrific index with that same
large typeface and plenty of leading to help locate any recipe. Try
crab pozole verde, truffled lamb albondigas with sherry-foie gras
cream, lobster with coconut-habanero sauce, pork belly montaditos with
garbanzo bean puree, sous vide halibut with chorizo croquettes, and –
wait for it – pepita-crusted yellow fin tuna with white bean stew, mole
verde, and honey-mustard vinaigrette. Quality/Price rating: 88.
17. THE BIBENDUM COOKBOOK (Conran Octopus, 2008; distr. Canadian Manda
Group, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-84091-505-1, $29.95 US hard covers) is by
the team of Terence Conran (acclaimed restaurateur and designer,
"Habitat" stores), Simon Hopkinson (currently, an award-winning UK food
writer, but head chef at Bibendum until 1995), and Matthew Harris,
current head chef at Bibendum, where he has worked since 1987).
Bibendum, housed in the historic Michelin building in London, has been
one of the great restos in the UK for the past 21 years. There are 40
recipes here from Harris, all taken from the restaurant, and arranged
by season. There are also 10 classics from Hopkinson, which they claim
"have stood the test of time and are still served in the restaurant
today." There are also four dinner menus reproduced on the end pages,
two from 1987 and two from 2008. They are virtually unreadable, being
purple on purple. What a shame…There's nothing wrong with the classics
such as chocolate pithiviers and crab vinaigrette and piedmontese
peppers – they lack the excitement of the newer dishes. There are
excellent photographs and historical reproductions of every aspect of
restaurant life, as well as extensive text about Bibendum. Recipes have
both avoirdupois and metric measurements incorporated with the
ingredients. Typical British fare includes devilled lambs' kidneys on
toast, roast pigeon with peas and mint, Sussex pond pudding, and jambon
persille with sauce gribiche. Quality/Price rating: 87.
18. MARTHA STEWART'S COOKING SCHOOL; lessons and recipes for the home
cook (Clarkson Potter, 2008, 504 pages, ISBN 978-0-307-39644-0, $45 US
hard covers) is a "how-to" cookbook, arranged as lessons, and with more
than 200 recipes plus techniques. The arrangement is by product, sub-
arranged by technique. She begins with lessons 1 – 9 (stocks and
soups), with techniques on how to make dashi, pureed soups, and
consommé. The next eight lessons are on eggs (how to boil, how to
poach, fry, scramble, make an omelet, coddle, bake, make a frittata.
Really, really basic stuff. But really, really well presented with 500
photos of techniques and an index. Other categories: meat-fish-poultry,
veggies, pasta, dried beans and grains, desserts (how to make soufflé,
meringue, genoise, custard, pate a choux, sorbets, and granitas. One
complaint: there are no metric conversion tables, which I am putting
down to American insularity. There is a separate page at the front,
with a box labeled: "This book belongs to"…but it is tacky.
Quality/Price rating: 86.
19. BAKED; new frontiers in baking (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2008;
distr. Canadian Manda Group, 208 pages, ISBN 978-1-58479-721-1, $29.95
US hard covers) is by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. "Baked" is the
name of their endeavour which opened in Brooklyn in 2005. Since then,
they have done a ton of TV shows, and have an upcoming series this
fall. They do a lot of wholesaling in NYC, such as with Dean & Deluca.
But log rolling is still needed – from Martha Stewart and Jacques
Torres (see below). Both authors had careers in advertising, and the
pizzazz shows in the book. They promote comfort baking, using common
everyday products in unusual ways. The 75 recipes cover brownies and
bars, cookies, chocolates, candies, drinks, cakes and cupcakes – all
the things we lusted for when we were little kids. Nostalgia rules in
such as icebox tower cake or sweet and salty cake. One of the best
sections is the breakfast chapter, with sour lemon scones, orange
almond blueberry muffins, and chipotle cheddar biscuits. Avoirdupois
measurements with metric conversion charts. Quality/Price rating: 85.
20. JACQUES TORRES' A YEAR IN CHOCOLATE; 80 recipes for holidays and
special occasions (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008; distr. Canadian Manda
Group, 199 pages, ISBN 978-1-584796428, $35 US hard covers) is by the
former pastry chef at Le Cirque, who is now dean of pastry studies at
the French Culinary Institute in New York. He also has his own
chocolate factory, Jacques Torres Chocolate. Judith Choate, author of
21 cookbooks, is the focusing food writer. Torres had his own food
shows on PBS and the Food Network, and has written two other cookbooks.
All of the recipes are organized by holidays, beginning with January,
and running through Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, St.
Patrick's Day, Easter, Passover, Cinco de Mayo through to the various
Christmas permutations and New Year. There is a history of the
restaurant and factory, as well as techniques such as molding. Preps
appear to be adapted for the home kitchen. All the typefaces are large,
with extra leading – making the book a joy to read without eyestrain.
The yummy gastroporn pix help too. Try chocolate blackout cake with
ganache drizzle, chocolate chess pie, chocolate-covered matzo,
mudslides, langues de chat, and pumpkin chocolate cake. Quality/Price
rating: 86.
21. THE NEW AFRICAN-AMERICAN KITCHEN (Lake Isle Press, 2008; distr.
National Book Network, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-891105-39-5, $21.95 US
hard covers) is by Angela Shelf Medearis, who has her own PBS TV show,
"The Kitchen Diva!". She has also appeared on the Food Network with
Bobby Flay. She has written four cookbooks, plus over 80 books for
children. The 200 recipes, all meticulously researched, come from slave
quarters, plantations, church suppers, family reunions, ancient
celebrations, and modern ethnic kitchens. These heirloom recipes are
arranged by region, including Africa and the Caribbean, and a "making
do" section from slave kitchens. There are vignettes of culinary
history, anecdotes and quotes, plus tips and techniques where needed.
While the ingredients are listed with avoirdupois weights and measures,
there are no metric conversion tables. Try Ethiopian party punch, South
African pickled fish, Nigerian eggplant appetizer, Caribbean stuffed
red snapper, chicken with peaches, crackling cornbread, and lemon chess
pie. Quality/Price rating: 89.
22. SAUCE (Gold Street Press, 2008; distr. Canadian Manda Group, 240
pages, ISBN 978-1-934533-14-7, $30 US, hard covers) is by Sonja Lee, a
Norwegian chef with a TV show and an Oslo restaurant, Malla, which
opened in 2007. She has worked with Alain Ducasse and in restos in the
triangle of NY, Paris and London. Here are preps for about 200 sauces,
dips, salsas, and spreads; it was originally published in Norwegian in
2007. The intriguing photographs show the creation of the sauce's
ingredients. Her contents are divided into categories such as jus,
mayo, oil-based sauces, cream-based sauces, butter-based sauces, and
then fruit/vegetable sauces, dessert sauces, and spirit-based sauces.
Additionally, she covers dips and salsas and marinades in their own
chapters. There are a couple of pages of close type matching dishes
with sauces. An informative book, with some log rolling by Chuck
Williams. Quality/Price rating: 86.
23. MORE FAST FOOD MY WAY (Houghton Mifflin, 2008, 241 pages, ISB 978-
0-618-14233-0, $32 US hard covers) is by Jacques Pepin, well-known TV
chef, cooking school teacher, winner of many Beards and IACPs for his
25 or more cookbooks, etc. This book also has the qualifier "as seen on
public television". He has written, "This is the easiest of my
cookbooks for beginners…for people pressed for time or limited by a
poorly stocked supermarket...or for any one who wants great food
quickly." His first book in this series (FAST FOOD MY WAY) was
published in 2004. The current book is also a companion to the 26-part
PBS series that seeks to create simple, special meals in minutes.
The 140 recipes are straightforward, and while arranged by course,
there are 26 menus with page references to follow along with each show.
He has a separate index to "minute recipes" for those super-quick
dishes (radish treats, red pepper dip, salmon rolls, rice paper rolls
with avocado and sun-dried tomato) – there are 28 of these. He
advocates use of the pressure cooker and microwave. Canned food is also
useful for beans, tomatoes, peaches, and tuna, as is "ready food"
(cheese, olives, smoked fish and smoked meats), condiments, purchased
brioche, pound cake, and bread. Some of these preps are make aheads
(hours, days), but all of them are indeed quick. Bear this in mind: it
is labour intensive, and there is some competitive spirit of a contest
in how fast one can make a dish. With Jacques Pepin at the helm, this
is larder/pantry cooking at its finest. No wine recommendations.
Quality/Price rating: 88.
24. OLIVES & ORANGES; recipes & flavor secrets from Italy, Spain,
Cyprus & beyond (Houghton Mifflin, 2008, 372 pages, ISBN 978-0-618-
67764-1, $35 US hard covers) is by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox. Jenkins,
daughter of food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins, has cheffed mostly in New
York city; she just opened Porchetta in the East Village. Mindy Fox is
a focusing food writer, now food editor at La Cucina Italiana. Log
rolling includes pieces by Mario (Batali), Paula (Wolfert), Adam
(Gopnik), and Molly (O'Neill). The preps are Mediterranean, but for
family reasons there is a strong run of Italian and Eastern
Mediterranean dishes. Try Fattouche from Lebanon; Green beans with
shaved onion, fried almonds and parmesan; Red onions cooked in orange
juice; Pan-roasted Brussels sprouts, turnips, and beets with farm faro;
or North African spiced shrimp. She begins with a description of her
"flavor pantry" (oils, salts and salty products, grains and legumes,
broths, herbs and spices, and cheeses) and then moves on to small
plates, salad, soup, pasta-risotto-polenta, fish, poultry, meats, and
then sweets. There is a US sources list and all weights and measures
are in avoirdupois (with no metric conversion tables). There are no
wine recommendations. Quality/price rating: 86.
25. HEIRLOOM COOKING WITH THE BRASS SISTERS; recipes you remember &
love (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2008; dist. T. Allen, 285 pages plus,
ISBN 978-1-57912-784-8, $29.95 US hard covers) is by Marilynn Brass and
Sheila Brass, authors of "Heirloom Baking" which was nominated for a
Beard. Both are antique dealers (with a name like brass, what else
could you be?) with a penchant for cooking. They are known as "Queens
of Comfort Food", and have been on PBS many times. Here they continue
with the "heirloom" motif, moving on from baking to the rest of the
menu. These are the 135 classics, collected over many decades and
updated for the modern kitchen. They represent over 100 years of
cooking in North America. Simple and easy to make, such as zucchini
cheese bake, Romanian stuffed cabbage, red velvet cake, milk chocolate
pound cake, toasted almond butter cookies, meatloaf, and the like. Plus
variations. Arranged by course, the preps use avoirdupois measurements,
but there are conversion charts. The resources list has a list of
sources, contributors, and bibliography. There are graphics of the
original recipes and antique cookware from their own personal
collection. And there are spare pages and a folder for you own recipes.
Quality/Price rating: 85.
26. FRANK STITT'S BOTTEGA FAVORITA; a southern chef's lover affair with
Italian food. (Artisan, 2008; T. Allen, 270 pages, ISBN 978-1-57965-
302-6, $40 US hard covers) is by the chef and owner of three distinct
Birmingham Alabama restaurants. He has written other cookbooks, has
appeared on TV, won a Beard and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Southern Foodways Alliance. Katherine Cobbs is the focusing food
writer. This is Italian cooking layered with Southeastern US
sensibility. Log rollers include Mario (Batali) again – see above. The
200 recipes include such as parmesan soufflé, duck with peaches and
moscato, Tuscan porterhouse, zabaglione meringue cake, baked feta with
focaccia, and pizza with wild mushrooms and butternut squash.
Avoirdupois weights and measures are used, but unfortunately there are
no conversion charts for metric users. He has a listing of the basics
and foundation recipes in the pantry section, and there is a
description of tools and techniques. Sources are all US. An interesting
read with some vivid photos. Quality/price rating: 87.
27. BIKER BILLY'S ROADHOUSE COOKBOOK; adventures in roadhouse cuisine
(The Lyons Press, 2008; distr. Canadian Manda Group, 222 pages, ISBN
978-1-59921-434-4, $19.95 US paper covers) is by Bill Hufnagle, host of
a cable TV cooking show and author of three previous cookbooks. He
rides a Harley and hangs out with the "Big Boys" (
www.bikerbilly.com).
This is a collection of roadhouse recipes, history and lore – over a
dozen famed highways such as Route 66 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. All
US of course. There are 100 plus recipes here, such as the Whiz Bang
sandwich from the Santa Fe Café in Ohio, the chicken and sausage gumbo
of Top of the Hill Grill in Vermont, spinach stromboli at Jo Jo's Pizza
in New York state, and the hot-rod mocha java milkshake at the Hop Ice
Cream Shop in North Carolina. Arrangement is by course or product, and
not (unfortunately) by itinerary. Stories abound from these biker-
friendly diners, and each has full addresses and website, and
occasionally a black and white picture. Terrific value for those
American road trips. Quality/Price rating: 90.
28. THE MAIN; recipes (Whitecap, 2008, 200 pages, ISBN 1-55285-945-2,
$29.95 Canadian, soft covers) is by Anthony Sedlak, a chef who had a
successful Food Network show entitled "The Main". This book is a
collection of the better recipes featured in the show's first four
seasons (it is now in season five). The focal point of the show and
this book is the use of one main ingredient in different and
complementary dishes. The 47 meals are arranged alphabetically by the
ingredient, from "aged cheddar" to "yogurt". In between are gnocchi,
oysters, pears, prosciutto, corn, crab, and sesame seeds. The format
and arrangement are the same for each. For example, under "ground
sirloin" we get a lot of classy photos, advice on timing, a recipe for
the burger, another for homemade BBQ sauce, cabbage-celeriac coleslaw,
and poutine. Weights and measures are in avoirdupois but there is a
metric conversion chart. This is such a guy book it should be at the
top of any gift list for a man, despite log rolling by Anna Olson and
Lynn Crawford. Quality/Price rating: 88.
29. BAREFOOR CONTESSA BACK TO BASICS; fabulous flavor from simple
ingredients (Clarkson Potter, 2008, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-4000-5435-0,
$35 US hard covers) is by Ina Garten, who is a Food Network star
(Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics) and the author of five previous
cookbooks. Her book concentrates on the basic elements of simplicity,
covering such topics as the best ways to boost flavours in foods, what
not to serve at a party, no-cook things to serve with drinks, floral
arrangements, and professional advice on entertaining. She also has a
questions section with answers to what people ask her all the time.
Arrangement is by time of day, such as "cocktail hour", lunch, dinner,
breakfast, plus veggies, soup, and dessert. Some prepared foods are
used, such as puff paste. Typical dishes are soft-shell crab
sandwiches, plum crunch, tri-berry oven pancakes, roasted pears with
blue cheese, and lobster corn chowder. Avoirdupois measurements are
used, but there is no metric conversion table. Also, the sources quoted
are all US. Thirteen menus are presented, but at the end, and they all
have page references so you don't have to look them up in the index.
Quality/Price rating: 87.
30. IN THE KITCHEN WITH ANNA; new ways with the classics (Whitecap,
2008, 222 pages, ISBN 978-1-55285-946-9, $29.95 Canadian soft covers)
is by Anna Olson, a multiple cookbook author and host of many Food
Network cooking shows, principally "Sugar". She and her husband chef
Michael also own Olson Foods & Bakery in Niagara. These preps are the
tried and true classics, some with inventive modern spins. Her
variations are also useful and welcomed. Typical are Canadian
minestrone soup, brandied pork terrine with cranberry, turkey salad
with dried apricot and marjoram, braised edamame with leeks and miso,
and sesame salmon with roasted red pepper salsa. With each recipe,
there is a taste note, a technique, and a tale (memoir). Good large
print, and the ingredients are listed with both metric and avoirdupois
measurements. Arrangement is by course, but at the end, there are some
pages of menu suggestions, with page references to the dishes so that
you don't have to look them up in the index. And kudos for spelling
"hors d'oeuvre" correctly. Quality/Price rating: 90.
31. THE PALEY'S PLACE COOKBOOK; recipes and stories from the Pacific
Northwest (Ten Speed Press, 2008, 232 pages, ISBN 978-1-58008-830-5,
$35 US hard covers) is by Vitaly and Kimberly Paley, owners of Paley's
Place in Portland, Oregon. He won a Beard for his work in 2005, ten
years after the resto opened. Kimberly is food and beverage manager.
Robert Reynolds is the focusing food writer. The emphasis, of course,
is on fresh, seasonal and local foods from Oregon and surrounding
states. It is arranged by course, with a section on the larder/pantry
and on cocktails. There are just a few scattered references to Oregon
wine, mostly in a food and wine matching context. These wines needed to
be highlighted more. Avoirdupois measurements are used, but there is no
metric table of equivalents. Most of the resources listed are local;
certainly, they are all American. Overall, there are too many non-food
pictures, but the book does suffice as a record of the restaurant and
its preps. Unusual dishes here include pan-fried lamb's tongue with
aioli, snails with bone marrow, poached halibut cheeks, poppy seed-
crusted albacore tuna, lamb necks braised in pinot noir, braised elk
shoulder, and a cherry-olive oil polenta cake. Great layout and
coverage of local foods, especially cheese. But se also West,
immediately below. Quality/Price rating: 89.
32. WEST; the cookbook (Douglas & McIntyre, 2008, 250 pages, ISBN 978-
1-55363-357-8, $50 Canadian hard covers) is by Warren Geraghty, the
chef at the top-rated Vancouver restaurant, West. He has had extensive
London experience, and has been head chef at two Michelin-starred
restos. Recipe contributions have also been made by David Hawksworth,
Rhonda Viani, David Wolowidnyk, and Owen Knowlton (the latter dealing
with wine pairings). Jim Tobler wrote the text. This is a fine example
of a restaurant book, with an explanation of how the place is run (with
photos) and how the staff meshes. The 100 recipes were crafted with the
home cook in mind, and cover the full range of appetizers to desserts
and beyond. The resto was originally called Ouest and served French
cuisine. It became West and did the local, fresh and seasonal Pacific
Northwest food theme. In that respect, it is similar to Paley's Place
Cookbook (see immediately above). But there is just as much lack of
detail on regional wines as in Paley, and there is little on local
cheeses. There is a more consumer-friendly arrangement, by the seasons,
beginning with Spring, and then sub-divided by starters, mains,
desserts, and cocktails. Try these: foie gras and goat cheese and apple
terrine, quail galantine, crab and cous cous tian, scallops with
butternut squash remoulade, salmon with sesame-scented cabbage and
smoked salmon gnocchi, pumpkin panna cotta. And there is a
larder/pantry collection of sauces and oils and the like. Avoirdupois
measurements are used, but there is a metric conversion table.
Quality/Price rating: 90.
33. MARTY'S WORLD FAMOUS COOKBOOK; secrets from the Muskoka landmark
café (Whitecap, 2008, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-55285-929-2, $29.95
Canadian soft covers) is by Marty Curtis, the owner of Marty's World
Famous Café in Muskoka. He opened a Muskoka ice cream parlour in 1996,
and then he developed his café, centered on butter tarts, his specialty
and secret. He even has some BBQ recipes using butter tarts as a base
for the rub and sauce. There is an extensive section on making butter
tarts, and he reveals the recipe that made him so famous in Muskoka. I
can tell you the secret: lard. Anyway, his baked goods and pies are the
best thing about the book since he uses the same pastry recipe (from
the Grey Nuns of Quebec) for all of them. These preps include Muskoka
maple pie, blueberry pie, cherry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, pumpkin
pie, turkey pie, tourtiere, and mincemeat pie. Other than these, there
are recipes for basic diner food. Try smoked trout pate. Avoirdupois
measurements are used, but there are metric conversion charts.
Quality/Price rating: 86.
34. CUISINE A LATINA; fresh tastes and a world of flavors from Michy's
Miami Kitchen (Houghton Mifflin, 2008, 276 pages, ISBN 978-0-618-86750-
9, $30 US hard covers) is by Michelle Bernstein, chef-owner of Michy's
in Miami. The focusing food writer is Andrew Friedman, who has co-
authored many cookbooks. Log rolling is provided by Bobby Flay and
Anthony Bourdain. These are Latin dishes, neither expressly Floridian
nor Cuban. Her work collates the Argentine food of her mother, with its
intertwined Latin and Italian roots (Argentine veal Milanesa), the
seafood of Florida (fried calamari with chili coconut sauce), some
Jewish roots influences (mustard-crusted brisket), and French training
(shaved fennel salad). All courses are here but she does one dessert
only: a bread pudding. Try Peruvian mixed seafood ceviche, shrimp
tiradito with avocado and corn nuts, conch escargot, Cubano sandwich,
codfish fritters with tomato stew, Latina bouillabaisse, and spiced
crab cakes. Avoirdupois measurements are used, but there is no
conversion table to metric. Quality/Price rating: 88.
35. ON THE LINE (Artisan Books, 2008; distr. T. Allen, 239 pages, ISBN
978-1-57965-369-9, $35 US hard covers) is by Eric Ripert, the chef and
part-owner of Le Bernadin, possibly the best restaurant in New York
City. Christine Muhlke, a food writer and editor, is the focusing food
writer here. The book promises to be inside the world of Le Bernardin:
"the stations, the heat, the cooks, the costs, the chaos, and the
triumphs" (their words, not mine). This is a story of everyday line
work at a major restaurant, and should form a basis for every
hospitality student's culinary studies. Le Bernardin has been around
for two decades, and is just one of three New York City restaurants to
earn three Michelin stars. There's a lot of fly-on-the-wall stuff here,
real insider info, with photos, charts, tips and advice. It's a basic
primer on how a top notch resto works. Besides the line stress, there
are sections on the wine cellar, costing a meal, menus and tasting
notes. The cuisine is modern French, emphasizing seafood: 150,000
plates come out of the kitchen every year. There are 50 preps here, in
an all-in-one index made hard to read by a light typeface on grey
paper. The recipes are given their own section at the back, and, of
course, are next-to-impossible to photocopy. Try wild salmon and smoked
salmon with apple, celery, and baby watercress and jalapeno emulsion;
yellow fin tuna, foie gras, and toasted baguette with chives and EVOO;
conch marinated Peruvian style with dried sweet corn; layered crab,
avocado, and potatoes spiced with yellow aji pepper sauce; or bacalao
salad with avocado. No metric conversion tables. Quality/Price rating:
90.