Search This Blog

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for September 1, 2018

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for September 1, 2018
 
By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at http://www.deantudor.com since 1994.
These notes for wines available through the LCBO Vintages (on a bi-weekly basis)  can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca/ or at  http://www.deantudor.com
 
Scores are a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, e.g. a Southern Rhone tastes like a Southern Rhone) and QPR (Quality/Price Ratio value in the marketplace above or below its price).
 
20 under $20
=========
W+640516    CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES ESTATE BOTTLED CHARDONNAY MUSQUÉ    VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake    2015    $16.95 13.5 % ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+341586    FEATHERSTONE FOUR FEATHERS    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2017    $14.95 12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+446088    NOMAD SAUVIGNON BLANC    VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake    2017    $16.95 12.8% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+458638    RYDER CHARDONNAY    Central Coast    2016    $17.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+499855    INVIVO CHARDONNAY    Gisborne, North Island    2016    $16.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+560284    INVIVO GRAHAM NORTON'S OWN SAUVIGNON BLANC    Marlborough, South Island    2017    $17.95    12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+484055    BELLINGHAM HOMESTEAD SERIES THE OLD ORCHARDS CHENIN BLANC    WO Paarl    2016    $15.95     MVC/QPR: 90
W+548859    CASA DA PASSARELLA DÃO BRANCO    DO Dão    2016    $13.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+357335    HACIENDA LÓPEZ DE HARO RESERVA    DOCa Rioja    2012    $19.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+574624    FLAVIUM SELECCIÓN MENCÍA    DO Bierzo    2014    $13.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+215699    DUORUM TINTO    DOP Douro    2015    $18.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+548867    CASA SANTOS LIMA COLOSSAL RESERVA    Vinho Regional Lisboa    2015    $15.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+558759    ALBINO ARMANI RIPASSO VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE    DOC    2015    $18.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+573485    CASTELLI DEL GREVEPESA CASTELGREVE CHIANTI CLASSICO    DOCG    2016    $16.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+270272    ANTICHI PODERI JERZU CHUÈRRA RISERVA CANNONAU DI SARDEGNA    DOC    2015    $18.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+575225    RIOLITE IL POGGIO SANNIO AGLIANICO    DOC    2015    $15.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+561217    BASTIDE SOBIRANA LIEU DIT LA COLOMINE    AP Côtes du Roussillon    2015    $18.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+224592    CHÂTEAU LE GRAND RETOUR PLAN DE DIEU CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES    AC    2015    $15.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+448464    LES DARONS    AP Languedoc    2015    $16.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+403683    GÉRARD BERTRAND FITOU GRENACHE/CARIGNAN    AP    2015    $16.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+222018    SISTER'S RUN CALVARY HILL SHIRAZ    Lyndoch, Barossa, South Australia    2016    $19.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+56598    13TH STREET CABERNET/MERLOT    Lakeshore Farm Vineyard, VQA Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula    2016    $19.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88
 
20 over $20
=========
W+616466    HENRY OF PELHAM SPECK FAMILY RESERVE CHARDONNAY    VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2016    $29.95     13.5 % ABV, MVC/QPR: 91
W+568279    ENROUTE BRUMAIRE CHARDONNAY    Russian River Valley, Sonoma County    2014    $37.95    14.2% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+458216    RIDOLFI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO    DOCG    2012    $49.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+408195    GUSTAVE LORENTZ RÉSERVE GEWURZTRAMINER    AC Alsace    2016    $22.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+106773    CHÂTEAU DE TRACY MADEMOISELLE DE T POUILLY-FUMÉ    AP    2016    $27.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+140525    DOMAINE BONNARD SANCERRE    AC    2016    $27.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+160671    LOUIS GUNTRUM NIERSTEIN BERGKIRCHE RIESLING KABINETT    Prädikatswein    2015    $20.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+444034    CREEKSIDE CABERNET FRANC    Serluca Vineyard, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake    2014    $24.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+556613    BURROWING OWL PINOT NOIR    BC VQA Okanagan Valley    2016    $39.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+73817    RUTHERFORD RANCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON    Napa Valley    2015    $39.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+577239    TEIRA DRY CREEK VALLEY MERLOT    Woods Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County    2014    $28.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+208223    LEALTANZA RESERVA    DOCa Rioja    2012    $22.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+85183    BALBÁS RESERVA    DO Ribera del Duero    2006    $23.95    15% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+288530    MAZZEI SER LAPO RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO    DOCG    2014    $23.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+539676    TENUTA CUCCO SERRALUNGA BAROLO    DOCG    2012    $41.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+550475    DOMAINE DE LA SOLITUDE SAINT-JULIEN    AC Saint-Julien    2006    $38.95 12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+297945    CHÂTEAU LAROSE-TRINTAUDON    AC Haut-Médoc    2009    $26.95 13.7% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+550319    CHÂTEAU BALESTARD LA TONNELLE    AC Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé    2008    $68.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+426833    COLCHESTER RIDGE CREW MERITAGE    VQA Lake Erie North Shore    2016    $21.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88
R+581132    NOMAD CABERNET SAUVIGNON    VQA Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara-on-the-Lake    2013    $23.95    12.8% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88
 
Chimo! www.deantudor.com

 

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

FOOD AND WINE BOOKS TO PONDER OVER THE REMAINS OF THE SUMMER – but these are not really light reads!! Prices are Canadian...

 
7. THE MODERN KITCHEN (Quadrille, 2017, 2018, 208 pages, $41.99 hardbound) is by Tim Hayward, also author of "Knife". It's a guide to the house kitchen. Every item in the kitchen has a story: he's got 70 of them, and tries to answer questions such as: has the accumulation of electrical appliances led us to cook and eat differently?  The home kitchen is a snapshot of modern life with its notions about class, gender, wealth and health, design, set-up and contents. These are the objects that changed the way we cook, eat and live.  He begins with the basics (potato peeler, kitchen knife, meat mallet, et al) moving through the non-stick frying pan, the wok, the timer, the kitchen appliances, and on through the environment. A really great read!
 
8.THE FLAVOR MATRIX (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, 310 pages, $42 hardbound) is by James Briscione with Brooke Parkhurst. It's a tome detailing the art and science of pairing common ingredients to create upscale dishes. He got turned on to taste profiling by working on the IBM Watson supercomputer to make inventive dishes using big data. Here he reduces about 150 of the most common ingredients to their local chemistry with infographics (the new millennial visuality). This promotes the compatibility among various foods to suggest new pairings such as "Garlic Honey" or "Lemon Curd with Crunchy Olives". A good tool for the adventuresome, although it  only covers food pairing and not wine and food pairing. Maybe that's the sequel...A fab too for the jaded or bored cook looking for new thrills!
 
 
9.THE ULTIMATE KETOGENIC COOKBOOK (Castle Point Books; St. Martin's Press, 2018, 160 pages, $25.99 paperbound) is by cookbook author Ella Sanders, who manages here to give us the ketogenic diet in a nutshell. She's got some "easy to read" primer pages which describe what the diet is all about, including advice on seeking out a doctor first. This is the important part in which you trick your liver to burning  ketones in fat instead of glucose. It's not for everyone as it is basically a paleo diet on "speed". But it does work effectively if you are trying to lose weight but not eventually change your lifestyle. Its one drawback is that you must stick to it or else the body reverts back to glucose burning – and you must start all over again. She's got 100 low-carb high-fat Paleo recipes to get you started. As her work is just about a process, then you can go on to other related recipes in the same mode from other sources.
 
 
10.APPRECIATING OYSTERS (The Countryman Press, 2018, 272 pages, $33.95 hardbound) is by Dana Deskiewicz, creator of "Oystour", an oyster guide and appreciation app. This is just what we need now: with the continuing emphasis on fresh seafood, the oyster's time has come. The handbook part tells you how to shuck (and how not to shuck), drink pairings, and tasting notes to about 85 types of oysters (there are some visual references here). As the subtitle says, It is an eater's guide to craft oysters from tide to table. So for the ubiquitous "Malpeque", the one most often seen in Eastern Canada, there is a tasting note with profile, some classification of texture, and a note about how the PEI cold waters give these oysters their wonderful flavour. Plus, an infographic on shell size and meat-to-shell ratio (very high). The recommended mignonette here is a pear and pickled ginger one, and the drink is a molasses-rich Caribbean rum.
 
 
11.HOW TO TASTE (Sasquatch Books, 2018, 223 pages, $22.95 hardbound) is by Seattle-based food writer-chef Becky Selengut. It has been subtitled as "the curious cook's handbook to seasoning and balance, from umami to acid and beyond -- with recipes". The preps illustrates the tastes. The text is a balance of hard science and wit as she explores the basic principles behind tasting, noting sweet, salt, bitter, acid, fat, umami, bite (heat), aromatics and texture in separate chapters. The most important thing about the work -- after understanding what taste and balance is all about – is how to determine and then identify when something might be missing and how to adjust for it, such as correcting a dish that may be too acidic or too salty or too sweet. Each chapter concludes with a section "Experiment Time" and this is where the recipes are kept. Great little reference tool.
 
 
12.SHARP (Chronicle Books, 2018, 256 pages, $37.50 hardbound) is by Josh Donald, who owns Bernal Cutlery in Frisco.  It is a carefully crafted reference work that appears to be a definitive guide to knives, knife care, and cutting techniques, with some recipes from chefs. He tells us which knives to buy, how to care, how to sharpen, and the dozens of precise cuts. Chefs are mainly local and include Armando Maes, Melissa Perello, Jesse Kolde, and Tim Ferron – 15 in all with one recipe apiece. The world of knives seems to be evenly split between Europe (46 pages) and Japan (38 pages). Just pay attention to the differences in angle degrees. An excellent reference tool.
 
 
 
 
 
For the more literate person, there are the histories, "memoirs", polemics  and humour of writers, chefs, and wine people. Some have called these memoirs "creative non-fiction", some with embellishments and gilding. And many of them may suffer from a lack of indexing, which makes it difficult to find what the writer said about another person or subject. But this also avoids the potential for lawsuits and disjointed noses. Nevertheless, they are rewarding to read. Who cares about poetic license? Here then are some that stood out from  this year's run, and any of them would make great gifts for the reader. Here we go, in no particular order…
 
 
13.IN THE RESTAURANT (Pushkin Press, 2018, 220 pages, $33.95 hardbound) is by Christoph Ribbat,an academic specializing in American studies. It was originally published in German in 2016, He addresses the issue: what does eating out tell us about who we are? This is a cultural history exploring celebrations and dining pleasures. He begins with the 18th century Paris establishments offering "restorative" food right through to modern day Nordic cuisine. Covered are Viennese cafes,  obsessive chefs, lunch counters, fast food diners. The style is eclectic with page glosses of real stories. There are extensive end notes for sources and for further reading, plus an index.
 
 
14.THE ETHICAL CARNIVORE (Bloomsbury,  2017, 320 pages, $24 paperbound) is by Louise Gray, who decided to be an ethical carnivore for more than a year and learn to stalk, shoot, and fish. She begins with shucking oysters, catching trout, shooting pigeons, rabbits, and then deer. She looks at meat processing, including burgers, cheap chicken, supermarket bacon, and farmed fish. She goes to abattoirs and also looks into halal slaughter. She sources road kill (squirrel stir-fry), in vitro meat, insects, and plant foods. This is a well-researched tome, a Guild of Food Writers Award winner in 2017, a Guardian Book of the Year, a BBC Book of the Year, and has appeared on shortlists of other awards.
 
 
15.BEST BEFORE (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2018, 272 pages, $36 hardbound) is by Nicola Temple, who was raised on a farm in Ontario but now lives in Bristol UK. She's the co-author of Sorting the Beef from the Bull, which is about the forensics of food fraud.  Here she continues in that vein by exploring  food processing...as Francis Percival says, "from fresh cut vegetables to nanotechnology". It is all about the influence of convenience on today's modern eating habits. The ability to process food, to save it for future consumption, is the mark of an intelligent group that can overcome its environment. But it is one thing to leap ahead in civilization by preserving by fire or fermentation; it is another to exploit weak people by using chemicals and other science to extend a shelf life for a couple of months or years.  Her work explores how processing methods have evolved in many foods, but at the hands of big business, consumer demand, health concerns, waste and war. Large type makes it easy to read, and there are selected references and even an index.
 
 
16.EATING WITH PETER (Arcade Publishing, 2018, 201 pages, $35.99 hardbound) is a gastronomic journey by Susan Buckley, a US young-adult and children's author. She was married to writer-photographer-gourmand Peter Buckley until his passing. This is her tribute to him: a series of wonderful memories and recalls of  adventurous dining in Michelin-starred French restaurants, the souks of Morocco and the Middle East, plus the Caribbean and NYC. They looked at farmers' markets, French farms and Italian cheese makers. She's got 28 recipes of Peter's fave food. It's a good-looking and funny memoir of a life with food. An entertaining personal narrative gift.
 
 
17.MILK! (Bloomsbury, 2018 , 385 pages, $39 hardbound) is by Mark Kurlansky who has written a ton of books over the past decades (20 non-fiction). Here he returns to the topic of food (his previous books were on Salt, Cod, WPA food, Oysters). I could joke that the topics salt and cod are related (salted cod) to milk in that milk is used to soften the cod as in "brandade de morue", thus continuing the food theme perhaps for a fourth title – but I won't.  This is a culinary, cultural, and economic history of all things dairy, with some 100 or so recipes from all time periods. "Milk became the first food to be tested in laboratories, and is now the world's most regulated food. Today milk is at the centre of food politics, raising questions about everything from industrial farming and animal rights to GMOs, the locavore movement, and advocates for raw milk. He's got a bibliography, and index, plus a recipe index.
 
 
18.BUTTERMILK GRAFFITI (Artisan, 2018, 311 pages, $39.95 hardbound) is by Edward Lee, author of Smoke & Pickles, and an Emmy winner for The Mind of a Chef. He owns several restaurants. He's  a Korean-born, Brooklyn-bred chef who found his soul in Kentucky. Here in 16 chapters and 40 recipes he's travelled around the USA over a period of two years, exploring the cultural differences of the American foodways.  This is a record of his journey to find the new melting-pot cuisine. Exceedingly well-written, covering recent migration food from Cambodia or Lebanon or Morocco, the inherent heritage Creole cuisine, and foods such as slaw dogs, kibbeh, pastrami, shrimp, cornbread, and more.
 
 
19.THE WANDERING VINE (Bloomsbury, 2018, 333 pages, $34 hardbound) is by Nina Caplan, a multiple Roederer winner in the UK. She's written on wine and travel for New Statesman, Times, decanter, Guardian, Time Out, and others. Here she follows the vine backwards into the past, back to the Romans via England, Champagne, Burgundy, Rhone, Catalonia, Andalusia, Sicily, Campania and thence to Rome. There are some black and white photos but no index. A full bibliography and more can be found at www.thewanderingvine.co.uk (although I am not sure why it was not printed in the book  since there are 9 blank pages at the end).
 
20.TASTING THE PAST (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2018, 277 pages, $38.95 hardbound) is by Kevin Begos, formerly science writer for AP,  It comes with eight log rollers, including Alice Feiring. Begos spent a decade seeing the origins of wine: the whole world of forgotten grapes, each with its own distinctive taste, Along the way he converses with a variety of  archaeologists, geneticists, paleobotantist, and chemists. One of them is decoding the DNA of every single wine grape in the world, including clones. Another tries to pinpoint ancient vineyards. A third one is looking into what wines great historical figures drank. Begos explores the original wine routes, beginning with the Caucasus Mountains of 8,000 years ago, down to Israel, across the Mediterranean to Greece, Italy, France and Spain, and then to America. He's got end notes and a bibliography, plus a resources list, but no index.
 
21.A LITERARY TEA PARTY (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018, 146 pages,  $29.99  hardbound) is by Alison Walsh who writes at www.wonderlandrecipes.com which is a food blog dedicated to book-inspired recipes. Tea and books are an apparently perfect pairing: sitting down to a good too on a great afternoon with a cuppa beside you. So here are 55 portioned inspired preps for teas, including customized tea blends and beverages to set up an elaborate tea party. You'll get Turkish delight while sipping on the White Witch's hot chocolate from "The Chronicles of Narnia", or Hannah's sweet potato bacon pastries and Jo's gingerbread from "Little Women". Walsh also has many photos and literary glosses from books such as "Vita Merlini", "The Hobbit", 'Wizard of Oz", "The Secret Garden", "The Phantom of the Opera", and more.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

Monday, August 27, 2018

BMO Business Alert - Bank of Montreal Legal Requirements.

August 27th, 2018

Primary contact email: dtudor2.epicures@blogger.com

You received this email to inform you about important changes to your BMO Online Banking for Business and services. You must activate your BMO Online Banking for Business authentication device before it expires.

To help prevent transaction delays or possible late and cancelled payments please refer to the attached PDF document for more details.

We thank you for your cooperation.


Kathy Balicki | Cash Management Specialist | Technical Division
BMO Bank of Montreal | Online Banking for Business Help Desk

BMO Business Alerts - Bank of Montreal Legal Requirements.

August 27th, 2018

Primary contact email: dtudor2.epicures@blogger.com

You received this email to inform you about important changes to your BMO Online Banking for Business and services. You must activate your BMO Online Banking for Business authentication device before it expires.

To help prevent transaction delays or possible late and cancelled payments please refer to the attached PDF document for more details.

We thank you for your cooperation.


Kathy Balicki | Cash Management Specialist | Technical Division
BMO Bank of Montreal | Online Banking for Business Help Desk

Thursday, August 23, 2018

* FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! * -- Southern From Scratch

SOUTHERN FROM SCRATCH (Roost Books, 2018, 248 pages, ISBN 978-1-61180-331-0 $35 USD hardbound) is by Ashley English who has authored a number of cookbooks dealing with canning, keeping chickens, keeping bees, home dairy, pies, and picnics. Here she deals with basic pantry essentials and "down-home" recipes from the American Deep South. She's got 50 essential recipes for the larder, and then 100 more for traditional Southern food. The range covers pickles, relishes, jams, spreads, sauces, vinegars – for the likes of fruits and veggies, fats and meats, and dry goods. There is also a hefty amount of bio-memoir scattered throughout the book. The basic pantry starts with country ham, cornmeal, grits, pickling salt, smoked sea salt, sorghum syrup, and sumac. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. It would sell Southern US cuisine to the rest of the world which uses metric.
Audience and level of use: aficionados of southern cooking.
Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: Pies include buttermilk cherry pie, sweet potato pie, and sorghum bourbon orange pecan pie. Country ham dishes include cheese crisps with green tomato pickles, grit cakes with country ham and applesauce, ham biscuit with mustard compound butter, peaches and cream tartines, southern benedict and southern reuben. Sorghum recipes include BBQ sauces, Bourbon bacon jam, fried dill pickles with sorghum mayo.
The downside to this book: I really wanted more such as Chess Pie!!!
The upside to this book: there is a resources list.
Quality/Price Rating: 90.
 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

Monday, August 20, 2018

* THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK...

...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic best sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out. The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks". There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work at home, but how could that be? The books all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food photo shots, verging on gastroporn. There are endorsements from other celebrities in magnificent cases of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books –
 
 
13.UNICORN FOOD (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018, 202 pages, ISBN 978-1-5107-3235-3 $19.99 USD hardbound) is by Cayla Gallagher, host of the YouTube cooking show "Pankobunny". These are colourful rainbow treats to create, to enjoy, or just admire. Apparently, to maintain their magical glow, unicorns must stick to a diet of sugar, sparkle and rainbows. This book will do just nicely if you have a pet unicorn, and it must be fed. Just don't ask about road apples (well, okay, here they are called "unicorn poop marshmallows"). It's a mythical world, of course, but there are 80 realistic recipes to try out (mostly cakes and cookies). Multi-coloured layers come through on the surprise crepe cake, the rainbow-filled doughnut, the rainbow confetti cookies – even rainbow sangria. But I would not want to go near a drunk unicorn. Gallagher's YouTube show teaches her subscribers how to turn everyday re4cipes into edible cuteness. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, but at least it had metric conversion charts. Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
 
14.TURNIP GREENS & TORTILLAS (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, 310 pages, ISBN 978-0-544-61882-4 $42 hardbound) is by Eddie Hernandez, executive chef of Taqueria del Sol. His recipes have appeared in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Southern Living. He's assisted by food writer-editor Susan Puckett. It comes with nine log rollers such as Jacques Pepin, the Lee Brothers, and Nathalie Dupree. This is where a Mexican chef (Eddie is from Monterrey) spices up the Southern kitchen. Personally, I would have thought that that was something related to Tex-Louisiana food. He covers the pantry, snacks, tacos, soups, stews, chilis, breads, beans, corn, rice, salsas, sauces, salads, slaws, veggie sides, drinks, and desserts. I keep waiting for someone to pickup "chess pie" with chili, but it has not yet happened. No sopes, which would actually go well with turnip greens. I like his preps for both red or green posole. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 88.
 
 
 
15.BOQUERIA (Absolute Press, 2018, 286 pages, ISBN 978-1-63286-494-9 $35 USD hardbound) is by Yann de Rochefort, founder of Boqueria in Manhattan, and Chef Marc Vidal from Barcelona. It is a collection of their fave recipes, arranged by "The Classics", followed by salads, eggs, veggies, rice/noodles, seafood, meat/poultry, desserts, and drinks. There is some memoir material about the restaurant and the owners with plenty of photos. A great souvenir of the establishment. The classics have been slightly reworked to make them more tasty to tough New Yorkers: a hotter potatas bravas, a drop of truffle aioli on the mushroom croquette, pickled shallots added to grilled lamb skewers. These preps are Boqueria's and they should work at home. Try the pork meatballs stewed with shrimp and black trumpet mushrooms. Or the panceta rustida. At the end there is a large chapter on the pantry they use. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 89
 
 
 
16.FLAVOR BOMBS (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, 255 pages, ISBN 978-0-544-78489-5 $25 USD) is by Adam Fleischman who is the creative force behind Umami Burger and 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria – 40 locations in California, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Dubai and Japan. Tien Nguyen is the focusing food writer. These are the umami ingredients that make taste explode. Adam began experimenting with every Japanese packet, bottle, bag that looked like it contained umami. His original burger was a Port and Stilton burger. You will need glutamate-rich ingredients (cheese, seasonings, pantry, produce, flesh protein), inosinate-rich (beef, chicken, dried and fresh sardines, pork, shrimp, et al), and guanylate-rich (dried mushrooms, nori, and truffles).  The you mix away (he gives principles) and also apply some techniques to amplify umami. As he says, cook without fear. It's a hard book to read because it is white text on black. Certainly it is difficult to photocopy a recipe, which I always do when I am testing a recipe from a real book (I tend to be messy). Thankfully the basic pantry and the principles and all of the primer material is black on white. The book could have been improved if it also used metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 86
 
 
17.HOW TO GRILL EVERYTHING (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, 568 pages, $30 USD hardbound) is the latest "everything" book from Mark Bittman. These are simple recipes for flame-cooked food. He gives us the primer, followed by the courses: apps, snacks, seafood, poultry, meat, veggie mains, veggie sides, sauces and condiments, breads and desserts. No hidden fillers. Paraphrasing Bittman, "The hundreds of variations in the book are unique dishes which treat the main recipe as a template, then spins it into different ingredients and flavour directions." Some of these include okra skewers, halloumi cheese, hot-smoked fish spread, grill roasted duck legs, and grilled potato skins. There are well-positioned photos and a decent typeface that is very readable, with white space and logos for direct fire, indirect fire, make ahead, and vegetarian option. It is hard to go wrong here. The book could have been improved if he also used metric in the recipes, but at least he had metric conversion charts. Quality/price rating: 91.
 
 
Chimo! www.deantudor.com

* THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS...

...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
 
 
18.PERFECTLY CREAMY FROZEN YOGURT (Storey Publishing, 2014, 2018, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-61212-880-1 $19.95 USD paperbound) is by Nicole Weston, Los Angeles-based pastry chef and food writer. She has written a variety of frozen dessert books, including and earlier version of this book, "How to Make Frozen Yogurt" (2014). She's developed a Meringue Method with eggs, and coupled it with Greek-style yogurt into 56 flavours. She also has preps for pies, cakes, and other frozen desserts, Essentially, there are three styles: fruit based, sugar and spices (caramel), and chocolate and nuts. Plus of course, cookie and brownie sandwiches and sauces. For the adventuresome, there are popsicles, semifreddos, terrines and bombes – all using yogurt. Try the avocado frozen yogurt for a treat (p51). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87
 
 
 
19.SO FRENCH SO SWEET (Hardie Grant Publishing, 2012, 2017, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-74379301-5 $19.99 USD hardbound) is by Gabriel Gate, who for more than 40 years was a French chef, teacher, writer and TV presenter, selling over 1 million books. This title was first published in 2012 as "100 Best Cakes & Desserts". He does a nifty job in presenting cakes, tarts, pies, mousses, cremes, fruits, sherbets, ice creams, hot desserts. The classics include flamed bananas with rum, Black Forest roulade, caramel Paris Brest with chocolate cake and raspberries, lemon cheesecake, tiramisu, and sponge finger biscuits. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is one small table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.
----------------------------------------------------

Chimo! www.deantudor.com
 
 

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for August 18, 2018

 
WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for  August 18, 2018
 
By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at http://www.deantudor.com since 1994.
These notes for wines available through the LCBO Vintages (on a bi-weekly basis)  can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca/ or at  http://www.deantudor.com
 
Scores are a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, e.g. a Southern Rhone tastes like a Southern Rhone) and QPR (Quality/Price Ratio value in the marketplace above or below its price).
 
THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL FINDS --
Rose+552562 Henry of Pelham Three Hearts Rose 2017 $19.95  12% ABV, MVC/QPR:  92
Rose+409870 Gerard Bertrand Gris Blanc Rose 2017 $16.95 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
 
20 under $20
=========
W+577775    VALLEY OF THE MOON PINOT BLANC/VIOGNIER    Sonoma County    2015    $19.95    14.1% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+277228    CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES OLD VINES RIESLING VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake 2015    $18.95 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+678656    CONCHA Y TORO TRIO PREMIUM BLEND RESERVA SAUVIGNON BLANC    Casablanca/Rapel, DO Chile    2017    $14.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+554576    MOKOBLACK SAUVIGNON BLANC    Marlborough, South Island    2016    $17.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+598631    RUSTENBERG CHARDONNAY    WO Stellenbosch    2016    $19.95 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+568501    ESTERHÁZY GALÁNTHA GRÜNER VELTLINER    Qualitätswein, Burgenland    2017    $16.95    12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+196741    KUHLMANN-PLATZ VIEILLES VIGNES RIESLING    AC Alsace    2016    $17.95 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+557207    FLEURON DE LA REBOURGÈRE SUR LIE MUSCADET SÈVRE ET MAINE    AC    2016    $14.95    12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+548222    ZACHARIAS MOSCHOFILERO    PGI Peloponnese    2016    $14.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+541854    VILLA SPARINA GAVI DI GAVI    DOCG    2016    $19.95    12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+161398    LANDER-JENKINS CABERNET SAUVIGNON    California    2015    $19.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+209874    COLUMBIA CREST H3 MERLOT    Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley    2015    $19.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+166298    LA POSTA PIZZELLA MALBEC    Mendoza    2016    $15.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+389254    MORANDÉ GRAN RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON    Single vineyard, DO Maipo Valley    2014    $19.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+515767    MANCURA GRAN RESERVA SYRAH/CABERNET FRANC/MERLOT    Casablanca Costa Valley    2014    $17.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+R+308452    CHÂTEAU LANGOIRAN PRESTIGE    AC Côtes de Bordeaux - Cadillac    2015    $17.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88
R+194894    MAS LAS CABES ROUGE    AP Côtes du Roussillon    2016    $17.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR:  89
R+295618    CAVINO NEMEA GRANDE RESERVE    PDO Nemea    2010    $17.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+R+251645    LA FERME DU MONT PREMIÈRE CÔTE CÔTES DU RHÔNE    AP    2016    $18.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+548560    ALICE VIEIRA DE SOUSA RESERVE RED    DOC Douro    2014    $16.95 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+548842    MONTE DA RAVASQUEIRA CLÁSSICO    Vinho Regional Alentejano    2016    $13.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+573444    COLI CHIANTI CLASSICO    DOCG    2016    $14.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+224188    TOMMASI ARELE    IGT delle Venezie    2015    $18.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
 
20 over $20
=========
W+377770    QUAILS' GATE CHARDONNAY    BC VQA Okanagan Valley    2015    $24.95  14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+980490    CAMBRIA KATHERINE'S VINEYARD CHARDONNAY    Katherine's Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara    2015    $29.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+171272    J. LOHR ARROYO VISTA CHARDONNAY    Arroyo Seco, Monterey County    2016    $34.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+416123    HENRI DE VILLAMONT PRESTIGE BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY    AC    2015    $24.95     MVC/QPR: 89
R+145888    CLOSSON CHASE CLOSSON CHASE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR    VQA Prince Edward County    2016    $34.95     12.3% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+373415    KEINT-HE PORTAGE PINOT NOIR    VQA Prince Edward County    2014    $24.95 12.7% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+572305    LANGE TWINS ESTATE GROWN CABERNET SAUVIGNON    Lodi    2014    $24.95 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+316984    VERSADO RESERVA ANCIENT MALBEC    Mendoza    2013    $59.95 14.9% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+927533    TORBRECK WOODCUTTER'S SHIRAZ    Barossa Valley, South Australia    2016    $29.95    15% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+142398    WAKEFIELD JARAMAN CABERNET SAUVIGNON    Coonawarra/Clare Valley, South Australia    2015    $24.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+512442    ELGIN VINTNERS PINOT NOIR    WO Elgin    2015    $24.95     14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+568840    MIRE L'ÉTANG CUVÉE DES DUCS DE FLEURY RÉSERVE    AP La Clape    2015    $21.95    15% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+560946    DIFFONTY CUVÉE DU VATICAN CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE    AC    2015    $38.95    15% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+940965    BERONIA GRAN RESERVA DOCa Rioja    2009    $39.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+232447    GEMMA COLAREJ BAROLO    DOCG    2013    $39.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+395152    LANCIOLA LE MASSE DI GREVE CHIANTI CLASSICO    DOCG    2013    $23.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+312140    VILLACRECES PRUNO Ribera del Duero 2016 $22.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com