No one wants to waste his or her precious dollars on an unenjoyable bottle, and with Parker's advice in hand, no one ever will. Employing his famous 100-point rating system, Parker rates more than 8,000 wines from all the major wine-producing regions in the world -- including newly expanded sections on the popular wines of California and Italy. Each wine producer is evaluated separately, and Parker's independence allows him to be completely honest in his opinions. In addition, the book includes other essential information, such as how to buy and store wine, how to spot a badly stored and abused bottle, and how to find the best wine values for under $10.

    Making your own bread is easier, healthier, and cheaper than buying from a store! Start making your own bread TODAY with these delicious and EASY homemade bread recipes! From your conventional breads, to your non-conventional specialty recipes, this homemade bread recipes book HAS IT ALL! Best of all, all these recipes have EASY TO FOLLOW steps so ANYONE can make delicious bread in no time at all! Try a few of these homemade bread recipes and I guarantee you'll never want to buy bread from the store again!

    We’re rejecting processed, packaged foods filled with unpronounceable chemicals, and are embracing, organic whole foods, including whole grain and slow made breads like sourdough—the oldest method of bread baking.In this encompassing guide, a pair of bakers show you how to master this traditional style of bread which has never been more relevant or popular and is a favorite of artisan bakers. Sourdough features fifteen no-fail recipes with clear, step-by-step instructions and photographs to help you make your own artisanal loaves at home.The methods and recipes in Sourdough continue a tradition that is more than 5,000 years old: mix flour and water, then allow the dough to ferment and rise by itself. This extended fermentation process allows for maximum flavor—and easier digestion. With an emphasis on local, heirloom, and ancient grains, Sourdough introduces the natural ingredients used in artisan baking, teaches how to make a stable starter, and explains how to “set the leaven” to create perfect baked loaves. The book comes complete with cook’s notes and a trouble-shooting section to help you to avoid soggy bottoms, over baking, and other common problems.Sourdough is an indispensable resource for bakers, and the perfect starter guide for the beginner bread baker.

    3 is a revolutionary, and altogether timely, exploration of baking with whole grains. The narrative of Chad Robertson's search for ancient flavors in heirloom grains is interwoven with 85 recipes for whole-grain versions of Tartine favorites. Robertson shares his groundbreaking new methods of bread baking including new techniques for whole-grain loaves, as well as porridge breads and loaves made with sprouted grains. This book also revisits the iconic Tartine Bakery pastry recipes, reformulating them to include whole grains, nut milks, and alternative sweeteners. More than 100 photographs of the journey, the bread, the pastry and the people, all taken by Robertson, make this is a must-have reference for the modern baker.

    This book offers a thorough yet practical education on the theory and techniques required to produce high-quality beers using all-grain methods either at home or in a small commercial brewery.

    Like its sister volume on the basics (The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 2002, 0-471-35925-4), this book, which covers such subjects as modernistic desserts, chocolate work, and sugar and marzipan creations, is designed to meet the needs of today's pastry kitchen. This definitive reference features clear explanations, step-by-step how-to photos, and meticulous recipes - all presented in a lively, reader-friendly style.

    Beautifully illustrated with more than 400 images and 100 brand-new National Geographic maps, this definitive guide is arranged geographically to highlight the regions and climates that produce the best vintages. From the countries of Southeast Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean, each page is packed with information on flavor notes, vineyard profiles, tasting room guides, grape know-how, and special information on unique varietals. The book also features top wines organized by maker and year; a troubleshooter's guide to potential wine faults; a taste chart to help identify flavors; up-and-coming producers; unusual wines, food pairings, and more. You'll find time lines depicting the chronology of wine from 500 million B.C., expert sommelier tips, and thousands of recommendations for the latest and greatest reds, whites, and rosés. The most up-to-date and comprehensive wine reference in the world, this stunning book is an oenophile's dream--and a must-have for anyone looking to become an expert in wine.

    There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

    Her story is raw like that first bite of wild onion, alive with startling imagery, and told with uncommon emotional power.Regan grew up the youngest of four headstrong girls on a small farm in Northwest Indiana. While gathering raspberries as a toddler, Regan preternaturally understood to pick just the ripe fruit and leave the rest for another day. In the family’s leaf-strewn fields, the orange flutes of chanterelles beckoned her while they eluded others.Regan has had this intense, almost otherworldly connection with food and the earth it comes from since her childhood, but connecting with people has always been more difficult. She was a little girl who longed to be a boy, gay in an intolerant community, an alcoholic before she turned twenty, and a woman in an industry dominated by men—she often felt she “wasn’t made for this world,” and as far as she could tell, the world tended to agree. But as she learned to cook in her childhood farmhouse, got her first restaurant job at age fifteen, taught herself cutting-edge cuisine while running a “new gatherer” underground supper club, and worked her way from front-of-house staff to running her own kitchen, Regan found that food could help her navigate the strangeness of the world around her.Regan cooks with instinct, memory, and an emotional connection to her ingredients that can’t be taught. Written from that same place of instinct and emotion, Burn the Place tells Regan’s story in raw and vivid prose and brings readers into a world—from the Indiana woods to elite Chicago kitchens—that is entirely original and unforgettable.

    Pasanella takes the reader into the underbelly of his store and the industry, which is steeped in history yet fanatical about technology and brimming with larger-than-life personalities. Infused with rich details of his historic waterfront building in New York City and his sojourns to Tuscany, Pasanella's memoir is one of transformation through a project many fantasize about but few commit to. A colorful cast of characters rounds out this fascinating journey through the world of wine.

    Professional Cake Decorating is the first guidebook, reference, and at-your-fingertips resource to the special methods and techniques unique to cake decorating.Professional Cake Decorating is:a comprehensive set of lessons designed to teach the skills needed in cake decorating, including basic, intermediate, and advanced piping skills; hand modeling; and gumpaste flowers a powerful tool for making dramatic improvements in the overall look and design of cakes a valuable training handbook and resource for bakers and decorators a comprehensive reference of successful professional skill sets Using more than 200 step-by-step and finished cake color photographs, as well as over 125 illustrations, this highly visual book covers a wealth of techniques for cake borders, piped flowers, cake writing and piping, royal icing designs, marzipan fruits and figurines, rolled icing, floral patterns, petit fours, gumpaste floral art and design, and much more. Thorough coverage also includes such foundation skills as making shells, rosettes, reverse shells, zigzags, fleur-de-lis, rope, garlands, scrolls, rosebuds, and other confectionary designs.Complete with more than three dozen tried-and-tested recipes, Professional Cake Decorating is the only book that places the rewards of thirty years of training, traveling, teaching, and private practice in your hands! It is a must-have for today's bakers, cake decorators, specialty shop owners, and independent cake designers.

    Written by well-loved writer and blogger, Shauna Niequist, this mix of Girl Meets God and the Food Network is a funny, honest, and vulnerable spiritual memoir. Bread & Wine is a celebration of food shared and life around the table, and it reminds us of the joy we find in connection and relationship. It's about the ways that God teaches and nourishes us as we nourish the people around us. It's about hunger, both physical and otherwise, and the connections between the two. Recipes are included for the dishes you can almost taste as you read about them. From Butternut Squash Risotto to Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream and Salted Caramel Sauce, you will be able to recreate the comforting and satisfying meals that come to life in Bread & Wine.

    He shares 128 recipes from main dishes, sides, salsas, guacamoles, moles, to adobos. Included are straightforward instructions on essential techniques like roasting chiles, making fresh tortillas, and filling enchiladas.

    It was also a revelation. Both delicious and damaged, it seemed a physical metaphor for the many curious and unexpected situations she's found herself in throughout her life, from her brief career as a six-year-old wrestler to her Brady Bunch-style family (minus the housekeeper and the familial harmony) to her ill-fated twenty-something job at the School of Rock in Los Angeles. As a way to bring order to chaos and in search of a more meaningful lifestyle, she finds herself more and more at home in the kitchen, where she begins to learn that even if the results of her culinary efforts fall well short of the standard set by glossy food magazines, they can still bring satisfaction (and sustenance) to her and her family and friends. Full of hilarious observations about food, family, unemployment, romance, and the extremes of modern L.A., and featuring recipes as basic as Toasted Cheerios and as advanced as gâteau de crêpes, Bon Appetempt is sure to resonate with anyone who has tried and failed, and been all the better for it.

    In this approachable guidebook, author and coffee expert Brian W. Jones demystifies specialty coffee's complexities, teaches you how to buy the best beans and brewing equipment, offers in-depth primers for mastering various slow-coffee techniques (including pour over, French press and moka pot), and supplies you with dozens of recipes for invigorating coffee-based drinks and cocktails. Brew isn't a book for coffee professionals, but rather an indispensable and accessible guide for any specialty-coffee lover who wants to make better coffee at home.