This entertaining guide is presented in an easy-to-understand format, covering topics on everything from the winemaking process, wine vocabulary, and red wine versus white wine, to tasting and selecting wines for any occasion. With a helpful glossary and brief topic-by-topic chapters, this accessible, snobbery-free guide is the perfect companion for purchasing wines and navigating your way skillfully at parties, dinners, wine tastings, wine shops, and more. Learn how to:Understand the origins of wine and the process of making it Know and speak the language of wine with terms like tannins, oaks, residual sugar, dry, medium- and full-bodied, and more Properly taste and drink wines   Choose wines to complement foods Save money by making choices that suit your palate

    So writes Alice Waters of the opening of Berkeley's Chez Panisse Café on April Fool's Day, 1980. Located above the more formal Chez Panisse Restaurant, the Café is a bustling neighborhood bistro where guests needn't reserve far in advance and can choose from the ever-changing à la carte menu. It's the place where Alice Waters's inventive chefs cook in a more impromptu and earthy vein, drawing on the healthful, low-tech traditions of the cuisines of such Mediterranean regions as Catalonia, Campania, and Provence, while improvising and experimenting with the best products of Chez Panisse's own regional network of small farms and producers.In the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook, the follow-up to the award-winning Chez Panisse Vegetables, Alice Waters and her team of talented cooks offer more than 140 of the café's best-recipes--some that have been on the menu since the day café opened and others freshly reinvented with the honesty and ingenuity that have made Chez Panisse so famous. In addition to irresistible recipes, the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook is filled with chapter-opening essays on the relationships Alice has cultivated with the farmers, foragers and purveyors--most of them within an hour's drive of Berkeley--who make it possible for Chez Panisse to boast that nearly all food is locally grown, certifiably organic, and sustainably grown and harvested.Alice encourages her chefs and cookbook readers alike to decide what to cook only after visiting the farmer's market or produce stand. Then we can all fully appreciate the advantages of eating according to season--fresh spring lamb in late March, ripe tomato salads in late summer, Comice pear crisps in autumn.This book begins with a chapter of inspired vegetable recipes, from a vivid salad of avocados and beets to elegant Morel Mushroom Toasts to straightforward side dishes of Spicy Broccoli Raab and Garlicky Kale. The Chapter on eggs and cheese includes two of the café's most famous dishes, a garden lettuce salad with baked goat cheese and the Crostata di Perrella, the café's version of a calzone. Later chapters focus on fish and shellfish, beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, each offering its share of delightful dishes. You'll find recipes for curing your own pancetta, for simple grills and succulent braises, and for the definitive simple roast chicken--as well as sumptuous truffed chicken breasts. Finally the pastry cooks of Chez Panisse serve forth a chapter of uncomplicated sweets, including Apricot Bread Pudding, Chocolate Almond Cookies, and Wood Oven-baked Figs with Raspberries.Gorgeously designed and illustrated throughout with colored block prints by David Lance Goines, who has eaten at the café since the day it opened, Chez Panisse Café Cookbook is destined to become an indispensable classic. Fans of Alice Waters's restaurant and café will be thrilled to discover the recipes that keep them coming back for more. Loyal readers of her earlier cookbooks will delight in this latest collection of time-tested, deceptively simple recipes. And anyone who loves pure, vibrant, delicious fare made from the finest ingredients will be honored to add these new recipes to his or her repertoire.

    Laura Calder reminds us that we don’t have to commit to mastering the entire canon of French cuisine to make a delectable chocolate mousse or a sole amandine. And just because we’re in the mood for coq au vin doesn’t mean we have to start dinner with a foie gras terrine and end with Grand Marnier souffl�. We can integrate a French dish into the menus already in our repertoire -- serve coq au vin as a main course, with gingerbread or ice-cream sundaes for dessert. Why not?French Taste is all about simplicity. If we get too caught up in the “how to” of French cooking, we miss the point. Yes, French cuisine has given the world impressive recipes and techniques, but the most valuable things the French have to offer when it comes to food are a sense of how to eat with joyful abandon, how to make food look as beautiful as it tastes and how to take time to enjoy good food in good company.

    In this beautiful book, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant.

    THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE IN LIFE, AND THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THAN WITH SOME DECADENT, MOUTHWATERING CAKE!NO MATTER YOUR CONFIDENCE IN BAKING, Mandy Merriman—the Blondie of the popular blog Baking with Blondie—is here to help you think outside the cakebox and create easy, delicious, beautiful cakes that you’ll definitely want to show off.WITH OVER 50 CAKE AND FROSTING RECIPES, you’re sure to find the perfect cake for any summer extravaganza, neighborhood bake-off, or cozy holiday retreat with flavors including• Hot-Fudge Sundae• Maple Cinnamon• Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter• Brown Butter Banana Salted Caramel• Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry• Cotton Candy• Fruity Pebbles• Caramel Apple Cider• Neapolitan• And more!SO DUST OFF YOUR APRON, mixer, and piping bags and get ready to create some buttercream joy!

    This collection of dessert recipes comes from Chez Panisse and includes a chapter on dessert foundations with sabayon, marmalade, caramel sauce, frangipane and pate a choux as well as the simpler ginger cake, coconut tapioca and black-and-white cookies.

    She is here to show you that a gluten-free life can be exciting and easy, without having to miss out on your favorite foods ever again. Why restrict yourself to the obvious soups, salads and fruit? What you really want are the recipes that you think you can't eat! From proper chicken chow mein to pad thai, doughnuts to lemon drizzle cake, cheesecake to profiteroles, French baguettes to pizza, plus dairy-free, vegan, veggie and low FODMAP options, Becky gives you all the recipes you'll ever need with tips and advice on how to make absolutely anything gluten-free.

    

    These are the essentials, the ones that Bittman goes back to time and again. Easy and accessible, each of these is a delicious excuse to grab a spatula and head outside. And, each is accompanied by short essay written in Bittman's trademark conversational style--so you feel like he's right there with you at the grill, sharing a story while the coals heat up. With this must-have grilling collection, Bittman also serves up a short but comprehensive guide to the grill, including how to get started, how to master doneness, what to grill, and what to keep in the pantry to make planning simple. Whether you cook everyday or pick up a set of tongs only on holiday weekends, these recipes are the ones you'll want to have on hand all summer long.

    Thus, Bouchon was born. This cookbook contains recipes for the emblematic bistro dishes served at Bouchon, interpreted and executed as they've never been before.

    And why not? "Joy" in hand, tens of millions of people -- from novices to professionals -- have learned to do everything from make a meat loaf to clean a squid to frost a wedding cake. For decades, "Joy of Cooking" has taught America how to cook, serving as the standard against which all other cookbooks are judged."All About Salads & Dressings" upholds that standard. While keeping the conversational and instructional manner of the flagship book, "All About Salads & Dressings" is organized by salad type including green; vegetable and savory fruit; bean and grain; fish and shellfish; meat and poultry -- with such delicious classics and exciting innovations as Caesar Salad; Thai Beef Salad; Grilled Swordfish, Tangerine, and Jicama Salad; Tomato and Mozzarella Salad; Hot Apple Slaw; and Three-Bean Salad. And don't forget the dressings: everything from Basic Vinaigrette to creamy Green Goddess Dressing is covered. With a full primer on varieties of lettuce and suggestions for garnishing, "All About Salads & Dressings" illustrates how much more there is to salad than just lettuce.Whether you belong to one of the millions of American households that already own a copy (or two) of "Joy," or you have never cracked the spine of a cookbook before, "Joy of Cooking: All About Salads & Dressings" is for you. It is a spectacular achievement, worthy of its name. "Joy" has never been more beautiful.

    With minimum effort and maximum impact you can casually host in style, while focusing on spending time together, rather than being stuck in the kitchen. No cooking skills are required to make these boards (and you!) shine!In On Boards, food stylist Lisa Bolton has put together 50 ideas for instantly approachable boards, all with effortless entertaining in mind, as well as 52 recipes for delectable savory and sweet additions like Beet Hummus, Bourbon Bacon Jam, Mashed Potato Dip and Chocolate Salami. The boards can be pulled together in very little time, and each includes presentation and styling tips to impress your guests. Any assortment of food can be pulled into a beautiful board, so you will be able transform whatever is in your fridge and pantry when unexpected guests arrive!With chapters on Everyday Boards, Holiday & Special Occasion Boards, Seasonal Boards and Around the World Boards, you will find inspiration for every gathering. Whether you are looking for a breakfast or brunch board; a board for Christmas Day, Superbowl Sunday or New Year's Eve; a huge celebration or a cozy date night for two, it is included in this collection of gorgeously curated boards.On Boards is the gift people give again and again--perfect for those who love to entertain, but not the stress that goes with it!

    It has become a New York institution earning dozens of accolades, including six James Beard awards. Its impeccable, fiercely seasonal cooking, welcoming and convivial atmosphere, and steadfast commitment to hospitality are unparalleled. The restaurant has its own magic—a sense of community and generosity—that’s captured in these pages for everyone to bring home and savor through 125 recipes. Restaurateur Danny Meyer’s intimate story of how Gramercy was born sets the stage for executive chef-partner Michael Anthony’s appealing approach to American cooking and recipes that highlight the bounty of the farmer’s market. With 200 sumptuous photographs and personal stories, The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook also gives an insider look into the things that make this establishment unique, from the artists who have shaped its décor and ambience, to the staff members who share what it is like to be a part of this close-knit restaurant family. Above all, food lovers will be inspired to make memorable meals and bring the warmth of Gramercy into their homes.

    Now in a revolutionary revision, The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition not only teaches the reader how, but is designed to reflect why the CIA methods are the gold standard for chefs. With lavish, four-color photography and clear, instructive text, The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition guides culinary students--professional aspirants and serious home cooks, alike--to mastery of the kitchen. Over 660 classic and contemporary recipes, with almost 200 variations, were chosen especially for their use of fundamental techniques. These techniques and recipes form a foundation from which a professional chef or home cook can build a personal repertoire.From mise en place (preparation) to finished dishes, the book covers Stocks, Sauces, and Soups; Meats, Poultry, Fish, and Shellfish; Vegetables, Potatoes, Grains, and Legumes, Pasta and Dumplings; Breakfast and Garde Manger; Baking and Pastry. In addition to a comprehensive treatment of techniques and recipes, The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition teaches readers other critical elements of the professional chef's domain--much of it universally applicable to any kitchen. From "An Introduction to the Professional," to the identification of tools and ingredients, to nutrition, food science and food and kitchen safety, the book is a wealth of beautifully presented information useful for any cook.The Culinary Institute of America has been hailed as "The nation's most influential training school for professional cooks" by Time magazine. The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition, the cornerstone of its program in book form, belongs on the shelf of every serious cook.

    From Pear Bellinis to Carrot and Chickpea Dip, from Campanelle with Fennel and Shrimp to Berry Tiramisu--these are dishes your guests will love, no matter the occasion. Here, too, are Lidia's suggestions for hosting a BBQ, making pizza for a group, choosing the perfect wine, setting an inviting table, and much more. Beautifully illustrated throughout with full-color photographs and filled with her trademark warmth and enthusiasm, this is Lidia's most festive book. Whether you're planning a romantic picnic for two, a child's birthday party, a holiday gathering, or a simple weeknight family dinner, Lidia's flavorful, easy-to-follow recipes and advice will have you calling to your guests: "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!"