Book picks similar to
The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant by Leslie Brenner
non-fiction
food
foodie
food-writing
Joy of Cooking: All About Chicken
Irma S. Rombauer - 2000
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 Chicken" upholds that standard. In the conversational and instructional manner of the flagship book, "All About Chicken" is organized by technique. Chapters that cover roasting, broiling, baking, sauteing and stir-frying, braising, frying, and grilling chicken incorporate more than 100 of "Joy's" best-loved recipes -- Casserole Roasted Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic to Broiled Lemon Garlic Chicken to Chicken Breasts Baked on Mushroom Caps. You'll also find recipes for a dozen or more stuffings, sauces, marinades, and gravies, as well as techniques for carving, preparing, buying, and storing chicken. Add to that more than 150 original photographs, specially commissioned for this volume, presented in the most easy-to-use design imaginable.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 Chicken" is for you. It is a spectacular achievement, worthy of its name. "Joy" has never been more beautiful."The Indispensable Kitchen Resource...All-New, All-Purpose, and now All-in-Color"
Wine Girl: The Obstacles, Humiliations, and Triumphs of America's Youngest Sommelier
Victoria James - 2020
Even as Victoria was selling bottles worth hundreds and thousands of dollars during the day, passing sommelier certification exams with flying colors, and receiving distinction from all kinds of press, there were still groping patrons, bosses who abused their role and status, and a trip to the hospital emergency room.It would take hitting bottom at a new restaurant and restorative trips to the vineyards where she could feel closest to the wine she loved for Victoria to re-emerge, clear-eyed and passionate, and a proud “wine girl” of her own Michelin-starred restaurant.Exhilarating and inspiring, Wine Girl is the memoir of a young woman breaking free from an abusive and traumatic childhood on her own terms; an ethnography of the glittering, high-octane, but notoriously corrosive restaurant industry; and above all, a love letter to the restorative and life-changing effects of good wine and good hospitality.
Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship
Isabel Vincent - 2016
Thinking she is merely helping Edward’s daughter--who lives far away and has asked her to check in on her nonagenarian dad in New York--Isabel has no idea that the man in the kitchen baking the sublime roast chicken and light-as-air apricot soufflé will end up changing her life. As Edward and Isabel meet weekly for the glorious dinners that Edward prepares, he shares so much more than his recipes for apple galette or the perfect martini, or even his tips for deboning poultry. Edward is teaching Isabel the luxury of slowing down and taking the time to think through everything she does, to deconstruct her own life, cutting it back to the bone and examining the guts, no matter how messy that proves to be.
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution
Thomas McNamee - 2007
This is what Thomas McNamee does most handily in his Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, a chronicle that begins with the seat-of-the-pants opening night of the "counterculture" venture in 1971, and ends 35 years later with Waters's restaurant an American institution--one credited with birthing California Cuisine, a style devoted to simplicity, freshness and seasonality. The book also limns, with tasty gossip, the ever-evolving Chez Panisse family, including the cook-artisans uniquely responsible for dish creation; follows the attempts, mostly failed, to put the restaurant on sound financial footing; shows how dishes and menus get made; and of course pursues Waters as she broadens her commitment to "virtuous agriculture" by establishing ventures like The Edible Schoolyard and The Yale Sustainable Food Project. The success of Chez Panisse--Gourmet magazine named it the best American restaurant in 2002--has everything to do with Waters, yet she remains an elusive protagonist. Sophisticated yet naive, professional and amateur, hard-driving but emotionally blurry, she invites reader interest but doesn't always satisfy it, as least as presented here. If McNamee cannot quite bring her to life, and if his tale lacks an insider's full conversance with his subject, he still engages readers in the considerable drama of people finding their way--blunderingly, with talented intent--to something new. With menus, narrated recipes, and photographs throughout, the book is vital reading for anyone interested in food, period. --Arthur Boehm
Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure
Joseph Wechsberg - 1953
It is a vicarious experience to read about the culinary wonders of the notable establishments of another era that have become the last epicurean haven in this materialistic, mechanized world of fastfood chains and frozenfood dinners. Mr. Wechsberg reaches back to the twilight days of the Habsburg monarchy, when those splendid monuments to the haute cuisine in central Europe, Meissl and Schadn of Vienna and Gundel's of Budapest, were in their prime.
The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin - 1825
Brillat-Savarin (1783-1833) made famous the aphorism, "Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who you are." He believed that food defines a nation.
Year of No Sugar
Eve O. Schaub - 2014
Do you know where your sugar is coming from?Most likely everywhere. Sure, it's in ice cream and cookies, but what scared Eve O. Schaub was the secret world of sugar--hidden in bacon, crackers, salad dressing, pasta sauce, chicken broth, and baby food.With her eyes open by the work of obesity expert Dr. Robert Lustig and others, Eve challenged her husband and two school-age daughters to join her on a quest to eat no added sugar for an entire year.Along the way, Eve uncovered the real costs of our sugar-heavy American diet--including diabetes, obesity, and increased incidences of health problems such as heart disease and cancer. The stories, tips, and recipes she shares throw fresh light on questionable nutritional advice we've been following for years and show that it is possible to eat at restaurants and go grocery shopping--with less and even no added sugar.Year of No Sugar is what the conversation about "kicking the sugar addiction" looks like for a real American family--a roller coaster of unexpected discoveries and challenges.
Notes on Cooking: A Short Guide to an Essential Craft
Lauren Braun Costello - 2009
The books 217 notes deliver indispensable culinary truths, the highest standards of conduct, and timeless gems of cooking wisdom that have been taught and passed down by top chefs for generations. Whether the advice is philosophical (216. Food never lies, 10. Your soul is in the food, 20. Please, PLEASE slow down) or practical (67. Taste as you go, 111. Always let rice rest, 170. Cook bacon in a cold pan), "Notes on Cooking" offers a unique and invaluable apprenticeship. It is for the everyday cook wanting to improve, the seasoned expert looking to review the highest culinary standards, and the food lover seeking a fascinating glimpse into the pursuit of epicurean excellence. Until now, such enduring good advice especially this quick, efficient, and easy has rarely been found outside a professional kitchen. Includes an afterword by Dorothy Hamilton, founder & CEO of The French Culinary Institute, a recommended equipment list, an annotated reading list, and an index.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Michael Pollan - 2006
Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from what can only be described as a national eating disorder. The omnivore's dilemma has returned with a vengeance, as the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous food landscape. What's at stake in our eating choices is not only our own and our children's health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth.The Omnivore's Dilemma is a groundbreaking book in which one of America's most fascinating, original, and elegant writers turns his own omnivorous mind to the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but, according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire, how we answer it today, ath the dawn of the twenty-first century, may well determine our very survival as a species. Should we eat a fast-food hamburger? Something organic? Or perhaps something we hunt, gather or grow ourselves?To find out, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. His absorbing narrative takes us from Iowa cornfields to food laboratories, from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds, always emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. Each time Pollan sits down to a meal, he deploys his unique blend of personal and investigative journalism to trace the origins of everything consumed, revealing what we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods and flavors reflects our evolutionary inheritance.The surprising answers Pollan offers to the simple question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even mortal implications for all of us. Ultimately, this is a book as much about visionary solutions as it is about problems, and Pollan contends that, when it comes to food, doing the right thing often turns out to be the tastiest thing an eater can do. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore's Dilemma promises to change the way we think about the politics and pleasure of eating. For anyone who reads it, dinner will never again look, or taste, quite the same.
Roast Chicken and Other Stories
Simon Hopkinson - 1994
His breakthrough Roast Chicken and Other Stories was voted the most useful cookbook ever by a panel of chefs, food writers, and consumers. At last, American cooks can enjoy endearing stories from the highly acclaimed food writer and his simple yet elegant recipes. In this richly satisfying culinary narrative, Hopkinson shares his unique philosophy on the limitless possibilities of cooking. With its friendly tone backed by the author's impeccable expertise, this cookbook can help anyone--from the novice cook to the experienced chef--prepare delicious cuisine . . . and enjoy every minute of it! Irresistible recipes in this book include: Eggs Florentine Chocolate Tart Poached Salmon with Beurre Blanc And, of course, the book's namesake recipe, Roast Chicken Winner of both the 1994 Andre Simon and 1995 Glenfiddich awards (the gastronomic world's equivalent to an Oscar), this acclaimed book will inspire anyone who enjoys sharing the ideas of a truly creative cook and delights in getting the best out of good ingredients.
Fire in My Belly: Real Cooking
Kevin Gillespie - 2012
This is truly a book to be cooked from again and again. "Cooking is figuring out the great qualities of any food and making those qualities shine." That's the inspiring message of Fire in My Belly by Top Chef fan favorite Kevin Gillespie. Fire In My Belly celebrates good ingredients with more than 120 hip, accessible recipes presented in a cutting-edge design. This book taps into our national obsession with knowing where our food comes from. Kevin's southern charm, passion, and funny stories guide readers through one-of-a-kind chapters, like "Foods You Thought You Hated," "When I Want to Eat Healthy," "My Version of Southern Food," "World Classics Revisited," and "Junk Food." Fire in My Belly shows cooks what to do with fresh farmers' market foods while providing a backstage pass to the life of a rising culinary star.
A History of Food in 100 Recipes
William Sitwell - 2012
But do we know where these everyday recipes came from, who invented them, and using what techniques? This book provides a colourful and entertaining journey through the history of cuisine, celebrating the world's greatest dishes.
The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week)
Robin Mather - 2011
Forced into a radical life change, she returned to her native rural Michigan. There she learned to live on a limited budget while remaining true to her culinary principles of eating well and as locally as possible. In The Feast Nearby, Mather chronicles her year-long project: preparing and consuming three home-cooked, totally seasonal, and local meals a day--all on forty dollars a week. With insight and humor, Mather explores the confusion and needful compromises in eating locally. She examines why local often trumps organic, and wonders why the USDA recommends white bread, powdered milk, and instant orange drinks as part of its “low-cost” food budget program. Through local eating, Mather forges connections with the farmers, vendors, and growers who provide her with sustenance. She becomes more closely attuned to the nuances of each season, inhabiting her little corner of the world more fully, and building a life richer than she imagined it could be. The Feast Nearby celebrates small pleasures: home-roasted coffee, a pantry stocked with home-canned green beans and homemade preserves, and the contented clucking of laying hens in the backyard. Mather also draws on her rich culinary knowledge to present nearly one hundred seasonal recipes that are inspiring, enticing, and economical--cooking goals that don’t always overlap--such as Pickled Asparagus with Lemon, Tarragon, and Garlic; Cider-Braised Pork Loin with Apples and Onions; and Cardamom-Coffee Toffee Bars. Mather’s poignant, reflective narrative shares encouraging advice for aspiring locavores everywhere, and combines the virtues of kitchen thrift with the pleasures of cooking--and eating--well.
The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese
Michael Paterniti - 2013
Not just any cheese. This was Paramo de Guzman, a rare Spanish queso reputed to be the finest, and most expensive, in the world. The cheese carried its own legend: Made from an ancient family recipe in the medieval Castilian village of Guzman (pop. 80), the cheese was submerged in olive oil and aged in a cave where it gained magical qualities-if you ate it, some said, you might recover long-lost memories. Too broke to actually buy the cheese, Paterniti made a quixotic vow: that he would meet this cheese again someday. Flash forward ten years, when Paterniti has finally found his way-family in tow-to that tiny hilltop village to meet the famous cheesemaker himself, a voluble, magnetic, heartbroken genius named Ambrosio. What Paterniti discovers in Guzman is nothing like the idyllic slow-food fable he has imagined. Instead, he wanders into-and eventually becomes deeply implicated in-the heart of an unfolding mystery, in which a village begins to spill its long-held secrets, and nothing is quite what it seems.
The Tassajara Recipe Book
Edward Espe Brown - 1985
"Ordinary food for ordinary people" is the way Brown once described his approach, but there's nothing ordinary about these culinary offerings. From appetizers to desserts, the over two hundred recipes use the freshest ingredients in ways that will tantalize the palates of everyone from down-home vegetarians to the most discriminating gourmet cooks. The recipes are interspersed throughout with line drawings, photographs of the center and its environs, and Brown's own poetry. This revised edition includes twenty-nine new and four revised recipes, new photographs, and a new introduction.