Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Dream Dinners or An African American Cookbook

Dream Dinners: Turn Dinner Time into Family Time with 100 Assemble-and-Freeze Meals

Author: Stephanie Allen

"What's for dinner?"

If the sound of those three words sends you reeling or, worse, straight to the nearest fast-food chain or take-out joint, then relax. Dream Dinners will change all that forever.

With their new cookbook, Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, founders of Dream Dinners, bring the successful philosophy behind their hundreds of assemble-and-freeze-meal stores across America into home kitchens. Dream Dinners offers up one hundred recipes for flavorful meals made with easy-to-find ingredients.

The premise is simple: Scoop or pour ingredients into baking pans or plastic bags, then store the uncooked dishes in the freezer. Later in the week or month, when dinnertime rolls around, just pop one of the frozen meals into the oven. Each recipe is provided two ways: One, prepare just one meal for the night, or two, prepare enough for three meals and freeze the other two. Dinner after sports practice, music lessons, and play rehearsals has never been easier!

In addition to recipes for hearty, family-pleasing classics such as Baked Pesto Ravioli with Chicken, Beef and Zucchini Casserole, and Cider-Braised Pork Loin Chops, Stephanie and Tina give a wealth of time-saving shopping tips and cooking pointers. More than for convenience, eating dinner together provides benefits for the whole family. Study after study shows that mealtime matters. Families who dine together form stronger bonds, and kids get better grades and develop lifelong healthful eating habits. Dream Dinners makes it easy for families to gather around the dinner table and share the ups and downs of the day.

With Dream Dinners, you will spend less timestressing in the kitchen and more time connecting with family and friends.

Library Journal

Allen and Kuna's Dream Dinners franchise now has more than 150 shops across the country. Shoppers can sign up for sessions in which they put together prepared ingredients for that month's main-dish recipes, then take them home to freeze for cooking later. Their cookbook is based on the same idea, with easy recipes for all courses of a meal. Each recipe lists the ingredients needed for just one dish to serve six and those needed to make three batches, one to serve that night and two to freeze for later. The recipes are fairly pedestrian and, overall, seem rather dated; many of them rely on convenience foods, e.g., canned cream soup. Buy for demand only. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.



Interesting book: Sjogrens Syndrome Survival Guide or The Weight Loss Surgery Connection

An African American Cookbook: Traditional and Other Favorite Recipes

Author: Phoebe Bailey

An African American Cookbook: Traditional and Other Favorite Recipes is a wonderful collection of traditional recipes and food memories, as well as contemporary favorite foods. All of the dishes celebrate lusty African American eating; the traditional foods reflect the ingenious, resourceful, and imaginative Africans who made them.Included are Pastor's Famous Ribs, Shortbread, Cracklin' Cornbread, Okra Gumbo, Smoked Turkey and Black-Eyed Peas, New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, Cabbage with Collard Greens, Peach Cobbler, and Sweet Potato Pudding. Coupled with these old-time dishes are today's favorite recipes— Yogurt and Chives Biscuits, Braided Easter Bread, Pecan Cake, Five-Flavor Pound Cake, Primavera Pizza, Shrimp Bake, Roast Turkey with Oyster Cornbread Stuffing, Cajun Cassoulet, and Minestrone with Tortellini. Woven among the 400 recipes are rich historical anecdotes and sayings. They were discovered or lived by this cookbook's contributors, many of whose ancestors participated in the Underground Railroad or lived nearby where it was active.

Presented in an easy-to-use format for cooks of all traditions, this is a cookbook rich in history and rich in easy-to-prepare, wonderfully tasty food.

Author Phoebe Bailey's congregation in historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a station on the Underground Railroad. Today they, and their own Harambee Historical Services (meaning "pulling together to build" in Swahili), offer Underground Railroad re-enactments and a buffet of traditional African American food to their many visitors. This cookbook celebrates those historic activities, when this church fed and then helped to spirit enslaved Africans to safety.



How to Eat like a Vegetarian Even if You Never Want to Be One or Way of Tea

How to Eat like a Vegetarian Even If You Never Want to Be One: Shortcuts, Hints, and Simple Solutions

Author: Patti Breitman

Don't have time to cook? Don't like to follow recipes? Cutting back on meat but don't know what to serve? Want an easy way to eat healthfully? This is the book for you. The lists, charts, and hints in this book will reward you with meals, snacks, and surprises that are as easy to make as they are delicious.



Book about: Brewed in Detroit or Come for Dinner

Way of Tea: The Sublime Art of Oriental Tea Drinking

Author: Master Lam Km Chuen

In The Way of Tea, Master Lam brings to life the tales of this ancient, celebrated Chinese drink, revealing who discovered tea, how the different varieties earned their names, and how tea culture spread throughout the world. He also explains the intricate processes of cultivating the different tea plants and preparing their leaves for brewing. Although many varieties are still processed traditionally, the way in which we drink tea has changed dramatically: in today's busy world most people drink their tea in a hurry and hardly notice if it is a mass-produced, unexceptional tea or a quality blend with a unique fragrance. Master Lam revives "the way of tea" and takes you step-by-step through the traditional Chinese tea ceremony, from selecting your tea set and heating the right water to preparing, serving, and drinking your chosen tea.



Table of Contents:
Introduction8
Part 1Tea Story12
The Discovery of Tea
The Development of Tea in China
Tea-drinking Customs in China
The Spread of Tea from China
Part 2Cultivating Tea38
Tea Plants and Their Varieties
Picking the Tea Leaves
Tea Processing Through the Ages
Monkey-picked Tea
White Teas
Yellow Teas
Light Green Teas
Green Teas
Red Teas
Black Teas
Flower Teas
Part 3Tea Time72
Water, the Mother of Tea
Heating the Water
Teapots, the Father of Tea
Storing Tea Leaves
The Art of Tea Making
Kung Fu Tea
Part 4Healing Teas112
A Culture of Health
Introducing the Healing Teas
Cautions and Uses of Tea
About the Authors140
Acknowledgments141
Index142

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Eat A Bug Cookbook or Cod

Eat-A-Bug Cookbook

Author: David George Gordon

Gordon, a naturalist and author of the popular Compleat Cockroach, has researched the practice of eating bugs and presents the results with relish . . . or at least a light cream sauce. Recipes include "Really Hoppin' John" (grasshoppers add extra kick), "Pest-O" (common garden weevils in a creamy basil sauce), and "Fried Green Hornworm."

The Christian Science Monitor

Naturalist David George Gordon has tips for catching edible insects, lots of recipes, and photos.



New interesting textbook: Adobe InDesign CS4 or Perl Pocket Reference

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

Author: Mark Kurlansky

The codfish. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious than gold. Indeed, the codfish has played a fascinating and crucial role in world history.

Cod spans a thousand years and four continents. From the Vikings, who pursued the codfish across the Atlantic, and the enigmatic Basques, who first commercialized it in medieval times, to Bartholomew Gosnold, who named Cape Cod in 1602, and Clarence Birdseye, who founded an industry on frozen cod in the 1930s, Mark Kurlansky introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs, and of course the fishermen, whose lives have interwoven with this prolific fish. He chronicles the fifteenth-century politics of the Hanseatic League and the cod wars of the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. He embellishes his story with gastronomic detail, blending in recipes and lore from the Middle Ages to the present.
And he brings to life the cod itself: its personality, habits, extended family, and ultimately the tragedy of how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction.

From fishing ports in New England and Newfoundland to coastal skiffs, schooners, and factory ships across the Atlantic; from Iceland and Scandinavia to the coasts of England, Brazil, and West Africa, Mark Kurlansky tells a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus.

Publishers Weekly

No fish story, this is a sapient and vivid chronology of the immense impact and influence the cod fishing industry has had on the human race. The cod fish has played a major role in the economics, sustainability and diplomacy of many countries and societies throughout history, explains Kurlansky (A Continent of Islands). Kurlansky effectively weaves philosophical thought with facts and vignettes on the history of the various cod fishing enterprises that have emerged and faded through the ages. Wars over fishing territories and rights have plagued cod fishing ever since humans took to the sea, and Kurlansky traces these hostilities through short history lessons that are easily absorbed and understood. Personal quotes and cod recipes from slaves, kings, diplomats, fisherman and noted scholars such as Thoreau and Kipling cast a glistening view of the grasp this fishing industry had on society. The book's final section, A Cook's Tale: Six Centuries of Cod Recipes describes the use and preparation of cod from the days of the Vikings through the 1900s. Complete with a detailed bibliography, this remarkable and informative volume should net any number of happy readers.

Library Journal

In this New York Times best seller, Kurlansky gets us to look at the lowly cod in a whole new light. Search for the lucrative codfish played a key role in the development of the New World. Britain allowed the Colonies to trade with third parties-a milestone on the road to independence-due to a superabundance of cod. We also hear about the evolution of fishing technology that is so successful that cod have come close to extinction and the effect of the 200-mile limit. Moreover, the author relates marvelous Basque, French, British, and New England cod recipes from the last 500 years. Richard Davidson narrates this exceptionally informative and entertaining work.-James L. Dudley, Westhampton, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In this engaging history of a "1000-year fishing spree," Kurlansky (A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny, LJ 1/92) traces the relationship of cod fishery to such historical eras and events as medieval Christianity and Christian observances; international conflicts between England and Germany over Icelandic cod; slavery, the molasses trade, and the dismantling of the British Empire; and, the evolution of a sophisticated fishing industry in New England. Kurlansky relates this information in an entertaining style while providing accurate scientific information. The story does not have a happy ending, however. The cod fishery is in trouble, deep trouble, as the Atlantic fish has been fished almost to extinction. Quoting a scientist from the Woods Hole Biological Laboratory, Massachusetts, Kurlansky notes that to forecast the recovery of the cod population is to gamble: "There is only one known calculation: `When you get to zero, it will produce zero.'" Highly recommended for all general collections.
--Mary J. Nickum

Los Angeles Times

An elegant brief history...related with brio and wit.

NY Public Library

One of the 25 best books of the year.

Kirkus Reviews

Cod—that whitest of the white-fleshed fish, prize of every fish-and-chips establishment—gets expert, loving, and encyclopedic handling from Food and Wine columnist Kurlansky (A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry, 1994, etc.). There was one very good reason that tenth-century Vikings made it to the New World: Norway to Iceland to Greenland to Canada, they followed the exact range of the Atlantic cod. When explorers pushed off European shores in search of Eldorado, others made straight for the cod fisheries of the North Atlantic; the codfishers got by far the better results. Writing with a bright, crisp, journalistic flair, Kurlansky situates the cod in all its historic glory: the mysteries of the early Basque fisheries, the role of Catholic lean days in generating a profitable market, and the rise of the codfish aristocrats. The fish ascended from a commodity to a fetish: on coins, newspaper mastheads, tax stamps, official crests and seals. The author explains how a cod run could determine an entire regional economy and how salt cod figured in slave trading. Then came the steam engine and frozen food, changing the face of a dory-and-schooner fishing practice that hadn't seen a makeover in eons. The revolution wreaked havoc on the marketplace and just plain wrecked the bank fisheries. Territorial boundaries; the complexities of marine ecology; old, annotated recipes for preparing cod; place portraits of Gloucester, Mass., and Newlyn, England; and the current moratorium on cod fishing—Kurlansky sketches them all in his effort to compose this smart biography of the famous groundfish. Will the cod come back? Kurlansky demurs; maybe itsplace will be usurped by the ratty Arctic cod: "Nature, the ultimate pragmatist, doggedly searches for something that works. But as the cockroach demonstrates, what works best in nature does not always appeal to us."

What People Are Saying

David McCullough
A book of pure delight.




Table of Contents:
Prologue: Sentry on the Headlands (So Close to Ireland)..............1

PART ONE: A FISH TALE
PART TWO: LIMITS
PART THREE: THE LAST HUNTERS

A COOK'S TALE: SIX CENTURIES OF COD RECIPES........................235
Bibliography.......................................................277
Acknowledgments....................................................283
Index..............................................................284

Everyday Grain Free Gourmet or Worlds Greatest Wine Estates

Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet

Author: Jodi Bager

Rediscover the joy of eating with delicious, easy-to-digest recipes and meal-planning tips.

Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet provides delectable, easy-to-digest dishes that appeal to family and guests who have food limitations which simply must be accommodated. Unlike other gluten-free cookbooks, this one offers traditional favorites in whole-foods, low-lactose, refined-sugar-free versions. Moreover, this book is ideal for anyone who wants or needs to improve their health through diet, including those with lactose intolerance, celiac disease, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

The benefits of a whole-foods diet are addressed in special sections of the book. The authors also include important information on kitchen tools and equipment, food storage and menu-planning, plus a list of health-related resources.

Some of the mouthwatering recipes are:


• Brie and apple crêpes
• Caesar salad with ginger aïoli vinaigrette
• Vegetable quiche
• Curry risotto
• Cannelloni
• Osso bucco
• Heavenly hazelnut ice cream.

Every breakfast, lunch and dinner dish is great for the entire family, yet meets the strict limitations and standards of grain-restricted diets.



Go to: Trauma and the Body or Leaving the Enchanted Forest

World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective

Author: Robert M Parker

Over the past twenty-five years, renowned critic Robert M. Parker, Jr., has visited both legendary and fledgling wineries all over the world and has tasted hundreds of thousands of wines. Only a fraction of those wines have earned his highest ratings and are considered by him to be truly legendary. In his latest book, Parker brings together what he calls "the best of the best," taking readers on a personal tour of the wineries that have impressed him most with their dedication to quality, consistency, and excellence.

The World's Greatest Wine Estates pays homage to exceptional wines and the exceptional people who make them. These lavishly illustrated pages showcase 175 of the world's most accomplished — and most spectacular — estates. Parker goes be-yond the labels, bottles, and ratings to present the land, the history, and the dedicated artisans practicing their craft. Though they form a wildly diverse group, all of these producers "share an inexhaustible commitment to their vineyards, a passion to produce as fine a wine as is humanly possible, and a vision that the joys of wine are infinite and represent the pinnacle of a civilized society."

Parker begins with an overview of what makes a wine great — the ability to please both the palate and the intellect, to offer intense aromas and flavors without heaviness, to improve with age, to reflect its place of origin as well as the skill of its producers — and explains how he came to choose the profound wines he features here. He also offers insider tips for ordinary wine-lovers who want to get their hands on extraordinary bottles.

The heart of the book contains profiles of the greatest estates ofArgentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Each region is illustrated with a full-color map and accompanied by an introduction explaining the general wine history of the country. In his profiles of individual estates, Parker offers essential geographical information such as grape varietals, average age of the vines, and density of plantation; details about the estate's history and techniques and the wines it produces; visiting information for those who want to see the process up close; and tasting notes on the best recent vintages from each winery. Each profile also includes photographs of the vineyards and the people behind the wines, and labels from their best-known vintages.

Complete with a list of up-and-coming wineries ("Future Stars") and a glossary of wine terms, The World's Greatest Wine Estates is a very special reference for amateurs and connoisseurs alike.

Publishers Weekly

Famed wine critic Parker can make (or break) a winery with his strong, personal opinions. In the introduction to this imposing reference, he justifies his beliefs with a detailed definition of what makes a wine estate great. Parker's opinionated dissertation, both educational and meaningful even to the wine novice, outlines his method for deciding which vineyards and wineries to include here, plus an analysis of how the world of wine has changed in the past 25 years and a tribute to the skill and hard work of the producers. Though Parker has made room for some wines from Australia and the U.S., France dominates the book. The work is divided alphabetically by country (Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, U.S.), with each section beginning with an overview and history of wine making in the area, followed by directory-like details and profiles of selected producers, and commentary on specific vintages, including Parker's trademark point system. In appendixes, Parker includes a glossary of "winespeak" and recommends prospects for the future. With 175 lush photographs, historical and visitor information, and maps and images of wine labels, this work belongs on any oenophile's coffee table. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.



Monday, December 29, 2008

American Brewery or A Fresh Start

American Brewery: From Colonial Evolution to Microbrew Revolution

Author: Bill Yenn

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.-Ben FranklinThe brewing industry has been an integral part of the American fabric from the very beginning. In fact, a brewery was one of the first structures built by early colonists. Because beer was safer to drink than water (having been boiled), it was the drink of choice for all age groups, from breakfast to bedtime. After the young nation won its independence, George Washington declared his support of the beer industry by stating he would henceforth drink only porters brewed in America. This lavishly designed history tells the story of American brewing through wars, tax hikes, Prohibition, consolidation, depression, recession, and the microbrewery boom that revived the industry beginning in the late 1980s. Archival and modern imagery and photographs depict buildings inside and out, workers, the production process, and equipment. In addition, sidebars feature memorabilia, home brewing, and famous recipes from the pilgrims to present. Readers will witness how breweries flourished and suffered like any other American houses of manufacture, from a peak of 4,131 breweries in 1873 to an industry low of 80 in 1983.



Look this: El Paso Chile Companys Texas Border Cookbook or Preserving Our Italian Heritage

A Fresh Start: Accelerate Fat Loss and Restore Youthful Vitality

Author: Susan Smith Jones

What happens to bodies as they age? How and why does energy dwindle over time? Is it possible to recapture a more youthful, healthful way of life? In A Fresh Start, Dr. Susan Smith Jones combines a definitive weight-loss program with the ultimate in health and fitness to create a comprehensive guide to losing weight and creating a more energetic lifestyle. By providing the tools you need to make permanent changes one day at a time, Dr. Smith Jones makes it easy to drop the pounds that accumulate with each passing year and start living more actively. Using a safe, holistic approach that's grounded in hard science, A Fresh Start includes hundreds of healthy, delicious recipes, exercise and fitness tips, ideas for overcoming stress, simple ways to jump-start and maintain an efficient metabolism, insight into the power of the mind, and guides to detoxification, rejuvenation, healing supplements, and revitalization. Make A Fresh Start today and fill your tomorrows with vibrant health.



Rogovs Guide to Israeli Wines 2008 or Small Parties

Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines, 2008

Author: Daniel Rogov

The 2008 edition contains a detailed map of Israel's wine regions; coverage of over 150 wineries; a tasting chart for your own ratings; contact details of all wineries; and almost 1,400 wines tasted, rated and fully described. The guide indicates which of Israel's wines are kosher, provides information on what makes a wine kosher and discusses whether there is a contradiction between good wine and kosher wine. Also in the book, a guide to tasting wines and an essay on dessert wines. In a convenient pocket-sized format, Rogov's Guide To Israeli Wines 2008 rates in detail all available wines from Israel through the 2006 vintage. This is the definitive guide to the entire Israeli wine scene!



Book about: Super Sandwiches or Cooking ala Heart

Small Parties

Author: Marguerite Henderson

From simple buffet fare to elegant dinners with several courses, Small Parties is your guide for all types of entertaining.

A party, whether for two or twelve, creates a sense of intimacy with guests, and these tasty recipes are sure to be a hit!

Buon appetito!



Table of Contents:

5 Acknowledgments

8 Introduction

6 An Afternoon Tea Party for Eight

22 Autumn Harvest Feast for Eight

30 Awards Night Gala for Eight

38 Breakfast at the Cabin for Six

42 Bridal Party Luncheon for Eight to Ten

48 Celebrate the Graduate Buffet for Twelve

54 French Bistro Apres-Ski Party for Six to Eight

60 Fresh from the Farmers Market Dinner for Eight

68 Girls' Night In for Ten

74 Lazy Sunday Afternoon Dinner for Six to Eight

82 Oh Baby, It's Cold Outside Fireside Dinner for Four

90 Spring Has Sprung Dinner for Eight

98 Summer Concert, Picnic, or Beach Party for Eight

106 Weekend in the Mountains for Six

116 Romantic Provencal Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

124 A Taste of the Mediterranean Easter Dinner for Eight

132 Memorial Day Barbecue for Ten

140 Fireworks on the Fourth Gathering for Eight to Twelve

148 Labor Day Fete on the Patio for Ten

156 Let's Give Thanks Dinner for Twelve

166 Sugar Plum and Wassail Party for Twelve

176 Holiday Get-Together for Twelve

188 Index

Jacques Pepins Simple and Healthy Cooking or Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madisons Kitchen

Jacques Pepin's Simple and Healthy Cooking

Author: Jacques Pepin

World-famous chef Jacques Pepin presents a selection of over two hundred healthy recipes. Included are lighter versions of favourite recipes, and low-fat menu plans for every occasion.

Publishers Weekly

The current food scene's emphasis on healthy eating and low-fat consumption has led Pepin, a chef linked most frequently with classic French cuisine, to jump aboard the health bandwagon. Pepin feels it is the responsibility of chefs to guide us in creating low-fat meals. Yet the book is not-strictly speaking-a diet book. The 200 recipes provided are drawn from classic French cuisine. Pepin hasn't totally eliminated high-fat items (e.g., cream), but they appear in smaller proportions than classic cuisine calls for. The author admits that to achieve a balanced diet with 30% or fewer of calories from fat is difficult, and offers tips and shortcuts. His recipes can be combined to create three-course, low-fat lunches and dinners for those who want to lower their fat intake. Each recipe contains a caloric breakdown so readers can pick and choose freely. Recipes are well-written, and many have useful notes. Most recipes can be tackled by anyone, but some are time-consuming. Prevention Book Club main selection. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Ppin's latest book is a collection of recipes that are "not too taxing to the waistline or the heart." His low-fat, low-cholesterol dishes are flavorful, imaginative, and international in inspiration, ranging from Cold Tzatziki Soup to Chicken African-Style to Orecchiette with Red Onion. And many of course are variations or new versions of homey French classics. Almost all are easy to make, and many can be prepared in advance. In addition to 100 color photographs, whimsical watercolor illustrations by Ppin himself appear throughout the book. An essential purchase. [BOMC Homestyle Club main selection.]



Book review: Runners World Guide to Running and Pregnancy or Six Modern Plagues

Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen

Author: Deborah Madison

I love supper. It’s friendly and relaxed. It’s easy to invite people over for supper, for there’s a quality of comfort that isn’t always there with dinner, a meal that suggests more serious culinary expectations—truly a joy to meet, but not all the time. Supper, on the other hand, is for when friends happen to run into each other at the farmers’ market or drop in from out of town. Supper is for Sunday night or a Thursday. Supper can be impromptu, it can be potluck, and it can break the formality of a classic menu. With supper, there’s a willingness to make do with what’s available and to cook and eat simply. It can also be special and beautifully crafted if that’s what you want.
from the Introduction

The author of the bestselling cookbook classic, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, solves the perennial question of what to cook for dinner in her first collection of suppertime solutions, with more than 100 inspiring recipes to enjoy every night of the week.

What’s for supper? For vegetarians and health-conscious nonvegetarians, the quest for recipes that don’t call for meat often can seem daunting. Focusing on recipes for a relaxing evening, Deborah Madison has created an innovative array of main dishes for casual dining. Unfussy but creative, the recipes in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen will bring joy to your table in the form of simple, wholesome, and delicious main dish meals.

These are recipes to savor throughout the week—quick weekday meals as well as more leisurely weekend or company fare—and throughout the year. Theemphasis is on freshness and seasonality in recipes for savory pies and gratins, vegetable stews and braises, pasta and vegetable dishes, crepes and fritters, delicious new ways to use tofu and tempeh, egg dishes that make a supper, hearty cool-weather as well as light warm-weather meals, and a delightful assortment of sandwich suppers.

Recipes include such imaginative and irresistible dishes as Masa Crêpes with Chard, Chiles, and Cilantro; Spicy Tofu with Thai Basil and Coconut Rice Cakes; Lemony Risotto Croquettes with Slivered Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Leeks; and Gnocchi with Winter Squash and Seared Radicchio.

Vegan variations are given throughout, so whether you are a committed vegetarian or a “vegophile” like Deborah Madison herself, you’ll find recipes in this wonderful new collection you will want to cook again and again.

Publishers Weekly

Celebrated vegetarian chef Madison's latest warmly written gem offers everything from quickie suppers to subtle, sophisticated dinner-party dishes while encouraging local, seasonal eating and unfussy kitchen artisanship. Her earthy, vigorous Pasta and Chickpeas with Plenty of Parsley and Garlic comes together in a flash, and is enlivened by the addition of Beluga lentils, a suggestion she makes in her "Variations" column. (It will also convince anyone that whole wheat pasta can be delicious.) The Onion and Rosemary Tart with Fromage Blanc is rich, creamy and gorgeously smooth, with a crisp and flavorful shell. And the Brussels Sprout and Mushroom Ragout with Herb Dumplings employs fresh tarragon to brilliant effect (it flavors both the ragout and the dumplings) to make a kind of sophisticated comfort food that's only slightly too heavy on the sprouts. And if Winter Squash Lasagna with Sage, Walnuts and Black Kale seems too ambitious for a Tuesday night, there's always Wine-Braised Lentils Over Toast or even a Fried-Egg Sandwich. Madison's recipes do call for good kitchen gear (Dutch ovens, double-boilers, numerous gratin pans and casseroles) and some hard-to-find ingredients (fromage blanc, blanched nettles, Thai basil), but they're flexible enough to allow for substitutions. Though not as broad as Madison's James Beard-winning Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone nor as detailed as her classic The Greens Cookbook, this volume is a wonderful addition to any vegetarian or "vegophile" kitchen. (On sale Mar. 29) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.



Sunday, December 28, 2008

Food Drying Techniques or Cholesterol

Food Drying Techniques

Author: Carol W Costenbader

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. 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.



New interesting textbook: Strategic Alliances as Social Facts or Psychology of Legitimacy

Cholesterol: Food, Facts & Recipes

Author: Juliette Kellow

Bring down that cholesterol—deliciously! Lavishly illustrated with photos and packed with helpful sidebars, Cholesterol: Food, Facts and Recipes has all the expert information and up-to-date research you need to control this potential killer.  It’s got practical, detailed advice on what foods to choose and which to avoid, 50 delicious and nutritious recipes that make eating right easy, a selection of the best and most natural ways to lower “bad” cholesterol, and constructive yet simple lifestyle changes to improve your health. Best of all, you don’t necessarily have to give up your favorite foods if you learn how to prepare them right. No one will feel deprived with such dishes as Seared Steak with Mustardy Chips and Rice Pudding with Roast Apricots on the menu!

Cucina of Le Marche or Pomegranates

Cucina of le Marche: A Chef's Treasury of Recipes from Italy's Last Culinary Frontier

Author: Fabio Trabocchi

Named a Best New Chef in America by Food & Wine and Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation, rising star Fabio Trabocchi offers a unique take on his native cuisine, that of the until-now-overlooked Le Marche region of Italy.

Every chef is a product of a place and a tradition. Fabio Trabocchi's soul is in the Italian province of Le Marche. Equidistant from Rome and Florence, Le Marche is on the Adriatic coast, bordered to the north by Emilia-Romagna, to the west by Tuscany and Umbria, and to the south by Lazio and Abruzzo. This geography accounts for the rich variety of Le Marche's food traditions. The first chefs of Le Marche assimilated recipes, ingredients, and techniques from visiting mariners from Greece and North Africa. In his debut cookbook, Trabocchi showcases his signature style of cooking—called "soulful and passionate—not pretentious" by Food & Wine—combining traditional elements of Italian cuisine with a contemporary European sensibility that draws on the many flavors he's experienced throughout his extensive travels and techniques honed at restaurants around the world.

Publishers Weekly

Trabocchi, chef at Maestro in Washington, D.C., is a native son of Le Marche, the Italian region that the New York Times recently deemed "the new Tuscany." Trabocchi grew up in the small town of Santo Stefano, and with assistance from Kaminsky (Pig Perfect) he achieves a lovely style that is rather low-key in comparison to the commanding tone many chefs affect in cookbooks. Trabocchi also does an excellent job of isolating the best, most characteristic recipes from Le Marche, as cucina marchigiana is often difficult to differentiate from that of Umbria or Emilia-Romagna. Yet what makes the food of Le Marche so special is its rustic quality, which is hard to imitate in American kitchens. It's fun to read about dishes like Roasted Suckling Pig Ascolana-Style and Turbot in Smoky Hay, but preparing them may be out of reach ("You will need to get clean green hay from a local farm," instructs the latter recipe). Fried Stuffed Olives Ascolana-Style, one of the region's classics, calls for pitting, stuffing (with a mixture of chicken liver and pork butt) and deep-frying 60 individual olives. There are less labor-intensive choices, such as Ancona's famous fish stew, and Trabocchi includes an excellent discussion of local wines. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.



See also: Zachary Taylor or The Long Loneliness

Pomegranates: 70 Celebratory Recipes

Author: Ann Kleinberg

ANN KLEINBERG has been a food columnist for the Jerusalem Post and has written internationally about Israeli food. She also writes humorously about the cultural differences between America and Israel and has edited several cookbooks. A former New Yorker, Kleinberg currently lives in Israel.
* A fully illustrated celebration of the pomegranate and its many culinary uses, including 70 recipes.
* In two recent and major medical studies, the pomegranate has been shown to be a great source of antioxidants.
* Includes a historical and cultural perspective on the pomegranate.



Saturday, December 27, 2008

Marthas Vineyard Table or Pastery Cook

Martha's Vineyard Table

Author: Jessica B Harris

Martha's Vineyard has long been renowned as a popular vacation destination, but few are aware of the island's rich culinary history. Martha's Vineyard Table celebrates the cuisine of this seaside escape with such treats as Codfish Fritters, Stuffed Quahogs, Corn Pudding, and Cranberry-Apple Crisp. In addition to 80 recipes, Jessica Harris captures the charm of the island's gingerbread cottages, lobster fishermen, artisan fudge shops, and farmers' markets in her short essays on Vineyard life. For the nostalgic visitor and for those who dream of vacationing there, Martha's Vineyard Table brings the island to life.

Publishers Weekly

Harris has focused in the past on writing about African diasporic food traditions, so her tackling of the Martha's Vineyard's food landscape may come as a surprise. The Vineyard Harris knows and loves is infinitely more colorful and diverse than the one most visitors may glimpse when they rent a cottage for a week. Hers is one born of years of home ownership and a deep understanding of the island legacy of African-American homeowners, Portuguese immigrants and Mexican restaurant laborers. Her page-long descriptions of each area of the island capture the essence of Menemsha, Edgartown and Vineyard Haven; readers will instantly feel like insiders. The easy, simply written recipes don't so much reflect quintessential Martha's Vineyard as they reflect Harris's personal background and experiences of a lifetime of weekends and summers, incorporating all cuisines from Jamaican (Red Pea Soup with Spinners-made with kidney beans and dumplings) through Portuguese (Kale Soup with chorizo) to Southern African-American (Corn Fritters), and old island classics like Smoked Bluefish Salad, Quahog Stew and Cranberry-Apple Crisp. Harris's prose, combined with the clean, crisp photos (by Susie Cushner) make a perfect Martha's Vineyard guidebook. Harris instructs where to find the classic summer pies or a good loaf of bread, and what to serve your guests as they laze on the porch with a gin and tonic in one hand and a deviled egg in the other. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.



New interesting textbook: Beginning SharePoint 2007 or Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects

Pastery Cook

Author: Catherine Atkinson

This new book provides a complete guide to making delicious pastry, with plenty of tips and illustrated techniques.



Chado The Way of Tea or Chuck Wagon Cookbook

Chado, The Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac

Author: Sanmi Sasaki

Chado The Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac is a translation of the Japanese classic Sado-saijiki, first published in 1960. Covering tea-related events in Japan throughout the year, Sasaki provides vignettes of festivals and formal occasions, and as well as the traditional contemplative poetry that is a part of the tea ceremony.



Interesting book: Professional C 2008 or SPSS For Dummies

Chuck Wagon Cookbook: Recipes from the Ranch and Range for Today's Kitchen

Author: B Byron Pric

"A cowboy's life is more than steers, saddles, and spurs. There is also food, and lots of it, cooked out in the open after a rugged day on the range. The tradition lives on in the West and at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Here genuine chuck wagon cooks gather each spring to share recipes, stories, and real cowboy fare. This cookbook features their recipes along with a colorful history of ranch and range cooking." Modern cowboy cooking blends simple, down-to-earth flavors with current tastes for a style that retains a distinct Western flavor. All the recipes included here have been adapted for home kitchens, but just in case, there are plenty of tips for preparing meals over an open fire. Ranging from classic cowboy favorites to the avant-garde in Western cuisine, these recipes demonstrate ranch-style cooking at its best.



Friday, December 26, 2008

Barbecues and Other Outdoor Feasts or Church Suppers

Barbecues and Other Outdoor Feasts

Author: Hugo Arnold

and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books

Books about: The Parents Guide to Food Allergies or French Women Dont Get Fat

Church Suppers: 722 Favorite Recipes from Our Church Communities

Author: Barbara Greenman

Church Suppers celebrates gatherings of neighbors, family, and friends with delicious, down-home recipes from all over the United States and Canada. These are the dishes we remember and cherish, that bring us back to a simpler time: Fiesta Dip, Red Flannel Hash, Sloppy Joe Turnovers, Green Bean Casserole, Earthquake Cake, Blueberry Buckle...plus many regional and ethnic foods: Moussaka, Jambalaya, Chiles Relleños, Babka, Cannoli, and more. And because the recipes come from real people with bustling families, busy work schedules, imperfect kitchens, and realistic budgets, they are easy to prepare and focus as much on simplicity as they do on taste.

Full of local flavor and rounded out with line drawings and anecdotes about the contributing churches, Church Suppers is a delightful addition to any home kitchen.



Cupcakes or Out of the East

Cupcakes

Author: Susannah Blak

There's something irresistible about cupcakes, whether it's the pretty frosting or the childhood memories they evoke. Here, Susannah Blake offers a delightful collection of delicious little cakes. Begin with easy-to-make Simple Cupcakes. From classic Maple and Pecan Cupcakes to melt-in-the-mouth Orange and Almond Cupcakes, you won't be able to resist whipping up a batch. Celebration Cupcakes offer a new take on tradition. How about a tower of snowy-white Wedding Cupcakes, a plate of Christmas Cupcakes, or even adding some sparkle to your 4th July party with a plateful of Firework Cupcakes? When you need a little comfort, turn to Indulgent Cupcakes. Gooey Chocolate and Hazelnut Cupcakes offer a taste of heaven, while Coffee and Praline Cupcakes make an elegant treat. For a simple dessert, whip up a batch of Fresh Fruit Cupcakes.



Interesting textbook: Simplifying Sugar Flowers or Early American Herb Recipes

Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination

Author: Paul Freedman

The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade. It inspired geographical and commercial exploration ,as traders pursued such common spices as pepper and cinnamon and rarer aromatic products, including ambergris and musk. Ultimately, the spice quest led to imperial missions that were to change world history.

 

This engaging book explores the demand for spices: why were they so popular, and why so expensive?  Paul Freedman surveys the history, geography, economics, and culinary tastes of the Middle Ages to uncover the surprisingly varied ways that spices were put to use—in elaborate medieval cuisine, in the treatment of disease, for the promotion of well-being, and to perfume important ceremonies of the Church. Spices became symbols of beauty, affluence, taste, and grace, Freedman shows, and their expense and fragrance drove the engines of commerce and conquest at the dawn of the modern era.

 



Table of Contents:
Preface     ix
Introduction: Spices: A Global Commodity     1
Spices and Medieval Cuisine     19
Medicine: Spices as Drugs     50
The Odors of Paradise     76
Trade and Prices     104
Scarcity, Abundance, and Profit     130
"That Damned Pepper": Spices and Moral Danger     146
Searching for the Realms of Spices     164
Finding the Realms of Spices: Portugal and Spain     193
Conclusion: The Rise and Fall of Spices     215
Notes     227
Bibliography     245
Index     259

The Cambridge World History of Food or Homebrewing Volume I

The Cambridge World History of Food (2 Volume Set)

Author: Kenneth F Kipl

An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental, two-volume work encapsulates much of what is known of the history of food and nutrition throughout the span of human life on earth. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and culture.

Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related policy issues we face today, this work covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional makeup and uses; and their impact on cultures and demography. It offers a geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to quesitons of food toxins, additives, labeling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant foods mentioned in the text—over 1,000 in all—and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods.

The essays in this volume are the work of 220 experts in fifteen countries, in fields from agronomy to zoology. Every chapter is accompanied by bibliographical references.

Cuisine

An essential addition to the library of any serious chef, culinary educator, or devotee of fine cuisine.

Journal of the American Medical Association

Who can profit from this encyclopedia? All of us! Anyone working in an area related to food will find it useful. While the discussions are not exhaustive, they point the way to the expert literature. Anyone who writes or talks about nutrition or food can dip into these books and come out with some gem that will spice up their presentation. At $150, these volumes are a steal and should be on the shelf of anyone interested in any phase of food science. This reviewer really enjoyed the assignment!

Publishers Weekly

It seems inconceivable that the editors and 224 international experts who contributed to this tour de force would suggest that our Paleolithic ancestors ate healthier than humans did up to 100 years ago, but they bolster their claim with facts: because they were hunter-gatherers, our Paleolithic forebears did not stay in one place long enough to pollute the local water with waste, nor did they come to rely on one primary source of food (and thus limit their access to vitamins and proteins). In addition to looking at the relationship between what we eat today and what humans ate millions of years ago, Kiple and Ornelas explore every type of food and food supplement, the cultural history of food, opposing views of vegetarianism, and related contemporary policy issues such as the argument over food labeling. With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource. The only quibble a reader may have, which the editors readily acknowledge, is that despite its claim to be a global study, the primary focus of their work is on the U.S. and Europe, but that is because more information on the history of foods in these areas is available than anywhere else. Serious students of health and anthropology, as well as libraries, provide an obvious market for this two-volume treatise. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Bringing together contributions from 224 experts writing on the "full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated," editors Kiple (Bowling Green State Univ.) and Ornelas have created an outstanding new reference source. Divided into two volumes, it is composed of chapters that are then further subdivided to cover a wide range of food- and nutrition-related topics, such as the foods our ancestors ate, the domestication and development of staple plant and animal foods, nutrient deficiencies and surfeits, and contemporary food-related policy issues. The final section is a "dictionary" with brief entries for 1000 plant foods mentioned elsewhere in the text. This reference shares some elements with The Oxford Companion to Food (LJ 10/15/99), but there are also significant differences. In the Oxford volume, for instance, the alphabetically arranged entries include such dishes as karabij, marmalade, and lasagna, while the Cambridge set covers topics like famine, food psychology, and food fads. Even when both books explore the same topic, such as apples, the amount and type of information provided vary enough that most readers would want to look at both sources. Both offer information on the cuisine of different countries, but while the Oxford volume gives each country a separate entry, the Cambridge set discusses some individually and combines others under broader geographic divisions, such as Southeast Asia. When it comes to the foods of different countries and regions, the Cambridge set provides more comprehensive information but on more specialized topics, such as apricots or pears, while the Oxford volume offers more details overall. Small public libraries on a tight budget might have to opt for just the Oxford volume, but all other libraries will want both sources in their reference collections. The Cambridge World History of Food is a remarkable work of scholarship and is highly recommended. (Subject index not seen.) [Until March 31, 2001, the price is $150.--Ed.]--John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

New York Times - Florence Fabricant

...the inquisitive food lover will find much to sift through, from the beginning chapter on what ancient people ate, to one on contemporary food-policy issues....as such works go, this is one of the more thought-provoking.

What People Are Saying

Jared Diamond
This treasure trove of knowledge about food is so interesting and useful that I have only one regret. I wish that it had been available earlier, to spare me (and you) the effort of tracking down hundreds of different sources now summarized here. Whether you are a cook, gourmet, or glutton, an archaeologist, physiologist, or historian, you will be browsing these two volumes for years to come.
— (Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Professor of Physiology, UCLA School of Medicine)


Donald Worster
An endless source of knowledge and insight.
— (Donald Worster, University of Kansas)




Table of Contents:

Part I. Determining What Our Ancestors Ate;

Part II. Staple Foods;

Part III. Dietary Liquids;

Part IV. The Nutrients - Deficiencies and Surfeits;

Part V. Food and drink around the world;

Part VI. History, Nutrition, and Health;

Part VII. Contemporary Food-Related Policy Issues;

Part VIII. A Dictionary of the World's Plant Foods.

Books about:

Homebrewing Volume I: Beginner Basics to Creating Your Own Award-Winning Recipes

Author: Al Korzonas

Al Korzonas is one of the most knowledgeable writers in the field of amateur brewing. He has been brewing since 1987, has won over 100 awards for his beers, has written many articles on beer and brewing, and has attained the rank of Master in the Beer Judge Certification Program. This book is unique in that the reader need only read chapter two to brew their very first batch of beer. Al explains all aspects of brewing in terms that anyone can understand and provides more troubleshooting information than most of the other homebrewing books combined. The book is fully referenced, contains more than 50 recipes and an entire chapter dedicated to teaching the reader how to create their own original recipes.


About the Author

Al Korzonas has been critically tasting and researching beer since 1979, after his first trip to Britain, Belgium and Germany. He holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering and supports his homebrewing habit by working as a software developer at Lucent Technologies - Bell Labs Innovations. Al has worked as a technical editor for Zymurgy magazine and is currently a technical consultant. He is a frequent contributor to the Homebrew Digest, Brewer's Forum, Lambic Digest, JudgeNet, and Advanced Topics in Brewing electronic "newsletters," and has written several articles for Zymurgy and Brewing Techniques. Al is an active member of the Chicago Beer Society (1996 AHA Homebrew Club of the Year), Brewers of South Suburbia, Urban Knaves of Grain, and Headhunters homebrew clubs, has achieved the rank of Master Judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program, and is a member of the BJCP scoresheet and style guideline subcommittees. A serious homebrewer since 1987, Al's beers have earned him over one hundred ribbons at homebrew competitions throughout the US including several in the American Homebrewers Association National Competition. His 7-Grain E.S.B. was selected Champion Beer at the 1995 CBS Midwest Invitational Brew-Off both by popular vote and by Michael Jackson. Al lives in Homer Glen, Illinois with his wife Karen and is owner of Sheaf & Vine, which publishes books and sells specialty brewing supplies.

Homebrew Digest #2625, Sunday 01 February 1998 - Sam Mize

Overall, an excellent reference for brewers at a broad range of expertise. I've been extract brewing (and reading like crazy) for a couple of years. I still wound up with a page of references to new ideas and useful info, and that's not counting the recipe and materials tables. My only "must-read" is the Bible but I'd certainly recommend this to anyone on [The Homebrew Digest], or as a first book on brewing.



Thursday, December 25, 2008

Endless Feasts or Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy

Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet

Author: Ruth Reichl

Contributors to endless feasts include:
James Beard/Cooking with James Beard: Pasta
Ray Bradbury/Dandelion Wine
Robert P. Coffin/Night of Lobster
Laurie Colwin/A Harried Cook’s Guide to Some Fast Food
Pat Conroy/The Romance of Umbria
Elizabeth David/Edouard de Pomiane
M.F.K. Fisher/Three Swiss Inns
Ruth Harkness/In a Tibetan Lamasery
Madhur Jaffrey/An Indian Reminiscence
Anita Loos/Cocktail Parties of the Twenties
George Plimpton/I, Bon Vivant, Who, Me?
E. Annie Proulx/The Garlic War
Claudia Roden/The Arabian Picnic
Jane and Michael Stern/Two for the Road: Havana, North Dakota
Paul Theroux/All Aboard! Cross the Rockies in Style

Author Biography:



New interesting textbook:

Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy

Author: Domenica Marchetti

Italian cooks are masters of the art of preparing simmering soups and stews that showcase seasonal ingredients at their very best. Domenica Marchetti reveals their secrets with The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy, a collection of more than 60 exceptional, authentic recipes that celebrate each season in the Italian tradition. On a rainy day in fall, nothing takes the chill off like a bowl of Crema di Ceci con Maltagliati, a hearty, rustic soup of puréed chickpeas and pasta drizzled with fresh olive oil. In winter, La Genovese di Signora Venditti, a rich ragu of slow-cooked beef and sweet onions, will surely lift the spirits. Vellutata di Asparagi con Orzo Perlato, a delicately flavored, creamy soup of tender asparagus, sweet fennel, and pearled barley makes a perfect spring welcome. And when summer comes, Zuppa di Cozze e Vongole Piccante, a spicy stew of mussels, clams, and ripe garden tomatoes is perfect for a casual dinner party. With practical information on equipment, seasonal and pantry ingredients, and a delicious mix of vanishing classics, regional specialties, treasured family recipes, and contemporary creations, The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy is a book to be savored throughout the year.



Baby Shower Games or Introduction to Foodservice

Baby Shower Games: Fun Party Games and Helpful Tips for the Hostess

Author: Sharron Wood

This versatile party-pad is a must-have for the baby shower hostess. With enough sheets for a party of 15, this collection of eight classic and updated shower games are sure to delight a wide variety of guests and help everyone celebrate the mother-to-be and her coming bundle of joy.



Go to: Spice and Herb Bible or Wine Cellars

Introduction to Foodservice

Author: June Payne Palacio

Introduction to Foodservice, Tenth Edition is a practice-based textbook designed specifically for students studying foodservice management in four-year degree programs or technical colleges. The material is appropriate for higher education programs in dietetics, foodservice administration, and hospitality management. The text includes the essential information to understand and manage any type of foodservice operation in both the commercial and noncommercial sectors of the foodservice industry.

The book is organized into five parts. Part 1 provides an informative, historical overview of the foodservice industry and a review of foodservice as a system. Part 2 presents the fundamentals of foodservice that form the foundation of any operation. Included are chapters on food safety and menu planning. Part 3 serves as the heart of the text by providing a description of each functional operation of a foodservice operation in relation to the systems model. Part 4 emphasizes the physical plant and covers facility design, equipment, and environmental management. The book concludes with Part 5, which is a presentation of the linking processes used to manage foodservice operations. Included here are chapters on leadership, performance improvement, and marketing.

Unique features of this book include:
  • Integration of the systems model into each chapter
  • The latest information on food safety and HACCP
  • A progressive case study with critical thinking questions for practical application of chapter contents
  • A list of review questions at the end of each chapter
  • A runningglossary for easy access to word definitions
  • A 16-page four color insert

Booknews

A text on all aspects of both noncommercial and commercial foodservice, for introductory courses in food service management. Coverage encompasses foodservice organizations, quantity food production and service, physical facilities, and organization and administration. Learning features include detailed key concepts, summaries, and review questions, plus a glossary, b&w photos, and appendices on cooking methods and equipment. This eighth edition contains new material on food safety, facilities management, and quality management, and comes with a new instructor's manual. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.



Table of Contents:
1Foodservice Organizations1
1The Foodservice Industry3
2Types of Foodservice Operations28
2Quantity Food Production and Service47
3Food Safety49
4The Menu: The Focal Point of the Foodservice Operation87
5Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage115
6Production Management166
7Assembly, Distribution, and Service199
3Physical Facilities227
8Cleaning, Sanitation, and Facility Safety229
9Environmental Management266
10Facilities Planning and Design279
11Equipment and Furnishings332
4Organization and Administration363
12Designing and Managing the Organization365
13Staffing and Managing Human Resources391
14Administrative Leadership433
15Work Improvement and Productivity457
16Financial Management485
17Marketing and Promotions in Foodservice Organizations521
Appendix APrinciples of Basic Cooking543
Appendix BFoodservice Equipment556

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Food Fuel Fitness or Our Favorite Pasta Recipes Cookbook

Food - Fuel - Fitness: Healthy Living with Food Demineralization

Author: Wendy Lou Jones

Food – Fuel – Fitness, Healthy Living with Food Demineralization, 2nd Edition, was updated with a larger selection of foods, especially designed to fit a broader global audience of individuals who must, for the sake of their health, control the amounts of sodium, potassium, and phosphorus in their diets.

Today, more then 20 million Americans and over 200 million worldwide, are afflicted with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), at least 40% of whom are diabetics. In many, CKD will progress to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and the need for dialysis. More than 350,000 in the U.S. and one million globally have already been forced into an endless cycle of dialysis just to stay alive.

Traditionally, those with failing kidneys are told to severely restrict the numbers and the amounts of foods containing substantial amounts of sodium, potassium and/or phosphorus in attempts to avert potentially life-threatening mineral imbalances. Such restrictions often lead to a chronic state of malnutrition, anemia, and weight loss. Food – Fuel – Fitness offers the reader a genuine opportunity to positively impact their nutritional profile and health, with user-friendly instructions and exciting recipe "starter" ideas.

The first edition of Food – Fuel – Fitness, was evaluate in a small cross-country study with ESRD patients. The study, funded in part through an American Dietetic Association – Renal Practice Group grant, looked at the acceptance and success of practicing at-home food mineral reduction. Study results showed that 92% of participants were able to achieved measurable mineral reduction through the use of these self-help instructions.



See also: Facilitating the Project Lifecycle or Behavioral Trading

Our Favorite Pasta Recipes Cookbook

Author: Gooseberry Patch

With over 60 delicious recipes and as many time-saving tips, Gooseberry Patch's Our Favorite Breakfast and Brunch Recipes comes in a convenient size for taking along on-the-go and giving as a gift. The book features charming, original hand-drawn illustrations too.



Luscious Lemon Desserts or Spice

Luscious Lemon Desserts

Author: Lori Longbotham

Lemon sweets are the divas of desserts. Assertive and bold, lemons can be flamboyant, tart, and tangy as in the Lemon Granita or sweet, mellow, and velvety like the creamy Lemon Panna Cotta. Over 70 recipes—from the classics to lip-smacking new favorites—are all enticingly presented in Luscious Lemon Desserts. These recipes vary from the simple to the sublime, from the quick and easy to the most elaborate showstoppers. Author Lori Longbotham provides great tips on buying, storing, and using this most popular fruit. Whether it's a fast and fabulous lemon pudding or a Mile-High Lemon Angel Food Cake, the name says it all: Luscious Lemon Desserts. Yum!

Publishers Weekly

"Lemon" especially when applied to cars is often used as a term of derogation. But Lori Longbotham, former Gourmet magazine editor, has better ideas about this beautiful fruit, and her Luscious Lemon Desserts explores lemon cakes, pies, puddings, custards, cookies, ice creams, shortcakes, cr pes, truffles, peels, curds, popsicles, confections and sauces with panache and, well, zest. Over 70 recipes for decadent treats Profiteroles, Chilled Lemon Souffle, Chocolate Ganache Tart with Lots of Lemon, Luscious Lemon and Blueberry Tiramisu, Lemon Cr me Br l e, Lemon Mascarpone-Clementine Gratins and Lemon Sorbet-Filled Lemons accompanied by mesmerizing color photos, convincingly make Longbotham's point that "lemons are the divas of desserts." This book offers some of the same tips on buying and zesting lemons as Lemon Zest, but otherwise there's impressively little overlap between the two. Anyone craving summer desserts will find these recipes mouthwateringly irresistible. ( July 1) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The former food editor for Gourmet and author of Better by Microwave gives lemon lovers what they have been looking for in this first-ever cookbook dedicated exclusively to lemon desserts. She presents over 70 recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, cookies, ice cream, and sorbets. Included in this appealing volume are classics such as Lemon Squares and the Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake, as well as new treats like Ethereal Lemon Angel Pie, Lemon Meringue Ice-Cream Cake, and Luscious Lemon and Blueberry Tiramisu. Recipes range from simple to complex and include suggestions for advance preparation and serving. There are also tips on buying, storing, and using lemons and baking tips and techniques. Dozens of vibrant and tempting color photographs illustrate the finished recipes and an attractive design makes this book a pleasure to read and use. Highly recommended. Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.



Table of Contents:
Introduction6
Lemon Aid--Lemon Dessert Basics9
Let Them Eat Lemon Cake19
Tart Pies and Tangy Tarts36
Puddings, Custards, and a Souffle62
Special Favorites83
Cookies97
Frozen Lemon Desserts112
Confections and Sauces129
Index141
Table of Equivalents144

Book review:

Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean

Author: Ana Sortun

On a trip to Turkey as a young woman, chef Ana Sortun fell in love with the food and learned the traditions of Turkish cooking from local women. Inspired beyond measure, Sortun opened her own restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the award-winning Oleana, where she creates her own interpretations of dishes incorporating the incredible array of delicious spices and herbs used in eastern regions of the Mediterranean.

In this gorgeously photographed book, Sortun shows readers how to use this philosophy of spice to create wonderful dishes in their own homes. She reveals how the artful use of spices and herbs rather than fat and cream is key to the full, rich flavors of Mediterranean cuisine -- and the way it leaves you feeling satisfied afterward. The book is organized by spice, detailing the ways certain spices complement one another and how they flavor other foods and creating in home cooks a kind of sense-memory that allows for a more intuitive use of spice in their own dishes. The more than one hundred tantalizing spice categories and recipes include: 

  • Beef Shish Kabobs with Sumac Onions and Parsley Butter
  • Chickpea and Potato Terrine Stuffed with Pine Nuts, Spinach, Onion, and Tahini
  • Crispy Lemon Chicken with Za'atar
  • Golden Gazpacho with Condiments
  • Fried Haloumi Cheese with Pear and Spiced Dates

Absolutely alive with spices and herbs, Ana Sortun's recipes will intrigue and inspire readers everywhere.

Library Journal

Kurihari is wildly popular in Japan, where she has a cooking magazine, a line of housewares, and several best-selling cookbooks in print. She has sometimes been called Japan's Martha Stewart, but, as evidenced by her first book to be published here, she has a more down-to-earth, straightforward style. True, she does have a large collection of serving dishes and plates, but that is in large part a reflection of the Japanese aesthetic sense--the emphasis on "variety, seasonality, and presentation" that, Harumi believes, is what makes the cuisine unique. She presents both classic Japanese dishes and more contemporary recipes, often influenced by other cuisines, from Japanese Pepper Steak with Ginger Mashed Potatoes to Tofu with Basil and Gorgonzola Dressing. She also includes a mini-tutorial on sushi, illustrated with step-by-step photographs, and there are color photographs, many full-page, of all the recipes. An unintimidating, informed, and quite engaging introduction to a cuisine few Americans cook at home, this this book is recommended for most collections. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.



Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Texas Home Cooking or Pure Chocolate

Texas Home Cooking

Author: Cheryl Alters Jamison

The definitive guide to Lone Star cookery, with over 400 recipes.

Library Journal

This undertaking by the authors of The Rancho Chimayo Cookbook ( LJ 11/15/92) offers more than 400 recipes from every region and subculture of their home state. A section on Texas classics includes recipes for ``real'' barbeque, lots of chili, Tex-Mex favorites, and chicken-fried steak and other cowboy fare; ``Lone Star Specialties'' covers breakfasts, desserts, and Super Bowl menus; and in between are lots of meat dishes, relishes and condiments, and side dishes. Headnotes and sidebars are fun and folksy (too much so at times). Stephan Pyles's The New Texas Cuisine ( LJ 4/15/93) provides an individual interpretation of Texas cooking; the Jamisons' book is a more wide-ranging version. For most collections.



Book review: Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook or When French Women Cook

Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran's Chocolates

Author: Fran Bigelow

Advance praise for Pure Chocolate

“To feast your eyes on Fran’s delectable chocolate creations and read her expertly written recipes will send you into the kitchen at once!”
—Chuck Williams, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

“I’ve been enjoying Fran Bigelow’s chocolates and chocolate desserts for almost twenty years and have long thought of her as one of the finest chocolate makers in the world. I rejoice at her wonderful book—when Fran writes a chapter about ‘everything you need to know about chocolate’ you can be sure it’s brilliantly the real thing. And her recipes are tried and true, inspired, and delicious. No real chocolate lover should be without this book.”
—Nick Malgieri, author of Perfect Cakes and Chocolate

“Every chocolate-lover will cherish this extraordinary book. Fran Bigelow—pure perfectionist, pure artist, pure innovator—shares her legendary expertise through her sumptuous recipe collection—the key to 100 percent pure pleasure!”
—Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet Miniatures

“Fran Bigelow’s recipes are irresistible—and many are surprisingly easy. I think this is a great book.”
—Richard Callebaut

“The recipes in this book are the culmination of more than twenty years of chocolate mastery, as Fran shares all her secrets to achieving pure chocolate perfection.”
—Joan Steuer, founding editor, Chocolatier magazine

Publishers Weekly

Artisanal chocolatier and baker Bigelow, who owns Fran's Chocolates in Seattle, knows her bean, and it shows in this generous, appealing collection of chocolate recipes. Many of her signature treats boast finishing touches that add a bit of glamour: Her L'Orange, a fruit and nut torte, is topped with Chocolate Butter Glaze and is "pebbly with almonds"; an entire chapter of "Silken Dessert Sauces" such as Chocolate Espresso Sauce offers quick finishes with oomph. Bigelow has a professional's eye, seen in White Chocolate Coconut Cream Bars that show off pretty stripes from the side, and Triple Chocolate Pyramid, constructed by cutting a rectangular cake into two triangles, then stacking them against each other, but she's sympathetic to the home cook, too, immediately offering a list of easy recipes that'll deliver "a quick chocolate hit." After a clear explanation of tempering chocolate, Bigelow whips off a list of Quick Treats with Tempered Chocolate, like Dipped Cherries and Nut Clusters. While all these confections are inventive-Dylan's Birthday Cake hides a chocolate filling made tangy with cr me fra che; Brie White Chocolate Cheesecake proposes an intriguing combination-none are silly or gaudy. General information on such topics as working with chocolate and holding a chocolate tasting are equally commonsense, never condescending. 40 photos. Agent, Judith Riven. (On sale Oct. 12) Forecast: Bigelow has made a name for herself beyond the Seattle area with an active Web site (www.franschocolates.com), which may attract readers beyond regional fans. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Fran's Chocolates, based in Seattle, is known for its truffles and other chocolate confections, including her Gold Bar (which may be the best chocolate bar in the world). But when owner-confectioner Bigelow opened her first store, it was a pastry shop. Here are recipes for her delectable cookies and bars, tarts and tortes, cakes, truffles, sauces, and other sweets, from White Chocolate Coconut Cream Bars to Almost Burnt Sugar Ice Cream. Mouthwatering color photographs make the book even more irresistible. A good companion to Alice Medrich's Bittersweet, another chocolate memoir, this is recommended for all baking collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.



Baby Showers or Art of Food Sculpture

Baby Showers

Author: Jennifer Adams

From a Sunday brunch, a fancy luncheon, or a relaxed evening get-together, these handy party guides offer creative ideas and simple, sound advice to make life's most important celebrations something to remember.

  • Party favors
  • Plus 50 recipes for appetizers, lunch, dinner, drinks and more Learn how to incorporate the details that make the difference:
  • Always use real flowers.
  • Find a little trinket--ornament, a button, a fresh flower, sprig of rosemary--to tie to the ribbon on packages.
  • Freeze raspberries in ice cubes for your punch.
  • Serve food in striking dishes, like orange sherbet in a hollowed out orange half, or tropical fruit salad in a fresh coconut half.
  • Incorporate holidays when you can. Give shower favors away in small, stylized stockings at Christmastime; decorate with fresh potted Shamrocks for a shower near St. Patrick's day
  • Give fresh potted herbs as favors. In a small pot, miniature galvanized tin bucket, window box, or other creative container, plant a fragrant fresh herb, such as rosemary, lavender, mint, sage, or lemon verbena.



Table of Contents:

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Baby Shower Basics

Themes

Invitations

Decorations

Games

Recipes

Appetizers

Brunches

Lunches

Desserts

Drinks

Favors

Details

Go to: Blogging For Dummies or Scott Kelbys 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3

Art of Food Sculpture

Author: Yuci Tan

When life hands you lemons, make butterflies! This color illustrated guide for the beginning food sculptor explores different carving techniques and offers a broad range of projects simple enough for anyone to accomplish, beautiful enough to astonish any guest. Likewise, the experienced food sculptor will find this book a gold mine of ideas. It's packed with images and stencil templates for creating amazing table centerpieces, plus plate and platter garnishes. Trained in the capital of China, Yuci Tan brings Oriental design to edible food sculptures. Deli slices never looked so good, and who would ever have thought a honeydew melon could be so versatile. Simple tomatoes and cucumbers become works of art, and hard boiled eggs, apples, and eggplants are transformed into charming characters, tropical fish, and elegant flowers. And here, finally, is the solution to that annual conundrum - what to do with the garden's overabundance of zucchini. Explore the possibilities!



Corn Free Cookbook and Survival Guide or Bakers Field Guide to Christmas Cookies

Corn-Free Cookbook and Survival Guide

Author: Laurel Lee Steel

Hundreds of thousands of people cannot eat corn. Being allergic or intolerant of corn, they repeatedly request a corn-free cookbook from bookstores, but until now there have been none. The Corn-Free Cookbook & Survival Guide now fills that need.
 
The numbers of corn-sensitive people are growing rapidly. At the same time, most packaged food contains corn derivatives, and hundreds of everyday food additives are made from corn. Thus it is incredibly difficult to avoid corn in one's diet. Surprisingly, corn is one of the top three causes of food intolerance in people.
 
The Corn-Free Cookbook & Survival Guide has more than 150 corn-free recipes with many variations for differences of taste. It provides recipes for quick meals, breads and grains, veggies and salads, fruits and fruit salads, meats and fish, beans and eggs, milk and cheese, casseroles, soups, and desserts.
 
The cookbook also teaches the survival skills people need when they must avoid corn, including how to read labels quickly, easily, and accurately. It also shows how to shop defensively (safely) at grocery stores, how to plan meals and customize recipes, how to add flavor with seasonings, and explain the difference between a corn allergy and a corn intolerance, and how to avoid corn at social events, restaurants, and while traveling.
 
In addition, The Corn-Free Cookbook & Survival Guide summarizes current medical knowledge about food reactions, including hard-to-find information about food intolerance. As such, it is the perfect tool for families and friends of people with corn allergies.



Look this: Cooking with Spices for Dummies or Entertaining

Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies

Author: Dede Wilson

More than 75 favorite Christmas cookies from around the world will keep you making memories through many happy holiday seasons. This special field guide format gives you quick reference to the details of each cookie "species," including its Habitat (country of origin), Field Notes (helpful information), Lifespan (how long it will keep), and Related Species (recipe variations). You will also see at a glance which cookies are especially fun to make with kids and which are quick to prepare, which freeze well and ship well, and much more. And there are even creative tips on hosting a Christmas cookie decorating party or a cookie swap!

Library Journal

Author of Christmas for Dummies, among other titles, Wilson here uses the device of a field guide to present 75 Christmas cookie recipes, from Aloha Bars to Linzer Tarts to Victoria Currant Cookies. Each recipe includes "habitat" (i.e., country of origin), "field notes" (e.g., cook's tips), "lifespan" (storage information), and a color photograph. Various icons indicate which ones are especially quick, good for making with kids, sturdy enough to mail, and the like. Although the conceit seems a bit contrived, home bakers are always looking for new cookie recipes around the holidays. For most baking collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.



Monday, December 22, 2008

Our Favorite Appetizer Recipes or The Stenciled Strawberry Cookbook

Our Favorite Appetizer Recipes

Author: Gooseberry Patch

Our favorites are your favorites! This purse-perfect cookbook from our latest collection is chock-full of mouthwatering recipes...try tastebud tempting appetizers like delicious chili corn dip, spicy honey chicken wings, waikiki meatballs and chocolate chip cheese ball. We've also tucked in clever serving, prep and party tips for sharing all the good food & fun in Our Favorite Appetizer Recipes Cookbook.



Books about: Introduction to Information Technology or Global and Transnational Business

The Stenciled Strawberry Cookbook: Patterns for Fine Dining

Author: Junior League of Albany N Y Inc Staf

Originally published in 1985, The Stenciled Strawberry features over 1,100 recipes from sophisticated gourmet meals from the Capital Districts leading restaurants to family recipes lovingly passed from one generation to the next. All cookbook proceeds support the League's mission and focus area of women and children's health issues.



A Handbook of Native American Herbs or Taste of the Past

A Handbook of Native American Herbs

Author: Alma R Hutchens

This authoritative guide—based on the author's classic reference work, Indian Herbalogy of North America —is a portable illustrated companion for the professional and amateur herbalist alike. It provides detailed descriptions of 125 of the most useful medicinal plants commonly found in North America, along with directions for a range of uses, remedies for common ailments, and notes on the herbal traditions of other lands. Entries include staples of folk medicine such as echinacea and slippery elm as well as common kitchen herbs—such as parsley, thyme, and pepper—whose tonic and healing properties are less widely known.



Look this: Introduction to Executive Protection or The Marketers Guide to Successful Package Design

Taste of the Past: The Daily Life and Cooking of a Nineteenth-Century Hungarian-Jewish Homemaker

Author: Andras Koerner

A Taste of the Past is an entertaining reconstruction of the daily life and household of Therese (Riza) Baruch (1851-1938), the great-grandmother of the author, Andras Koerner. Based on an unusually complete cache of letters, recipes, personal artifacts, and eyewitness testimony, Koerner describes in loving detail the domestic life of a nineteenth-century Hungarian Jewish woman, with special emphasis on the meals she served her family.

Based on Riza's letters, part one offers an imaginative sketch of growing up in a religious middle-class family in the 1860s and 70s in an industrial town in western Hungary. Part one also describes Riza's reactions to the dilemmas posed by the early signs of Jewish assimilation. In part two, the heart of the book, Riza has married, moved to a smaller town near the Austrian border, and become the central figure of a large household. Koerner recreates a typical day in the life of Riza and her family, peppering his narrative with recipes of the food she served for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon coffee-and-cake, and the much more modest evening meal.

Riza's family was religious, and Koerner also describes the special foods (pike in sour aspic, cholent, apple-matzo kugel, and much more) she served to celebrate the Sabbath and the six major Jewish holidays. Short introductions to the recipes describe the evolution of the dishes through the centuries, their role in Jewish culture, and how cultural influences and religious traditions shaped Riza's cooking.

More than 125 evocative pen-and-ink illustrations bring Riza's story and her food to life. A Taste of the Past offers an enchanting look at Jewish daily life in westernHungary in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a time when middle-class Jews were increasingly assimilated into mainstream Hungarian life and culture. Such small-town Jewish life had completely disappeared due to the Holocaust. Koerner's book revives this lost world and invites the reader to be a guest in Riza's house to watch her caring for her family, shopping, cooking, and preparing for the holidays. By offering easy-to-follow updated versions of her recipes, the book also allows readers to savor Riza's dishes and desserts in their own kitchens, thus completing this experience of a visit to the past.



Sunday, December 21, 2008

Simple French Food or Bread Machines For Dummies

Simple French Food

Author: James Beard

Simple French Food
"For twenty years Richard Olney's Simple French Food has been one of my greatest sources of inspiration for cooking at Chez Panisse." —Alice Waters

"I know this book almost by heart. It is a classic of honest French cooking and good writing. Buy it, read it, eat it." —Lydie Marshall

"I need this new edition badly because Simple French Food is the most dog-eared, falling-apart book in my library. Here it is newly bound to enrich one's life." —Kermit Lynch, author of Adventures on the Wine Route

"Simple French Food has the most marvelous French food to appear in print since Elisabeth David's French Provincial Cooking.... The book's greatest virtue is that the author...really teaches you to cook French in a way I've never seen before. Here you acquire the methods, the tour de main, the tricks that are the heart and essence of French food, unforgettable once acquired in this book because of their logical, well-explained presentation." —Nika Hazelton, The New York Times

"I am unable to find an ad equate adjective to express my enthusiasm.... I find Simple French Food marvelous. I have never read a book on French cuisine that has so excited and absorbed me." —Simone Beck



Look this: Party Dips or The Wee Little Irish Drinking Companion

Bread Machines For Dummies

Author: Glenna Vanc

The easy way to create tasty homemade bread. It's easy to enjoy the pleasure of freshly baked bread-every day if you want-with just the touch of a button. With this friendly guide to bread machine baking, Glenna Vance and Tom Lacalamita detail the special features of various machines and share foolproof techniques for making delicious bread. Inside this fun and easy guide are 75 multiple-machine-tested recipes for a wide variety of breads beyond white, including whole wheat, sourdough nut breads, holiday breads-even gluten-free breads.

About the Authors:

Glenna Vance (Franklin, Wisconsin) works at Red Star Yeast developing and implementing consumer assistance programs. She is also a food writer, cooking instructor, and recipe developer.

Tom Lacalamita (New York, New York) is the author of five cookbooks based on appliance cookery. Vice President of the Bread Machine Industry Association, he has been featured on Good Morning America, CNBC, and NPR.



Table of Contents:
Recipes at a Glance.

Introduction.

PART I: HOMEMADE BREAD FROM THE BREAD MACHINE.

Chapter 1. Why an Automatic Bread Machine?

Chapter 2. Breads for a Healthy Diet.

PART II: GETTING THE BEST RESULTS FROM YOUR BREAD MACHINE.

Chapter 3. Flours for Breads.

Chapter 4. The Miracle of Yeast.

Chapter 5. Liquids: The Ingredients That Make It All Come Together.

Chapter 6. Sugar 'n' Spice and All Things Nice.

Chapter 7. Measuring 101.

Chapter 8. Working with Dough.

Chapter 9. The Rest of the Story.

PART III: BREAD AUTOMATICALLY WITH THE PUSH OF A BUTTON.

Chapter 10. Basic Breads.

Chapter 11. Hearty and Whole-Grain Breads.

Chapter 12. Super Fast Cycles.

Chapter 13. Celebrate the Seasons.

Chapter 14. Breads Extraordinaire.

Chapter 15. Bread Bowls, Bread Sticks, Pizzas, and Other Special Treats.

Chapter 16. Quick Breads.

chapter 17. Betty's Quick Breads.

Chapter 18. Breads for Alternative Diets.

PART IV: THE PART OF TENS.

Chapter 19. Ten Tips for Troubleshooting a Bread Machine.

Chapter 20. Ten Ways to Solve Bread Problems.

Index.

Book Registration Information.

Bringing Tuscany Home or Crescent City Collection

Bringing Tuscany Home: Sensuous Style from the Heart of Italy

Author: Frances Mayes

I always imagine each of the signoras who lived in this house—where she shelled peas, rocked the grandchild, placed a vase of the pink roses. Now I would like to take one of these women back to my house in California to show her how Bramasole traveled to America and took root, how the doors there are open to the breeze from San Pablo bay and to the distant view of Mount Tamalpais, how the table has expanded and the garden has burgeoned…


The “bard of Tuscany” (New York Times) now offers a lavishly illustrated book for everyone who dreams of integrating the Tuscan lifestyle—from home decoration and cooking, to eating and drinking, to gardening, socializing, and celebrating—into their own lives.

When Frances Mayes fell in love with Tuscany and Bramasole, millions of readers basked in the experience through her three bestselling memoirs. Now Frances and her husband, In Tuscany coauthor Edward, share the essence of Tuscan life as they have lived it, with specific ideas and inspiration for readers stateside to bring the beauty and spirit of Tuscany into their own home decor, meals, gardens, entertaining and, most important, outlook on life. In her inimitable warm and evocative tone, Frances helps readers develop an eye for authentic Tuscan style, with advice on how to:

• Choose a Tuscan color palette for the home, from earthy apricot tones to invigorating shades of antique blue.

• Personalize a room with fanciful door frames, unique painted furniture, and fresco murals.

• Cultivate a Tuscan garden, adding fountains, vine-covered pergolas, and terra-cotta urns amongthe herbs and flowers

• Select the best Italian vino. (Frances describes lunches at regional vineyards and imparts tips for pairing food and wine.)

• Create an atmosphere of irresistible, anytime hospitality—a casa aperta (open home).

• Make primo finds at local antiques markets. (And to help truly bring Tuscany home, shipping advice and market days for several Tuscan towns are included.)

• Set an imaginative Tuscan table using majolica and vintage linens.

• Enjoy the abundant flavors and easy simplicity of the Tuscan kitchen, with details on everything from olive oil and vino santo to pici and gnocchi, plus special homegrown menus and recipes.

• Make the most of a trip to Tuscany, visiting Frances’s favorite hill towns, restaurants, small museums, and other soothing places.


With more than 100 photos by acclaimed photographer Steven Rothfeld (including several of the Mayes’s California home and its Tuscan accents), twenty-five all-new recipes, and lists of resources for travelers and shoppers, Bringing Tuscany Home is a treasure trove of practical advice and memorable images.

Publishers Weekly

Only those who love sitting through slides from other people's vacations are likely to warm to Mayes's latest, on the joys of owning a renovated Tuscan villa. Mayes's first book on the subject, Under the Tuscan Sun, sold two million copies and spawned a Hollywood film, but with each return visit to familiar territory (Bella Tuscany; In Tuscany) Mayes finds less fresh material. This work is a grab bag of guess-you-had-to-be-there anecdotes (Mayes devotes an entire paragraph to the activities of a wasp that flies into her study while she's writing) and suggestions for how readers can, as Mayes and her husband, Ed, do, live the good life in northern California and Italy. (Hint: it takes a lot of money.) The book includes 25 recipes, though few are specifically Tuscan. Instead, Mayes devotes space to Nancy Silverton's Italian Plum Tart (Silverton, founder of Los Angeles's Campanile restaurant, has her own villa one valley over) and several recipes of Ed's. The listing of Mayes's own "At Home in Tuscany Collection" of furniture at book's end adds to the coyly self-indulgent feel. (Oct.) Forecast: The conceit that readers can live this lush lifestyle rings hollow, and the mishmash of decorating advice, travelogue, recipes and random musings never gels. Mayes's name carries weight, but this is unlikely to come close to Under the Tuscan Sun's success. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

When it comes to decorating in a rustic Italian style, Mayes should know everything Under the Tuscan Sun. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.



Interesting textbook: Connective Leadership or The Medical Malpractice Myth

Crescent City Collection: A Taste of New Orleans

Author: Staff of The Junior League of New Orleans

Crescent City Collection: A Taste of New Orleans presents culinary and historical traditions, lovingly passed down from generation to generation. Gene Bourg, former restaurant reviewer for the Imics-Picayune, expresses our passion: "New Orleanians have their own scale of cultural values, but none is more deeply imbedded in the municipal psyche than food." Over 250 recipes from members of the Junior League of New Orleans, contributors, and over twenty-five famous local restaurants symbolize the continuously evolving cuisine. Standards such as Red Bens and Rice. Seafood Okra Gumbo, and Bananas Foster are joined by dishes with new twists: Iried Crawfish Remoulade on the Half-Shell. Dixic Brisket. Shrimp Strecotash, and Strectear Strata. Lively culinary sidebars cover topics from Creole tomatoes to how to make a roux to recipes for -- popular New Orleans cocktails. Intertwined with the culinary offerings are fascinating narratives of JLNO Show Houses by Robert J. Cangelosi, Jr., A.I.A. Explore the architectural styles and anccdotal tales and enjoy photographer David G. Spiclman's artistie views into some of the most elegant private homes in New Orleans. The rich, colorful heritage of the Crescent City is displayed in non-culinary sidebars. Did you know that Spanish moss is a member of the pincapple family or that Carrollton was once a separate city? Crecent City Collection: A Taste of New Orleans brings a mosaie of culinary cultures past and present into your home.



Table of Contents:
Preface6
Committees7
Introduction8
Appetizers10
Soups & Salads34
Seafood62
Poultry94
Meat & Game126
Side Dishes & Sauces152
Brunch & Breads180
Desserts210
Acknowledgments241
Resource Guide246
Index248