AN ADDED VALUE FOR MY SUBSCRIBERS --- FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS IN REVIEW FOR APRIL 2012 ====================================== By Dean Tudor, Gothic Epicures Writing, dtudor@ryerson.ca Creator of Canada's leading wine satire site at http://fauxvoixvincuisine.blogspot.com Always available at www.deantudor.com and http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com But first, these words: 2012 WARNING – PRICE ALERT: All prices listed below are in US DOLLARS as printed on the cover. In these times of US-Canadian currency fluctuations about parity AND online bookstore discount (plus the addition of GST or HST) prices will vary upwards or downwards each day. ALLEZ CUISINE!! * DRINK BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO; understanding and appreciating one of Italy’s greatest wines (University of California Pr., 2012, 300 pages, ISBN 978-0-520-6564-6, $39.5 US hard covers) is by Kerin O’Keefe who writes about Italian wine for Decanter and The World of Fine Wine. Previously, she had written “Franco Biondi Santi; the gentleman of Brunello”. It’s in two large parts – the basics of the region and the grape, the birth (1865 at Greppo by Santi), and how the control came about, the scandal of 2008 regarding over-cropping and blending, the development of Rosso as a quicker maturing wine. The second part concentrates on the 60 or so leading producers by the six subzones, with names and addresses, websites, phone numbers, etc. A third, smaller, part features other wines of the region and local cuisine (with a description of typical dishes). There is also a vintage guide, some fact sheets (“Brunello at a glance”), glossary, and a bibliography. Audience and level of use: wine lovers, especially Brunello fans. Some interesting or unusual facts: Brunello estates are tiny – 22% have less than 1 hectare of vines, 29% have between 1 and 3 hectares. The downside to this book: Rosso di Montalcino (scattered through the book) was not indexed. The upside to this book: a good example of a single (and singular) region book. Quality/Price Rating: 91. * FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 2. EAST MEETS WEST; traditional and contemporary Asian dishes from acclaimed Vancouver restaurants (Douglas & McIntyre, 2012, 218 pages, ISBN 978-1-55365-863-4, $29.95 CDN soft covers) has been pulled together by Stephanie Yuen, a food journalist (CBC, Edible Canada, etc.) and Asian food blogger (beyondchopsticks.com). In February 2010, Conde Nast Traveler magazine said that Vancouver was home to the best Chinese food in the world. Hmmmm, that sounds like a book to me!! And here it is, part of what is now an annual restaurant recipe cookbook from D & M Publishing. Here are over 400 Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver, plus more “Asian” places with cuisines from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and India. This book is a compilation of these distinctive dishes made from Pacific Northwest local ingredients framed on Asian influences and techniques. There are 88 signature recipes here, all sourced by chef and restaurant, uniformly described and home-tested. The arrangement is from soup to desserts. There is also an extensive resources food and equipment list, but it is all local to the Vancouver area. Preps include tilapia and daikon and pepper soup (from Allen Liu of Kirin Restaurant), warm jellyfish and chicken salad (Michael Zhou of Terracotta Restaurant), mung bean pancakes (Bob Chung of Buk Jang Do Ga), and lemon gras lamb chops (Kim Thai of Coast Plaza Hotel). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. But a really nifty book. Quality/price rating: 90. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * OTHER FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. THE CULINARIAN; a kitchen desk reference (John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 66 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-5542-1, $19.99 US paper covers) is y Barbara Ann Kipfer, a professional lexicographer. She’s created many reference books dealing with words. Here she takes on food. According to the Introduction, “The book has one main alphabetical section peppered with informational lists and sidebars, as well as factual matter in the front and indexes in the back.” It opens with measurements, conversions, food grades and classes. Each entry on food has some explication of varieties, selection, purchase storage, basic preps, seasoning, cooking problems and solutions. It is a fairly complete book in its 600 or so pages. Audience and level of use: curious food lovers Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pears ripen better in the presence of apples. The downside to this book: it will be well-used, so don’t break the spine. The upside to this book: there is more here than just food words – there are also food histories, lists, trivia, and little known facts. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 4. LA TARTINE GOURMANDE; recipes for an inspired life. (Roost Books, 2011; distr. Random House of Canada, 314 pages, ISBN 978-1-59030-762-5, $35US hard covers) is by Beatrice Peltre, creator of latartinegourmande.com weblog. She’s also a free-lance food writer, stylist and photographer, working in and around Boston. So she did almost everything in the book: food writing, food styling and food photography. There’s log rolling from David Lebovitz, Clotilde Dusoulier, and Dorie Greenspan. There are about 100 recipes, mostly inspired by her French roots. Other preps come from Denmark, New Zealand, and Boston. She’s also slightly gluten-intolerant, so most of the baked goods here have gluten-free flours. She’s careful to explain all of this and to list her organic flours. Every prep comes with a memoir-like anecdote, so it is a bit of a personal book. After a kitchen primer, the arrangement is by course (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert). Preparations have their ingredients listed in mainly avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: casual cooks. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: cold honeydew and cucumber soup; omelet wraps with nori and crunchy veggies; cumin and parsley- flavored cheese gougeres; white lentil soup with chorizo and poached eggs; lavender ile flottantes. The downside to this book: with a personal 100 recipes, it might be best to view the book before buying. Check out her website first. The upside to this book: gluten-free recipes, plus excellent photography. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 5. A COUNTRY COOK’S KITCHEN; time-tested kitchen skills (Rizzoli, 2012; distr. Random House of Canada, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-8478-3839-4, $35 US hard covers) is by Alison Walker, food and drink editor of Country Living magazine in the UK. It’s being co-published in the UK by Aurum Press. The publisher says that it has “simple recipes for making breads, cheese, jams, preserves, cured meats, and more.” The book certainly seems to touch all the farmhouse basics for using and preserving the bounty of summer. It’s a lot of work though, doing things such as churning your own butter, making cheese, baking during the summer, salting and smoking meats, and filling a pantry with little jars of condiments. After all, it was once a full-time job to be a farmwife. But, you do not have to do it all. There’s a stronger tradition in the UK about curing and potting meats, and even making your own liqueurs and infusions (alcohol was higher taxes in the UK). For every major technique, such as cold smoking, she’ll lay out a description, cover the ingredients and equipment, and then give a bit of technique – all illustrated, of course. There are also some useful addresses, albeit American. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: home cooks. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: flowerpot rolls; gingerbread loaf; red onion marmalade; pear and pumpkin chutney; lemon barley water; dry-cured smoked organic bacon. The downside to this book: slight British orientation The upside to this book: good techniques and photos, wide-range of products covered. Quality/Price Rating: 84. 6. HOW TO GROW FOOD; a step-by-step guide to growing all kinds of fruits, vegetables, herbs, salads and more (Firefly, 2011, 256 pages, ISBN 978-1-55407-806-6, $28.95 CAD hard covers) is by Richard Gianfrancesco, who is a plant scientist who has co-ordinated hundreds of garden plant tests and trials, which have been published in magazines and online. The book has been co-published in the UK by Quarto Here he appeals to those who want to “eat local”, whether from their window box or from a large backyard (maybe as much as one-third of the North American population?). He has some good principles about organic gardening, soil management, composting, weeds and pests, pruning, growing from seed, buying plants, and growing in containers. In fact, his title should really be “How to Grow Real Food”. The main section is a plant-by-plant analysis for growing. He begins with veggies and salads (potato, sweet potato, onion, lettuces, herbs, etc. – about 64 in all), continuing with 22 fruits and three nuts. At the end are some ideas on preserving the crop (jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys, drying, and freezing). There’s also a sowing summary, a crop selection summary, and a list of hardiness zones. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Audience and level of use: home gardeners who want to grow their own food. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: before you go on vacation, make sure you pick off every bean you can find – the plant will carry on producing beans while you are gone. The downside to this book: most of the typeface was a shade too small. The upside to this book: there is a good explanation on how to use the book, at the front. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 7. 5 EASY STEPS TO HEALTHY COOKING; 500 recipes for lifelong wellness (Robert Rose, 2012, 544 pages, IBN 978-0-7788-0296-9, $24.95 US paper covers) is by Camilla V. Saulsbury, a recipe developer who has won several cooking competitions and has appeared in the media. Here she takes a holistic and flexible approach. Her five steps are to eat: fresh foods; mostly veggies and fruits; healthy fats and proteins; superfoods (nutrient-dense foods); and whole grains. And this is all easy enough to do, guaranteed to promote a healthier lifestyle. And maybe lose weight and effect a few cures along the way (but no promises with these). Along the way she tells us the most and the least pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables in North America. There’s a nutrient table for each recipe, and plenty of tips and advice. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Audience and level of use: flexitarians; cooks looking for a lot of recipes in one book. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: easy raisin rye bread; gluten-free flax muffins; stir-fried pork and peppers with buckwheat noodles; quick quinoa stir-fry with veggies; summer vegetable orzo soup; chicken with cherry tomato and avocado salsa. The downside to this book: some menu ideas would have been appreciated. The upside to this book: there are a few gluten-free recipes, but maybe she needed more. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 8. GROW COOK EAT; a food lover’s guide to vegetable gardening, including 50 recipes, plus harvesting and storage tips (Sasquatch Books, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 294 pages, ISBN 978-1-57061- 731-7, $29.95 US paper covers) is by Willi Galloway, former editor at Organic Gardening now blogging (www.digginfood.com) and providing radio commentary out of Portland and Seattle. She’s got 50 guides to herbs, greens, legumes, squash, cabbage, roots and bulbs, warm season veggies, and fruit – with one food prep for each. A lot of the book (with exceptions) is based on West Coast gardening. So for each she has descriptive notes on planting, growing, harvesting, storing, and cooking ideas. There are photos of both the plant and the finished food plate. Arugula, for example, has a salad with blue cheese, dates and hot bacon dressing. There’s a resources list, primarily American. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: home gardeners and cooks Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: steak sandwiches with gorgonzola chive sauce; pot stickers with Asian greens; mixed melons in lemon verbena syrup. The downside to this book: many preps are just grilled or dried veggies. The upside to this book: a good collection of gardening ideas plus photos. Quality/Price Rating: 83. 9. EAT RAW, EAT WELL; 400 raw, vegan & gluten-free recipes (Robert Rose, 2012, 384 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0295-2, $24.95 US paper covers) is by Douglas McNish, who is now a Certified Red Seal Professional Vegan Chef. He’s also a cooking teacher and raw-food consultant. “A raw food diet contains whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and select legumes and grains that have not been heated past 48 degrees centigrade.” When food is heated past 41 degrees centigrade, enzymes begin to break down. McNish explains the advantages of a raw foods diet, transitioning, organic produce, and various techniques such as sprouting, dehydrating, marinating, and juicing. His arrangement is by course, from breakfast (with smoothies and other juices) to dips and salads and soups, the main, and the side dishes plus desserts. There’s a mound of material here, including tips and advice in every recipe. His online resources list includes US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Audience and level of use: raw food lovers; transitioning eaters. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: morning energy bars; spicy orange and ginger sesame watercress; cake batter smoothie; tomatillo and chia seed salsa; moussaka. The downside to this book: a series of menus might have been useful, just to keep some nutritional balance to the meal. The upside to this book: gluten-free preps. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 10. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SUNDAY DINNER? A year of Italian menus with 250 recipes that celebrate family (Sterling Epicure, 2012, 322 pages, ISBN 978-1-4027-8482-8, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Lisa Caponigri, who had her Sicilian nonna guide her through all the Italian preps. Here are 52 menus, with no repeats, for each Sunday of the year. You can either repeat the sequence in a year, or do a mix and match routine. Favourite dishes from all regions are here, although there is no real attempt to keep all the dishes from one region within the same meal. One northern Italian menu has Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardia, Tuscany, and Sicilia at one sitting. There is a combination of family Sicilian recipes intermingled with Italian classics. The menus are in Italian style: antipasto, primo (usually pasta), secondo (main), just one contorni (side), and a dessert. Each menu is numbered, but nothing is tied into seasons or holidays. Menu 51, next to Christmas, has breadsticks with herbs and prosciutto, spinach lasagna, braciole, baked cipolline, and chestnuts with cream. There’s some family memoir material and a scattering of colour photos. Both Italian and English recipe titles are used, although only English titles (with Italian in brackets) are indexed. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: basic home cooks Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: pollo cacciatore; pepperoni ripieni; manzo marinato; carne in sugo di pomodori; spiedino di arista con pane, The downside to this book: no regional character, but there could have been an index to this feature. No seasonal approach either (again, an index here would have been useful). The upside to this book: there is an index to secondo and primo dishes, as well as pasta, antipasti, and contorni. Quality/Price Rating: 85. 11. WASHINGTON FOOD ARTSANS; farm stories and chef recipes (Sasquatch Books, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 206 pages, ISBN 978-1-57061- 660-0, $35 US hard covers) is by Leora Bloom, once a pastry chef and bakery owner in Washington state, and now a freelance writer. It’s another book in a burgeoning series about local food workers throughout North America, produced by different publishers and writers. There have been many on California and Canada, Maine, the Deep South. In fact, this is a quickly trending food idea for publications. Here Bloom details veggies, animal products, fruit, foraged foods, and wine. There’s a listing of 52 preps by course, sourced by chef (with a restaurant listing at the back). This is followed by details about 17 artisans and recipes. This collection of photo essays works well, and gives enough details and addresses for each food producer. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: Washington state lovers, followers of local food artisans and locavores. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: albacore with lentils and cumin-onion jam; farro risotto with morels; bruschetta of goat brie and tomato jam; blackened oysters with chipotle aioli and pico de gallo. The downside to this book: some people may not like the excessive quantity of photographs, to the detriment of more space for artisans. The upside to this book: a good contribution to locavore artisans. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 12. WILLIAMS-SONOMA SALAD OF THE DAY; 365 recipes for every day of the year (Weldon-Owen, 2012; distr. Simon & Schuster, 304 pages, ISBN 978- 1-61628-212-7, $34.95 US hard covers) is by Georgeanne Brennan, a food author who has written many books for Williams-Sonoma. Here she assembles a large variety of salads, arranged by the calendar. These are light or heavy, main or luncheon meals, depending on what can be added. There are opening pages for each month, with a listing of the salad for each day. Of course, one doesn’t have to follow along completely. January 19 has cannellini bean salad with tuna and grilled radicchio, February 19 has cannellini bean, fennel & shrimp salad, March 19 has chicken & orzo salad, and April 19 has bulgur salad with lemons, peas and mint. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. In addition to the recipe index, there is also an index to salads by type (bean, grain, egg, fruit, greens, meat, poultry, pasta, seafood). Audience and level of use: salad lovers, those looking for variety in their salads. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: see above. The downside to this book: there is plenty of white space, so the font could have had a larger typeface. The upside to this book: each prep has good sidebar advice. Quality/Price Rating: 88. 13. THE PLOUGHMAN’S LUNCH AND THE MISER’S FEAST; authentic pub food, restaurant fare, and home coking from small towns, big cities, and country villages across the British Isles. (Harvard Common Press, 2012, 214 pages, ISBN 978-1-55832-413-8, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Brian Yarvin, a food and travel writer-photographer with four previous cookbooks. He has been concentrating on Great Britain’s cooks and food purveyors for about two decades. He has found about 100 straightforward recipes with about 200 of his own photos. Most of these preps are updated classics that you could logically find in North American gastropubs and British-style pubs. It’s arranged by meal or course, beginning with the “full breakfast” and moving on to sandwiches and small plates, soups, mains, curries, side dishes, savoury pies, and sweets. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Here is even a glossary of British food terms. Audience and level of use: travelers to the UK, gastro pub lovers. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: chicken and leek casserole; cream of watercress soup; Scotch oatmeal soup; Cornish steak pasty; Welsh rarebit. The downside to this book: there is enough white space that more recipes could have been incorporated. The upside to this book: good leading and typefaces, larger print sizes. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 14. SAUSAGES; a country-by-country photographic guide with recipes (DK Books, 2012, 224 pages, ISBN 978-0-7566-8983-4, $22 US hard covers) is by Nichola Flecher, with recipes from Caroline Bretherton. It’s a descriptive guide to about 300 sausages from around the world, with a short finishing chapter on how to make your own chorizo, blood sausage, fresh sausage, scalded sausage, and cooked sausage. There’s a brief primer-history, followed by the grand tour through Teutonic Europe (of course), the Mediterranean countries, Africa, the Americas, and Asia (with Australia and New Zealand). For each country, there is a listing of the major sausages, with a photo for each, a textual description, the type of meat used, the type of sausage, its size, and something about the seasoning. One of my faves is the droewors from South Africa, a dry beef or ostrich sausage with little fat. The last quarter of the book has the recipes, almost 50 of them and almost all the “classics”. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. There is also a glossary and a source list. Audience and level of use: sausage lovers, food reference libraries. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: lamb sausage kebabs with tzatziki dip; pea and sausage soup; game sausages and celery root gratin with braised red cabbage; cocido; choucroute garnie; fabada. The downside to this book: I’d still would have liked more detail and history about some of the more important sausages. The upside to this book: recipes are nicely laid out, with sausage alternatives suggested. Quality/Price Rating: 89. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they’ve been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I’ll try to point this out. The usual shtick is “favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks”. There is also PR copy on “demystifying ethnic ingredients”. PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase “mouth-watering recipes” as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don’t seem to work, but how could that be? They all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food shots, verging on gastroporn. The endorsements are from other celebrities in a magnificent case of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don’t ignore them altogether. Here’s a rundown on the latest crop of such books – 15. PIZZA; award-winning pies for the home kitchen (Weldon Owens, 2012; distr. Simon & Schuster, 112 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-168-7, $19.95 US hard covers) is by Pete Evans, an award-winning chef-owner of many Australian restaurants. He has also appeared on over 400 episodes of a cooking show. The book has been co-published with Murdoch Books in Australia. He has won the title of World’s Best Pizza in the American Pizza Challenge, and Best Pizza in Australia on several occasions. There’s a primer on how to cook great pizzas, including material on electric pizza ovens and pizza stones. He has about 8 prep recipes, for sauces, balsamic onions, doughs, confits, roasted bell peppers, and the like. This is followed by recipes for the classics, modern pizzas and “special” pizzas. There’s a good selection, including eggplant and smoked mozzarella with caponata, gorgonzola with walnuts and truffle honey and radicchio, a BLT, tuna with green olive salsa, and asparagus with goat cheese and egg and toasted walnuts, about 40 in all. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 85. 16. JON BONNELL’S TEXAS FAVORITES. (Gibbs Smith, 2012, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-4236-2259-8, $30 US hard covers) is from the chef who opened Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine in 2001 in Fort Worth. This is his second Bonnell’s cookbook. And you cannot beat Bobby Flay’s log rolling here. These are faves for parties and family gatherings -- larger quantity preps for home entertaining. Tailgate parties are a specialty, and are usually followed by liquor-infused desserts. It’s a Tex-Mex book for those with large appetites. The large typeface also helps in the preparations, and the recipes are written with ease in mind. Try green chile chilaquiles (a pre-nacho dish), crab and red pepper bisque with pecans, venison quesadillas, chipotle mashed potatoes, and dessert tostadas. The 100 or so preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86. 17. ZUPPE; soups from the kitchen of the American Academy in Rome (The Little Bookroom, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 177 pages, ISBN 978- 1-892165-97-0, $18.95 US hard covers) is by Mona Talbott, a well- established eco-gastronomic cook involved in many sustainable measures. She’s worked at Chez Panisse, Zabar, E.A.T., and now as Executive Chef of the Rome Sustainable Food Project (since 2006). All proceeds from the sale of this book go to that project. Here are 50 recipes for Italian-style soups, laden with beans, greens, grains and veggies. This is the second in the Rome Food series; the first dealt with Biscotti. It’s arranged by season, beginning with autumn (favata, ribollita) and featuring classics such as pasta e ceci (winter), risi e bisi (spring), and pappa al pomodori (summer). There’s a glossary and a bibliography, plus pictures of the academy and foods. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 89. 18. MOLLY MOON’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM; sweet seasonal recipes for ice creams, sorbets & toppings made with local ingredients (Sasquatch Books, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 116 pages, ISBN 978-1-57061- 810-9, $21.95 US hard bound) is by Molly Moon Neitzel, who owns and operates five ice cream parlors in Seattle and environs. She also has an ice cream truck. These are largely sustainable ice cream preps, using local and/or organic foods. Of course, the food chain is complicated by wherever you (the reader trying out a recipe) reside. The arrangement is by season. It is usually too cold in Canada to even think about ice cream, but she does have candied bacon ice cream, olive oil and toasted pine nut ice cream, mulled wine sorbet, and other goodies for the “cold climate” eaters. Her “always” list (eat anytime of year) includes vanilla bean, melted chocolate, cappuccino, and yummy salted caramel. She also has recipes for sauces that you can use in other, non-ice cream desserts, such as homemade marshmallows, lime coconut, port reduction, hot fudge, or balsamic reduction. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. * THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Here are some recent “re-editions”... 19. VISUALIZING NUTRITION; everyday choices. Second edition. (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 634 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-01380-9, $88.88 US paper covers) is by Mary B. Grosvenor and Lori A. Smolin, both academics. It was originally published in 2005 as “Nutrition: Everyday Choices” and then in 2009 in the new Wiley “Visualizing” series as “Visualizing Nutrition: Everyday Choices”. This 2nd edition of expands upon the central issues of nutritional science in a visual approach. The text includes topics of nutrition, to help readers and students understand the topics through demonstration of their relevance to their personal life. The material provides decision-making skills needed to navigate the choices readers face in promoting good health and preventing disease: such emerging diseases and foods as SARS, biotech foods and gene therapy. As they apply the thought processes and decision-making skills learned throughout the course, they come to understand that there are not "good" foods and "bad" foods, but rather that each choice is only part of an overall healthy diet and that it is the sum of those choices that determines good nutrition. Covered are digestion, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and amino acids, vitamins, water and minerals, weight management, physical activity, and the food supply. There are a lot of appendixes for standards, tables, lists, conversions, plus answers to the self-tests scattered throughout the book. There is a glossary, a list of references for further reading, and a standalone large booklet on the nutrient composition of foods (about 2,000 brand name references, most of which will differ from Canadian content). Quality/price rating: 85. 20. THE OFFICIAL HIGH TIMES CANNABIS COOKBOOK (Chronicle Books, 2012; distr. Raincoast, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-4521-0133-0, $18.95 US paper covers) comes from Elise McDonough and the Editors of High Times Magazine. The cover proclaims, “more than 50 irresistible recipes that will get you high”. This is High Times’ first cookbook. All the preps are easy and accessible, or at least they look so: I didn’t try any. I had no access to the prime ingredient. But I’m sure that the book would be useful to those who need to take medical marihuana. Alternatively, the home cook could use hemp: you won’t get the high but you’d get the amino acids and the like, plus keep the ratios in line with the recipe. This is stoner cuisine for the sophisticated, those that are by now tired of ingesting chocolate brownies. Many have been published before in the magazine, but then, how many of us have actually seen the magazine? THC olive oil would be a good start to begin cooking Italianate food. Simple cannabutter works for desserts, and there are all kinds of tinctures to make and to use. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 85. 21. THE VEGETARIAN KITCHEN TABLE COOKBOOK (Robert Rose, 2012, 320 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0293-8, $27.95 CAN paper covers) is by Igor Brotto and Oliver Guiriec, both European-trained teachers at the Institut de tourisme et d’hotellerie du Quebec (ITHQ). It was originally published in Quebec in 2010; this is a translation. It’s a good basic book, with warm, close-up photos of food. There are 275 preps, mostly one to a page, and mostly illustrated. It’s arranged by course, from appetizers to desserts, with salads, soups, mains, and sides. There’s lasagnette all’Ortolana, quinoa simmered with fennel and wild mushrooms, Florentine-style cannelloni, veggie and alfalfa sprout wraps, wheat and fromage frais and wild mushroom soup, and veggie timbales. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. 22. THE WORLD’S BEST STREET FOOD; where to find it & how to make it (Lonely Planet, 2012, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-74220-593-9, $19.99 US paper covers) is another off-beat travel guide from the Lonely Planet folks. It is a great guide to some 100 dishes (80 savoury and 20 sweet) from around the world, such as Tunisia’s brik, Vietnam banh mi, South Africa’s walkie-talkies, Maltese pastizzi, Hungarian chimney cake, and Indian jalebi. For example, kushari from Egypt (rice, lentils, pasta, onions, tomatoes and spices) is described as a humdrum base with an exciting sauce. There are notes on its origin, how to find it at its best in Cairo, what you could expect to pay for it, and advice on tasting it plus some variations. There is a picture and more description, PLUS a recipe for home cooks. This has to be the ultimate peasant food book. Each prep is cited for ease and utensils required, as well as authorship. There is a concluding glossary and identification of authors. The contents are listed alphabetically by savory or sweet; there are indexes by country and by ingredient, including veggie options. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 90. 23. HERBS: THE COMPLETE GARDENER’S GUIDE (Firefly Books, 2001, 2012, 222 pages, ISBN 978-1-55209-624-6, $24.95 CAD paper covers) is by Patrick Lima, a gardener from the Bruce Peninsula who has written other gardening books, mainly for Harrowsmith. This is a straight reprint from 2001. It was still in demand. Lima describes each herb in detail, with advice on planting, fertilizing and nurturing. All the major groupings are covered: annuals, perennials, thymes, sages, lily family, salad herbs, tea herbs, colour and decoration, plus medical applications. Each herb comes with a colour photo. The 16 food recipes have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 24. MEALS IN MINUTES: make-ahead dinners quick, easy and delicious (Weldon Owen, 2008, 2011; distr. Simon & Schuster, 112 pages, ISBN 978- 1-61628-257-8, $9.99 US paper covers) AND 25. MEALS IN MINUTES: easy vegetarian quick, easy and delicious (Weldon Owen, 2007, 2011; distr. Simon & Schuster, 112 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628- 256-1, $9.99 US paper covers) are from the Food Made Fast series, and were published as “Make Ahead” in 2007/8. These are the paperback reprint. Everything is supposed to be in three simple steps. Most of the 40 preps take just 15 minutes to assemble or 30 minutes to cook. The practical tips and advice are, of course, useful. Larger batches can be made and leftovers can be frozen. Preparations have most of their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. A very useful beginning book at an affordable price, with enticing photos. Quality/price rating: 85. 26. THE COMPLETE PRESERVING BOOK (Transcontinental Books, 2012, 352 pages, ISBN 978-0-9877474-1-9, $34.95 CAN hard covers) is from the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, headed up by food director Annabelle Waugh. The magazine says that it has combed through 35 years of its classic canning recipes to find the best jams, pickles and preserves. Both sweet and savoury are here. There are also modern preserves such as salsas, sauces, syrups, and flavoured vinegars. There’s a basic primer on canning essentials, followed by ingredient chapters such as jams and marmalades, jellies, relishes and pickles, chutney, and even liqueurs and seasonings (flavoured salts and sugars). Each prep has a full nutrient analysis. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mainly avoirdupois measurements (only weighted items have both metric and avoirdupois), but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 27. ADVENTURES IN GRILLING; coking with fire and smoke (Weldon Owen, 2009, 2012; distr. Simon & Schuster, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-217-2, $24.95 US paper covers) is by Willie Cooper, a professional grillmaster ad cooking instructor. It was originally published in 2009, and this is the paperback reprint. It was called ON THE GRILL and packaged for Williams-Sonoma. Jordan Mackay did the drink recipes. Fred Thompson did the text. Here are 130 recipes and eight “grilling adventures” in this guide to outdoor cooking. The adventures include “A day at the lake”, a pig roast, hot-smoking salmon, a beach grilling party, a summer picnic, a backyard BBQ, a tailgate party, and “turkey on the grill”. The first two dozen pages serve as a primer on grilling equipment and techniques, especially getting the fire into the right shape. Then, there is a beer pairing guide (IPA works best with salmon and other meaty or oily fish) and a separate wine pairing guide. Each of the eight adventures describes what you have to do, with a menu that has page references to the actual prep. Separate chapters cover fruits and veggies, meats, poultry, fish and shellfish, sides, drinks, sauces- marinades-rubs, and condiments. Additionally, there some uncategorized recipes for apple puree, couscous, mint raita, and country-style gravy. Ingredients are listed as both avoirdupois and metric, except for the smaller volumes. There are no tables of equivalents. Try antipasto grill; grilled whole fish; grilled oysters with BBQ sauce; grilled fingerling potatoes; spit roasted pig; home-cured smoked salmon; or Korean-style BBQ short ribs. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 28. CANADA’S DIABETES MEALS FOR GOOD HEALTH. 2d ed. (Robert Rose, 2008, 2012, 320 pages, ISBN 978-0-788-0402-4, $29.95 CAN paper covers) is by Karen Graham, RD and a Certified Diabetes Educator. Some of the content here had been previously published as “meals For Good Health” in various editions going back to 1998. This current edition features a new 32-page chapter “Food Choices for Good Health” that rates food choices from healthy to unhealthy. There are about 100 new photos and some updated nutritional analyses, as well as colour-coding for ease of use. Graham also includes notes on meal planning for 70 complete meals (both large and small), over 100 snacks, and 100 recipes. Her first edition sold about 100,000 copies. It is pretty good basic stuff from a tried and true producer of cookbooks: liver and onions, pork chop casserole, Chinese stir-fry, French onion soup, and Western sandwich (but usually made with just ham not bacon). Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 29. GARDE MANGER; the art and craft of the cold kitchen. 4th edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 706 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-58780-5, $75US hard covers) is by the Culinary Institute of America. Garde Manger is the art and technique of preparing a full range of cold dishes for buffet, banquet, and catering events. This includes hors d’oeuvre, appetizers, terrines and pates, and charcuterie. The 600 or so recipes included in this book are revisions and updatings, which take into account the global cuisine of today. There are 40 more preps than in the third edition, published four years ago. The book is meant for both students and practitioners. The opening sections deal with history of banquets, the needed skills, safe food handling techniques, the flavours, colours and textures of food for the table. Cost controls and price establishment are also important here. Recipe sections include cold sauces, soups, salads (flavour balances), sandwiches, curing and preserving meats and fish, cheeses (including presentations). There are also chapters with chaud-froid, aspics, gelees, marinades, condiments, and garnishes. Decorating and plating are also included, especially platter layouts and design. It concludes with a glossary, a bibliography, a resources list, and a separate recipe index. The book is well-stitched, so it will put up with much wear and tear. Quality/Price rating: 88. 30. THE CLUELESS VEGETARIAN; a cookbook for the aspiring vegetarian. 2d edition (Firefly Books, 2012, 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-55407-995-7, $14.95 CAD paperback) is by Evelyn Raab. It was originally published in 2008 through Prospero Books. She had also previously written “Clueless in the Kitchen, a cookbook for teens”. Here she presents about 130 preps for vegetarian dishes, with an emphasis on the tentative vegetarian. Every recipe has a code for the lacto-ovo, the lacto, the vegan, the ovo, and the flexitarian. Of value are her guides to the dietary requirements for a single day and her pantry lists. The recipes are easy and the range is wide, with Mexican and Italian influences for casseroles, pastas, snacks, soups, and desserts. A good beginning book, but I could do without the cutesy recipe title fonts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. No gluten-free recipes. Quality/price rating: 88. 31. STEP-BY-STEP BREAD; demonstrates every stage in every key technique (DK, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-7566-9266-7, $18 US hard covers) AND 32. STEP-BY-STEP CAKES; demonstrates every stage in every key technique (DK, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-7566-9267-4, $18 US hard covers) are by Caroline Bretherton, who wrote the earlier “Illustrated Step-by- Step Baking” for DK in 2011. The content in both of these spin-off books was previously published in that step-by-step book. So if you have that bigger book, then you won’t need these set. Each has 125 recipes augmented by step-by-step photography with details o key techniques. The bread book includes the classics, artisanal breads, flat breads, crisp breads, quick breads, and sweet breads. The cake book has everyday cakes, celebration cakes, small cakes, and even some cookies. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mainly avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86. 33. VEGETABLES; a biography (University of Chicago Press, 2012, 112 pages, ISBN 978-0-226-42438-5, $20 US hard covers) is by Evelyne Bloch- Dano, who has written many books. It was originally published in France in 2008. The book is slim, and marred even further by the lack of an index (although it does have a bibliography and enough blank pages [for an index] at the end). It’s sort of a condensed version of the Reaktion series of food books, covering 11 veggies (including parsnips, beans, cabbage, peas, pumpkins, and even tomatoes which are botanically “fruits”) with a handful of short preps such as a Sicilian tomato sauce (strattu), a vegetable tagine, a puree of root vegetables, and Alexandre Dumas’ asperges en petit pois. An engaging little book, but at this price, mabe one to borrow from the public library. Quality/price rating: 84. ---------------------------------------------------- AN ADDED VALUE FOR MY SUBSCRIBERS --- FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS IN REVIEW FOR MARCH 2012 ====================================== By Dean Tudor, Gothic Epicures Writing, dtudor@ryerson.ca Creator of Canada's leading wine satire site at http://fauxvoixvincuisine.blogspot.com Always available at www.deantudor.com and http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com But first, these words: 2012 WARNING – PRICE ALERT: All prices listed below are in US DOLLARS as printed on the cover. In these times of US-Canadian currency fluctuations about parity AND online bookstore discount (plus the addition of GST or HST) prices will vary upwards or downwards each day. ALLEZ CUISINE!! * DRINK BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. THE FINEST WINES OF BURGUNDY; a guide to the best producers of the Cote d’Or and their wines (University of California Pr., 2012, 320 pages, ISBN 978-0-520-27201-9, $34.95 US paper covers) is by Bill Nanson, a chemist with no connection to the wine trade, but he regularly visits (for more than 15 years) the region and works the harvest. He also publishes the Burgundy-Report (http://www.burgundy- report.com/) a website which, since late 2002, has a slowly expanding library of domaine and village profiles, comments on the market and vintage challenges plus, of-course, discussion of the wines. His site allows you to learn about the region and its wines, peruse notes from many bottles or even discuss with other people. So the current book is like a hard copy of the website. The book actually is one of an illustrated series created by The World of Fine Wine magazine; it is Number 6. These are guides to the classic regions and their producers, vineyards and vintages. As Hugh Johnson, one of the editorial team, would say “These are the wines most worth talking about”. Thus far, the company Fine Wine Editions has looked at Champagne, Tuscany, California, Rioja, and Bordeaux. This book is co-published with Quarto Group in the UK. The format for all the books in the series is pretty straight-forward at this point, with Hugh Johnson giving many of the forewords their lustre. There’s material in about 50 pages on history, culture and geography, along with winemaking, grapes, and viticulture. Next there is the biggest section: producers and their wines, sub- arranged by region. The 250 pages here cover the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune, leaving aside the Macon, the Beaujolais, and Chablis. Then there is a final 25 pages on wine appreciation, vintages, top-ten tables for the finest 100, glossary, and bibliography. The photography is mainly centred on the producers, so there are lots of portraits and pictures of walls and gates. Overall, it’s an excellent guide to the region, and sure to please many Burgundy lovers, especially since it comes with a red ribbon bookmark. Audience and level of use: the serious wine lover who also loves to read, reference libraries and wine schools. Some interesting or unusual facts: best-ever Domaines in Burgundy include Leroy, Ramonet, Romanee-Conti, Rousseau, and Bruno Clair. Quality/Price Rating: 90. * FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 2. SALAD FOR DINNER; complete meals for all seasons (Rizzoli, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 208 pages, ISBN 978-0-8478-3825-7, $35US hard covers) is by Jeanne Kelley, a food writer (principally Bon Appetit) and cookbook author with an urban homestead (bees, chickens, veggies). Here she succeeds in making the salad the centerpiece of every main meal. Here’s a couple of dozen pages devoted to a salad primer, including a pantry for the vinaigrettes and dressings. She’s got a salad code: most of 11 items that you may have in the fridge or pantry that can be added to create a salad – stuff like an egg, avocado, meat, cheese, fruit, nuts, dried fruit, croutons, onion plus of course the dressing/vinaigrette and salad greens. You don’t need them all but you can incorporate what you have beyond the greens and the dressing. The preps have their own contents listings, and run from vegetarian salads through fish, seafood, poultry, and meat. It is a pretty book, specializing in contrasts of colour, flavour and texture. Personally, we eat few salads in winter – their coolness is not appealing except for winter salads of radicchio/cabbage/endive/fennel (not included in this book). But spring/summer/fall is a different story at our home, with salads galore as main courses. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: salad lovers looking for new turn. Some interesting or unusual recipes: roasted acorn squash and brussels sprout salad; brown rice grape leaf salad; fennel with roasted beet and smoked whitefish; seafood-stuffed avocado salad; grilled kale with lamb and garlic. The downside to this book: no chopped winter salads using non-greens, the kind you find in a cooler climate outside of California. The upside to this book: good salad ideas incorporating protein and fats. Quality/Price Rating: 90. ----------------------------------------------------------- * OTHER FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. HOT & CHEESY (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 404 pages, ISBN 978-0-470- 61535-5, $22.99 US paper covers) is by Clifford A. Wright, an award- winning author of twelve other cookbooks. He’s a multiple Beard winner. Here he has collected 250 international and global preps covering a full range of fritters, pastries, casseroles, pastas, sandwiches, pizzas, breads – just about all foods one can top, stuff or sprinkle with cheese. In most cases, he tries to match the most appropriate cheese with the requirement, such as Bell pepper or poblano chili strips in cheese (use either a four-cheese blend from the book or fresh cheeses). There’s the usual primer on how to choose and store cheeses, and how to cook with them. Obviously, the cheese must be melt able or grated first, and the flavours appropriate. Arrangement is by course or product, beginning with soups and sauces and progressing through crepes, pies, tarts, Italian and Mexican dishes, eggs, rice, veggies, meat and seafood, concluding with sweets. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: home cooks, cheese lovers. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: cheese and potato cigars; calzones; brioche pork and cheese sandwich; perciatelli with three cheeses; stuffed veal chops; baked lamb with cheese; haddock and cheddar casserole; crab au gratin; cheese kolache. The downside to this book: it would have been nice to have some non- gluten alternatives. The upside to this book: there is no logrolling on the cover, which is good…Wright can sell himself. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 4. THE PHILOSOPHY OF FOOD (University of California Press, 2012, 312 pages, ISBN 978-0-520-26934-7, $27.95 US soft covers) has been edited by David M. Kaplan, a philosophy professor at the University of North Texas. It is a diverse collection of essays ruminating on themes about thinking responsibly about what and how we consume food. The papers reflect the editor’s introduction in which he proposes how “food” fits into s viable study pattern: metaphysics of food, epistemology, aesthetics, ethics, technology, and politics. The first two chapters (of 16) examine the social role of eating. The next three talk about aesthetics, the taste of food, and food as art. The following three comment on ethics, morality and politics of food. After this come three chapters on vegetarianism and ethics of animals used in food production. There are also sections on aquaculture, agriculture and food technologies. There are plenty of end notes and bibliographies, the list of contributors and their stations, and – ta da – an index to the whole collection. This feature rarely happens. Along the way the book covers (spread over a few essays) slow food, sustainability, food safety, table manners, trade, veganism, supermarkets, and other topics (check the index). What can I say? “Something to chew on”? “Food for thought”? Quality/Price Rating: 91. 5. TALES FROM AN OENOPHILE; fables, adventures & misconceptions (Friesen Press, 2011, 156 pages, ISBN 978-1-77067-313-7 $16.95 soft covers, also available as an ebook for $7.99, both versions at http://www.frugal-wine.com/bookstore/booktfao.htm) is by Richard Best, also known as The Frugal Oenophile specializing in modestly-priced wines. He’s a good colleague of mine in the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada (I’m also mentioned in the Acknowledgments) – those are my conflicts of interest here. Borrowing a leaf from George Bernard Shaw, Best has produced a didactic work about wine by using a novel approach: the novel. There is not really much of a plot, but that’s the book’s only weakness. It might have helped to move the story along is there was more tension, such as a wine cellar collapsing on the principals, or a vicious winemaker’s dog attacking somebody, or a corked wine killing off half the townfolks. Possibly even a fight at the cash register over the last bottles of a precious wine. But then, that’s just me. I doubt that they’ll make a movie or Broadway musical out of it, but it might make a good “reality” television show. Essentially, it is the story of a knowledgeable wine writer and his neighbours (a young couple) exploring the world of wine through dialogue. Best covers the basic wine styles, visiting wineries, training a nose and palate for tasting wines, doing a wine show, talking to a winemaker, exploring a seasoned wine cellar, and preparing for a party by matching wines with the foods. Each chapter ends with some wine notes or technical data. There’s an appendix with such items as how to prepare wine aroma samples on your own and how to build a wine knowledge library with reference books and newsletters (but nothing from the Internet). Well- worth a look and read. Audience and level of use: beginning wine lovers Some interesting or unusual facts: Basically comprehensive shopping lists, wine encyclopedias attempt to include every wine imaginable, along with some coverage of region and wineries. The downside to this book: more tension is needed for this “show me” approach. The upside to this book: a nice novel approach by a best writer. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 6. NOTES FROM A MAINE KITCHEN; seasonally inspired recipes (Down East Books, 201; distr. by Nimbus, 196 pages, ISBN 978-0-89272-917-3, $27.95 US hard covers) is by Kathy Gunst who has been nominated for several IACP and Beard Awards. She’s written 14 cookbooks and has contributed to a variety of the top food magazines in the US. Here, she has essays for each month of the year, exploring and explaining the Maine food landscape for that time period. Each is followed by several preps incorporating seasonal ingredients or themes, about a half-dozen or so for each month. She covers farmers’ markets, sugar shacks, lobster trapping, ramp hunting, parsnip harvests, and more. In January, it is smelts, August is for lobsters, September is preserving, and October is mushroom hunting. There is a nifty section on 18 menus, with pag references to the recipes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: Maine or New England food lovers Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: maple cheesecake with maple- ginger crust; ramp puree and ramp butter; sauteed sea scallops with ramp puree; grilled harpooned swordfish with olive-lemon scallion topping; herb and feta corn fritters; roasted wild-mushroom soup. The downside to this book: the Resources section is all New England, but then this is a regional cookbook. The upside to this book: the Menus. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 7. WAFFLES (Weldon Owen, 2011; distr. Simon & Schuster, 96 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-205-3, $19.5 US hard covers) is by Tara Duggan, a Beard Award winning food journalist and cookbook author. Here she covers over 40 sweet and savoury preps. Her emphasis is on versatility of the waffle, which is a good thing since you must invest in some kind of single purpose machine (which she covers, including an egg waffler). It’s an open and shut book with the usual batters and spreads, arranged by course (breakfasts, brunches, lunch, diner, desserts). It’ll make a good gift book. No gluten-free recipes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Audience and level of use: beginners, home cooks. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: fresh corn, goat cheese, and roasted pepper waffles; sourdough waffle BLTs; chicken and waffles with pan gravy; three-cheese waffle sticks; potato waffles with applesauce. The downside to this book: no gluten-free recipes The upside to this book: really sharp photography. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 8. 200 SALADS (Gibbs Smith, 2012; distr. Raincoast, 208 pages, ISBN 978-1-4536-2468-4, $12.99 US spiral bound) is by Melissa Barlow and Stephanie Ashcraft. It’s a basic book with no illustrations but with a detailed index and useful spiral binding. There are both sweet (fruit, desserts) and savoury (leaves, pasta, BBQ, main courses) with a chapter on dressings. There are service notes, such as serving 6 or more. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents on the inside back cover. Audience and level of use: beginner. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: marinated beef salad; fruit and nut chicken salad; sunshine salad; cashew bow-tie pasta; summer zucchini salad. The downside to this book: nothing, really – there are enough ideas here for a couple of years of no repeats. The upside to this book: spiral-binding makes it a snap to search around or look at recipes. Quality/Price Rating: 85. 9. IN PURSUIT OF GARLIC; an intimate look at the divinely odorous bulb (Greystone Books, 2012, 202 pages, ISBN 978-1-55365-601-2, $19.95 CAN paper covers) is by Liz Primeau, a well-established gardening writer and the founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine. It is a good handbook, well-framed with judiciously chosen facts and anecdotes and a smattering of recipes (there’s also a separate recipe index). Log rolling comes from Mark Cullen and John Bishop. She explores garlic through history, art, medicine, science, and food. There is even some contemporary material on the current status of Chinese-imported garlic. There’s a chapter on garlic festivals, and one on a garlic primer (at the back). Sources are also indicated. And while there is a list of recommended reading, she also cites (but does not source) Les Blank’s documentary film “Garlic is As Good as Ten Mothers” which currently only exists as an out-of-print VHS tape – I wish she told me where to find it, for I have not seen it since its release around 1980. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: garlic lovers Some interesting or unusual facts: Roman soldiers were issued several cloves of garlic daily and told to chew on them for resistance to disease. The downside to this book: I would have liked more material, a longer book, The upside to this book: separate recipe index. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 10. FARMSTAND FAVORITES: GARLIC; over 75 farm fresh recipes (Hatherleigh Press, 2012; distr. Random House of Canada, 99 pages, ISBN 978-1-57826-405-6, $9.50 US soft covers) comes from a series created to buying local and fresh. So far the series has dealt with apples, pumpkin, and berries (among other titles). It is a basic collection of preps, covering all courses including breakfast. Some of the recipes come from garlic festivals or organic suppliers: these are all sourced. It’s an ideal accompaniment to Primeau’s book (above) since it only has three pages dealing with garlic primer material. There’s enough to get you started, even a recipe for pickled garlic – to handle any surplus that you might have. Unfortunately, there is no index, the book must be thumbed through. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: beginners Some interesting or unusual recipes: pesto minestrone; lemon bulgur and chickpea pilaf; turkey apple gyros; Moroccan lentil salad; artichoke gondolas. The downside to this book: no index. The upside to this book: pickled garlic and roasted garlic recipes to handle any surplus you might have. Quality/Price Rating: 88. * THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they’ve been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I’ll try to point this out. The usual shtick is “favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks”. There is also PR copy on “demystifying ethnic ingredients”. PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase “mouth-watering recipes” as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don’t seem to work, but how could that be? They all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food shots, verging on gastroporn. The endorsements are from other celebrities in a magnificent case of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don’t ignore them altogether. Here’s a rundown on the latest crop of such books – 11. FRENCH BISTRO; seasonal recipes (Flammarion 2011, 2012; distr. by Random House of Canada, 216 pages, ISBN 978-2-08-020088-4, $34.95US hard covers) is by Bertrand Auboyneau, owner of Paul Bert in Paris, and Francois Simon, food writer for Le Figaro. The seasonal preps come from the bistro, and Simon explains the ten essentials that make a great bistro (the chalkboard menu is one of them; the bistro chair is another). To those ten, I’d add an eleventh: quality of fat used. The book also includes features on a baker’s dozen of the best French bistros in Paris. There are 56 recipes – try duck foie gras marbled with leeks, organic tomato and anchovy Nicoise-style salad, sauteed sweetbreads with green asparagus, or flattened hen with vin jaune fpllowed by rice pudding with dolce con leche. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. 12. THE MANSION ON TURTLE CREEK COOKBOOK. (Rizzoli, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 256 pages, ISBN 978-0-8478-36536, $39.95US hard covers) is from the Mansion, with preps largely by Dean Fearing and editorial assistance from food writer Helen Thompson. Fearing was the author of the same named book published in 1994; he left the Manson in 2007 to open his own resto. Here is the collection of some 100 preps from the past twenty-five years. The Mansion Restaurant was one of the early leaders in the New Southwestern cuisine, bringing forth lobster tacos and tortilla soups (both found here). Contemporary dishes include grilled snapper with a tomatillo-serrano vinaigrette and cornbread oyster or red grapefruit tart with avocado ice cream. There’s a long history of the Mansion as well as a wealth of photos that were not in the previous cookbook since it was, well, mainly a cookbook. The current work is a “presentation” copy for a coffee table, and is quite suitable for fans of the Mansion. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. 13. DESSERTED; recipes and tales from an Island Chocolatier (Down East Books, 2011; distr. Nimbus, 128 pages, ISBN 978-0-89272-991-3, $29.95 US hard covers) is by Kate Shaffer who was transplanted to Maine by her husband. An experienced restaurant chef, she began cooking at a lighthouse inn on Isle au Haut, one of the remote islands off Maine. After five years, she also began making gourmet truffles and other chocolates (Black Dinah Chocolatiers). Here are 45 preps, each with stories and anecdotes about island life. It’s been categorized as an armchair cookbook since most people seem to buy chocolates rather than make them. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of fun here. It is arranged by food format, with breakfast, tarts, pies, cakes, cookies, ice creams, puddings, and even a few savouries. Try pumpkin cheesecake with elderberry glaze and chocolate walnut crumb crust, or white-chocolate lavender pound cake, or roast chicken with New England-style mole poblano. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 14. CHLOE’S KITCHEN; 125 easy, delicious recipes for making the food you love the vegan way (Free Press, 2012; distr. Simon & Schuster, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-4516-3674-1, $18.99 US paper covers) is by Chloe Coscarelli, winner of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. She is the first vegan to win anything on the Food network. She’s had chef training and has worked at a variety of California and New York restos. She’s also accessible at chefchloe.com. While not gluten-free, the book does recommend several commercially available alternatives such as purchased all-purpose non-gluten flours or brown rice pasta. It’s a beginners book but with veganism as the theme. Dishes have been spiced up or sweetened in order to appeal, but all are healthy and delicious. Arrangement is by course. Try avocado pesto pasta, wasabi sesame noodle salad, chocolate walnut fudge, or cheesy broccoli soup in sourdough bread bowls. At the back there are ten menu suggestions, and each dish has a page reference to save you from looking it up in the index. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 20. NOBU’S VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK (Pie Books, 2012; distr. Random House of Canada, 176 pages, ISBN 978-4-89444-905-3, $39.95 US hard covers) is by Nobu Matsuhisa, one of the leading Japanese restaurateurs of this generation. He opened Matsuhisa in Los Angeles in 1987, followed by Nobu in New York City in 1994. Since then he has opened about 30 more restaurants around the world, and produced a half-dozen cookbooks, each one eagerly awaited by his fans and followers of Japanese cooking. And in true style, each book has been a work of art with gorgeous photos of food display by Masashi Kuma, a Beard Award-nominated photographer. There are over 70 recipes here, covering the gamut of fresh salads, party foods, sizzling plates, desserts and cocktails. He emphasizes “umami” found in many veggies (especially sea vegetables) for full flavours, to replace tastes derived from animal flesh. Soy beans, of course, through tofu, yuba and miso, play a prominent role. Professionals will admire this book for Nobu bringing in play all the textures, flavours and colours of veggies. I particularly enjoyed the rice, soba noodles and soup chapter with his take on nigiri sushi, crispy rice cubes with tar and pumpkin mash, and ten-vegetable tomato soup. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements for the most part, but there is no table of equivalents. Here’s also a glossary of Japanese ingredients and a list (with addresses) of all of his restaurants. Quality/price rating: 91. 21. NATURE; simple, healthy, and good (Rizzoli, 2011; distr. Random House of Canada, 361 pages, ISBN 978-0-8478-3840-0, $45 US hard covers) is by Alain Ducasse, the well-known world class restaurateur, with his assistants Paue Neyrat for the recipe finishing and Chistophe Saintagne for the editorial work. Log rolling is by Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud. It was originally published in France in 2009, and then translated and published by Hardie Grant Books in the UK last year. This is the North American publication. It’s a heavy book with a padded cover, but it does lie open relatively flat on your kitchen counter. There are 190 recipes here for simple, healthy and flavourful foods. The preps are written in narrative style with a fainter than usual typeface for the ingredients used; this can be off-putting by many older people. Try vegetables a la barigoule with vanilla, spinach and soft-boiled eggs, chestnut soup with bacon and flaked porcini, soft potato pancakes, sauteed rabbit with apples, or whole poached sea bass with herb cream. First-rate photography. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. There is an interesting index by main ingredient. Quality/price rating: 84. * THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Here are some recent “re-editions”... 22. 150 BEST VEGAN MUFFIN RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0292-1, $19.95 CAD paper covers) And 23. 150 BEST GLUTEN-FREE MUFFIN RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0291-4, $19.95 CAD paper covers) are both by Camilla V. Saulsbury, a freelance recipe developer and writer who has won several US cooking competitions and cook-offs. She’s also got about 15 cookbooks under her belt. These two books are complementary; most purchasers, especially those with medical issues, will want both. Many of the preps were previously published in the giant 750 Best Muffin Recipes (also from Robert Rose, in 2010), so you may not need this book if you have that huge compendium. These books are for the secondary market, for the people really need gluten-free or vegan food. Both books are similarly arranged, beginning with equipment and ingredients special to gluten-free and vegan. The arrangement is about the same too: her top muffins (20 vegan, 15 gluten-free), followed by breakfast muffins, coffeehouse muffins, lunch and supper muffins, and “global” muffins – her takes on international specialties such as five-spice Asian pear muffins or sesame ginger muffins. There’s minimal duplication, in that some recipes sound the same but call for different ingredients. For example, there’s a five-spice pear muffin that is either gluten-free or vegan (but not both). Most of the gluten-free recipes have casein-free alternatives, so you can use the book as a “dairy-free” book, but still maintain eggs and honey. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements (always a strong point with Robert Rose), but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 90. 24. A CARAFE OF RED (University of California Pr., 2012, 280 pages, ISBN 978-0-520-27032-9, $21.95 US soft covers) is by Gerald Asher, who has written many books about wine. By profession he was an international wine merchant. He also served as Gourmet magazine’s wine editor for 30 years. Here, he has selected some more essays published in Gourmet but with one dealing with cabernet sauvignon from another source as well (The Book of California Wine). He did another one last year (2011), “A Vineyard n My Glass”. The essays (mainly from the 1990s) reflect wine regions: he has 8 for France, 8 for California (plus one on Missouri), 6 for other European countries, and some general ones on food and wine. And, believe it or not, there is actually an index, which rarely happens with anthologies or reprints. His book is definitely terroir-driven as he relates talks with winemakers, wines and the meals he has had, along with growing conditions. And each article is just about perfectly written with his eye for detail. In France, he visits Bordeaux, Cote Rotie, Champagne, Beauolais. There is also Malmsey, Barbaresco, and Sherry, and for California, Santa Cruz and Zinfandel, amongst others. After each essay, he pens a swift update since the original writing. Well-worth a read or as a gift. Keep them coming, Mr. Asher…Quality/price rating: 90. 25. PLATTER’S SOUTH AFRICAN WINES 2012; the guide to cellars, vineyards, winemakers, restaurants and accommodation (John Platter SA Wine Guide Ltd; distr. by Wines of South Africa Canadian Office, keenan@propellerpr.com, 618 pages, ISBN 978-0-987-0046-0-4, $30CAD (includes shipping) hard cover) is the recognized authority on South African wines. It has been published for 32 years. For this latest edition, there are now 15 tasters – all identified, and with initials after tasting notes. Some of the tasters have changed over the years. More than 6000 wines are here evaluated (about 800 are new to this edition), along with new wineries. One-quarter of all top ranking 5 star wines are now being made by mom-and-pop operations, a remarkable achievement. Even the large co-ops are making more credible, limited collections of superior wine. The contents of the guide are straightforward: there are chapters on the wine industry, vintages and styles, touring (accommodation and food, all in some 75 pages) followed by some 500 pages of dictionary-arranged wineries, detailing most aspects. To quote, "Wines are entered under the name of the private producer, estate, co-operative winery or brand name of a merchant, and listed alphabetically. Entries feature some or all of: producer's name, address, phone/fax number, email address, website; wine name, colour and style, grape varieties, vintage, area of origin; selected recent awards and star ratings. Where applicable, other attractions to be enjoyed on the property, such as meals and accommodation, are highlighted." The book also has an indication of organic wines available for sale and sketch maps to show the location of all the wineries. The index at the front is by grape, so you can see at a glance what is the top performing pinotage, or cabernet sauvignon, or sparkler. Quality/price rating: 95. 26. 150 BEST INDIAN, THAI, VIETNAMESE & MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPES (Robert Rose, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-0-788-0404-8, $27.95 CAN paperback) is by Sunil Vijayakar, a UK food author and stylist. It was originally published in 2010 by Hamlyn as “Slow Cooker Curries”. This is it North American debut. Each recipe has a heat rating, and there is advice on how to lower or increase the spicy heat component. These are mostly curries, with an assortment of 40 pilafs, accompaniments and chutneys. And of course, you don’t actually need a slow cooker to do the dish: they can all be modified for oven use. There is a good range here, with preps from three different regions, foods from meats to seafood to veggies, and all with differing heat levels. Try goat xacuti curry, Cambodian pork and lemongrass curry, or sindhi beef curry. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. And, of course, the large type is extremely useful in the kitchen. Quality/price rating: 89. 27. THE EDIBLE BALCONY; growing fresh produce in small spaces (Rodale, 2011, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-60961-410-2, $21.99 US paperback) is by Alex Mitchell. It was also published in the UK by Kyle Books. She has been writing about small space gardens for many British publications. The attraction here, of course, is the remote possibility for growing your own fresh produce, no mater how limited your space. But there must be some kind of sunlight too, whether it is cast on a fire escape or window box or rooftop or small deck. It’s a good how-to book, with plenty of information and tips on such thing as choice of pot, compost and mixes, seeds and seedlings. There are side bars on the best crops for grow bags, for a window box, and for hanging baskets. There’s a listing of the ten best “easy” crops, and other “top ten” listings for “not-in-the-store” veggies, crops that keep coming by renewal, and fruit trees. There are also a handful of recipes, and a lot of special projects that should keep people busy. Quality/price rating: 88. 28. THE MAPLE SYRUP BOOK (Boston Mills Pr, 2006; distr. Firefly, 2012, 96 pages, ISBN 978-1-77085-033-0, $19.95 CAN paper covers) is by Janet Eagleson, a naturalist. It was originally published in 2006, and is now reissued. It is an A – Z primer on the hows and whys (including sugar shacks) of maple syrup, along with eight recipes, including one for maple syrup chicken wings (yummy). Rosemary Hasner contributes a lot of colour photos on nearly every page. There’s an illustrated flavour wheel for maple syrup, but it should have been on a full page by itself: it’s a little hard to read at one one-third of a page. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 29. THE BEST OF THE BEST AND MORE; recipes from The Best of Bridge Cookbooks (Robert Rose, 2012, 304 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0299-0, $29.95 CAN spiral bound) And 30. THE REST OF THE BEST AND MORE; recipes from The Best of Bridge Cookbooks (Robert Rose, 2012, 304 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0400-0, $29.95 CAN spiral bound) are new reprints from 1998 and 2004 respectively. The original collations, of course, are collections of preps from the long series of The Best of Bridge cookbooks. The story began in 1975 when the bridge club of eight decided to produce their own cookbooks. “The Ladies of the Best of Bridge” eventually sold 3.2 million copies of their books over a 30 year period. These two books should be viewed together. The BEST contains about 70 new recipes, while the REST has about 100 new preps. All new recipes are highlighted in the index. The original format of hand lettering has been retained. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. It is all pretty standard reference material, but all of it is useful. There was some light updating when the books were first published (I don’t have the resources to cross- check 1998 edition against the 2012), and certainly the new recipes will have been updated through 2012 – all to reflect current trends in fresh eating. Quality/price rating: 88. 31. THE BEST STEWS IN THE WORLD; 300 satisfying one-dish dinners, from chilis and gumbos to curries and cassoulet (Harvard Common Press, 2002, 2012; distr. T. Allen, 388 pages, ISBN 978-1-55832-747-4, $19.95 US paper covers) is by Clifford A. Wright, a cooking teacher and food writer who has authored some nine cookbooks, including the Beard Award winner A Mediterranean feast. It was originally published in hardback a decade ago, and here it is given its paperback reissue. Not much changes in the world of stews, so his 2002 take is still valid today – as written. It’s international in scope, of course, and arranged by major ingredient, leading off with beef. There’s veal, lamb, pork, fowl, small game, seafood, veggies, and “mixed meats”. There are materials for slow cookers, tajines, couscous, chilis, ropa vieja, and more. There’s a duck wing stew from the Languedoc, a Turkish chicken and okra stew, fish dumplings from Morocco, a Lebanese fish stew, Sardinian vegetable stew, and an Andalusian chickpea and veal tripe stew. His last stew (“no-name stew”) has all the leftovers after he finished testing the recipes. Worth a try, but hard to find all the exact ingredients. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 89. 32. WEIGHT WATCHERS NEW COMPLETE COOKBOOK, 4th ed. (J Wiley, 2011,2012, 436 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-11683-8, $21.99 US spiral bound edition) is an update of the 2007 edition, which was also released in a plastic comb binding. The book was originally published in hardback in 1993. The new, fourth edition, has many changes, such as a separate chapter on slow cooker meals and new sidebar advice. The new PointsPlus™ program is explained. Recipes have been labeled for skill level, and there are more preps for grains and veggies. Plus, of course, the new design: loose leaf allow for better recipe display in the kitchen. Once again, the emphasis is on healthy eating for family meals and for entertainment meals. The book has always been 500 recipes in length, but they are always changing. There are some helpful technique photos, as well as the usual technique tricks and tips. Quality/price rating: 87. 33. CANADIAN LIVING. The One Dish Collection (Transcontinental Books, 2012; distr. Random House Canada, 288 pages, ISBN 978-0-9813938-9-6, $26.95 CAD paper covers) is by the test kitchen at Canadian Living magazine. It’s in the style of the other books from the kitchen, such as The Vegetarian Collection, The Slow Cooker Collection, The International Collection, and The Barbecue Collection. The arrangement begins with soups, stews and salads, moving on to casseroles, baked items, simmer food, stir-fries, pasta and risotto. As always, it is a basic book with plenty of tips and advice, There’s a black bean and chorizo soup, beer-simmered steaks, vegetable barley soup, mushroom- bacon-swiss chard with gemelli pasta, tex-mex casserole with Monterey jack cheese – about 250 of them. There’s nutritional data for each recipe, as well as some tips and advice. There’s one prep per page, and so the typeface could have been a bit larger since there’s plenty of space. Preparations have their ingredients listed mainly in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87. 34. HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING: the basics, all you need to cook great food (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 486 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-52806-8, $35US hard covers) is by Mark Bittman. Every book he creates has many things to say about food, and this one is no different. It was originally published in 2003, with 100 basic recipes plus 30 others. Now Bittman has moved on to “hands-on” cooking. This edition of the book has 185 “building-block recipes and 1,000 instructive photographs”. This is great for beginners, but I’m sure that Bittman fans already have his recipes and do not need the pix. Nevertheless, with the 2003 book out of print, this is the basic Bittman that new cooks will want. And it is dirt cheap on Amazon and The Book Depository. There’s a chunk of primer data here, such as stocking the pantry and kitchen, specialized ingredients and equipment, and about 30 different skills for preparing foods. Still, the publisher has added a lot of log rolling from Oliver, Batali, Colicchio, and Chang. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 90. 35. PROFESSIONAL CAKE DECORATING. 2d ed. (Wiley, 2012, 402 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-38009-3, $65US hard covers) is by Toba Garrett, a well-known multiple award winner of cake decorations. She’s at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, a nd has also written many other cake and cookie decoration books. It was originally published in 2006 at 368 pages, so this second edition has added some 40 or so more pages. The first edition said: “Professional Cake Decorating is the first guidebook, reference, and at-your-fingertips resource to the special methods and techniques unique to cake decorating.” There’s a comprehensive set of lessons designed to teach the skills needed in cake decorating, including basic, intermediate, and advanced piping skills; hand modeling; and gumpaste flowers. She also deals with the overall look and design of cakes, and it is a useful training handbook and resource for bakers and decorators. The second edition has been revamped, with additional photography and additional techniques and patterns (such as a marzipan bridal coupe, variations on a closed tulip, more variations on writing, more marzipan such as jalapeno peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and mangoes). Also new are floating collars for suspending cakes and a pillow cake. Using hundreds of step-by-step and finished cake color photographs and many illustrations, this highly visual book covers a wealth of techniques for cake borders, piped flowers, cake writing and piping, royal icing designs, marzipan fruits and figurines, rolled icing, floral patterns, petit fours, gumpaste floral art and design, etc. Thorough coverage also includes such foundation skills as making shells, rosettes, reverse shells, zigzags, fleur-de-lis, rope, garlands, scrolls, rosebuds, and other confectionary designs (plus templates). There are also 35 recipes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 90. ---------------------------------------------------- FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS IN REVIEW FOR JANUARY 2012 ====================================== By Dean Tudor, Gothic Epicures Writing, dtudor@ryerson.ca Creator of Canada's leading wine satire site at http://fauxvoixvincuisine.blogspot.com Always available at www.deantudor.com and http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com But first, these words: 2012 WARNING – PRICE ALERT: All prices listed below are now in US DOLLARS as printed on the cover. In these times of US-Canadian currency fluctuations AND online discounts, plus the addition of GST or HST, prices will vary upwards or downwards. ALLEZ CUISINE!! * DRINK BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. THE OXFORD COMPANION TO BEER (Oxford University Press, 2012, 920 pages, ISBN 978-0-19-536713-3, $65 US hard covers) has been edited by Garrett Oliver, brew master of The Brooklyn Brewery, and beer book author (The Brewmaster’s Table). He’s also led more than 700 beer tasting events over the past two decades. As with other Oxford Companions, this is an assortment of well-defined articles about the world of beer, gathered for consistency and relevancy, and put into alphabetic order. It makes a great read for beer lovers, either randomly or from the beginning. 165 beer experts from 20 countries contributed material for over 1,100 entries. Topics include: biographies, beer history, the brewing process, tastings and notes, beer styles, profiles of beer-producing regions, varieties of hops (more than 100 entries) and barley, food pairing, glassware, barrel- aging, dry hopping, bottle re-fermentation, and more. Illustrations are derived from advertisements, brochures, postcards, photos, and more. The appendices have lists of beer organizations and clubs, beer festivals, websites, magazines, and beer museums. Articles are signed, and there is a list of contributors with their affiliations. Audience and level of use: reference libraries, intelligent beer lovers. Some interesting or unusual facts: gravity dispense is the original method for drawing beer from a cask, before the invention of draught systems. The downside to this book: Nick Pashley and Stephen Beaumont, both beer experts in Canada, are not listed as contributors. The upside to this book: there are two full pages about Michael Jackson the beer and scotch writer. Quality/Price Rating: 93. * FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! * ++++++++++++++++++++++ 2. CHICKEN (Reaktion Books, 2012; distr. Univ. of Chicago Press, 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-86189-858-6, $19.95 US paper covers) is by Annie Potts, an academic in New Zealand. Her book is one of the amazing “Animal” series published by Reaktion in the UK. Most of the series deal with animals we do not eat, such as Cat, Dog, Giraffe, Parrot and Whale. Domesticated animals have included Cow, Pig and Duck, plus farmed animals such as Salmon and Moose. This is the popular culture story of the Chicken: dealing with historical and literary items such as fancy breeds from jungle fowl, the religious venerations of chickens and roosters in the past, egg-rolling, cockfighting, wishbone-pulling, and the like. Relationships with humans are also covered. There is a separate chapter on “meat chicks” and “egg machines”. And it has been richly illustrated with colour and black and white historical photos and drawings, older advertisements, and just plain whimsy – 103 in all, 72 in colour. At the end, Potts has an illustrated timeline of the chicken, endnotes, select bibliography, a listing of associations and periodicals, websites, and an index. This is compelling reading. Audience and level of use: those interested in food lore and history. Some interesting or unusual facts: “The Day of the Chicken is the first day of the lunar Chinese New Year, so called because only the Heavenly Chicken knows when the first sunrise of a new year occurs.” Quality/Price Rating: 90. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * OTHER FOOD AND DRINK BOOKS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. THE WEEKNIGHT COOK; fresh & simple recipes for good food everyday (Weldon Owen, 2011; dist. Simon & Schuster, 455 pages, ISBN 978-1- 61628-166-9, $ 24.95 US paper covers) is by Brigit Binns, who has authored other cookbooks for Williams-Sonoma (and also published by Weldon Owen). Here, she concentrates on general family cooking for the weeknight, with 300 or so preps emphasizing three steps or less, easy- to-find ingredients, and meal planning tips. The emphasis is definitely on “cooking smarter” and “kitchen savvy”; meal planning involves a pantry and seasonal foods. She’s got a month of menus, basic recipes, checklists, planning for company, and matching food to wine. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Audience and level of use: the home cook. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: artichokes with lemon aioli; eggplant with spicy chile sauce; vegetable quesadillas; roasted vegetables with Romesco sauce; miso-marinated salmon; fried catfish and greens; orange-chipotle chicken with corn. The downside to this book: it is hard to tell how long the binding will last. The upside to this book: photos bleed into the gutters, giving us more room for the recipe and annotations. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 4. HYPERENSION COOKBOOK FOR DUMMIES (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 362 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-09513-3, $19.99 US paper covers) is by Rosanne Rust (author of Restaurant Calorie Counter for Dummies) and Cindy Kleckner. Both are registered dieticians and nutrition consultants. They tell you how to beat hypertension with about 150 simple recipes. Along with the food (fresh, low-sodium), the authors say that there needs to be lifestyle changes. As with all Dummies books, there are loads of tips. Here, these are for meal planning, eliminating salt, losing weight, lowering cholesterol, fast and smart grocery shopping, nutrition labels, and the DASH diet. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. There are also ten tips to enhance the flavour of your meal without adding salt, and ten long-term tips to beat hypertension. Audience and level of use: those with hypertension. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: baked chicken pesto; glazed Cornish hens; steak and vegetable kabobs; pulled pork sandwiches; pasta with zucchini yogurt sauce and walnuts; oven-roasted fish with vegetables. The downside to this book: it may not always work, so seek medical advice. The upside to this book: should attract a wider-than-normal audience. Quality/Price Rating: 89 5. MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOK FOR DUMMIES (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 364 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-06778-9, $19.99 US paper covers) is by Meri Raffetto, also author of the Glycemic Index Cookbook for Dummies, and Wendy Jo Peterson, both registered dieticians. The Mediterranean diet is a way to improve your health, lose weight, and prevent and fight disease. It has been proven that Mediterranean people live longer, and the reason is their diet. Emulation is the best way to go…and besides, it’s flavourful. The 160 recipes here promote the health benefits of a plant-based cuisine, while switching you away from a sweet tooth. And, of course, it works – if you stick to it. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. The principal foods are plants, olive oils, and wine. The cuisines in the book are Italy, Greece, Morocco and Spain. There are two chapters for top ten lists: one covers how to get more plant-based foods into your diet, while the other explores myths of the Mediterranean diet (so you won’t be misled). Audience and level of use: those looking for some good diet ideas. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: classic meze platter; meat- filled dolmas; chicken cacciatore; chicken piccata; wild rice pilaf; lemon pork chops; pork sausages with white beans and tomatoes. The downside to this book: the photos, while colourful, do not appear to be inspired. The upside to this book: there are a lot of tips here, like all the Dummies books. Quality/Price Rating: 89. 6. EVENTS EXPOSED; managing and designing special events (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 237 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-90408-4, $50 US hard covers) is by Lena Malouf, an award-winning specialist in event management and design. She’s now a consultant, traveling the world, sharing her expertise. Her book has been gleaned from her more-than-45 years of experience in the industry. It’s in two parts: the first deals with the business (strategy, getting clients, building the business, what to look for in venues, money management, proposal presentation, and the like) and the design (tabletop, ceiling, all décor, themes, and weddings). There are checklists, case studies, and sections on behavioural styles and how to work with them. Audience and level of use: event planners, hospitality schools. Some interesting or unusual facts: Chinese lanterns are suspended from a timber grid. This is a great decorating idea for events that are themed: all you need to do is suspend the appropriate props in place of the lanterns. The downside to this book: a bit brisk, but it covers all the important elements. The upside to this book: a good book, full of psychological insights. Quality/Price Rating: 86. 7. WEIGHTWATCHERS ONE POT COOKBOOK; the ultimate kitchen companion with over 300 recipes (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 374 pages, ISBN 978-1-118- 03812-3, $29.99 US hard covers) promises a great dinner from using just one appliance (a liberal definition of “one pot”, which also includes panini press, waffle iron, fondue pot, BBQ grill). The title might be misleading if you were expecting something like 300 casserole preps. Chapters are arranged by the type of pots, so there are “bowls”, skillets, woks, saucepan, Dutch oven, roasting pan, casserole dish, slow cooker, pressure cooker and “baking pan” for desserts. But it is still a pretty nifty book for using just the one appliance. Recipes have all the usual health data “per serving”, plus key WeightWatchers elements of points. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. There’s an index by PointsPlus, and an alphabetical index. Unfortunately, both indexes have a very faint typeface and can be hard to read. Audience and level of use: WeightWatchers Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: rabbit in sour cream sauce with cherry tomatoes and noodles; cheese, beef and noodle casserole; rustic beef short ribs with mustard sauce; Korean-style soft tacos; chicken gumbo; tortilla casserole with tomatillo salsa. The downside to this book: misleading title? The upside to this book: Recipes include WeightWatchers PointsPlus values. Quality/Price Rating: 82. 8. THE NEWLYWED COOKBOOK; fresh ideas and modern recipes for cooking with and for each other (Chronicle Books, 2012, 304 pages, ISBN 978-0- 8118-7683-4, $35 US hard covers) is by Sarah Copeland, a New York based recipe developer for the Food Network. The shtick here is that modern couples need to be spending more time TOGETHER in the kitchen, which is not such a bad idea. Here are more than 130 recipes for both classic and contemporary meals that are both perfect for two people and require two people to participate. Many can be expanded to four or more, and are thus great for entertaining or parties. Copeland believes that true happiness comes from sourcing, cooking and sharing food together. I‘ll vote for that: it worked for me…in all of my marriages! Topics include stocking the pantry, visiting the farmers’ markets, brunch, little meals, supper, comfort food, romantic meals, embellishments, indulgences, and alfresco such as campfires, picnics, and portable parties. Everything seems to be easy to make, and there is a lot of detail about kitchen life in the first fifty or so pages of this book. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Next question: who does the cleaning up? Audience and level of use: newlyweds. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: lazy chef’s fruit torte; Venezuelan chocolate shake; iron skillet steak with thyme butter; pan- fried pork chops; lobster rolls; open-face soft-boiled egg sandwiches; oatmeal scones; ricotta silver dollars. The downside to this book: I guess it has a built-in audience, but does anyone ever admit to being newlyweds anymore? It is so middle-class… The upside to this book: a no-brainer for showers. Quality/Price Rating: 85. 9. A TOAST TO BARGAIN WINES; how innovators, iconoclasts, and winemaking revolutionaries are changing the way the world drinks. (Scribner, 2011, 311 pages, ISBN 978-1-4391-9518-5, $15 US paper covers) is by George M. Taber, an award winning wine book author (Judgment of Paris, To Cork or Not to Cork) with multiple nominations for a Beard and a Simon award. If you were to survey ever wine writer in the world, I think that 99.9% would say that the most frequent question asked of them is – can you recommend a good wine that costs less than $10 (in local currency)? The first half of the book is the more enjoyable: how wine culture had evolved and stories about the creators of value wines such as Fred Franzia and Two-Buck Chuck, John Casella and [yellow tail], and the French investors in Chinese wine. The last half is the guide to best buys: he lists 10 wines for 34 of the more popular wine varieties (along with a gratuitous two wines that cost above $10), then 10 value brands from 12 regions around the world, and then his 10 favourite box wines. Many of these wines are available in Canada, save the boxes, but at $12 - $15 or so. Bottom line for this book: the publisher says it includes more than 400 recommended wines under $10 US national retail (and many of those wines are often discounted or on sale most of the time). Ultimately, the list of wines matters. Few people really want to actually read about modestly-priced wine; they just want a checklist to take with them into a liquor store. The same situation works at the high end too, where buyers don’t mind paying $50 or more for a wine, but it had better get 94 points from Parker if they are going to drop that kind of money. So, they make their lists too, cribbed from other wine books. Chacun a son gout. Taber concludes with a bibliography of source readings. Audience and level of use: those interested in wine bargains. Some interesting or unusual facts: he has the important Tim Hanni Taste Sensitivity Assessment test. The downside to this book: it could have been a long article or a shorter, mass market paperback selling for under $10, like the wines. The upside to this book: there are good selections of wines here. Quality/Price Rating: 88. 10. GLUTEN-FREE MADE SIMPLE (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011, 216 pages, ISBN 978-0-312-55066-0, $24.99 US paper covers) is by the team of Carol Field Dahlstrom, Elizabeth Dahlstrom Burnley, and Marcia Schultz Dahlstrom. It’s an easy book to use, with many photos of techniques and finished plates. There are about 100 preps with nutritional analysis for each, plus icons to indicate high protein, low fat, egg free, casein-free, whole grain or vegetarian. For those with celiac disease, foods must be totally gluten-free. In most cases, a vigilant eye can check on food products. But with breads or any prep requiring flours, extra thought must be made. Thus, I usually head for the bread-dessert section in any of these gluten-free cookbooks. Here, there is a good assortment of recipes, but I do find it strange that several different pre-packaged flour mixes are used. Usually, many books rely on just one named mix, with a reference to “any other similar type mix”. This book refers to at least three pre-packaged mixes for all-purpose gluten-free flours. I would have thought that it might be more economical, and simpler, to just have one brand, and buy several packages at once. Or, if you do a lot of baking, make your own pre-packaged mix. But the Dahlstroms don’t give the reader a recipe for a DIY mix. Perhaps there is one at their website, www.gluten-freemadesimple.com. Arrangement in the book is by course, and there is a glossary and resources list. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. The index is followed by a listing of the various recipes by icon (e.g., egg-free, casein-free, etc.). Audience and level of use: those who are gluten intolerant. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: eating out can be a problem. It is best to have a pre-made “Dining Card” which lists gluten products, and to remind servers about cross-contamination (it is not enough to just pick out croutons from a salad). The downside to this book: I’m not sure what the flour matter is about. The upside to this book: there is a chapter on gluten-free lifestyle. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 11. SOUP OF THE DAY; 365 recipes for every day of the year (Weldon Owen, 2011, 304 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-1670, $34.95 US hard covers) is by Kate Macmillan, who runs a catering company and teaches at Tante Marie’s in San Francisco, It is one of the Williams-Sonoma cookbook series, so it would be prominently featured in its stores. There’s a soup recipe for each day of the year, with lots of plated photos. Arrangement is by month, and then by day, with a calendar. Of course, you don’t have to follow the dates. But it is a chance to view seasonal foods and to choose for a weeknight supper or a weekend dinner party. There are notes regarding leftovers, ingredient substitutions, and garnishes. Other variations include type of crockery use, upscaling or downscaling the soup, and types of herbs. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. There are to indexes: one by alphabetical name, the other by type (Asia-style soups, chili, chilled, chowder, fruit soups, grain-based, puréed, stews, vegetarian, etc.). Audience and level of use: soup lovers and those looking for new ideas. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: as I write this review, I should be consuming gingery beef broth with soba noodles and bok choy, or broccoli and cheddar soup, or citrusy seafood soup, or roast pork and don noodle soup, or kumquat-carrot puree with toasted fennel seeds (January 18 – 22). The downside to this book: the actual listing of a recipe per a certain day may seem a bit to confining to some. The upside to this book: it encourages SLOFE principles (seasonal, local, organic, fast, and easy). Quality/Price Rating: 87. 12. HOME BAKED COMFORT; featuring mouthwatering recipes and tales of the sweet life with favorites from bakers across the country (Weldon Owen, 2011; distr. Simon & Schuster, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-200-4, $34.95 US hard covers) is from the Williams-Sonoma line of cook books, here authored by Kim Laidlaw, a professional baker and cookbook editor. There are about 100 preps here with the stress on “home” and “comfort” (although tidying up is still required). There are a series of breakfast foods, breads, cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies and tarts, finishing with custards and soufflés. Virtually a complete range for the home cook. There is the usual primer-type info about baking tools, ingredients, tips and advice, plus maintaining a pantry. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, and there are tables of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: home bakers. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: angel biscuits, lemon- blueberry drizzle bread, chocolate crinkle cookies, orange-whisky cake, apple-cinnamon hand pies, Mexican caramel flan. The downside to this book: I think this needs the Sonoma-Williams cachet to push the book, otherwise it is very competitive out there for the home baked cooking market. There may also be fallout due to Paula Deen. Who knows? The upside to this book: the preps can call for scaling as an alternative to volumes. Quality/Price Rating: 87. 13. BEAN BY BEAN (Workman Publishing, 2011; distr. T. Allen, 370 pages, ISBN 978-0-7611-3241-7, $15.95 US paper covers) is by the prolific Crescent Dragonwagon, who has authored seven cookbooks, including the Beard winner “Passionate Vegetarian”. She has grown more than 31 bean varieties. Here are more than 175 recipes for all manner of beans, including lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, cannellini, favas, haricot verts, shell beans, tofu and peanuts. There are the basic primers for the types of beans: selecting, storing, preparing, cooking, and styles (dried, fresh, shell, canned, and dehydrated). She begins with apps, such as peanuts and garbanzos. Then she moves on to soups and salads, followed by chili and stews, baked beans and casseroles, skillet stir fries, and then beans and grains, followed by a few desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Audience and level of use: home cooks. Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: German-style green bean, potato and bacon salad; Petaluma chili; yellow-eye beans redux; dal; Greek gigantes soup-stew; bhujia; vegetarian cassoulet; red bean ice cream; green gram payasam. The downside to this book: I’d still like to see metric measurements in recipes. The upside to this book: great range of tasty dishes. Quality/Price Rating: 89. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they’ve been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I’ll try to point this out. The usual shtick is “favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks”. There is also PR copy on “demystifying ethnic ingredients”. PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase “mouth-watering recipes” as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don’t seem to work, but how could that be? They all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food shots, verging on gastroporn. The endorsements are from other celebrities in a magnificent case of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don’t ignore them altogether. Here’s a rundown on the latest crop of such books – 14. MASALA FARM; stories and recipes from an uncommon life in the country (Chronicle Books, 2011; distr. Raincoast, 239 pages, ISBN 978- 0-8118-7233-1, $29.95 US hard covers) is by Suvir Saran, a NYC chef (Devi) who is a city boy from India now running a farm in upstate New York. He splits his time between the farm and Manhattan. It has been written with the assistance of Raquel Pelzel and Charlie Burd, the latter his partner. Log rollers include Marion Nestle, Ted Allen, Gael Greene and Frances Mayes. The 67-acre farm is home to goats, alpacas, ducks, geese, chickens and predators. It’s a memoir collection of food stories, arranged by season, with 80 recipes scattered about. Meal planning is a must. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Recipes are brisk but detailed enough, and cover a range of cuisines, mostly influenced by Indian cooking. This is mainly a cookbook with a few stories. Some preps include chai cider, lamb pastrami, sweet and sour butternut squash, spicy pulled pork, veal chops with mustard-herb sauce, and birbal kee khitcheree tomatoes. Quality/Price Rating: 87. * THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Here are some recent “re-editions”... 15. THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK (Atria Books, 2010, 2012; distr. Simon & Schuster, 298 pages, ISBN 978-1-4391-4897-6, $16 U paper covers) is by Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat. Not only did we all know she would write a cookbook based on that bestselling book, but also we knew that it would be in paperback t some point. Thus, this is the 2012 soft cover re-issue of the hardbound book. She reiterates how to enjoy food and stay slim, with recipes to back it up. Nine of these preps had appeared in two of her previous books. Her organization centres around breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try haricots verts salad with peaches and almonds, apple compote with pistachios, quinoa with almonds and hazelnuts and apricots, spaghetti with lime and arugula, orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage, or vegetable curry. There are shopping lists and chapters dealing with health concerns. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 89. 16. FISH FOREVER; the definitive guide to understanding, selecting, and preparing healthy, delicious, and environmentally sustainable seafood (John Wiley & Sons, 2007, 2012, 438 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-16941-4, $21.99 US paper covers) is by Paul Johnson, owner of the Monterey Fish Market and supplier to many top California chefs (Waters, Keller, Bertolli) and serves on the board of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. Some of the royalties are being donated to “Save Our Wild Salmon”. This is the paperback reprint of the 2007 hard cover book. His book tries to show us how to chose seafood that is both sustainable and healthy, despite many ecological and lifesmart issues. He tries to find the least-endangered, least-contaminated, and best- tasting species. There are 70 of these (anchovies, bluefish, squid, tilapia, clams, weakfish, black sea bass, et al) and 96 recipes to use them. Did you know that Alaskan Pollock is 40% of all fish caught in US waters? Just about all of it is frozen and processed to imitation- seafood (e.g., crab). This is FOUR BILLION pounds annually, and is mostly sold to restaurants and supermarkets, packaged for the latter as “breaded fish”. He has an appendix dealing with omega-3s and mercury (called a “balancing act”), raw seafood, a glossary of health concerns, organic pollutants, fishing and aquaculture methods. The bibliography lists Internet sites. You could try catfish tacos, Mediterranean baked cod, minestrone, yellowtail snapper with tomato and tarragon pan sauce, snapper seviche, and slow-roasted salmon salad. There have been the inevitable changes since 2007, such as more Pollock turning up on the shelves and skate is now endangered on the East coast (restos are encouraged to avoid it). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/Price Rating: 88. 17. BEER FOR DUMMIES, 2d ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 340 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-12030-9, $22.99 US paper covers) is by Marty Nachel, a certified beer judge, and Steve Ettlinger, an author of food books. The first edition was in 1996, so this is virtually a brand new book since it is now 15 years later. It is billed as “the fun and friendly guide to all things beer”, with an emphasis on how to taste and evaluate beer. There are basics on ingredients like hops, malt, and barley, plus the differences between lagers and ales. Along the way, there are sections on the best beer festivals, tastings, and events around the world as well as tips for pouring, storing, and drinking beer like an expert. New coverage on the various styles of beer found around the world including: real ale, barrel aged/wood aged beer, organic brews, and extreme beer. Nachel has some updated profiles on the flavor and body of each beer, explaining why beers taste the way they do, as well as their strengths and ideal serving temperatures. He also tells how to read a label, beer-and-food pairings, and cooking with beer. Recipes have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Canada and Mexico get one page each, with a sidebar dedicated to the LCBO and The Beer Store. Quality/price rating: 87. 18. MY COOKING CLASS: Indian Basics; 85 recipes illustrated step by step (Firefly, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-1-55407-939-1, $24.95 CAN paper covers) is by Jody Vassallo, an Ayurveda traditional medicine cook. There are no specific page references here, but each prep is numbered and indexed. “The recipes are presented in complete visual sequences, step by step from start to finish.” Every utensil is photographed from above in colour, and the ingredients are shown in the correct quantity and in the order that it will be used. The book was originally published in 2010 in French by Marabout, and then later translated. There are written instructions and tasks are demonstrated. Advice and variations are also given. It is a good format. There is a glossary, eight menus, and some notes on Ayurvedic cooking. Useful recipes include grilled fish in banana leaf, lamb biryani, butter chicken, chewy spiced yogurt cake, and a variety of dals. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. 19. MY COOKING CLASS: preserving basics; 77 recipes illustrated step by step (Firefly, 2011, unpaged, ISBN 978-1-55407-942-1, $24.95 CAN paper covers) is by Jody Vassallo, who has written over two dozen cookbooks. There are no specific page references here, but each prep is numbered and indexed. “The recipes are presented in complete visual sequences, step by step from start to finish.” Every utensil is photographed from above in colour, and the ingredients are shown in the correct quantity and in the order that it will be used. The book was originally published in 2011 in French by Marabout, and then later translated. There are written instructions and tasks are demonstrated. Advice and variations are also given. It is a good format. There are food charts, pectin charts and storage charts. Useful recipes include spreads (curds, butters, chocolate), jellies, marmalades, mustards, chutneys and relishes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88. 20. PROFESSIONAL EVENT COORDINATION. 2d ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 492 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-56071-6, $70 US hard covers) is by Julia Rutherford Silvers, an academic and industry consultant to the hospitality trade. She’s a multiple award winner who conducts workshops and lectures around the world. The book was first published nine years ago in 2003, and here has been completely overhauled. She covers a range from small parties of ten to large corporate events for 10,000. This includes her takes on design, project management, site selection, site development, safety and security issues, food and beverage management, and entertainment. It is a good reference work for practitioners and students, with case studies, forms and checklists, online resources, and discussion questions. New in the previous decade have been such things as mobile devices, virtual conferencing, social media, and the need for green and sustainable practices, and these are admirably covered here. There are both suggestions for additional reading and a bibliography. Quality/price rating: 87. 21. MEALS IN MINUTES: EASY DESSERTS (Weldon Owens, 2007, 2011, 112 pages, ISBN 978-1-61628-215-8, $9.99 US paper covers) comes form the previously published “Desserts” in the Food Made Fast series. Okay, so now everything is both easy and fast. The recipes were developed by Elinor Klivans. Everything is either 15 minutes (hands-on time) or 30 minutes total – the book is arranged that way. There is a buttery cookie dough to freeze and use in many of the dessert recipes found here. And there are nine other preps to make that can be stored. Strewn about are tips, suggestions and ideas on planning. A well-stocked pantry is suggested. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Try cherry clafoutis, spicy chocolate truffles, toasted almond gelato, blackberry fool, or hot fudge parfaits. Quality/price rating: 89. 22. PRAIRIE HOME BREADS; 150 splendid recipes from America’s breadbasket (Harvard Common Press, 2001, 2011, 230 pages, ISBN 978-1- 55832-173-1, $14.95 US paper covers) is by Judith M. Fertig, who has had Beard and IACP cookbook nominations. She specializes in Midwestern US regional cuisine. The book was originally published in 2001, and here, a decade later, is the paperback reprint. It is a farmland bread book, full of rusticity. There are whole-grain breads, Sunday dinner breads, breakfast muffins, scones, dessert breads, teatime treats and pastries. Biscuits, crackers, popovers, coffee cakes, rolls and buns complete the picture. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. This is a very interesting collection of recipes, with some historical preps that have been updated. Try Russian Mennonite sour rye bread, herbed polenta bread, pizza pollotate, Amish pinwheel bread, Dakota territory sourdough potato bread, or spoon rolls. Quality/price rating: 88. ----------------------------------------------------