Books reviewed by Fred Thomas
in TW3's The Scarlet Pumpernickel
from How To Cook Everything
The Best Recipe
by The Editors of Cook's Illustrated
How To Cook Everything
Simple Recipes for Great Food
by Mark Bittman
from Goose Livers Of The Gods
Foie Gras: A Passion
by Michael A. Ginor
The Making of a Pastry Chef:
Recipes and Inspirations from America's Best
by Andrew MacLauchlan
from Fight Fire With Fire
Miami Spice: Latin America, Cuba and the Caribbean Meet in the Tropical Heart of America
by Steven Raichlen
from Book Excerpt: Uncommon Grounds
Uncommon Grounds: The History Of Coffee
and How It Transformed Our World
by Mark Pendergrast
from Cooking To Beat The Clock
Cooking to Beat the Clock:
Inspired Meals in 15 Minutes
by Sam Gugino
from Oh, Sweet Civilization!
Lidia's Italian Table
by Lidia Maticchio Bastianich
Also Recommended:
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
by Marcella Hazan
from A Singularly Good Idea
Saveur Cooks Authentic American
by The Editors of Saveur Magazine
Noteworthy Reissues
From Our Kitchens by Mary Deirdre Donovan (ed.)
Master Recipes by Stephen Schmidt
from Tastier Than Ever
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (13th Ed.)
by Marion Cunningham
from Four Good Little Books
Fondue
Great Food to Dip, Dunk, Savor and Swirl
by Rick Rodgers
Rao's Cookbook
Over 100 Years of Italian Home Cooking
by Frank Pellegrino
Sunday Dinner
Seasonal Menus to Enjoy With Friends & Family
by Barbara Scott-Goodman with Mary Goodbody
Quick From Scratch
One-Dish Meals
by The Editors of Food & Wine Magazine
from A Truffle For Your Thoughts
The New Professional Chef
by The Culinary Institute of America
edited by Mary Deirdre Donovan
More Books For Cooks: October
While The New Professional Chef is not a French cookbook per se, the charming The Lutece Cookbook
is. Andre Soltner, the Alsatian chef who ruled New York City's finest
restaurant -- only Le Cirque and The Four Seasons come close to the
grandeur, or expense, of Lutece -- assembled the memory of his kitchen
when he retired in 1994 and sold the four small dining rooms at 249 East 50th Street.
Soltner, with Seymour Britchky providing the
nuts and bolts of the text, uncorks many a mysterious recipe from the
Lutece kitchen. It took me two years before I even considered trying
to replicate the dishes, but one wintry day, fortified with an early-afternoon vodka martini, I
went after Soltner's Country Terrine, a
preparation I found as satisfying to put up as it was toothsome.
My little
beach place wasn't exactly transformed into Lutece's fabled Garden Room, but the rent should have gone up at least a hundred dollars
for the rarefied Cognac and juniper scent that settled nicely into the
carpet.
I'm spending more time with the Lutece book than I do with, say,
Julia Child's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking (originally published in 1961), a title I recently
dusted off for re-examination. I found it quite the fresh read, though I like Soltner's book better.
from Chocolate Butterflies & Marzipan Pigs
The Professional Pastry Chef
by Bo Friberg
More Books For Cooks: September
Clarkson Potter Publishers has just released The Blue Ribbon
Country Cookbook by Diane Roupe. This 900-page beast's
reference to "country" suggests breakfasts featuring red-eye gravy. Pity, for while there
are a few recipes for this sort of fare (the weirdest of
which, I believe, is ring bologna casserole), this is largely a
sophisticated book, celebrating American cooking with wide-eyed passion.
Pears stuffed with rum-flavored ricotta cheese with a dusting of dried
coffee sounds simply delicious. So does rotisserie chicken with an
orange and ginger glaze or her wild goose paté. With aspic. These are
not dishes one thinks of when one thinks country. Like Craig Claiborne's
The New New York Times Cookbook and The Joy Of
Cooking, this is a cookbook that will get a constant workout.
Condé Nast, publisher of Gourmet and The New
Yorker, has just released a small book of desserts called
Gourmet's Sweets: Desserts For Every Occasion. Like any
Gourmet publication, this book may spend more time on the
coffee table than in the kitchen. Slick paper, gorgeous photographs and
carriage-trade civility are hallmarks of this book. Many of the recipes -- how about Chocolate Mousse And Raspberry Cream Daquoise -- are show-stoppers, if not heart-stoppers. Macadamia Rum Baked Alaska
suggests a dinner party for the boss and Boston Bavarian Cream Pie cries
for no company and a few good football games on TV.
1999 Julia Child & James Beard Book Awards
New In Paper: Cookbooks, Food & Wine
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