|
FOOD: RECIPES and ENTERTAINING
The links below connect to amazon.com. If you have already set your preferences there, you can click on any link, select "Buy 1 Now with 1-Click" and your books will arrive in a few days with no further action on your part. If you haven't used amazon.com before, check it out. Once you've put in your name, address, and credit card info once, it is really easy to buy books from then on. It's also the nicest way to support AskTog—you get your books at the full 20% off, and we get a few pennies toward our ISP costs.
| The Great American Meat Book |
|
|
Merle Ellis is a world-class butcher, a nice guy, and a great teacher. His book is a comfortable read that will leave you with a storehouse of knowledge about how to get the most food for your money. Even if you never actually followed a single recipe in this book, if you simply "mined" it for all its tips and techniques, you would be well ahead of the game.
The Great American Meat Book belongs on every cook's shelf, right next to Joy of Cooking. |
| For further description, reviews, or to order a discount copy, check out The Great American Meat Book page at amazon .com. |
| The New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill |
|
|
In this award-winning cookbook, New York Times writer Molly O'Neill presents some 500 recipes garnered from all corners of New York City.
Molly O'Neill is not only a "foodie's foodie," she is a talented and accomplished writer. The New York Cookbook is as pleasurable to read as it is to cook from. Molly introduces a wide range of real New York characters, all clutching a recipe in their hands, from Grandma Simon, with her delicate--yes, delicate-pickled herring, to the Ebinger family's classic Brooklyn all-chocolate Blackout Cake.
When I'm not just reading the book for pure enjoyment, I will flip it open to a random page, slide my finger down, and prepare to cook whatever I find. Because Molly is so meticulous about testing and retesting her recipes before they ever hit print, I am always delighted with the results. |
| For further description, reviews, or to order a discount copy, check out the New York Cookbook page at amazon .com. |
| The Pleasure of your Company by Molly O'Neill |
|
|
It's all well and good to prepare a fine meal, but it will do no good if both groups of attendies are not happy. Your guests, of course, form one group, but the more important "group" is you.
In this book, Molly teaches you how to successfully entertain without transforming yourself into a Martha Stewart. Molly spent three years shadowing hostesses and caterers, learning the tips and techniques that will enable you to pull off dinner parties, large or small, with the biggest bang for the least effort.
The book is chock-a-block with thoroughly-tested recipes, all painstakingly developed to minimize preparation time and maximize both good health and pleasure. |
| For further description, reviews, or to order a discount copy, check out the Pleasure of your Company page at amazon .com. |
| A Well-Seasoned Appetite by Molly O'Neill |
|
|
Filled not only with good recipes, but a lot of basic cullinary techniques, this book will keep you and your family warm and full year-round. Molly spent a year creating this book, shopping for and selecting seasonal ingredients, then blending them in new as well as traditional ways. She presents the results divided into the four seasons, giving you new recipes to look forward to as each season turns.
I spent many hours with Molly as she was creating this book. I've used cookbooks, even by famous people, with recipes that were obviously thought-up, but never cooked. Because they couldn't possibly work. Molly maintains an extensive test kitchen in New York City. She and her staff of cooks prepares and refines each recipe, ensuring that what you prepare can and will be successful. |
| Click for the hardcover or softcover version of A Well-Seasoned Appetite page at amazon .com. |
| Dessert Circus by Jacques Torres |
|
|
Jacques Torres is arguably the finest pastry chef alive today. Winner of the prestigious prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France medal, he not only is the chef patissier at the USA's finest restaurant, Le Cirque 2000, he is Dean of Pastry Arts at the French Culinary Institute and hosts the PBS series, Dessert Circus,upon which this book is based.
Jacques' recipes vary from the "I can do that!" variety through the "Maybe next weekend," all the way to "Ohmygod, how did he do that?" The illustrations alone are worth the price of the book, from the happy clown with spun-sugar orange hair to the artist's palette of hard dark chocolate adorned with dollops of sorbet and white chocolate paintbrushes to the wedding cake with bursts of flowers that look absolutely real (but taste ever so much better). However, I must warn those who would only look that Jacques can be quite seductive. Carrying you step-by-gentle-step, he just might turn you into a pastry chef before you realize it. |
| For further description, reviews, or to order a discount copy, check out the Dessert Circus page at amazon .com, or, for a personally autographed copy, access the mail-in order form at www.jacquestorres.com. |
|
