Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection: Reinventing Kitchen Classics

Product Description
Fish and chips; roast chicken; spaghetti bolognese; steak and salad; pizza; sausages and mashed potatoes; black forest cake; and treacle tart and ice cream: all as good as they can possibly be. With this book, a tie-in to the BBC series of the same name, Michelin three-star winner Heston Blumenthal delivers the absolute last word in how to cook these timeless dishes. He looks at the origin of the dishes, how to find the best ingredients (in America as well as in the UK) and what to look for, and, of course, how to cook them to perfection. Along the way, readers are treated to priceless culinary lessons: everything from how to cut potatoes for flawless frying to where to find the choicest beef to the two secret ingredients in spaghetti Bolognese (nutmeg and cream!). Lavishly illustrated with gorgeous photos, and including “perfect” recipes for each dish, this unrivaled book deserves a place as a staple in every cook’s home.

About the Author
Chef Heston Blumenthal has been described as a culinary alchemist for his innovative style of cuisine. His work researches the molecular compounds of dishes so as to enable a greater understanding of taste and flavor. His restaurant The Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, was awarded three Michelin stars in 2004, and voted the Best Restaurant in the World by an international panel of 500 culinary experts in Restaurant Magazine’s list of the World’s Best Restaurants 2005. Heston Blumenthal lives in Berkshire with his wife and three children.

Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Roden, a leading authority on Middle Eastern and North African food and the James Beard Award–winning author of The Book of Jewish Food, provides a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating look at the cuisines of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon. Including bits of history, stories and more that 150 recipes, Roden reworks the classics, making them easier and more flavorful for today’s home cook. By organizing the book by country, she makes it easy to plan meals from the same country or combine various recipes from each. In each recipe, flavors are exquisitely balanced, as in Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup; Tagine of Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives; Turkish Lamb Stew with Eggplant Sauce and Roasted Quinces; or Squabs Stuffed with Date and Almond Paste. She gives proper homage to the Lebanese tradition of serving mezze—little appetizers served with drinks—such as Eggplant and Tahini Dip (Baba Ghanouj) and Spinach Pies. The simple desserts bring out some of the same ingredients from savory dishes such as nuts (in Pistachio Cake; Milk and Almond Pudding) as well as flowers, like Tiny Open Pancakes with Cream and Rose Petal Jam, or orange blossom water in Kataifi with Cream Filling. 93 color photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Roden triumphs again, this time with a closer look at three different traditions within Arab cuisine: Moroccan, Turkish, and Lebanese. Although these cooking styles share many common traits, each is unique, distinctive, and worth exploring in an American kitchen. Moroccan food features fragrant braised stews called tagines that Roden shows how to re-create without elaborate equipment. She also contributes a useful method for making preserved lemons that reduces their preparation from a month to four days. Vegetarians can profit from exploring the many Turkish dishes based on eggplant, beans, and other vegetables. Little Lebanon has much to recommend beyond its fragrantly spiced, savory national dish of lamb and cracked wheat called kibbee. All three cuisines call for special attention to fine pastry in creating appetizers, entrees, and desserts. In addition to her recipes, Roden offers intriguing descriptions of regional specialties and street food that expand readers’ understanding of these national traditions while enticing them into the kitchen. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Indian Essence: The Fresh Tastes of India’s New Cuisine

Product Description
With this beautiful cookbook by one of the world’s top Indian chefs, readers can explore India’s rich and varied cuisine at home. Atul Kochhar was born and trained in India, and is one of the world’s only Indian chefs to receive a prestigious Michelin star. In Indian Essence, he presents over 140 recipes drawn from the restaurants, street stalls, and homes of every region of India. There are rich Moghul dishes, vegetarian delights from Tamil Nadu, coconut-based curries from Goa and Kerala, and seafood dishes from Calcutta. Atul provides insight into India’s diverse food culture and explains how to assemble authentic menus, from a Kashmiri wazwan — a traditional Northern feast — to a Gujerati thali — a selection of Southern dishes served on a banana leaf. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with colour photographs, Indian Essence is an inspiring culinary journey through a fascinating country.

About the Author

Born in Jamshedpur, east India, Atul Kochhar began his career at the exclusive Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi, before moving to London in 1994. Over the past nine years he has established himself as one of Britain’s most critically acclaimed chefs; while head chef at Tamarind he became one of only two Indian chefs in the world to be awarded a coveted Michelin star. Atul now has his own restaurant, Benares in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, which receives excellent reviews and nominations for several restaurant awards.

Fish, Indian Style: 100 Simple Spicy Recipes

FISH, INDIAN STYLE is a collection of over 100 brilliantly simple and delicious recipes that unites Indian spicing and techniques with the very best of British seafood – recipes such as Kentish Oyster Fritters with Cumin and Chilli-Apple Jelly, Whiting Goujons with Onion Raita and Chilli Fried Potted Shrimps set the tone and the flavour.

Wonderful traditional recipes are given a modern twist, while spicy Indian interpretations of some European classics such as Mumbai Fish Pizza and India-style Gravadlax bring originality and culinary wit.

Through all his recipes Atul Kochhar inspires and stimulates the reader to explore and experiment with the pleasures of the rich harvest of the sea and the vibrant flavours of the Indian sub-continent.

Jamie’s Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours

‘The aim of this book is to completely inspire people who have no interest in food to have a go’ – Jamie Oliver. Sixty years ago food was in short supply and malnutrition rates were high. “The Ministry of Food” was set up to teach the public how to make the best use of the food available to them. Fast forward to the present day, where we have unlimited choices and plenty of food, yet we’re living in a world of junk food, additives and preservatives. Our war is now against obesity, as most people have little or no idea about how to cook and what makes a balanced diet. We need to learn from the past. We need to look back at the way our grandmothers and great-grandmothers cooked – wholesome, tasty food that was simple and quick to prepare. If you’re a complete beginner in the kitchen, Jamie’s promise to you is that you’ll be making some great dinners within hours of reading his book. A little knowledge and a few basic tools can go a long way, and this book is your first step …

Indian Food Made Easy by Anjum Anand

John Crace | The Guardian | Tuesday August 7 2007

Does my photo on the front cover remind you of anyone? Can you imagine my tongue flicking the last drops of a strawberry lassi from my lips as my dark brown eyes fix your gaze? Yes. I am the Nigella of Indian food. I am the woman who can ooze sex into a cucumber raita and persuade the chattering classes that a curry is not just a fumbling Friday-night drunken grope, but also a Sunday-morning, Agent Provocateur smooch fest.

Indian food is often held to be unhealthy – full of cream, ghee and nut pastes. But the cuisine is so much more than overweight proles burying their faces in a tub of chicken tikka masala. It’s food for the thin, the glamorous, the middle classes. People like you.

The secret is in the ingredients. Get one thing wrong and a whole dish can be spoiled. Now I know how intimidating a different culture can be. I was brought up in London and Switzerland and when I visit my relatives in Delhi, I, too, find the noise and the smell overpowering. But I never let this stop me from sending the servants out to the market to track down the best spices. And you must do the same. If it means sending the au pair in a cab to Southall, so be it.