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The Heart of Burgundy: A Portrait of French Wine Country
Andy Katz Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0684845954 |
Book Description
Burgundy came into its own during the Middle Ages, with the flourishing of the Catholic Church, and more specifically under the Benedictine order of Cluny. These monks were renowned for their religious enthusiasm, work ethic, spartan lifestyle, and adherence to physically exhausting hard labor. This philosophy apparently led to the Cistercians' decision to cultivate the poor, infertile, rocky soil of what today is known as the Côte d'Or.
From the introduction by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The Heart of Burgundy focuses a wide lens on a little region in the French countryside Burgundy begins about seventy-five miles south of Paris and stretches down through the Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais, and Beaujolais in a skinny and wavy line more than two hundred miles long. The decision by the Cistercians to cultivate its soil, which Robert Parker mentions above, was a monumental one, for today the chief products of Burgundy are Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Chablis, and Pouilly-Fuissé, and it is home to one of the most famous vineyards in the world, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. While the Burgundy region is not the largest in acreage, or even in wine production, its yearly wine auction held at the Hospices de Beaune is an indication of where prices will be set for France's entire vintage. That means that at a certain time of year all of France, indeed all the world, can become fixated on this otherwise sleepy agricultural area.
Because it stretches north to south, Burgundy is one of the most eclectic regions in terms of climate and terrain, providing Andy Katz with many interesting and beautiful photo opportunities. The emphasis of the photos in The Heart of Burgundy is not only on the grapes, vines, and vineyards but also on the unique and beautiful land that produces the wine and the culture from which it stems. The landscape and light, which are full of variety and seem to constantly shift and change, are two of the more alluring factors of this region, and these are fully illustrated in Andy Katz's photographs, with their brilliant clarity, vibrant color, and depth of focus.
To round out this view of Burgundy, Robert M. Parker, Jr., contributes an introduction to the region that only someone with his level of experience could. As author and publisher of The Wine Advocate, he has been exploring the wine country of France for twenty years, visiting each château and domaine, drinking in the wine, culture, and landscape. He understands the unpredictably harsh weather of Burgundy, the clay/lime stone soil that runs through the pastoral, rolling hills, and the identity and character of the people and their wines. Together, in words and pictures, Parker and Katz demonstrate an understanding of the heart of Burgundy and celebrate the beauty of the French countryside.
Customer Reviews:
Manifique, c'est marveloux!.......2004-02-26
I also own A Portrait of Napa and Sonoma another photography book by Andy Katz. It is equally as wonderful as The Heart of Burgundy, if you can find it. I could not locate it on this website.
Manifique, c'est marveloux!.......2004-02-26
I also own A Portrait of Napa and Sonoma another photography book by Andy Katz. It is equally as wonderful as The Heart of Burgundy, if you can find it. I could not locate it on this website.
The Heart of Burgundy: A Portrait of the French Countryside.......2000-04-10
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On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town
Susan Herrmann Loomis Manufacturer: Broadway ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0767904559 Release Date: 2002-04-30 |
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
It has been said that food defines a culture. For the French, food is an integral part of their coveted tradition, and Susan Herrmann Loomis's new book On Rue Tatin embraces both. As a young, recent American college graduate, Loomis left the U.S. for France to attend one of the oldest French cooking schools, La Varenne. Her intent was to immerse herself in French cooking with the aspiration of becoming a food critic. Working as the French equivalent of an apprentice, she quickly became intimate with the ways and traditions that define the French culture, specifically its cuisine. On Rue Tatin ("On Tatin Street") is a descriptive narrative of Loomis's first several years in France, her encounters with the local people, and the bonds she formed, as well as recipes she gathered during her time there.Following her formal culinary training, Loomis returned to the U.S. and met the man who would become her husband. After the couple's first son turned 2, they moved to France where Loomis was determined to launch her writing career focusing on unique aspects of French farming cuisine. She and her husband eventually purchased an old monastery in Louviers in the Normandy region of France. One of the more humorous and memorable stories she shares concerns the landlord of the small rental that they occupied for a year while her husband remodeled the monastery to livable conditions. During that year, the wife of the landlord believed them to be CIA agents and chose to keep a cold distance from the family. Meanwhile the French police suspected them of dealing drugs.
Every recipe featured throughout this memoir comes with an interesting, anecdotal story, and is very much representative of traditional French cuisine. Gateau au Chocolat de Mamy (or Mamy Jacqueline's Chocolate Cake) is a dense, almost death-by-chocolate confection, but served alone or with a fresh fruit coulis, it will bring a smile, as will the sweet explanation of its origin.
Loomis describes experiences and people with much detail, sometimes several times over, and her prose allows the reader to imagine the tempting smells and vivid colors of the countryside. You may find yourself wishing to see pictures of Loomis's home and the quaint village where she lived, but perhaps that was Loomis's intent--she wants to tempt and challenge you to experience the beauty and foods of Louviers and the Normandy region for yourself. --Teresa Simanton
Book Description
Susan Loomis arrived in Paris twenty years ago with little more than a student loan and the contents of a suitcase to sustain her. But whatCustomer Reviews:
A French Lifestyle.......2007-09-19
Interesting story not told very well.......2007-08-22
not about a cooking school.......2006-12-17
Excellent reading.......2006-10-12
France for enthusiasts.......2006-08-31
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Elizabeth David Classics: Mediterranean Food, French Country Cooking, Summer Cooking
Elizabeth David Manufacturer: Biscuit Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0964360063 |
Customer Reviews:
Essential for all serious foodies........1999-01-02
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From a French Country Kitchen: The Culinary Tradition of La Madeleine French Bakery and Cafe
Manufacturer: Madeleine Bakery & Cafe ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0964395509 |
Customer Reviews:
Many dishes similar to the restaurant are available.......2003-08-04
The book is well illustrated with photographs of some of the dishes. Directions are clear and concise with very little room for confusion. The recipes are very tasty, and fairly easy to prepare for most cooks.
Selections in this book vary from simple to more complex. My personal favorite out of this book is the Potatoes Au Gratin, a recipe that I have been asked for more than once. The Brie soup is delightful, and perfect on a cool weather day. The book also features desserts, meats, and so much more.
If you enjoy their restaurant, or even if you have an interest in French cooking, this book may be ideal for you. Recipes are made with ingredients that are common to the American taste, and can be found readily in a grocery store.
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the girl & the fig cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Acclaimed California Wine Country Restaurant
Sondra Bernstein Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0743255216 |
Amazon.com
You have to admire a cookbook that opens with recipes for martinis. These are fig-accented for the most part, in keeping with the theme chef-owner Sondra Bernstein has laid down for her restaurants and cookbook, all called the girl & the fig. It's about attitude, about fun, about good things in store. "Country food with a French passion" is what she calls her theme. And she paints it with the bright colors of California. Bernstein actually takes something as stale as fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients spliced to an ersatz French country cuisine overlaid with Northern California wine country easy living, and makes it work to her advantage.Once past the pantry ingredients and the martinis, you are invited to consider the many taste treats in "A Small Bite," the likes of herb-marinated olives, apricot-cured salmon, and crispy sweetbreads. "From the Garden to the Stockpot" encourages the making of soup--cauliflower-Gruyere, perhaps, or carrot-ginger. "In the Salad Bowl" has nice touches like the grilled asparagus salad with lemon-thyme vinaigrette. "Large Plates" covers ground from wild mushroom risotto to pan-roasted halibut with spring vegetable ragout, to braised chicken with prunes, olives and capers. The braised beef short ribs are worth a second glance. Sondra Bernstein also treats us to vegetable side dishes, to a separate chapter on the cheese plate, to the sweets that end a meal, and to a consideration of the wines that round out the entire experience. In fact nearly all of the 100-plus recipes are matched with the kind of wine that would be served at the girl & the fig in California's wine country.
This is a spirited cookbook, with challenges for the new cook and happy reminders for the experienced cook. Sip that martini and turn the pages. --Schuyler Ingle
Book Description
In 1997, Sondra Bernstein opened the doors to the first girl & the fig restaurant, showcasing her love of locally grown ingredients and her passion for French food. She named her restaurant for the fruit that symbolizes passion: the fig. Now with three restaurants in Sonoma County and with chef John Toulze at the helm, the girl & the fig restaurants are not only local favorites but also captivate thousands of visitors every year.
In the girl & the fig Cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Acclaimed California Wine Country Restaurant, Bernstein offers an inspired collection of simple, yet sophisticated recipes from the restaurant, featuring the finest, freshest ingredients. These are restaurant-quality recipes adapted for the home kitchen, with dishes for beginners as well as experienced cooks. Bernstein brings the culinary traditions of France to the California wine country.
The author's devotion to seasonal ingredients is wonderfully apparent in every recipe -- from the savory appetizers, soups, salads, and large plates to the innovative desserts. Starters such as Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Cauliflower Gruyère Soup, Shrimp and Salmon Cakes, and Grilled Asparagus Salad with Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette make the most of the region's bounty. Large plates such as Grilled Salmon with Lavender Beurre Rouge, Pan-Seared Scallops with Orange-Tarragon Beurre Blanc, Wild Mushroom Risotto, and Grilled Pork Chops with Apple Cider Sauce make wonderful main courses, while French classics like Coq au Vin and Duck Confit with Lentils, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Cabbage will comfort you on a cold winter's night. Side dishes that can complement a large plate or be eaten alone include Braised Fennel, Citrus Pearl Couscous, Apple-Yam Gratin, and buttery Basil-Scented Potato Cakes. Bernstein's desserts range from the sinfully scrumptious (Chocolate Pots de Crème and Lavender and Wildflower Honey Crème Brûlée) to the unique (Roasted Figs with Honey and Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Fig and Thyme Crisp with Fig Syrup).
With gorgeous photographs throughout, the girl & the fig Cookbook also offers tips on wine pairings, highlighting California wines inspired by the Rhône Valley; imaginative ideas for aperitifs, charcuterie platters, and cheese plates; detailed sidebars on ingredients (including Bernstein's favorite food -- the fig!); and brief glimpses of the author's favorite artisan food purveyors.
This is country food with a French passion, perfect for a casual dinner or a formal dinner party. Let the girl & the fig Cookbook bring a taste of California to your kitchen.
Customer Reviews:
Gave as a gift.......2007-01-10
My Favorite Sonoma County Restaurant.......2005-09-18
Not a chain restaurant cookbook!.......2005-08-12
Another Star Practicioner of California Cuisine sans Pizzas.......2004-05-04
One object of the book is to publicize the chain of restaurants and the line of products based on the owner's love of figs. This is not too unusual, as I am certain this is one of the motives behind every celebrity chef / restaurant owner's cookbook. Some, like Tom Colicchio are less obvious about this interest. Others, like Emeril Lagasse, are pretty out front about this objective. All restaurant based cookbooks aim at providing the reader with some twist to their cuisine or it's presentation which adds sugar to the bait to create an interest in the restaurant(s).
One special feature of this book is borrowed from Ms. Bernstein's distinguished California culinary neighbor, Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This is the addition of sidebars on some of the restaurants' more important, or, at least, more interesting suppliers. This includes fig, mushroom, and cheese vendors, past and present. This highlights one weakness to the book, in that it is so thoroughly based on what is available from the gardens and vineyards of Sonoma County. Not everyone in the United States is blessed with access to wild mushrooms and the talented foragers who supply them, or to cheeses from artisinal cheese makers. Happily, the chef / recipe writer has supplied generally available products to substitute for his Sonoma pantry.
The cornerstone of the book's cuisine is the parallel between the Sonoma and Provence produce and the cuisine which can be based on that similarity. Therefore, it should be no surprise to see most recipes appear to be straight out of the pages of books by Patricia Wells and Lydie Marshall. One of the most pleasant parallels is that the Bernstein / Toulze cuisine is based on fairly simple recipes, often with the kind of recipe modularity of sauces and pantry preparations common to an influence from Julia Child. The recipes for stocks, for example are about as simple as they come. There is no Thomas Keller / Judy Rodgers obsessiveness about technique here. Most recipes follow a recent quote I heard from Wolfgang Puck who said that the trick was to start with great ingredients and try not to mess them up. There are some unusual twists, such as the cooking oil of choice, a `blended oil' of one part olive oil and three parts canola oil. I am totally baffled that disciples of Provencal cuisine should eschew pure olive oil.
The recipes are organized by size and role of the dish rather than by main ingredient. Recipe chapters are:
`a small bite' hors d'ourves with figs, radishes, mushrooms, olives, shellfish, charcuterie, and crackers
`from the garden to the stockpot' soups, including many Provencal classics
`in the salad bowl' with lots of vinaigrettes, figs, asparagus, beans, endive, beets, walnuts, and cheese
`large plates' 25 familiar dishs such as pastas, coq au vin, duck cassoulet, and lamb shanks
`sauce over and under' with lots of butter, aioli, pistou, rouille, citrus, shallots, remoulade, and figs
`on the side' with lots of balsamic reductions, familiar vegetable, polenta, couscous, olives, mushrooms...
`sweets' with lots of figs, apples, pears, nuts, lavender, cheese, and cream
The cuisine owes a fair amount to the exchange of cuisine between Provence and northern Italy, with a fairly substantial contingent of recipes involving pasta, risotto, polenta, cipollini onions and balsamic vinegar. This makes the abandoning pure olive oil in favor of the blended oil even more puzzling. In spite of this mystery, I am certain that these recipes, especially those based on figs, are superior to many and worthy of the authors' dedication to Provence.
One very serious aspect of the restaurants' connection to Provence is Ms. Bernstein's commitment to wines based on varietals originating in the Rhone valley rather than the wines which made Napa and Sonoma wines famous. These are the Carignane, cinsault, Grenache, Roussanne, Syrah and Vognier grapes. All but the Syrah are unfamiliar to me, but that's just a symptom of my ignorance of wine. Each recipe gives a very simple recommendation of wine selected from this list. The emphasis on simple is important to contrast it to the elaborate, sometimes arcane recommendations given by Patricia Wells and others.
The authors' dedication to their chosen cuisine and their featured product is genuine and fruitful, producing many simultaneously simple and worthy recipes. There are occasionally long recipes for standards such as cassoulet and coq au vin, but that should be no surprise. They have convinced me to look forward to a visit to their restaurants if I ever get to northern California.
Recommended recipes for even novice cooks. A good read at a fairly reasonable list price. If you already own 10 books on Provence cuisine, you may want to take a pass.
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Goose Fat and Garlic: Country Recipes From South-West France
Jeanne Strang Manufacturer: Kyle Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 190492039X |
Book Description
This is a celebration of la cuisine du terroir-the cooking of the land-the high quality of the yearly harvest and a style of cooking that is rooted in the rural culture of South-west France. With over 200 classical, country cooking recipes, coupled with fascinating information and anecdotes, every page of this book will delight and inspire.Customer Reviews:
Great recipes, great insites into the people and their food........1999-01-30
I am buying this book as a gift, so that I may retrieve my copy.
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Growing & Using Tarragon: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-195 (Storey Publishing Bulletin, a-195.)
Glenn Andrews Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1580172369 |
Book Description
Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.Customer Reviews:
A good reference to aromatic herbs growing.......2001-02-16
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Life and Food in the Basque Country
Maria Sevilla Manufacturer: New Amsterdam Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1561310352 |
Book Description
In this beautifully written book, Maria Jose Sevilla describes the region through the eyes of men and women whose lives embrace every aspect of its cooking and culinary traditions, and records the recipes she has learned from them.Customer Reviews:
No ordinary cookbok.......2003-06-25
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Look & Cook: French Country Cooking
Anne Willan Manufacturer: DK ADULT ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 156458867X |
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French Country Living: A Year in Gascony
Deborah Roberts , and Victoire De Montal Manufacturer: Bulfinch Pr ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0821218263 |
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