Gourmet

Apricot Bourbon Smash (Still thirsty? See Liqurious)

...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"... 16. OFF-PREMISE CATERING MANAGEMENT. 3rd ed. (Wiley, 2013, 550 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-88971-8, $70 US hard covers) is by Chris Thomas, a food and drink writer for more than 30 years and now a consultant, and by Bill Hansen, who owns his own catering firm. This is a practical guide, first published in 1995 by Bill Hansen. Thomas has taken over and extensively reviews the off-premise caterer's job ? including menu planning, pricing, food and beverage service, equipment, packing, delivery, and set-ups. Also: legal implications, financial considerations, human resources, marketing, and health/safety regulations. This new edition, last revised in 2005, has stuff on sustainable ("green") practices, current food trends, recent equipment, website developments, and social media marketing. There's a brand new chapter on beverage service that includes material on off-premise bar setups (always a sticky point here in Ontario), new cocktails and their ingredients, and guidance on selecting the right beers and wines for events. Along the way there are forms, schedules, and checklists of value, illustrative of actual circumstances in the field. There is also an Instructor's Manual available. Of course, it is a text book, so each chapter ends with a useful summary and some questions for discussion. Quality/price rating: 88. 17. BREAD. 2d ed. (Wiley, 2013, 478 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-13271-5, $45 US hard covers) is by Jeffrey Hamelman, bakery director of the King Arthur Flour Company and a Certified Master Baker. He was captain of Baking Team USA, and the first edition of this book won a Beard Award. This second edition includes 140 step-by-step recipes for a range of breads; 40 of them are new to this edition. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, and there are also tables of metric equivalents. There's a glossary and a bibliography, and as well, there are specialized sections in the appendix for developing and perpetuating a sourdough culture, additives, baker's percentages (scaling), computing batch coat, and sample proofing skeds.He opens with a primer on baking and hand mixing, and then moves on to types of breads: yeasted pre-ferments, levains, sourdoughs, and regular dough. There are also chapters on braiding techniques and decorative/display projects. Unfortunately, there is nothing on gluten-free breads ? which is now a coming food trend. Quality/price rating: 87. 18. GLUTEN-FREE COOKING FOR DUMMIES. 2d ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2013, 362 pages, ISBN 978-1-118-39644-5, $19.99 US soft covers) is by Danna Korn and Connie Sarros, both authors of gluten-free cookbooks. The first edition was originally published in 2008, and of course much has happened in the gluten-free world since then, In fact, it is now a highly respected growth industry. The book is a practical guide, with basics of what is and what is not gluten-free, how to set up a pantry and kitchen, the various flours available, about 165quick recipes, comfort foods, and cooking gluten-free with the kids. And of course, there are Rich Tennant's wonderful drawings. There's a quick list of some ten top comfort foods such as mac and cheese, clam chowder, puddings, veggie soups, potato salad, meatloaf, and more. Prep times, cooking times, and yields are clearly indicated. For this new edition, there are additional recipes from Cindy Kleck, RD, LD, who is also a cookbook author. These preps are a bit

Summer might be my least favorite season in Chicago. I know! I know! I feel very conflicted about it, too. Admittedly, there is much I like about summer, especially as it relates to food: farmers markets! local everything! hot dogs! The thing is, I really dislike being hot. My thermostat is off, I run hot already. And the humidity in Chicago really gets me down. So, unlike every other Chicagoan who cant wait for summer….I am ambivalent. Of course, there are those dry sunny days in the 70′s that I too love, but they’re pretty rare. Mostly it is too hot and too humid. So, I look for ways to cool off. This lassi does the trick. It is more of an idea than a recipe, try adding some coconut milk to your shake. Not enough to make this very coconut-y or tropical, just enough to add a little suppin’ suppin’. I got the idea from this month’s Bon Appetit, which has a whole spread on strawberries—harbingers of summer in the Midwest. The original recipe was a little more subtle, I wanted a bright pink drink, so I increased the amount of strawberries. You do what you like. But do make this, because it is really delicious and it gave me another reason to appreciate summer. Strawberry-Coconut Lassi (recipe adapted from one by Yvette van Boven) 2 cups halved, hulled, strawberries 1 cup ice cubes 2/3 cup buttermilk 1/3 cup coconut milk 1 tablespoon sugar Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 2. ***Bryan astutely observed that the sliced strawberries looked exactly like dolphins! Cute overload. Permalink to Strawberry Lassi | 13 comments so far

The gooey filling for these juicy burgers was inspired by the Mexican dip chile con queso, made with melted cheese and roasted chiles. © Tina Rupp Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In t...

It sounds like an impossibility, or maybe an enigmatic Zen koan. However, I learned this weekend that you can melt cheese in a fridge. And that knowledge didn't make me happy. Over the weekend, I stayed at a hotel in Montreal while attending TasteCamp, a wine bloggers' conference. Montreal is a great city for food lovers and I spent some time wandering through the stalls of the Jean-Talon Market, a large and compelling food market. While I was there, I purchased a number of different local cheeses from Quebec, including a superb blue cheese. As many people know, good cheese isn't cheap.When I returned to my hotel room, I placed the cheeses into the cool fridge in the room. Which any normal hotel guest might do. Inside that fridge, I also placed some water as well as a bottle of wine. Everything seemed normal until the next afternoon when I opened the fridge to find that it was actually hot inside of it! Hot? Why the hell was it hot inside a fridge?Several of the cheeses had started to melt due to the heat. I immediately contacted the front desk but they were less than helpful. I was told that sometimes when the outer door is closed, the fridge overheats. Though no one ever warned me of that contingency, and there was no warning posted on the fridge. I was also told that the fridges were not meant to keep anything cold. Instead, they were allegedly intended to keep things "fresh." This made no sense to me.The manager was not on duty so I was not able to raise this issue with her. I will have to email her about this issue. Later that evening, the hotel placed a small box of chocolates in my room, as a little way to make me happier over this issue. That was not successful.This episode helps to point out an important issue that arises every summer. Summer is a major time for traveling and food & wine lovers often explore markets, shops, wineries, farms and more. They are likely to purchase various foods and drinks but they still need to transport their purchases home. If such items are just placed in your car, the summer heat could damage or destroy them, and your money will have been wasted. Those valuable items need protection.It is essential to have a cooler and/or insulated bag in your car at all times when you travel. You never know when you might need it. They will keep your food and drink cool and safe during the hot weather. I always travel with both a cooler and insulated bag, and often find use for them in my travels. I would hate to lose a fine bottle of wine or two to the heat while driving home with it from a wine region. I hated to lose some of my Quebec cheese to the heat of the hotel fridge.This summer, don't lose your valuable food and drink. Make sure to keep it properly insulated while traveling. And be wary of hotel fridges. They might not actually keep your items cool like they should. Instead, they might turn into an oven, like the inside of your car on a hot summer day.

Cherry Vanilla Sparkler, a light sake cocktail from Set the Table (Still thirsty? See Liqurious)

The Date and Time: Friday, April 26, 2013 11AM to 4PM The Event: the monthly APVSA tasting (Association pour la promotion des vins et spiritueux en Amerique du Nord). The Venue: Delta Chelsea Inn The Target Audience: wine agents. The Availability/Catalogue: no wines are currently available in Ontario. The group is here to get some agents to agree to rep the principal. Some of the wines are available in Quebec and Alberta. Most of the wines were French, and there is sales staff available to comment on the prices and production. This road show also visits such places as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Calgary, Vancouver, Miami, Washington DC, and Montreal. Occasionally, the show will have wines from Italy, Uruguay, Spain and Australia. Sometimes spirits and VDN are also available. The Wines: The problem I had with the wines, and one that must be acknowledged, is that (by and large) they were about the same as wines that we already have here in Ontario. There really did not seem to be any price advantages, either. But these 40 or so wines could be made available through Vintages or Consignment. In the past, quite a few have been picked up for sale in Ontario; these were mostly the good value or unique wines. Here were my faves from today, regardless of FOB cost which must be requested due to competitive pricing. I did not try every wine. Also, it had been two months since I was last at an APVSA tasting (due to my conflicting schedules). The Wines: Prices are FOB **** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Domaine de Font-Sane Gigondas Terrasses des Dentelles 2010, 11.60E -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Blanc de Blancs -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Blanc de Blancs 2006 -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Grande Reserve Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 ? 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Bergerie du Capucin IGP Saint Guilhem Le Desert Val de Montferrand 2011 White, 5.17E -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2011 Red, 5.67E -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2010 Red, 10.02E -Domaine de Font-Sane Gigondas Tradition 2010, 7.20E -Domaine de Font-Sane Cotes de Ventoux Vieilles Vignes 2011, 3.40E -EARL Maurice Schueller Cremant Alsace 2008, 4.54E -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Selection -Champagne Pertois Moriset Cuvee Rose -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Farnoux 2009 Cotes de Provence Red, 7.50E *** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 ? 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms): -Bergerie du Capucin AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Dame Jeanne 2012 Rose, 4.40E -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Philothea 2011 Cotes de Provence Red, 3.95E -Domaine La Tour des Vidaux Cuvee Tradition 2010 Cotes de Provence Red, 4.75E The Food: great hot pizzas, went well with the wines, as always. The Contact Person: Pascal p.fernand@apvsa.ca The Marketing Effectiveness/Execution of the Event (numerical grade): 84. Chimo! www.deantudor.com

Orange wedge, grapes. Simply It.

Roast duck curry. Simply It.

Mango beef. Simply It.