Round-Up of Chef/Regional Books

[Round-up of New Baking Books]
[Round-up of New Ethnic/International Books]
[Round-up of New Food Issues Books]
[Round-up of Memoirs and Essay Collections]
[Round-up of New Diet/Nutrition Books]
[Round-up of New Cooking Reference Books]
[Round-up of Family and Children's Cookbooks]
[Round-up of Alcohol and Drinks Books]

Chef's Cookbooks

The latest book of chef Daniel Orr, FARMfood features recipes influenced by his Midwestern roots as well as a culinary career which has spanned the globe. European-style dishes – inspired by his time in France, Belgium, Italy, and other locales – are paired with big city flavors culled from years spent as an executive chef in New York City and often augmented with a dash of Caribbean, Indian, Japanese, or Brazilian influence. Includes recipes for breakfast, soups, burgers, sandwiches, snacks, appetizers, suppers, and sweets; sections devoted to sauces and seasonings; beverages and "FARMpies," his gourmet pizzas. Orr advocates the use of wholesome ingredients that are locally and sustainably grown, when possible, and offers tips on wild greens, mushrooms, edible flowers, and create-your-own spice blends.

Jaime Oliver's goal for this book was to pick a load of popular meals and break them down to make them as simple as possible. Clear instructions and step-by-step pictures to aid the accomplished cook or complete beginner. Oliver says, "I believe that good home cooking is one of the most essential, fundamental skills that every single person on this planet should have in order to look after themselves, their families, and their friends. This food revolution is all about people learning how to make a recipe, then teaching that recipe to their friends and family. If enough people do this, pretty soon everyone will be cooking."

Michel Roux Jr. is one of London’s most respected restaurateurs – and some of the world’s greatest chefs have trained in his family’s various restaurants: Le Gavroche, Waterside Inn, and Brasserie Roux. He shares the story of how his family brought French high cuisine to Britain and became the city’s most influential family in food. Along the way he imparts his knowledge of everyday ingredients and how to get the best from your cooking. With 120 recipes offering a light, modern twist on classic French fare, this is a gastronomic tour no home cook will want to miss.

Author Guy Mirabella – chef, painter, teacher – shares the details of growing up Italian in Australia, developing his bountiful love of food and lust for life. Simple, fresh, and seasonal ingredients are on the table in this personal exploration of Italian cuisine. With more than 70 recipes, from Rosa's Almond Biscotti to creamy Roast Pumpkin and Asparagus Lasagna, this cookbook/memoir explores the observation that, "what you are is what you eat."

Related Recipe:
Baked Mushrooms, Broken Bread

This collection of recipes, as well as thoughts on ingredients, tools, and preparations is inspired by the gatherings hosted by Renee Behnke, president emeritus of the Sur La Table chain. In addition to 140 recipes, created from her home and discovered in her world travels, cooks will also appreciate 125 full-color photographs of appetizers, soups and salads, sides, main dishes, and desserts, and the wine pairing suggestions.

With a sterling reputation and a string of A-list celebrity clients, private chefs Jewels and Jill Elmore have created unforgettable food for such luminaries as Jennifer Aniston, John Travolta, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now, Jewels and Jill reveal the secrets to their success both in business and at home with their own families – with more than 75 stunning, savory, and satisfying home-cooked recipes, fully illustrated with easy-to-follow directions.

Life in the saddle, on the trail, and in the outback has forged a style of living that cowboy-turned-chef Grady Spears calls the Cowboy Way. This collection of almost one hundred recipes is not only the result of Grady's journey across North America, but also the cowboy's journey through history. You'll have a ringside seat at the rodeo as Grady wrestles down new recipes from some incredible cowboy cooks and kitchen wranglers who know what hungry cow folks want to eat. And in the process, you'll be carried away by the magic of starry nights by the campfire and seduced by the heritage of the chuck wagon and ranch kitchens, where the menus are still stoked by the traditions of the Old West, as they have been for a century or more.

Whether it's grilled corn on the patio or a hot bowl of soup by the fire, the foods we eat are often intimately connected to the seasons of the year. For twenty years, food writer and historian Peter G. Rose has written a column on family food for newspapers in the Hudson Valley, and this light-hearted cookbook includes some of her most popular recipes. Drawing on the historical and culinary legacy of the Hudson Valley, she offers simple, easy-to-make recipes for patio, boat, cabin, or RV in the summer, and for enjoying by the fireside in the winter. Along the way she offers tidbits of food history, ideas for entertaining, and suggestions for using local ingredients.

Crisscrossing her home state of North Carolina over six years, Foy Allen Edelman visited families in their own kitchens and communities and discovered a treasure trove of delicacies. Sweet Carolina offers the recipes for more than 220 of these confections, along with their cooks' reminiscences, tips, and instructions for successfully creating these desserts and candies. From easy apple dumplings, black walnut pound cake, Cherokee persimmon cake, and Miss Peach's sweet potato pie to lemon squares, coconut melt-away cookies, buttermilk pie, vanilla ice cream (or peach), old-fashioned butter mints, and five-minute fudge, this cookbook features desserts as familiar as old friends – and some as surprising as the Sonker (a deep dish pastry served with a variety of flavors, such as peach, cherry, or sweet potato). As many of the contributing cooks point out, the use of seasonal and local ingredients is prized in many of these recipes.

Hailed as the Napa Valley of the East, New York's Hudson Valley has become a major hub for local foods and agriculture – and Laura Pensiero's restaurants are at the center of it all. Customers flock to Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck and Gigi Market and Catering in Red Hook to dine on Pensiero's interpretations of traditional Italian dishes that highlight the bounty of the farms, gardens, and artisans of the valley. Features more than 100 easy-to-prepare and cost-effective recipes made with the best ingredients and a touch of Mediterranean flair, including: Gigi Potato Gnocchi with Northwind Farm Chicken and Pea Ragu, Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower and Chard, Fava Bean and Fregola Salad, Spring Lasagna, Seared Salmon over Spring Trifolati. Mr. Mink's Panzanella Salad with Fresh Herbs, and Strawberry Mascarpone Tart.

In recent years, Charleston, South Carolina, has matured into a world-class culinary destination. The Charleston Chef’s Table profiles of more than sixty of the city’s best restaurants and offers a signature recipe from each. From roadside dives to upscale eateries, Southern to Chinese, author Holly Herrick winnows Charleston’s 1,500 restaurants down to her top picks. Complementing the text are full-color photographs, as well as sidebars that highlight this city's 300-year history.

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