Globe Corner Blogs

The list below highlights some of the notable books published in the Food & Spirits category during 2011.  For the Globe Corner’s full selection in this category, visit our Food & Wine index page on our store’s web site.

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World

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The Oxford Companion to Beer

The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world’s most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer. (early October 2011)

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Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2012
by Hugh Johnson

This book offers the current news on more than 6,000 wines, growers, and regions. With completely updated vintage information, recommended wines for current drinking, and star ratings, this is the only annual wine guide anyone will need. It has all the information necessary to help you select anything from a weekday wine for supper to a prestige vintage for investment, with a new section listing Hugh Johnson’s personal recommendations. Also included are vintage charts, maps, and expert tasting notes.

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For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink

written by Sara Rose
In the dramatic story of one of the greatest acts of corporate espionage ever committed, Sarah Rose recounts the fascinating, unlikely circumstances surrounding a turning point in economic history. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company faced the loss of its monopoly on the fantastically lucrative tea trade with China, forcing it to make the drastic decision of sending Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to steal the crop from deep within China and bring it back to British plantations in India.

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Asia

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My Indian Kitchen
by Hari Nayak
In “My Indian Kitchen, ” author and chef Hari Nayak shares the secrets of his family’s style of southern Indian cooking as well as favorite dishes from other parts of the huge Indian subcontinent–secrets that he learned from his mother and aunts, neighbors, local street vendors and countless friends. It is full of hunger-inducing recipes and simple tips that will allow even the novice cook to succeed at unlocking the “hidden magic” of Indian cooking. With the recipes in this book, consistently delicious Indian food at home becomes a reality. From a perfect Mint Chutney with Samosa to a melt-in-the-mouth Chicken Tikka Masala, to Pork Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken and Sweet Mango Yogurt Lassi, traditional Indian meals without hours and hours of work can be achieved. Having lived in the West for many years, Hari understands the time for meal preparation is limited and his recipes have been modified to reflect time constraints on meal preparation.

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Middle East

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Saraban: A Chef’s Journey Through Persia
by Lucy Malouf & Greg Malouf
The latest combination cookbook/travel memoir from Chef Greg Malouf and his writer wife Lucy, authors of critically acclaimed previous cookbooks which combine gorgeous photography with personal accounts on travels through other parts of the Middle East (Turquoise (travels/recipes from Turkey) & Saha (travels/recipes from Lebanon & Syria)).

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West & South Asia, Australia & Oceania

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My Vietnam: Stories and Recipes
by Luke Nguyen
A stunningly beautiful love letter to Vietnam with more than 100 recipes, from best-selling author and Cooking Channel host Luke Nguyen In “My Vietnam, ” chef, television star, and best-selling author Luke Nguyen returns home to discover the best of regional Vietnamese cooking. Starting in the north and ending in the south, Luke visits family and friends in all the country’s diverse regions, is invited into the homes of local Vietnamese families, and meets food experts and local cooks to learn more about one of the richest, most diverse cuisines in the world. Savor more than 100 regional and family recipes–from Tamarind Broth with Beef and Water Spinach to Wok-tossed Crab in Sate Sauce–and enjoy vibrant, stunning full-color photographs bursting with color and textures and capturing the beauty of Vietnam, her people, and their deep connection to food.

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Africa

Mourad: New Moroccan
by Mourad Lahlou
What Mourad Lahlou has developed over the last decade and a half at his Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant is nothing less than a new, modern Moroccan cuisine, inspired by memories, steeped in colorful stories, and informed by the tireless exploration of his curious mind. The great classics are all here–the basteeya, the couscous, the preserved lemons, and much more.

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Europe

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Camra Guide to London’s Best Beer, Pubs, & Bars
The essential guide to beer drinking in London, packed with detailed maps and easy-to-use listings to help beer lovers find the best places to enjoy a perfect pint while visiting the city. (September 2011)

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The Food of Spain
by Claudia Roden

In “The Food of Spain,” Claudia Roden, the James Beard award-winning author of the classics “A Book of Middle Eastern Food” and “The Book of Jewish Food,” and one of our foremost authorities on Mediterranean, North African, and Italian cooking, brings her incomparable authenticity, vision, and immense knowledge to bear in this cookbook on the cuisines of Spain.

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The Scandinavian Kitchen:  Over 100 Essential Ingredients with 200 Authentic Recipes
by Camilla Plum
Scandinavians are eager foragers, picklers, and bakers, and their traditions coexist with new ways of cooking, creating fresher, lighter, more seasonal, and local food. Camilla Plum, co-owner of an organic farm outside of Copenhagen, shares Scandinavian tastes, broken down by group of ingredient, easy to recreate in your own kitchen. Scandinavian cooking achieves a delicate balance between extravagance and the humble, producing a wealth of seasonal daily food, and more luxurious festive food. The flavors are fresh and intense, but not overwhelming, resulting in food prepared simply, but effectively, to allow every ingredient to shine.

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Saint-Émilion : The Chateaux, Winemakers, & Landscapes
written by Beatrice Masssenet, Francois Querre & Emmanuelle Ponsan-Dantin
Saint-Émilion invites readers into the homes of the winemakers who create some of the most popular and critically acclaimed wines in the world. The book features more than 70 legendary wineries, including Cheval Blanc, Grand Corbin, Angélus, and Magdeleine. Profiles describe the history, architecture, and wine of each château. In addition, interviews with the winemakers and a rich selection of photographs give readers a taste of the colorful environment where these superior wines are produced. (early October 2011)

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Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria
by Ferran Adria
“The Family Meal” contains 31 menus and 93 recipes for the simple, tasty dishes that the elBulli staff eat for dinner. Includes step-by-step instructions showing cooks how to make everyday classics, featuring quick and cost-effective menus to cook for two, six, 20, or 75 people.
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Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors
by Erik Cosselmon
Traditional family recipes and the ancient Hellenic custom of welcoming the stranger as a friend known in Greece as philoxenia have inspired the uniquely welcoming ambience of Kokkari restaurant in San Francisco.

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Essential Pepin:
More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food
by Jacques Pepin
One of the great cookbook masters of the world, Pepin has published 26 volumes of recipes (including one with Julia Child). In this, which might be considered his opus, he offers more than 700 of his best French and French-accented dishes from decades of cooking and teaching. They’re simple without being dumbed down; approachable yet still adventurous.

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The Bonne Femme Cookbook:
Simple, Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day
by Wini Moranville
Wini Moranville draws on years of traveling to and living in France and serves up a hip, user-friendly volume that brings a wealth of up-to-date French recipes and time-saving techniques seamlessly into the American kitchen. In a voice at once wise and lighthearted, Moranville offers 250 recipes that focus on simple, fresh ingredients prepared well.

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Italian Baker: The Classic Tastes of the Italian Countryside Revised Edition
by Carol Field
Winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for best baking book, “The Italian Baker” was also named to the James Beard Baker’s Dozen list of thirteen indispensable baking books of all time. It has inspired countless professionals and home cooks alike.  This latest edition, updated for a new generation of home bakers, has added four-color photography throughout, plus new recipes, ingredients and equipment sections, source guides, and weights.

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Country Cooking of Italy
by Colman Andrews

Following the success of their 2010 James Beard Foundation Best Cookbook of the Year, The Country Cooking of Ireland, Colman Andrews and Christopher Hirsheimer achieve the formidable feat of illuminating the world s most beloved cuisine in an entirely new light. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience traveling and eating in Italy, Andrews explores every region, from Piedmont to Puglia, and provides the fascinating origins of dishes both familiar and unexpected. This gloriously photographed keepsake depicts an ingredient-focused culture deeply rooted in rural traditions, in which even the most sophisticated dishes derive from more basic fare. With 230 sumptuous recipes highlighting the abundant flavors of the land, all set against the backdrop of Andrews vivid storytelling and Hirsheimer s evocative images, this luxe package is sure to delight home chefs and lovers of Italian food alike.

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Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals from My Home to Yours
by Mario Batali
For Mario Batali, privilege is also a responsibility. Dedicated to giving back, the renowned chef believes that sharing is crucial to leading a fulfilling life – especially at the table. That spirit of togetherness is at the heart of Molto Batali, a collection of festive and delicious recipes meant for sharing with friends and family throughout the year.  From lush summer salads to hearty winter braises, the seasonal dishes in Molto Batali – all easy to prepare and made with simple ingredients – enliven any dinner table, from a weeknight meal to a holiday celebration.

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Rustic Italian Food
written by Marc Vetri, foreword by Mario Batali
Slow-cooked meats, homemade breads, flavorful pastas…these are the traditional comfort-food classics that Italians have been roasting, baking, curing, and making in their own kitchens for generations–dishes that people actually want to cook and eat. In “Rustic Italian Food,” acclaimed Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri celebrates the handcrafted cuisine of Italy, advocating a hands-on, back-to-the-basics approach to cooking. Home cooks of every skill level will revel in the 120 recipes, such as sweet Fig and Chestnut Bread, rich Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi, savory Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and fragrant Apple Fritters. Rustic Italian Food is also an education in kitchen fundamentals, with detailed, step-by-step instructions for making terrines, dry-cured salami, and cooked sausage; a thorough guide to bread and pasta making; and a primer on classic Italian preserves and sauces.

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Bocca: Cookbook
by Jacob Kenedy
London’s Bocca di Lupo is an Italian trattoria with an international reputation. Tables are booked months in advance by diners from around the world who are seeking chef Jacob Kenedy’s unique take on Italian cuisine. In Bocca, Kenedy brings his own brand of Italian regional cooking out of the restaurant and into the home. Kenedy’s cooking is simple and delicious, covering the full range of regional specialties: Tuscan porcini soup, Venetian tagliatelle with pigeon ragu, Lazian asparagus and prawn frittata, Sicilian fried mullet, and Neapolitan coffee with zabaione. Organized by food group (pasta, soups, stews, roasts, etc.), with over 200 recipes, this book has been designed by the renowned Caz Hildebrand, best known for her work on Nigella Lawson’s books. It includes 250 sumptuous photographs of Italy and Kenedy’s delectable dishes.

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North America

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40 Years of Chez Panisse
written by Alice Waters, foreword by Calvin Trillin
In “Forty Years of Chez Panisse: The Power of Gathering, ” Alice Waters takes readers on her journey from the humble and visionary beginnings of the restaurant, through its rise and the acclaim, to the Cafe and the influential Chez Panisse Foundation. Organized by decade, the book includes a wealth of archival material and photographs–menus; invitations; pictures of Alice at the restaurant and around the world, with those who have passed through her life–and interviews from public figures and cooks who have been inspired by or mentored at the restaurant.

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The Great American Ale Trail:
The Craft Beer Lover’s Guide to the Best Watering Holes
by Christian DeBenedetti
“The Great American Ale Trail” is a comprehensive guide to the best places to drink craft beer in America. Author Christian DeBenedetti has traveled across the country to find the worthiest beer destinations, from major breweries to tiny farmhouse startups.  (September 2011)

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Minnesota’s Best Breweries and Brewpubs:
Searching for the Perfect Pint
by Robin Shepard
Based on four years of travel and research, “Minnesota’s Best Breweries and Brewpubs” is a welcome addition to Robin Shepard’s series of guides to the best of the Midwest’s beer industries. From large-scale breweries such as Cold Spring, to chains like Granite City, to individual brewpubs like Fitger’s Brewhouse, Shepard provides commentary for more than thirty beer makers and three-hundred Minnesota beers. (September 2011)

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Shucked: Life On a New England Oyster Farm

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Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen
Heralding in its own unique style of cuisine representative of the New South, the Tupelo Honey Cafe salutes the love of Southern traditions at the table, but like the people of Asheville, marches to its own drum. The result is a cookbook collection of more than 125 innovative riffs on Southern favorites, illustrated with four-color photographs of the food, restaurant, locals, farmers’ markets, and farms, in addition to black-and-white archival photography of Asheville. At Tupelo, grits become Goat Cheese Grits, fried chicken becomes Nutty Fried Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and poached eggs become Eggs with Homemade Crab Cakes and Lemon Hollandaise Sauce.

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Happy Table of Eugene Walter: Southern Spirits in Food and Drink
A southern Renaissance man, Eugene Walter (1921-98) was a pioneering food writer, a champion of southern foodways and culture, and a legendary personality among food lovers. “The Happy Table of Eugene Walter,” which introduces a new generation of readers to Walter’s culinary legacy, is a revelation to anyone interested in today’s booming scene in vintage and artisanal drinks–from bourbon and juleps to champagne and punch–and a southern twist on America’s culinary heritage.

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Paul Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes
by Paula Deen

The Food Network icon returns to her roots with the definitive–and delicious–guide to Southern cooking and hospitality. Every one of these 325 recipes is fundamental to Southern eating, and 80 percent of them are new to this book. It features 100 how-to illustrations throughout, complete with 16 pages of full-color photos.

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South America, Central America, & Caribbean

Lorena Garcia’s New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes
by Lorena Garcia
What’s the secret to great Latin-inspired food? Create layers of flavor that unfold with every bite. That’s just what Garcia does in this debut cookbook, serving up easy-to-make, irresistibly delicious dishes that taste “exotic”–though their ingredients can be found in your local supermarket. Here you’ll find classic Latin favorites like Nuevo Arroz con Pollo, while homey American classics are given a modern Nuevo Latino twist. From succulent Snapper Taquitos with Jicama-Apple Salsita to versatile arepas, the fluffy corn flatbreads that are to the Venezuelan table what baguettes are to the French, more than one hundredrecipes in this volume lead lovers of Latin food far beyond tacos and empanadas.

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DOS Caminos’ Mexican Street Food
by Ivy Stark
After twenty years of traveling throughout Mexico, Chef Ivy Stark became enchanted by the colorful, tasty native foods and was determined to bring them to America. From stylish couples enjoying beef tacos at a cafe to day laborers standing at a counter over a paper plate filled with carnitas, everyone loves this delicious, accessible cuisine. While the bright, robust flavors of Mexican cooking have tempted taste buds north of the border for decades, only recently has the country s lesser-known street food filtered onto the American table via California and the Southwest. Versatile and simple, these dishes can be enjoyed as a quick nibble or as part of an elegant meal. Stark introduces both beginners and skilled cooks to such traditional foods as Mexico City corn, smoked fish tostadas, plan-tain croquettes, and much more. Stark offers time-saving techniques and make-ahead suggestions, as well as tips for working with Mexican seasonings and produce like chilies and plantains.

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Paradise Kitchen
by Dan Orr
Chef Daniel Orr spent years working in high-stress Manhattan kitchens before shifting gears and heading to the calm, turquoise waters of Anguilla in the British West Indies. Ever the student of world cuisine and an expert in combining the best of his local environment and global training, Orr unleashes the flavors of the island with his inspired dishes in “Paradise Kitchen”. Tales of island culture, local traditions, and personal discoveries add flavor to the chef’s recipes formorning, midday, and evening meals, including tapas. Orr’s innovative drink recipes using local fruits, spices, and herbs carry you through the day — from morning smoothies to sunset cocktails, after-dinner teas and flavored rums.

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Paletas: Authentic Recipes : Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas
by Fany Gerson
Collected and developed by celebrated pastry chef Fany Gerson, this sweet little cookbook showcases her favorite recipes for “paletas,” those flavor-packed ice pops made from an enormous variety of fruits, nuts, flowers, and even spices; plus shaved ice (raspados) and aguas frescas–the delightful Mexican drinks featuring whole fruit and exotic ingredients like tamarind and hibiscus flowers.

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Polar Regions and Oceans

Whenever Portland, Oregon has come up in conversation, which was more frequently than I’d expect given my proximity to the other Portland (the one in Maine), I hear raves. To me, Portland has become synonymous with, “I think you’d love it there,” and, “It’s the perfect city!” Within the last year, two of my co-workers went, and it’s become a mini-mecca for a certain eco-minded set of college grads. Could Portland really be that awesome? Would I forever deride the overcrowded, sprawling cityscape of New York City at first sight of Mt. Hood, Powell’s bookstore, and Stumptown coffee?

After spending just three nights and two full days in Portland, I understood the appeal:  copper-fixtured drinking fountains lined the streets, delicious gourmet food carts every few blocks, microbrewery happy hours, and a completely efficient public transportation system. And, while I didn’t up and leave New York City, I had quite a great time in the Bridge City. Read on for some tips and highlights from my trip: Continue Reading »

Independence Brewing's Pale Ale - photo by Llalan

As soon as I got off the plane in Austin we headed to happy hour at a local Italian restaurant, Sagra. Half-price pizzas and cheap, good beer. Tried a few local brews like an Independence pale ale. Then, the sun still being high in the sky and the heat oppressive, we napped on the couch for a few hours, the two cats curled next to us leaving splotches of fur on our sweaty skin.  Next came the pool where we experimented with synchronized swimming (it’s harder than it looks) and the day ended on the patio of the nearby Dog and Duck Pub. “And this is our life,” my friend smiled. I’m moving to Austin.

I took in a few of Austin’s best-known sites while there: we revisited Barton Springs, ate breakfast tacos, took in the State Capitol, and visited as many outdoor eating establishments as possible. One thing Austin does better than any other city I’ve ever seen is the patio. Specifically the patio bar.

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Bruges Canals: Photo by Kate

Bruges is beautiful…  It’s an incredible place to see: a tiny town of canals and swans, weeping willows and ivy, and not a single building that looks like it was built after the year 1500. Brick gingerbread houses with stepped Dutch roofs, tiny cobblestone bridges crossing calm canals, and shady squares with gnarly old trees and tweeting birds. It’s all yours… to share with about 20,000 other tourists! Really, it’s so crowded with tourists there that it’s almost enough to make you lose your appetite for waffles. We found two pretty good ways to avoid the hordes: first, get to the sites you really want to see as early as possible, and second: get a bike! Continue Reading »

Brooklyn EIPA - photo by Llalan

New Yorkers. They love their city, they love their Yankees, and by God, they love their beer. They have German beer bars, Belgian beer bars, American craft beer bars – whatever your thirsty little heart desires.

I wanted to get in on the love fest. Realizing that drinking at all of New York’s beer halls would take weeks and be hazardous to our health, my friend and I tackled a few in Williamsburg over a weekend.

First on the official tour: Spuyten Duyvil. (Don’t ask how it’s pronounced – I forget.) The tag line to the bar’s name is “rare and obscure,” and that it is. While I sipped an Oktoberfest on cask, my friend delicately held a tiny tulip of mead. For as powerful as the honey-heavy drink was, it sure didn’t come in a manly glass. He stuck out a pinky and muscled through.

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This is Ireland by M. Sasek

After many online searches looking for the best price to get to Croatia, I discovered that Aer Lingus was a relative bargain compared to other flights. I decided that I would stay in Dublin, however, for a 32-hour layover. I had never been to Ireland before and I wanted to see as much as I could possibly see in my jet-lagged state.

Because I had such a short amount of time, I started to research as much as possible. There was no shortage of information available, but a lot of the information recommended places that “were off the beaten path,” or places to be with the “locals” and the “new, more cosmopolitan” Dublin. As I was reading one article that suggested visiting a great wine bar and eating at a wonderful Mediterranean-inspired restaurant I realized that I didn’t want to be “off of the beaten path.”

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Downtown Lich--photo by Cecilia

Two years after our last visit to Germany for Christmas, we are back again. We got to the Frankfurt airport at 5:30 am, our family waiting for us already, and we drove home to Lich in the state of Hessen. Lich is a small and nice medieval city about 45 minutes from Frankfurt that was founded as a small community around 790 A.D. A castle was erected in the 12th century and the town gained the right to be called a city in the year 1300. You still can see the history on a short stroll through downtown in its beautiful half-timbered houses and the castle. If all this is not enough to make one to visit Lich, knowing that this city is home of Licher Bier, one of the best known beers in Hessen, will do it.

This time, we are there in spring and we notice already on our way from the airport that everything looks so green and seems fresh and colorful. The colors come from the flowers and vegetables we see in the fields. And among them, I can see what makes me think of spring in Germany as “Spargelzeit,” literally “asparagus time.”

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Memorial to Fisherman--photo by Llalan

The first stop on “Cape Ann Curiosities” in Lonely Planet’s New England Trips is Gloucester. Curious is not the first word I would use to describe the town, but maybe they couldn’t resist the alliteration. I probably would have gone with charming or simply lovely. My parents would have gone with, “It’s time to move here.” The main street, lined with budding trees and locally-owned businesses, winds down to the ocean and the iconic fisherman statue and memorial. Facing the ocean were old houses with widow’s walks around their roofs. Given the number of fisherman lost at sea who are honored at the memorial, Gloucester has known its fair number of widows.

The next “curiosity” we visited was an artists’ colony in East Gloucester. We walked down one street populated only by artists who were more than happy to show and explain their works to us. Even the

Cape Ann Brewing Company--photo by Llalan

shops themselves were artsy, each one decorated to match the personality of the artist living there. And there was something for everyone: paintings for my mother, jewelry for me, miniature replicas of ships for the boyfriend, and real ships bobbing at the docks outside for my dad. My parents’ desire to move there increased manyfold. Our visit to the Cape Ann Brewing Company further convinced Dad and me that it was time to order a U-Haul.

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Fodor's Chicago 2009

Proper congratulations and looks of awe are in order: I flew from Boston to Chicago and from Chicago to Boston with no delays, no cancellations, and no angry TSA officials–in February. Quite a feat in my book, given Boston’s recent proclivity to sudden snow storms and O’Hare’s almost constant state of behind-ness.

I was in the Windy City (which is rather windy, no matter where the nickname actually came from) for a writer’s conference. Despite seeing such amazing writers as Marilynne Robinson and Alexandar Hemon read, it’s needless to say that most exciting part of this conference, like any, happened outside the actual conference hotel. And consistent with my usual style of travel, it happened inside restaurants and bars.

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The Beer Book --edited by Tim Hampson

The Beer Book pronounces right off the bat that it “is not a book for beer snobs.” And they are absolutely right. Editor-in-Chief Tim Hampson takes pains to make this “drinking companion” not only a book accessible to casual beer drinkers who want to expand their knowledge of the styles, but also appealing to the more knowledgeable drinker who wants to see what else is out there to try (to mark off on their “life list,” if you will).

Easily recognizable by its cask conditioned cover, it is not at first glance what one expects from a book by Dorling Kindersley (DK), publisher of travel guides known for glossy covers with spectacular photos. The inside, however, has the obvious look of a DK guide to anything. Nearly 1,700 beers are lovingly pictured in The Beer Book’s encyclopedic examination of brews from all over the world. It is drool-inducing.

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