Books
Written by Matt Skinner
Matt Skinner has made an impressive dent in the UK wine scene with his straight-talking approach. The Juice 2007 will appeal to anyone who loves wine, but cringes at the thought of all the snobbery and jargon that sometimes goes with it. Skinner's accessible approach to the grape makes getting to know your plonk an informative, punchy read.
The book itself is almost pocket-sized so you could just about sneak it under the table at dinner parties and wow everyone with bite-sized snippets of information from its pages.
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Written by Éric Kayser
Even if you weren't considering making your own bread, this book might just convert you. Firstly there are all the pretty pictures - you want to score your dough with a pithivier or chevron cut? Just take a look at the beautiful step-by-step photos. Secondly there's all the choice - from pumpernickel and bagels to polka bread and daisy loaves, this book covers so many different artisan kinds of bread, choosing what to bake first is the tricky part.
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Written by (Rachel Khoo)
If you’ve been tuning into The Little Paris Kitchen on BBC Two lately, you’ll know what Rachel Khoo is all about. Six years ago, she upped sticks from Croydon and headed to Paris to train at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school. She didn’t speak a word of French, but that didn’t seem to matter as she quickly got the country’s cuisine under her belt. She now runs the smallest restaurant in Paris (two diners at a time is all she has room for in her tiny Parisian flat), and has just released her latest recipes book: The Little Paris Kitchen.
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Written by Anna Del Conte
This limited edition recipes book from the Italian food producers, Sacla’, is a passionate tribute to regional Italian food. Three generations of the Ercole family have poured their love, hard work and gastronomic nous into Sacla’ - a food company that has won the hearts and stomachs of epicureans around the globe. Anna Del Conte (something of an Italian cookery icon), has written this beautifully produced book in collaboration with British Artist, Val Archer.
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If you thought sherry was just for grannies and Christmas, this book will make you think again. Heston Blumenthal heads up The Perfect Marriage with a passionate love of all things sherry, and guides the reader through its versatile forms.
If you’ve only ever dabbled with the likes of Harvey’s Bristol Cream, this book takes you through the many different sherries available. From the drier end of the scale, finos and manzanillas are paired with food suggestions to bring out their zesty crispness.
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Written by Various authors, Chief Editor Lynda Brown
Think making jam is just for the Women’s Institute? Think again! The Preserving Book, published by Dorling and Kindersley in association with the Soil Association brings preserving into the 21st century.
Open this book on just about any page and there will be a vibrantly coloured, glossy photo beaming out at you. The Preserving Book goes comprehensively through all the various ways of preserving food – freezing, drying, heating, fermenting, smoking, and more – telling you everything you need to know, from basics such as what foods you can freeze raw, to recipes for unusual and delicious looking delicacies such as rhubarb and rose petal syrup.
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Written by (Trina Hahnemann)
When you flick through this book, the first thing that strikes you about Scandinavian food, is just how fresh it is. Trina Hahnemann uses her skill in the kitchen to convey her cultural heritage to the reader, and implores people to cherish the notion of eating together around the table.
Hahnemann’s approach with this recipes book is a seasonal one, with each chapter assigned to a different month of the year.
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Written by (Amanda Grant)
Now kids can get to grips with wholesome and authentic Italian cooking with these 40 recipes that have been adapted from the original Italian cookery bible, ‘The Silver Spoon’. All the recipes in this lively book have been adapted, written and tested by children’s cookbook author, Amanda Grant who is tirelessly enthusiastic about teaching the next generation how to cook. Suitable for children aged ten or older, the recipes are easy to follow and prepare with some occasional help from an adult.
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Written by Colin Spencer
This book, beautifully illustrated by Emma Dibben takes a look at over 100 vegetables along with their history, their culinary uses and their current social standing within our increasingly convenience-driven lifestyles. Colin Spencer lovingly resurrects roots, leaves, stems and tubers from the depths of obscurity and urges his readers to try vegetables, traditional and exotic in a whole host of delicious ways. What makes Spencer's narrative so difficult to stop reading is his ability to incorporate historical anecdotes, medicinal benefits and mouth-watering recipes for every vegetable he touches on.
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