Great Tastes Made Simple or Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook

Great Tastes Made Simple: Extraordinary Food and Wine Pairing for Every Palate

Author: Andrea Immer

The author of Great Wine Made Simple now adds great eating to her repertoire, showing how to enhance the flavor of even the most casual meals with winning wine selections.

Most wine experts' advice on wine and food pairings consists of rigid rules that apply largely to haute cuisine and luxury wines. But, in her trademark accessible style, Andrea Immer now takes the mystery out of choosing wine for food–and vice versa. Great Tastes Made Simple unlocks the secrets of basic food tastes–sweet, earthy, savory, buttery, tart, and spicy–and their particular wine affinities.

Giving even ordinary meals extraordinary flavor, Immer shows readers how to bring the flavor alchemy of wine to everyday fare from burgers (with Zinfandel) to macaroni and cheese (with Rioja Crianza). She calls Pinot Grigio her “tuna helper” and likes barbecued brisket with Valpolicella. There's also plenty of more sophisticated eating, including smoked salmon and Riesling; asparagus hollandaise and Champagne; wild mushroom risotto and California Pinot Noir, to name a few upscale matches. In fact, there isn't a food or category of food–including a panoply of cheeses, ethnic foods, and desserts–for which Immer doesn't provide a match and the reasons why they work so well. Chart of mouthwatering pairings and an easy-to-use index make finding wonderful wine and food combinations a snap.

Zeroing in on “wine-loving food”–those flavors, textures, and cooking techniques that truly dazzle when paired with wine–Immer demonstrates how to get the maximum enjoyment out of every food and wine encounter. A selection oftwenty recipes–Low Country Shrimp and Grits (think Chardonnay), Beet Risotto (Pinot Noir), Short Rib Ragù (brawny reds), and Warm Chocolate Torte (Madeira)–provides delicious examples of wine-loving dishes and cooking techniques that will become part of every wine-loving cook's repertoire.

Invaluable in restaurant settings and at home, this innovative guide can make every meal a cause for celebration.

Author Biography: Andrea Immer, the author of Great Wine Made Simple and Andrea Immer's Wine Buying Guide for Everyone (May 2002), is a graduate and the dean of wine studies at The French Culinary Institute in New York City and the wine columnist for Esquire. She is one of just ten women in the world to hold the title of Master Sommelier and was the first woman ever chosen Best Sommelier in America. Formerly the beverage director of Windows on the World, Immer lives in Stamford, Connecticut.

Publishers Weekly

Demystifying wine for the American audience is a worthy goal, and here Master Sommelier Immer (she's one of just 10 women to hold the title) makes an accomplished stab at a difficult task. In chapters such as "Smoke, Sizzle, Savor," and "Can She Make a Cherry Pie," Immer (Great Wine Made Simple) details the right wines to choose for tomatoes, barbecue, herbal dishes and even Thai takeout. In language that is appealing and approachable, Immer emphasizes how a good understanding of wine does not require a trip to Europe and buckets of cash, but rather a simple willingness to try new things. She also offers easy recipes and the wines to match them, suggesting, for example, a Dry Creek Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel from California with a "Red and Blue" Short Rib Ragu. Finally, Immer provides handy charts (e.g., "Matching Mushrooms, Truffles, and Wine" and "Matching Peak-Sweet Seafood and Wine") and tasting ideas, such as a comparison of Pinot Blanc and Chianti, so that the novice oenophile can teach herself to love wine more-or at least fear it less. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

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Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook

Author: Gloria Bley Miller

An essential resource in the American kitchen and a classic for nearly four decades, this is the definitive Chinese cookbook, perfect for cooks at every level

Here is the largest, most comprehensive Chinese cookbook ever published for the Western world. A Tastemaker Award winner, Gloria Bley Miller distills centuries of Chinese recipes and techniques into concise and easy-to-follow directions that will enable any cook to produce dishes that please the eye, delight the palate, and suit the budget.

With verve and wit, Miller tells you how to prepare everything from egg drop soup and drunken pork to sizzling rice and delicate wontons. There are 150 recipes for chicken alone, plus dozens of variations on pork dishes, vegetables, and noodles, as well as other Chinese favorites. Using Miller's recipes, ordinary meat and seafood become delicacies, while vegetables retain their color and texture. And Miller's delicious recipes are splendidly high in nutrients and low in calories.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook contains everything the cook needs to know about Chinese cooking, including how to:

• Use special Chinese cooking techniques such as steaming and stir-frying

• Create unique seasonings and sauces

• Substitute hard-to-find ingredients with those available in any supermarket

• Plan menus suited to every time constraint, budget, and occasion

The classic Chinese cookbook, this is the only book you'll ever need to master one of the world's greatest and most versatile cuisines.