Thursday, December 11, 2008

Take This Dish and Twist It or Oxford Companion to Wine

Take This Dish and Twist It

Author: George Duran

Make it quick, make it delicious--but always make it with a healthy dose of creativity! This is the delightful way George Duran, who is part comedian, part trained chef, and star of Food Network's Ham on the Street and The Secret Life Of, approaches cooking. In his first-ever cookbook, George shares his favorite recipes for easy-on-the-cook comfort foods with a twist, including recipes such as Deep-Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Banana Split Pancakes. BLT Hot Dogs, and Tex-Mex Lasagna. The unusual twist comes from ingredient combinations you may never have considered, but are absolutely delicious! Are you ready to get new, creative meals and desserts on the table fast? Then let's get cooking!

Pepperoni Pizza Soup

PREP: 15 minutes / COOK: 6 minutes / BROIL: 3 minutes / YIELD: 4 servings

Finally, liquid food lovers everywhere can rejoice. America's favorite pizza is ready for sipping! Remember to try different "toppings" as well, such as mushrooms, onions, and sausage!


  • 2 cans (10.75-ounce) condensed tomato soup

  • 3 cups water

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 1/2 cups dried elbow macaroni (or other short dried pasta such as ditalini or alphabets)

  • 2 green onions, sliced

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed

  • 1/3 cup diced pepperoni

  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

  • Dried oregano

    1) Preheat the broiler. In a large pan put the tomato soup, water, and garlic; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, green onion, oregano, and pepperoni; cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the macaroni is almost done. Pour the soup into4 oven-proof bowls. Top each with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, and some oregano. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. (Or serve the soup in a small round, crusty loaf of bread. Cut the top off the bread and scoop out the insides. Fill with soup, top with the cheeses, and broil as directed above.)

    Stuffed Lasagna Rolls

    PREP: 25 minutes / COOK: 7 minutes / BAKE: 20 minutes / YIELD: 5 to 6 servings

    Many of us struggle with life's conundrums. Why are we here? Is this all there is? What do you do with the six sheets of lasagna pasta that are left over in your pantry? You're on your own with the first two, but I have the perfect solution for number three: Make some stuffed lasagna rolls!


  • 12 no-cook lasagna noodles

  • 2 to 3 hot Italian sausages

  • 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  • 1 egg, beaten

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon table salt

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

    1) In a large pan of boiling, salted water cook the lasagna noodles for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are just soft (don't overcook them). Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels.

    2) Remove the casings from the sausages. Crumble the meat into a nonstick skillet. Cook over high heat about 5 to 6 minutes or until browned, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon. Remove from the pan and set aside. In a bowl mix the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, basil, salt, and pepper until combined. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 13 x 9 two-inch lasagna pan evenly spread half of the tomatoes.

    3) To assemble the lasagna rolls, place a lasagna noodle on a work surface with the short side toward you. Put 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture on the bottom half of the noodle; add 1 tablespoon of the cooked sausage. Roll noodle starting at the bottom and place in the lasagna pan. Prepare the remaining noodles in the same way, lining them up in the pan. Spread the remaining tomatoes over the rolls and top with the mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned.

    Judith Sutton - Library Journal

    Now the host of two popular Food Network shows, Ham on the Street and The Secret Life of..., Duran previously did comedy sketches on radio and worked in production on MTV's House of Style; he also hosted a French television cooking show after attending culinary school there. His first book, which features a lively, collage-style format, presents 100 recipes that he describes as twists on favorite comfort foods, from Pepperoni Pizza Soup to Caesar Salad Summer Rolls. There are lots of tips, suggestions, and anecdotes about Duran's adventures in the culinary world. Expect demand.



    Table of Contents:
    6 / DURAN-I-CIZE YOUR KITCHEN



    20 / RISE AND DINE



    46 / LIFE BEYOND LETTUCE



    68 / FROM SOUP TO NUTS...MINUS THE NUTS



    90 / EAT WITH YOUR HANDS!



    116 / Let's Get Comfy



    144 / GRILLIN' LIKE A VILLAIN!



    172 / NIBBLES AND SWIGS



    204 / HOW SWEET IT ENDS



    236 / INDEX



    240 / Duran's Rules for GASTRONOMIC GLEE

    Book review: The Gourmet Potluck or Sandra Lee Semi Homemade Cooking Made Light

    Oxford Companion to Wine

    Author: Jancis Robinson

    Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim, the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status, winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich and Julia Child/IACP awards, as well as writer and woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion and wit, The Oxford Companion to Wine offers almost 4,000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable, from regions and grape varieties to the owners, connoisseurs, growers, and tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture and oenology to the history of wine. Tracing the consumption and production from the ancient world to the present day, the Companion is a remarkable resource for gaining further appreciation for a beverage whose popularity has only increased with time.
    Now exhaustively updated, this third edition incorporates the very latest international research to present over 400 new entries on topics ranging from globalization and the politics of wine to brands, precision viticulture, and co-fermentation. Hundreds of other entries have also undergone major revisions, including yeast, barrel alternatives, climate change, and virtually all wine regions. Useful lists and statistics are appended, including controlled appellations and their permitted grape varieties, as well as wine production and consumption by country.
    Illustrated with maps of every important wine region in the world, useful charts and diagrams, and stunning color photography, this Companion is unlike any other wine book, offering an understanding of wine in its many wider contexts - notably historical, cultural,geographic, and scientific - and serving as a truly companionable point of reference into which any wine-lover can dip, browse, and linger.

    Foreword - Seth McEvoy

    Completely revised from the acclaimed 1993 first edition, The Oxford Companion to Wine arrives with 500 new entries to reach a total of over 3,500 in alphabetical form. As anticipated, Robinson's compendium has become the definitive reference book for the wine world, covering nearly all aspects of wine-making, wine appreciation, the science and history of wine and numerous listings of individual estates and appellations. The Oxford Companion to Wine has won every major wine book award and overall this book continues to be a magnificent achievement.

    Book Report

    This giant tome is likely to become "the" standard reference for wine in the whole world....If you were going to have a one book wine library, this would have to be it.

    Brill's Content - Dimitra Kessenides

    This A-Z guide covers all aspects of wine, from vine density to bottling. Jancis Robinson...offers colorful photographs, maps of wine regions, diagrams that explain various wine-making processes, and much more.

    Library Journal

    The first edition of Davidson's award-winning Oxford Companion to Food appeared in print in 1999. With the second edition of this culinary classic, food writer and publisher Tom Jaine takes editorial charge. While keeping true to Davidson's distinctive and entertaining writing style, Paine has updated many of the approximately 3000 original entries in the book and added 70 new topics (e.g., "Globalization," "Olives"). Covering everything from individual ingredients and cooking techniques to food celebrities and national cuisines, the authoritative and engaging The Oxford Companion to Food is one of the best basic culinary reference books available. In the latest update of The Oxford Companion to Wine, first published in 1994, not only have hundreds of the book's original 3000 entries been revised but over 400 new entries, such as "Coastal Region," "Heritage Varieties," and "Icon Wine," have been added to this superb reference book. Wine expert, journalist, and author Robinson and her contributors continue to write with zesty enthusiasm about everything from the different varieties of grapes to the world's great wineries and geographic areas of production. Bottom Line Both of these reasonably priced classic books are highly recommended for academic and public libraries, especially those that do not already own previous editions; The Oxford Companion to Wine remains the essential wine resource for most any library's collection. John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

    Library Journal

    This essential addition to reference collections breaks new ground. Unlike the excellent works by Alexis Lichine (e.g., Alexis Lichine's Guide to the Wines and Vineyards of France, Knopf, 1989. 4th ed.) or Hugh Johnson (e.g., Vintage, S. & S., 1992), which are standard sources on the growing, buying, drinking, tasting, and enjoying of wine, this work broadens the discussion to "less obvious topics, such as animals (their function as vine pests), auctions, the specific influence of the British, and Australians, on the world of wine, fashion, fraud, global overproduction, wine in literature and art, and the role of water throughout wine production." About 3000 alphabetically arranged entries range from the most familiar topics, such as "California," to the quite obscure (e.g., "Xynisteri," a white grape grown on Cyprus). Yet those less interested in the esoterica of wine will surely find the information they seek, as about 70 percent of the book is concerned with specific wines and areas of wine production. There is also practical guidance on such matters as serving wine and matching the right wine with the right food. Editor Robinson, who writes regularly for the Wine Spectator, is widely respected for her taste and abilities. Here she assembles an international cast of over 70 experts. Since only a small number are from the United States and since many may be unfamiliar to the average American reader, this work is also valuable as a kind of directory of authorities on wine-related subjects. While erudite, this book is not dry; historical anecdotes abound. The text is complemented by over 250 fascinating illustrations, which include an aroma wheel, maps, a red wine-making chart, labels, a varietal geneaology, a wine-tasting sheet used by judges, and more. This book, which offers something for everyone, is highly recommended.-Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., Ky.



  • No comments: