The Best of Virginia Farms Cookbook and Tour Book or My Tuscany

The Best of Virginia Farms Cookbook and Tour Book: Recipes, People, Places

Author: CiCi Williamson

The Best of Virginia Farms uses a variety of writing features (interviews, sidebars, tours, essays, and recipes) along with unique illustrations and maps to convey America's fascinating agricultural story. The book reveals the intimate relationship between a state's agriculture and its overall identity.
America's oldest farm state, Virginia has a fascinating farming history. In addition to the expected crops, readers will also find information on wine and spirits, Christmas trees, and Virginia's famous horse farm industry. Whether it's a tour of Virginia's historic plantations or a traditional holiday recipe from Colonial Williamsburg, The Best of Virginia Farms will provide a unique perspective on the Old Dominion.
Filled with fun and practical how-to information, thisbook will inspire readers to prepare a recipe, take a tour, or enjoy a new product they have never tried. Promising to enrich the spirit, this book taps into the traditions and mystique that surround farming in Virginia and celebrate the family bonds and rugged individuality of rural life.

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My Tuscany: Recipes, Cuisine, Landscape

Author: Lorenza deMedici

Blending personal narrative, regional recipes, and breathtaking photography, celebrated cook Lorenza de'Medici takes us on a journey, province by province, through her native Tuscany. Along the way, she offers marvelous depictions of the region's towns and villages, anecdotal accounts of local customs, and tasting notes on local wines. Of course, lavish attention is given to the prodotti tipici--Tuscany's culinary treasures--and there are 30 authentic recipes, all photographed in Lorenza's own Siena kitchens. Enhanced with 120 color photos, a veritable feast for the eyes, this is a book for anyone who has ever visited Tuscany and fallen in love with its landscape, its food, and its people. Lorenza de'Medici, author of 30 Italian cookbooks and former host of a popular PBS Television series, now runs the famous Tuscan cooking school The Villa Table at Badia a Coltibuono.

Olives Dessert Table or Magic of Provence

Olives Dessert Table: Extraordinary Restaurant Desserts You Can Make at Home

Author: Todd English

Todd English soared to stardom in the culinary world with his distinctive style of layering flavors and textures, a style that has made his restaurants, and the cookbooks that feature his dishes, so popular. The philosophy for the desserts served at Olives is the same as that for the entrées: "We like to pull things out of the country and dress them up," says Todd. "We take very simple things and layer them together to compose a more complex dish." The result? Desserts that are always more than the sum of their parts, combining familiar and comfortable flavors in unique and unexpected ways. Extravagant creations such as Mango Tarte Tatin with Pastry Cream and Chocolate Pastry; Apple-Topped Gingerbread with Hot Applesauce and Cinnamon Ice Cream; Butterscotch Pudding in a Chocolate Crumb Crust with Fudge-Topped Toffee Cookies and Chocolate Lace Cigarettes; Blue Cheese Danish with Port-Poached Pears; Cranberry-Lime Sorbet with Walnut Rugelach; Double Chocolate Soufflé with Deep, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Chocolate Anglaise. Best of all, each of the 43 spectacular desserts featured is made up of building block recipes (more than 145 in all), many of which can be prepared ahead of time, and many that taste great on their own. So you can wow your guests with White Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with Caramel Semi-Freddo and Boozy Caramel Sauce. Or simply serve your family the best banana bread they'll ever have. No matter which option you choose, the results will be extraordinary.

Publishers Weekly

The dessert names alone can run almost as long as the average list of ingredients for those traditional "country" recipes that English either enhances or overdoes, depending on your palate. The chef-owner of Figs and Olives, two Boston-area restaurants, English isn't shy about piling on the flavors or textures--whether he's taking on custards, souffl s, tarts, ice cream or cakes. Sometimes it seems as if all categories are present and accounted for in a single concoction (e.g., Double Chocolate Souffl with Deep, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream and Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Anglaise), but not all the 43 desserts presented here are as involved. Nectarine-Blueberry Crisp with Oatmeal Crumble and Buttermilk "Ice Cream" sounds positively low-key, while Apricot and Goat Cheese Tart in a Pistachio Shell brings a continental luster to the table. The food is sumptuously described, while the recipes themselves are given somewhat briskly (perhaps too briskly for the casual baker). Best of all, however, is the compartmentalized approach the authors (Retus is the Olives pastry chef; Sampson co-authored The Olives Table) have taken to dessert making, where certain simpler components of more elaborate concoctions, such as the oatmeal shortbread shell in the Silky Chocolate Cream Pie, can stand alone, in this instance as a delectable cookie. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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Magic of Provence: Pleasures of Southern France

Author: Yvone Lenard

When Yvone Lenard returned to her native France and purchased a house in a hilltop village of Provence, an enchanted world of food, wines, and unusual adventures–including chicken rustling, flirtatious advances from neighbors, and a séance–opened up before her. This is her account of the spell cast on her by Provence, from her first morning’s visit by a charming prince bearing a jug of the village’s vin rose to the growth of her friendship with a duchess in the local chateau. Lenard shares tales of travels to St. Tropez and visits from American friends who find unexpected romance and magic in Provence. Told with verve, wit, and Lenard’s deep understanding of the French language and culture, this memoir includes tales of others who have been drawn to the region, including Vincent van Gogh, Brigitte Bardot, and Princess Caroline of Monaco. Ways to re-create the magic of the region’s sensuous way of life include recipes for food and drinks, as well as tips for entertaining in the Provençal style.