Get fresh and light for dinner with this great cookbook.

I know some people are not fans of salad. Some believe it’s not a filling meal, others say it’s too healthy, and a few say it’s too expensive.  I don’t fit into any of these categories. I love eating fresh crisp salads whether it be for a light lunch or a satisfying dinner. Jeanne Kelley, food editor and author of  ”Salad for Dinner: Complete Meals for all Seasons”  has compiled a vibrant cookbook, dedicated to everything salad. Starting off, what do you need to enjoy a great salad… none of than fresh greens. With the first section in the book appropriately titled, “A Salad Primer”  you will learn the definition and origins of salad greens, herbs, and foraged greens like chickweed, dandelion greens and wood sorrel, and also what should accompany these lettuces. Read More

Warm Camembert w/ Wild Mushroom Fricassee from Chefs Recipes Made Easy

Everyone wishes that they could cook like a chef. From the simplest thing like a salad with four ingredients all the way down to a a flawless and delicious Thanksgiving dinner spread, everything chefs put on a plate seems to look amazing. The lettuce for salad pile perfectly on top of one another, nothing is bland and everything is cooked evenly. This magical world of perfect food is not happening in everyday home cooks kitchens and help is very much needed. Read More

In this new series we explore the books, new and old, that sit on our conference bookshelf. 

Wine has been around for thousands of years but now more than ever, wine is popular through out the entire world. Known wine regions such as the United States and Europe are where people generally go to when searching for a great bottle of wine, but now, other countries are producing wines that are gaining major recognition from wine enthusiasts, sommeliers, and chefs,  even down to the amateur wine drinker. Wines of the Southern Hemisphere: The Complete Guide  by known world wine guys Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen have put together a 592-page guide to everything you need to know about wines below the equator. Read More

Photo courtesy of KyleBooks

 In this new series we explore the books, new and old, that sit on our conference bookshelf. 

In the era of  all things food, the word “vegetarian” still shakes people up a bit. Vegetables are still getting a pretty bad wrap, even with the continual rise of more and more people becoming vegetarians, the success of upscale, all-vegetarian restaurants, and the world wide consumer love of Meatless Monday. Contrary to what some believe, you can be vegetarian and continue to experience bold flavors, new textures and have filling lunches, dinners, snacks and everything else in between. Read More

A plating sketch from 1987 from Paul Mooney, sent to Marcus

Living in a world full of food, chefs and restaurants can be quite delicious. With so many new techniques, heirloom foods, and the rise of the young chef, its always a great day to eat. With the climb of cooking in all art forms, brought along the rapid popularity of cookbooks. Cookbooks have always been popular, dating back to “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Childs and “The Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer. These two cookbooks paved the way in the culinary world and are still holding ground amongst some of the best. Read More

By: Marnely Rodriguez

As much as I’d love to travel to Korea and eat amazing food, that’s not a current possibility right this second. Thus, I live vicariously though Marja Vongerichten’s cookbook, The Kimchi Chronicles. I fell in love with Korean food during culinary school and having a Korean best friend fed this addiction. Her roommate wouldn’t allow kimchi in their dorm room, so at my place was her secret stash. I of course allowed kimchi in my room- the more, the merrier!

Two years later and everytime I’ve run into a Korean restaurant, I’ve got to stop, sit, and enjoy a meal. Nothing beats the fiery and fermented flavors of the Korean kitchen, and the rituals just make it even more delicious. Having 10 to 20 small dishes before your main course arrives is foodie heaven, right?

Through the eyes of Marja, we discover a Korea unknown but familiar Read More

By: Saira Malhotra

Each year, there are a number of cookbooks that are released, providing you with the keys to the kingdom of all things delectable. Whether you are an avid cook, a foodie or a food porn seeker, the pleasure is all yours with pages of stunning photography, dishes deconstructed, or an interesting story.

Last month, the New York Times gave us an ‘in’ on what the Dining staff consider being this year’s noteworthy books. Here are some of their suggestions Read More

Photo: Vaxzine

By: Michele Wolfson

While Michelle Obama may not be a chef, she seems to know a thing or two about the importance of using locally grown produce in everyday cooking. Her cookbook titled American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities will be released nationwide on April 10^th, 2012 by Crown Publishing and was just given a cover and a title yesterday. This cookbook provides recipes inspired by Obama’s White House garden- the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden during WWII. The First Lady even includes motivation and tips for gardening in her cookbook. Read More

By: Cyndi Amaya

For Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, their philosophy varies a bit from others’; “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. [For us,] when life gives you goat’s milk, you make soaps and cheese.”  As two city dwellers who bought a vacant farm in upstate New York, this new philosophy came into play quick, shortly after adopting 60 homeless goats from a ‘down-on-his-luck’ farmer. With the task of making their newly-purchased farm sustainable, their lives and writing soon turned to helping others achieve their dreams of living a simpler life. Josh and Brent’s new cookbook The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Recipe Cookbook features exactly those tips and recipes for simpler, comfort food cooking.

I caught up with co-author of the new cookbook, Brent Ridge and asked him a few questions about the book, their story, and Beekman1802.com. Here’s what he shared with us… Read More

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