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Happenings at The Cookbook Store...
The Cookbook Store is a super charming corner cookbook store in Toronto, Canada filled with an adventurous collection of culinary tomes not available anywhere in the U.S.
My Mom and I make the four hour drive several times a year for the sole purpose of loading up on the books they carry. She picks, I pay. And promptly forgets I paid and forgets half the books are mine and keeps them all.
Every time I stop by her house I ask her for my share of the books. Only when she finishes reading a book cover to cover will she allow me to "borrow" it. And then she calls me every day until I bring the book back. "Kathleen, this is your Mother. I need that cookbook back. The one you took from me. I'm sending your father down if I don't hear from you by lunch time." I think she does this so we have an excuse to go back and stock up on all their new titles. Who am I to argue with my Mom, I love going too.
The Cookbook Store puts out an e-newsletter every month that I really enjoy. I sent them an email asking if it was okay to start posting it here on the site with a link to theirs and they said yes! So from now on, every time I get one of their sparkling newsletters which almost always features a recipe or too, I'll post it here. Bon Appetit!
Cookbook Store Events
What: The Bloor Yorkville Wine Festival: sip, savour & shop
When: Saturday May 12th, 1 to 4 pm
Who: Cave Spring Cellars at The Cookbook Store
What is more enjoyable than sampling fine wine and discovering the perfect recipe to pair it with? Stir up your taste buds with wines from Cave Spring Cellars, poured by founder Leonard Pennachetti. As an added treat, Anna and Michael Olson, founding chefs at Pennachetti's, Inn on the Twenty restaurant, will autograph their latest book, Cook at Home: Recipes for Everyday and Every Occasion. To further captivate your taste buds we will be sampling cheeses from across Canada with Andy Shay of Shay Cheese. To sample the wines you will need to purchase a passport from the Sante wine festival. www.santewinefestival.net
Cookbook Store News
Green Water
As of last summer Chez Pannise restaurant in California decided to take still, bottled water off the menu for environmental reasons. Now this March they have also taken fizzy, bottled water off the menu and bought a machine to carbonate their own water which will allow them to control the amount of bubbles. Bravo! Let's see how many other restaurants follow suit with this, as the need for bottled water at restaurants seems overtly costly to the consumer and the environment.
I Scream...
On a recent visit to Monforte Dairy's table in the north building of the St. Lawrence Market for Ruth Klahsen's wonderful artisanal cheeses, we came across the Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream being sold at the Monforte table.
Now in the past we have not particularly liked this ice cream in spite of all the rave reviews, however, after tasting the delicious *lavender/blueberry flavour* we have revised our opinion, dramatically! Alas we didn't get past this flavour so will have to go back and try the others ($8/litre), and more cheese.
And the 2007 IACP Award Winners are...
We'd be remiss if we didn't remind you Kathleen's second book is a 2006 IACP Cookbook Award Winner! To read more about Getting Thin and Loving Food: 200 Easy Recipes to Take You Where You Want to Be, click here.
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Cookbook of the Year:
What to Drink with What you Eat by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page
Best American Cookbook:
The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee & Ted Lee
Best Bread, Baking and Sweets Cookbook:
Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley
Best Chefs and Restaurants Cookbook:
Allegra McEvedy's color Cookbook by Allegra McEvedy
Best Compilation:
All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, Anne C. Cain, Editor
Best First Book:
The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee & Ted Lee
Best Food Reference/Technical Book: (tied)
Modern Garde Manger by Robert Garlough & Angus Campbell
The Spice and Herb Bible by Ian Hemphill
Best General Cookbook:
The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider
Best Health and Special Diet Cookbook:
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children by Ann Cooper & Lisa M. Holmes
Best International Cookbook:
Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland
Best Literary Food Writing:
My Life in France by Julia Child & Alex Prud'homme
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Best Single Subject Cookbook:
A Passion for Ice Cream by Emily Luchetti
Best Wine, Beer or Spirits Book:
What to Drink with What you Eat by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page
The Design Award:
Au Pied de Cochon by Martin Picard & Jean-Francois Boily
The Jane Grigson Award:
Memories of Philippine Kitchens by Amy Besa & Romy Dortan
Best Food Photography and Styling:
Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong
New Books
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Tom McNamee
Even authorized biographies can make headlines The shock horror here is the revelation that some of Chez Panisses's early cash infusions came via freelance pharmaceutical sales, albeit the hippy variety rather than South American cartels. The transformation from wide-eyed student arriving in France with little knowledge of food to a restaurateur who changed the way Americans view food makes for fascinating reading. Now that we have Alice's version of the life and times of Chez Panisse as well as Jeremiah Tower's rather hissier take on the matter (California Dish, $20), we probably need a third view from a neutral party for the true picture. Black and white photos. Hardcover, 380pp, $35.00
I Love Coffee! by Susan Zimmer
Coffee martinis, seven-layer lattes, cola coffee, iced soya-ccino—coffee hot, cold, and topped with whipped cream. This is the coffee-lover's dream come true. Over a third of the book is devoted to explaining the beans, machines, and techniques that will help you create coffee perfection. A portion of the proceeds go to a non-profit organization supporting families in coffee-producing nations. Color photos. Softcover, 224pp, $20.95 Author Visit Saturday June 9th from 2-3 pm.
Lidia's Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali
In concert with PBS, much-loved Italian food expert Lidia Bastianich and her art historian daughter guide us on an art-laced culinary tour of Italy. Lidia's Italy begins in the northeast with her home region of Istria, now part of Croatia, where sauerkraut with pork is one of the hearty signature dishes. In contrast, across the country in the northwest, Piemonte is truffle mad. Organization is everything in this book. Not only is there the usual alphabetical index in the back, in the front of the book recipes are listed by course. In addition recipes are listed at the beginning of each region. color photos. Hardcover, 364pp, $44.00
The Oldways Table by K. Dun Gifford & Sara Baer-Sinnott
A culinary think tank, Oldways was founded in 1990 to consider ways in which to combat the growing flood of fast food and the effects of agri-business. Ninety essays from a broad range of contributors—Deborah Madison, Steve Jenkins, Julia Della Croce, Elisabeth Luard—illustrate what the think tank is all about in a less political way than some similar books. A selection of recipes, many of Mediterranean origin, demonstrate the simplicity of preparation and the intensity of flavor that is the hallmark of oldways cooking. A few drawings but no photos. Hardcover, 272pp, $41.95
Panna Cotta by Camilla V. Saulsbury
A specialty of Piedmont, panna cotta combines the unctuous pleasure of custard with the jiggly joys of gelatin. There are classic and contemporary dessert versions—vanilla bean, coffee—and contemporary inventions like chai and cherries jubilee. For an unusual first course , try a savory panna cotta: queso fresco with chimichurrim & cherry tomatoes or cauliflower with white truffle oil. Black and white photos, small print. Hardcover,141pp, $21.95
Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaud
Phaidon Press (The Silver Spoon, $49.95; Breakfast Lunch Tea, $39.95) has published another stunning book, this time on French pork cookery. With both color photos and drawings reminiscent of the E.H. Shepard illustrations for Winnie the Pooh, this is as much an art book as a cookbook. Author Stephane Reynaud is the son of a butcher and the owner of a pork-centric restaurant in Montreuil. There is a warning for the young, immune-compromised, and the very old warning of raw eggs, unpasteurized cheeses, and uncooked meats. Perhaps there should be a warning for the inexperienced that instructions are somewhat sketchy. Everyone else should stock up on the best pork money can buy, hurry to the kitchen and start cooking up slow-cooked ham hock with red cabbage, pork confit tart, or charcutier's meatloaf. Hardcover, 367pp, $49.95
Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay
Titled "Humble Pie" in the UK, Gordon Ramsay's autobiography is an unflinching look back at a difficult home life, the football career that almost was, and the wildly successful cooking career that is. Yes, he employs the "s" and "f" words almost as frequently in writing as he does in speaking. Color and black and white photos trace his life from the angelic-looking four year old he was to the furrow-browed businessman he has become. Softcover, 284pp, $17.50
The Silver Palate Cookbook 25th anniversary edition by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins with Michael McLaughlin
How time flies when one is enjoying oneself in the kitchen.! The quintessential cookbook of the eighties, the book which changed cookbook design forever, is now officially a classic. All the favorite recipes are still here—yes the chicken Marbella in all its glory—the only change is the addition of color photos and some lovely testimonials. Softcover, 450pp, $25.95
Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells
Inspired by her provencal potager, Patricia Wells has written a worthy successor to Georgeanne Brennan's much-missed Potager. Although many of the recipes—everything from appetizers to stews with fish and meat, grain and bean dishes, even desserts—sound rich, most are healthy and have the nutritional breakdown to prove it. Illustrated with color photos. Hardcover, 324pp, $43.95
Vegetables from The Culinary Institute of America
Soups, appetizers, salads, entrees, sides, sauces and relishes, this book offers 170 enticing ways to get all the servings of vegetables we should be consuming. The vegetables 101 section in the introduction has handy charts with the vegetable families, their members and how best to use them. Another chart lists specific vegetables, best storage methods and times. Beautiful photos illustrating both finished dishes and preparation methods.
Hardcover, 293pp, $50.00
About the Cookbook Store...
The Cookbook Store is a "bricks and mortar" store located at 850 Yonge Street (at Yorkville) in Toronto. With thousands of culinary and wine titles we stock everything from the beloved—The Joy of Cooking—to the obscure—The Art of Uzbek Cooking—along with the latest trends.
Since opening our doors in1983, we have hosted both local stars and cultural icons. Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Giada de Laurentiis, Anthony Bourdain, Bill Granger, Elizabeth Baird, Monda Rosenberg, Anne Lindsay, Lucy Waverman, Bonnie Stern, Paul Bocuse, Anton Mosimann, Nick Malgieri, Martha Stewart and Julia Child are just a few of the authors who have visited our store.
Clive Coates, Bartholomew Broadbent, Oz Clarke, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson are among those who have conducted tastings for the wine enthusiasts amongst our customers.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call us toll-free at 1-800-268-6018, or email us at cooking@ican.net
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