Gorgeous Garlic or Menu Del Dia

Gorgeous Garlic (Cook West)

Author: Gwin Grogan Grimes

Revered for its flavor and health benefits, garlic is the main attraction in this versatile and varied collection of recipes.

Widely used in Italian, Greek, and French cuisines, the legendary garlic takes center stage in this collection with a Southwestern flair. Featuring delights such as Roasted Garlic Quesadillas, Double Garlic Meat Loaf, and Grilled Corn with Garlic-Lime Butter, Gorgeous Garlic also offers recipes for sauces, rubs, butters, and much, much more. 24 color photos.

About the Cook West Series: Savor the flavors of the West. Each book in the Cook West Series celebrates the tastes, colors, aromas, and ingredients that create the food of the American West. Home cooks and industry professionals alike will welcome these single-ingredient cookbooks into their kitchens. Each title in the Cook West Series offers 50 original recipes and helpful tips to impress, inspire, and invigorate. Western cuisine is gaining in popularity, and rightly so! Where, but in the West, can one experience the marital bliss of chile and chocolate? Or a refreshing glass of prickly pear lemonade on a hot summer day? Soothe your soul with the creaminess of avocado or allow your taste buds to dance around a tantalizing olive. Enjoy the pleasantly stimulating aroma of roasting garlic or the zesty tang of cilantro. From rubs and sauces to delightful desserts, Western cooks have laid claim to a culinary art as original and distinct as the landscape itself. Conveniently sized and affordably priced, each book in the Cook West Series is the perfect addition for every cookbook library.

Book about: Understanding Electric Power Systems or Investments

Menu Del Dia: More Than 100 Classic, Authentic Recipes from Across Spain

Author: Rohan Daft

The menú del día is Spain's equivalent of the prix fixe menu of the bistros of France. On it are good, no-nonsense dishes that are as long on flavor and tradition as they are short on pretension and fuss. Influenced by a unique blend of culinary and cultural influences -- wine from the Romans; rice, cinnamon, saffron, and cumin from the Moors; slow-cooked stews from the Jews; tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, and chilies from the New World -- these are the tastes that have made Spanish cooking as vibrant as it is today. To start, there might be Gazpachuelo, the mayonnaise-enriched shrimp and monkfish soup straight from Mediterranean Málaga, followed by a main course of Fabada, the gloriously sticky stew of pork and white beans from mountainous Asturias, and Bienmesabe ("Tastes good to me!"), the almond, cinnamon, honey, and lemon cream so beloved by the people of Canary Islands. A menú in northerly Navarra, which borders France, might begin with Menestra Riojana, a delicate dish of spring vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, and continue with Pichón Estofado, a robust dish of pigeon stewed with red wine. Arroz con Leche, creamy rice pudding with a burnt-sugar crust, makes a sweet ending.

Publishers Weekly

While many Americans have encountered the French term prix fixe, the similar, Spanish concept of Menú del Día may not be as familiar. Traditionally a midday meal of three courses (including dessert), the Menú del Día is offered at many Spanish restaurants for a set price. Daft loosely translates the concept for the home cook, offering five solid chapters (including first and second courses and desserts, along with helpful sections covering ingredients and condiments) that include plates that can be mixed and matched, or served solo. Recipes begin with extensive headnotes, chock-full of Spanish culinary and cultural information showing the author's expertise and passion for his subject. The usual yet well-loved first-course suspects-gazpacho and paella-are mixed in among dishes that may be new to the American cook, such as Alboronía (quince, squash and eggplant in tomato sauce), and Ajo Blanco (cold almond and garlic soup with grapes). Second courses offer recipes for pigeon, oxtail and partridge (along with instructions for killing a live spiny lobster) that may intimidate beginning cooks, yet a range of recipes ensures there's something for all skill levels. Quirky yet sophisticated illustrations and a gift-appropriate size make this a worthy international culinary title. (Sept.)

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Judith Sutton - Library Journal

Daft, a British food writer and consultant who now lives in Spain, explains that the menú del día is "a very Spanish tradition," the inexpensive daily menu-posted at lunchtime-offered by small, mostly family-run restaurants to satisfy workers, neighborhood locals, and tourists alike. The menus tend to feature hearty classic dishes, and Daft, who traveled all over Spain in the writing of the book, offers a diverse selection of regional specialties and more familiar traditional dishes. Recipe headnotes include background and stories about the cooks and other people he met on his travels, and an introductory section covers ingredients and techniques. Spanish food is hot now, and Daft's book is a good companion to Janel Mendel's My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes.