Daily Olive: December 2004

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Holiday Cookbook Gift: King Authur Flour Cookie Companion

This book is just in from the award-winning team that put together the "King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook." "King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" is a thorough, comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about cookies. The first few chapters are devoted to cookies developed from one or two "essential" recipes. These are ingredient-based cookies such as Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Molasses Cookies. Later pages cover an incredible range of cookie varieties, separated into chapters such as Bars and Squares, Drop Cookies, Roll-Out, Shaped, Batter, and No-Bake. Each recipe is as tempting as the next, but what makes this cookbook so special is that you get tons of tips, techniques, and explanations that lead to a complete understanding of what goes into making a great cookie. The King Arthur team includes hints on measuring molasses without making a mess, intricate illustrations that outline steps for essential techniques, and sidebars with informative tidbits on certain ingredients. Unlike many cookie books, which only give one recipe for each type of cookie, you can make every cookie-lover happy here with chewy and crispy versions of many of your favorite cookies.

Whether you want to build a gingerbread house for the holiday season, or simply have a hankering for a big whoopie pie, the "King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" is a cookie resource you will return to again and again for years to come.

December 16, 2004 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Cookbooks, Holidays, Special Delivery | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Publication: Chow Magazine

CHOW, is a new magazine about food, drink, and fun. We haven't read through an actual issue yet, but it looks like a nice new entry into the food magazine category. Here's a page on Thanksgiving Day Preparation with chef Charlie Palmer from their premiere issue.

December 16, 2004 in Education | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gift for Wine Lovers: Wine Grape Varietal Table

Wine Grape Varietal Table is a beautiful wine reference poster that shows you all the different grape varieties in a easy to read chart. Printed like a fine art print, this poster is a perfect gift for a wine lover, and hangs nicely in your tasting room or wine cellar. It is packed with information about grapes worldwide and comes with a printed reference book, The Wine and Grape Indexes.

Visit delongwine.com for more information.

December 10, 2004 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide: Thomas Keller's Bouchon

Welcome to Thomas Keller's "Bouchon". The French word Bouchon has several meanings: it can be a cork, or stopper, or a bundle of hay once used to rub down a traveler's horse. In Lyon, a bouchon is a distinct kind of restaurant, of which only about a dozen legitimate examples remain. The traditional bouchon of central France is a comfortable destination for humble, hearty food. Yet even the most basic food, a Potato Leek Soup, for instance, can vary greatly from one bowl to the next. What makes the difference? The cook and the care given to that bowl of soup. For Thomas Keller, this attentiveness is everything, and the result is beyond comparison. We invite you to join French Laundry's Thomas Keller as he describes that which makes a true bouchon in his brand new book.

Get an author autographed bookplate with your copy of "Bouchon" while supplies last @ Jessica’s Biscuit ecookbooks.com.

December 7, 2004 in Chef Books | Permalink | Comments (0)