Food & Drink

What defines a truly great host? Is it the quality of her surroundings, her china and linens, the savory surprises at her table, the diversity of the people she gathers around her, or simply her ability to put guests at ease? As Nan Kempner shows in R.S.V.P. , it is all this and much more.New York hostess extraordinaire and inveterate guest of some of the world's most accomplished, Nan Kempner offers a tantalizing glimpse into the homes -- and entertaining philosophies -- of more than two dozen of her favorite hosts and hostesses. With twenty complete menus, R.S.V.P. divulges tried-and-true strategies for a large range of events, from a dockside breakfast to a gala sit-down dinner. Here is a casual city luncheon hosted by Crown Princess Pavlos of Greece; cocktails on the Grand Canal in Venice with Larry Lovett; Anne Bass's fall-inspired country menu; the raucous Texas-sized cookout served by Lynn Wyatt; and a full-scale boar hunt on the Loire Valley estate of Count Hubert and Countess Isabelle d'Ornano.For each event, Nan recollects the mood at the table and the individual elements that made each gathering so exceptional. She has also convinced her friends to share their most closely guarded recipes, most of them simple to replicate and all certain to please even the most discerning partygoer. R.S.V.P. also gives an enticing tour of some of the world's most brilliant houses, with an insider's view of Oscar and Annette de la Renta's Santo Domingo villa; Ross Bleckner's art-filled New York City loft; and designer Valentino's sumptuously appointed yacht. Stunning color photographs showcase each house and vividly re-create these events.

Cafe Firenze Cookbook celebrates the best of Italian cuisine, coupling gourmet recipes by Top Chef Season 5 fan favorite Fabio Viviani with martini recipes by award-winning mixologist Jacopo Falleni. Viviani's recipes--the same that made him a top contender in the most popular cooking show currently on television--are healthy, easy to prepare, and incredibly tasty, and each one is paired with one of Falleni's fabulous and completely original drink recipes. Each chapter covers a different type of recipe (appetizers, pasta, fish, meat, and desserts), and each begins with Viviani's personal background with each type of food and contains anecdotes, history, garnish instructions, and tips for buying ingredients. Friends since the age of twelve in Florence, Italy, Viviani and Falleni are business partners in their popular Ventura county restaurant, Cafe Firenze Restaurant and Martini Bar, which brings Tuscan dishes and Florentine flair to Southern California. This incredible book of their authentic recipes from their home country will delight all Fabio Viviani's followers and fans, as well as anyone interested in Italian cuisine. Includes beautiful four-color photography by Antonio Busiello, whose work has appeared everywhere from National Geographic to Animal Planet , and a foreword by William Shatner, one of Viviani's biggest fans.

The anecdotal history of Harry's Bar in Venice, a meeting place for the rich and famous for sixty-five years, accompanies the autobiography of one of the founders of the bar, Arrigo Cipriani, from World War II through the present.

"Cook the sauce another minute, then add just a touch of olive oil," urges Daniel Boulud in his kitchen at Cafe Boulud in New York City. "Not too much. That's it," he exclaims. His voice carries his passion as he swirls the copper pan holding the finished dish. Over the tops of his glasses he assesses the color and takes in the aroma of the sauce. Then he brings a few drops of it to his lips. After thirty years of cooking in France and America, the chef knows what he wants. "I'm looking for balance," he explains. "A hint of herb, a little acidity -- sweet seafood needs a bit of sharpness -- and all the brininess and flavor of the scallops." It is a simple but perfect recipe and it has been given all his attention, commitment, and talent -- as have each of the recipes in this simple but perfect cookbook. "Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud Cookbook" contains all his creative cooking skills made accessible. By means of Dorie Greenspan's expertly written recipes, Daniel accompanies you into your home kitchen, where his inspiration becomes yours and his instructions are easy to follow. With little effort, you find yourself reproducing his magic on your own stove. One ingredient for a perfect dish is family tradition. In the book's first section, La Tradition, we are transported to the original Cafe Boulud run by Daniel's grandparents on the outskirts of Lyon -- France's culinary capital. Daniel's education as a cook began with his grandmother and the Poulet Grand-mere she lovingly prepared for her guests. It continued with great chefs that shaped his unique interpretation of home cooking. Recipes such as Skate with Brown Butter and Capers, Hanger Steak with Shallots, and splendid Pommes Frites reveal the influences of his French roots. But tradition also includes respect for seasonal ingredients. In the next section, La Saison, Daniel accompanies us through the market. We select peas and sugar snaps that are ready to tumble into the pot for the Chilled Spring Pea Soup. Fresh corn becomes the surprise ingredient in Lobster with Sweet Corn Polenta. Complete the celebration of the seasons with Ruby Grapefruit with Pomegranate Sabayon or a milk chocolate-cherry tart like no other. In the third section, Le Voyage, "Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud Cookbook" takes us on an exploration of many of the world's cuisines with dishes as varied as Italian-style Veal Gremolata, Spanish Gazpacho with Anchovy Toast, or a fast and easy Asian salad of crab, cucumber, and mango. Imagine yourself under the warm Middle Eastern sun as you taste Daniel's Coffee-Cardamom Pots de Creme. In the last section, Le Potager, Daniel offers an extraordinary selection of vegetarian dishes, from easy starters like Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad to main courses such as Lemon-Lime Risotto with Asparagus or bone-warming Root Vegetable Cassoulet, and, of course, sublime desserts to cap any meal. "Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud Cookbook" opens wide the door of his kitchen and invites you in with 150 recipes that will unfailingly stimulate your passion for flavor while offering a healthy, easy, and modern approach to good eating. He also provides a collection of basic recipes that are used at Cafe Boulud; a glossary of terms, techniques, and ingredients; and a short batterie de cuisine, a guide to pots, pans, and a few gadgets. He even provides a list of trusted suppliers so you can find the same ingredients he uses at Cafe Boulud. Thirty-two pages of color photographs of finished dishes prepared personally by Daniel will allow you to see, and almost smell and taste, what you are cooking. Watch as this book becomes the extension of your own hands. Whether making a salad for one or a dinner for eight, let "Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud Cookbook" be your reliable guide to great food.

Anthony Bourdain, life-long line cook and bestselling author of "Kitchen Confidential", sets off to eat his way around the world. But being Anthony Bourdain, this was never going to be a conventional culinary tour. Bourdain heads out to Saigon where he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra, and travels deep into landmined Khmer Rouge territory to find the rumoured Wild West of Cambodia (Pailin). Other stops include dining with gangsters in Russia, a medieval pig slaughter and feast in northern Portugal, the Basque All Male Gastronomique Society in Saint Sebastian, rural Mexico with his Mexican sous-chef, a pilgrimage to the French Laundry in the Napa Valley and a return to his roots in the tiny fishing village of La Teste, where he first ate an oyster as a child. Written with the inimitable machismo and humour that has made Tony Bourdain such a sensation, "A Cook's Tour" is an adventure story sure to give you indigestion.

This memoir, peppered with authentic Balinese recipes, is a love letter to the food and culture of BaliWhen Janet De Neefe stepped off the plane in Bali in 1974, she felt an immediate connection to this island paradise. Though curious about Bali's culture, its warm people and its mouthwatering cuisine, she didn't expect to fall in love with a Balinese man and make a new life there. Now, years later, Janet and her husband have four children and run two of the most successful restaurants in Bali.In this delightful memoir, Janet shares entertaining stories of being 'gently shaped like warm rice for offerings' as she adapts to another culture and way of life. She offers insights into the ancient myths and rituals still alive in Bali today and passes on delicious recipes handed down through generations of her husband's family.Fragrant Rice shows how the love, hope and warmth that makes this island such a special place is still very much alive today.Family recipes included

TV’s most popular chef, Gordon Ramsay, bridges the gap between his famous chef’s table (situated in the white heat of his restaurant kitchen) and his table at home with Tana and their young family. His latest cookbook is packed with simple, seasonal, modern British recipes. Gordon lives life in the fast lane, travelling the world to foster his many hugely successful business enterprises and to film his highly acclaimed TV series. But, despite the commitments of a busy work life, he has always believed that families should sit around their tables to eat together as much as possible. His latest cookbook gathers together over 100 inspiring and well-constructed recipes which everyone will enjoy cooking for their friends and family, including Chorizo, broad bean and mint couscous, Scallop brochettes with coriander and chilli butter, Smoked salmon and horseradish cream tarts and Toffee and chocolate steamed pudding. The recipes embody Gordon’s strongly held opinion that we should support local producers and farmers’ markets, that we should cook with seasonal fresh ingredients which haven't travelled miles to reach our plates and that we should celebrate the wealth of regional dishes available to us from Cornish crab soup to Bakewell tarts. Gordon shares the dishes that he loves to cook (and eat) when he’s off duty. With chapters covering Hot and Cold Soups; Pasta and Grains; Fish and Shellfish; Meat and Poultry; Pies and Tarts; Vegetables and Salads; Puddings and Ices and Coffee and Chocolate, each recipe is introduced with an insight into why he has chosen it and includes tips on how to re-create it perfectly. With emphasis on simplicity for stunning results, the majority of the recipes are short and easy to cook. This beautiful book has been created by one of Britain's top designers, in tandem with an amazing young photographer. While food is king in this book, sprinkled as it is with candid photos of Gordon and the family, Cooking for Friends allows you to share his love of life and the good things in it.

From the reinvention of French food through the fine dining revolution in America, Daniel Boulud has been a witness to and a creator of today's food culture. A modern improviser with a classical foundation (a little rock 'n' roll and a lot of Mozart, he'd say), he speaks with the authority that comes from a lifetime of preparing, presenting, and thinking about food-an ancient calling with universal resonance. In Letters to a Young Chef, Boulud speaks not only of how to make a career as a chef in today's world, but also of why one should want to do so in the first place. As he himself puts it, it is "a tasty life." The love of food and the obsession with flavors, ingredients, and techniques are the chef's source of strength, helping the young chef to survive and flourish during the long years of apprenticeship and their necessary sacrifices. Part memoir, part advice book, part cookbook, part reverie, this delicious new book will delight and enlighten chefs of all kinds, from passionate amateurs to serious professionals.

This book is the essence of M.F.K. Fisher, whose wit and fulsome opinions on food and those who produce it, comment upon it, and consume it are as apt today as they were several decades ago, when she composed them. Why did she choose food and hunger, she was asked, and she replied, 'When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it . . . and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied.'Includes five of her most popular works:Serve It Forth (1937)Consider the Oyster (1941) How to Cook a Wolf (1942) The Gastronomical Me (1943) An Alphabet of Gourmets (1949)

If you're a food enthusiast and want to experience the culture and cuisine of Spain, this book is perfect. With stunning photos, candid anecdotes, and mouth-watering recipes, Mario Batali and Mark Bittman take you on a journey through Spain, showcasing its regional cuisine, art, history, and culture. It's a perfect blend of travel and food, making it an entertaining and informative read.

Hungry Monkey is the story of one man’s coming to realize that kids don’t need puree in a jar or special menus at restaurants and that raising an adventurous eater is about exposure, invention, and patience. A restaurant critic and food writer, now a stay-at-home dad, Amster-Burton writes of the highs and lows of teaching your child about food—the high of rediscovering how something tastes for the first time through a child’s unedited reaction, the low of thinking you have a precocious vegetable fiend on your hands only to discover that a child’s preferences change from day to day. Sharing in his culinary capers is little Iris, a budding gourmand and a zippy critic herself, who makes huge sandwiches, gobbles up hot chilis, and even helps around the kitchen sometimes.Hungry Monkey takes food enthusiasts on a new adventure in eating, with dozens of delicious recipes and notes on which ones can accommodate help from “little fingers.” In the end, our guide reminds us: “Food is fun, and you get to enjoy it three times a day, plus snacks!”

"My mother's most treasured possession was her mother's recipe book. As my mother's is mine, and mine is my daughter's. This is a lovely feeling." Three generations of recipes.

Now you can have it all, all year round... 'Who can resist a book that recommends love and chocolate as part of a balanced diet?' asked Allison Pearson in the Daily Telegraph about Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat, a mould-breaking book that unlocked the secrets of 'The French paradox' and sold well over a million copies worldwide. By letter, by email, in person, readers have inundated Mireille Guiliano with requests for more advice. Her this buoyant new book full of advice, ideas and fresh, French recipes for each season.