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Winepros March book selections | | This month's selected titles. | A Taste of Tea by Brian Glover
Nothing is more satisfying than a good brew. From delicate, floral Oolongs to smoky, sophisticated Souchongs, we are gradually beginning to experience the amazing variety and choice of tea. Brian Glover takes us on a journey from the tea bush to the teapot, explaining the origins and increasing popularity of tea, trade routes, growing and harvesting techniques, and how to make the perfect cuppa. He also explores its cultural significance, from the arcane symbolism of the Japanese tea ceremony to the social niceties of the English afternoon tea.
| A Vineyard in Tuscany by Ferenc Mate
In this intimate and uproarious story, two daring New Yorkers convert an ancient, abandoned farm into a world-renowned winery. Finding your dream house with a vineyard in Tuscany is like searching the woods for porcini mushrooms: a labor of love. Such feats require patience, discernment, resolve, and an indestructible sense of humor. The Mates' future home and wine estate lies amid breathtaking scenery in a community brimming with warmth. In Italy's most prestigious wine zone, Montalcino, they restore a thirteenth-century friary nestled on two hills within sixty acres of forest, olives, and potential vineyards. Here they plant fifteen acres of vines, build the winery, and learn from their famous vintner neighbors, like Angelo Gaja, the secrets of how to grow the best grapes and make superb wines. Within the first years, the Mate wines receive international acclaim. This highly entertaining tale of how two dreamers struggle and thrive in idyllic Tuscany will enrich the lives of travelers and wine lovers alike.
| Fast Seafood by
Seafood is the perfect fast food the simpler it's cooked the better it tastes. Fish and shellfish all benefit from quick cooking. This book presents a range of recipes for fish fillets and steaks, prawns and crab, and squid and octopus that can be cooked in minutes. It also includes recipes for canned and smoked fish, oysters and clams, and more.
| Australian Crawl by Scott Watkins-Sully
Every town has its pub and every pub has its characters. Australia's country pubs are places to drink, eat, socialise and be entertained. If you are a road-weary traveller they also offer a place to sleep. Here's a guide that gives the low-down on over 200 watering holes, region by region, across Australia. Not only does the guide offer an insight into the best places to eat, drink and enjoy the local culture, it also highlights points of local interest and recounts a few yarns from the characters that can be found holding up the bar and willing to bend an ear or two.
| A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent, Kelly Gorham & Dave Mclean
In this book, I'm embarking on a different path, focusing on finding recipes that preserve the tastes and memories of a long-departed place. --Greg Patent A Baker's Odyssey is a rich collection of recipes and culinary history, all gleaned from Patent's exhaustive research in real home kitchens. Through his travels, Patent learned the secrets to traditional baked goods originating from a wide variety of countries around the world. From Scotland and Austria to India and Thailand to Mexico, Norway, and West Africa, the recipes represent the best of each culture's beloved culinary traditions. Chapters are organized by categories of baked goods, and include Fried Pastries and Doughs, Flatbreads and More, Savory Pastries, Sweet Pastries, Savory Yeast Breads and Pies, Sweet Yeast Breads, Cookies and Cookie-Like Pastries, and Dessert Cakes, Tortes, and Pies. Patent provides detailed information on the origin of each recipe and its ingredients, and gives a real sense of the cultural heritage behind each dish.Recipes are easy enough for home cooks of any level to master, and include everything from Jewish Matzoh, Eastern European Rugelach, and Sweet Irish Soda Bread to Russian Meat Piroshki, Italian Pignoli Cookies, and Chinese-Style Almond Sponge Cake.
The book is accompanied by an hour-long DVD in which Patent provides hands-on instruction in making Strudel, Pretzels, Canoli, Kransakake, and much more.
| Ballymaloe Cookery Course by Darina Allen
Ballymaloe is one of the world's best cookery schools and Darina Allen, its co-founder and main teacher, is in a league of her own. Every student who has gone through her school has begged her to write down her recipes and thoughts, tips and shortcuts, and here they are in this definitive teaching book, which has everything to inform and inspire you to become adventurous in the kitchen. Ballymaloe Cookery Course explains 1175 recipes, 370 variations and more than 100 basic skills, from making pastry to the art of carving, from preserving lemons to making delicious home-made pasta, from culturing creamy yogurt to butterflying a leg of lamb: the simple instructions given by one of the world's great cook-teachers will inspire you to prepare and enjoy the art of fresh produce and fine food.
| Beer by Michael Jackson
This title helps you learn all about your favourite beer with expert advice and information from a team of specialists, introduced by the world's best-selling beer writer Michael Jackson. You can uncover drinks from every significant brewing region as well as less well-known areas. You can find out why beers taste the way they do, how to appreciate flavour, aroma, texture and finish, and identify your own favourite style. You can meet the producers and explore their origins, history and particular brewing processes. Plus, get to the bottom of bottles, barrels and breweries and discover how to identify the labels, choose the correct glasses and locate the breweries. This is an exciting addition to Eyewitness Companions the visual reference series covering favourite hobbies and pastimes from French Cheeses and Opera to Horse Riding.
| Cheese and Wine by Janet Fletcher
Cheese and Wine takes you on an international tour of cheeses with plenty of delightful side trips to explore pairings with wines and themed cheese platter suggestions. From excellent Vermont-made Cheddar to autumnal Rogue River Blue hailing from Oregon to Italy's long-famed Pecorino Toscano to aromatic Brin D'Amour evocative of the Corsican countryside, you're sure to appreciate the delightful balance of textures, flavours, and colours offered between these pages.
| Consider the Oyster by Patrick McMurray
OYSTERS ARE SEXY. LET'S AGREE ON THAT RIGHT AWAY.But there's much more to the oyster than simply its legendary power as an aphrodisiac. And that's what you'll find inside this charming field guide to oysters by oyster purveyor and champion shucker Patrick McMurray. Rich in history and lore, CONSIDER THE OYSTER weaves together anecdotes from the author's experiences as a restaurateur and competitive shucker with practical information on everything from opening oysters with finesse (and a minimum of personal injury!) to planning an oyster party, finding the best oyster bars and ordering hard-to-get bivalves on the Internet. You'll also meet the people who grow and export oysters -- from the coast of Ireland to the shores of Cape Cod and everywhere in between -- and you'll find yourself longing to taste some of the more than fifty varieties that McMurray details with loving enthusiasm. Wellfleets, Malpeques, Irish Flats, Fines de Claires, Royal Courtesans... They're all here, just waiting to be discovered and savored as never before.
| Cooking with Booze by George Harvey Bone
Food is good. From the sweetest amuse-bouche to the stickiest pud, via the freshest soup and the finest steak, the culinary arts provide us with some of the richest sensual experiences that we are privy to. Booze is also good. From Beer to Whisky, from Absinthe to Zubrowka, man's multifarious methods of inducing intoxication run from the simple to the exotic - all with the same pleasurable effects. Cooking with Booze, therefore, brings together two of mankind's greatest achievements in an explosion of culinary genius. From beer-battered cod to plums in red wine, from champagne oysters to the perfect vodka jelly, Harvey Bone presents a range of drinks cupboard delicacies to entertain every palate, culled from sources across the globe, with easy-to-follow recipes for even the tipsiest of chefs. Cheers!
| Cupboard Love by Mark Morton
Nominated in 1997 for a Julia Child Award, Cupboard Love is back, bigger and better than ever. In this updated and expanded edition, Mark Morton lays out a sumptuous feast of more than a thousand culinary word-histories. From everyday foods to exotic dishes, from the herbs and spices of medieval England to the cooking implements of the modern kitchen, Cupboard Love explores the fascinating stories behind familiar and not-so-familiar gastronomic terms. Who knew that the word pomegranate is related to the word grenade? That baguette is a cousin of bacteria? That souffle comes from the same root as flatulence? Who knew that vermicelli is Italian for little worms, that avocado comes from an Aztec word meaning testicle, or that catillation denotes the unseemly licking of plates? Lighthearted and thoroughly researched, packed with linguistic lore and cultural trivia, the book blends the edible and the etymological into a delectable piece de resistance.
| Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros
They will be grouped by region of origin, which also reflects Tessa's travels, from London where she was born and later cooked professionally, to South Africa where she grew up, interspersed with visits to her mother's and father's homelands, and Italy where she now lives. Design Like Twelve, Tessa's second book has a journal-like quality, with rich layers of text and imagery and food that has been photographed in the environment in which it was created rather than styled and studio-perfect. It opens with a double page spread with an illustrated family tree that sets up the structure for the chapters that follow. The palette is one of nostalgia, drawn from fabrics and wallpapers that reflect a time and place in Tessa's life. Chapter openers continue the theme, mixing landscape photographs with fabrics and illustrations to resemble a journal page. Throughout, Tessa's narrative appears as random jottings.
| Food, Wine and Friends by
This is the ideal cookbook for anyone who loves to entertain. In this inspirational new book, leading food and wine writer Fiona Beckett offers a wonderful range of menus for social occasions of all kinds, with recommendations for the ideal drinks, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, to partner her mouthwatering recipes. A meal based on an impulsive early spring visit to the farmers' market, a Provencal-style lunch, a romantic evening for two - these are just some of the menus to get your imagination going. You will find much-loved classic dishes such as Beef Bourguignon alongside intriguingly original recipes like Little Seafood Jellies with White Wine and Dill. Further delightful options include an indulgent 'Just Desserts' evening and cheeseboards that reflect the seasons.
| The Foodies' Guide to Sydney 2008 by Helen Greenwood & John Newton
Whether it's the most delicate pastries or the tangiest gelati, or simply the store where you'll find the best range of gourmet ingredients and cheeses for that dinner party you're planning, The Foodies' Guide will point you in the right direction in seconds. You'll also find all the metropolitan markets, food tours and cooking schools. The Foodies' Guide 2008 has an easy-to-use A to Z format, enabling the reader to search by themes such as coffee or butchers. You'll be able to find your way to each store with the handy maps at the back of the book. This is the essential companion for anyone who enjoys shopping for and eating good food.
| Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian by Madhur Jaffrey
Originally published in 1996, Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian has sold more than 70,000 copies and continues to be much in demand. It's now been completely redesigned and sports all new coluor photography, bringing it solidly into the 21st century with its updated new look. The text and recipes are the same fabulous dishes that have proved to attract home cooks for the last ten years. If you love Indian food but have been intimidated by long lists of ingredients, steps, and techniques, you're in luck. Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking includes over seventy recipes for delicious dishes that can be prepared in under thirty minutes-the perfect solution for busy cooks.
| The New Classics by Loukie Werle
All new recipes by award-winning author Loukie Werle, spectacular new photographs, a handy wiro-bound format, plus the unique credibility of the Heart Foundation form a winning cookbook combination. The importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle has never been more evident...and here's the ideal cookbook to deliver all the answers.
| Olive by Janine Ratcliffe
You don't need to slave for hours to dish up fresh and fabulous food. Easy, no-fuss meals that look fantastic can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. In Olive: 101 Quick-Fix Dishes, you'll find loads of inspiring speedy suppers like Lamb cutlets with almond tabbouleh, Spring greens and blue cheese risotto and Salmon cakes with lemon mayo or, if you're in a sweeter kind of mood, why not try Summer berry fools or Toffee banana puffs? Split into clearly defined chapters, including main meals, starters and puds, you can quickly track down the dish you want. Each recipe is accompanied by a full-colour photo so you can cook with complete confidence. Olive is the magazine for modern foodies. As well as easy recipes, restaurant reviews and foodie travel guides, Olive features the food issues that matter, insider shopping advice, unpretentious wine recommendations and respected columnists such as superchef Gordon Ramsay and MasterChef's John Torode.
| Olive by Janine Ratcliffe
With once-exotic ingredients now readily available, eating around the globe has never been so easy. Spicy curries, mouth-watering pizzas and chargrilled kebabs are all at the top of our favourite food lists, so whether you want to re-create food eaten on your travels, or just be inspired to try something new, olive 101 global dishes has classics from every country. From Moroccan tuna kebabs with couscous, to Five spiced roast duck breast and Lamb saag, with this collection of recipes we've got it covered. Each recipe is accompanied by a full-colour photo so you can cook with complete confidence. Olive is the magazine for modern foodies. As well as easy recipes, restaurant reviews and foodie travel guides, olive features the food issues that matter, insider shopping advice, unpretentious wine recommendations and respected columnists such as superchef Gordon Ramsay and MasterChef's John Torode. Find out more at www.olivemagazine.co.uk
| Pork and Sons by Stephane Reynaud
Pork & Sons is an authentic and intensely personal cookbook, presenting the reader with a multitude of ideas on how to cook fine and succulent pork, whilst giving a rare glimpse into a day in the life of a small family business in rural France. The recipes are wholesome and rustic, encapsulating the flavours and taste of a region. As the author Stephane Reynard delivers his recipes to us, he invites us to share his family's age-old passion for the pig and to celebrate the long delicious history between man and swine. Introducing to us, through evocative photographs, his grandfather, and a somewhat strange collection of other family members and workers on the farm in the mountainous Saint-Agreve, he creates a rich atmosphere and sense of ancestral tradition. The 150 recipes are divided between thirteen chapters, including one on black pudding, one on sausages and one on ham. Each recipe is accompanied by an enticing photograph of the dish, and between each chapter there are photographs of the region, of the faces of the region and of their daily work, and further ingeniously hand-drawn illustrations of the pig itself in all manner of poses.
This is a colourful and vivid cookbook with a huge range of possible approaches to the selection, preparation and cooking of pork. It is an affectionate tribute to the pig, an acknowledgement of its sumptuous flavour, versatility as an appetizer or main course, and great popularity around the world.
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Bestselling Non Fiction | Guinness World Records 2008, Revised Edition by
Guinness World Records 2008 is packed with more records than ever making it the perfect gift! It contains fantastic Glow-in-the-Dark features, brand-new categories including Forensic Science and 100% new photography.
| Please Explain by Karl Kruszelnicki
This is the latest in Dr. Karl's mega-selling science series. Australia's favourite scientist answers more curly questions on life, the universe and everything. No-one conveys the excitement and wonder of science quite like Dr. Karl, and this takes us on another thoroughly entertaining exploration of the world around us.
| The Daring Book for Girls by Miriam B. Peskowitz
The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for everything that girls need to know--and that doesn't mean sewing buttonholes! Whether it's female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers--although that's included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure.
| Ricky Ponting's Captain's Diary 2007 by Ricky Ponting
The 2006–07 Ashes series was eagerly anticipated, and for Ricky Ponting's Australian team it played out like a dream, as they destroyed England 5–0. It was the first Ashes clean sweep in 86 years, and it featured some stunning performances with the captain drawing comparisons with Bradman following his hundreds in the first two Tests. After the final Test, Ponting described the series as 'the best period of my cricketing life'. Yet, an even more commanding performance was around the corner, as the Australians won all their matches decisively at the World Cup in the West Indies. Not even the bizarre ending to the final against Sri Lanka, in near darkness after officials misinterpreted the playing conditions, could hide the fact that this triumph was one of the most dominant in Australian sporting history. While there may never be another season of sustained triumph quite like 2006–07, in Ricky Ponting's eyes the future of the Australian cricket still looks very good indeed.
| Vietnam by Paul Ham
This extraordinary, sweeping account, draws on hundreds of unpublished sources and itnerviews with soldiers, politicians, medical practitioners, aid providers, entertainers and the Vietnamese people to reconstruct the epic history of a campaign that disfigured a :country and divided the world, nations, families and friends.
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