Punch or Bones

Punch

Author: Colleen Mullaney

Imagine a big glass bowl of fruity, frosty, thirst-quenching elixir. In Punch, dozens of simple, delicious recipes are ready and waiting to add a lively dash of fun or a classic touch of sophistication to any get together. From a traditional summer's-here refreshing strawberry lemonade to innovative twists on Champagne punch for the holidays, liquid inspiration is close at hand. Add to that variations with or sans alcohol, and there s something for everyone to enjoy, from the citrus kick of a glass of Margarita Madness to a tasty mug of Coffee on the Cubes (complete with decadent dark chocolate shavings). Helpful advice on selecting the appropriate liquor and which punch bowl to use, and ideas for decorative ice rings and shapely cubes give punch added punch. For every season, every gathering, may your cup runneth over.

Interesting book: Managing Workplace Negativity or Heavens Door

Bones: Recipes, History, and Lore

Author: Jennifer McLagan

Top food stylist and food writer Jennifer McLagan has a bone to pick: too often, people opt for boneless chicken breasts, fish fillets, and cutlets, when good cooks know that anything cooked on the bone has more flavor -- from chicken or spareribs to a rib roast or a whole fish. In Bones, Jennifer offers a collection of recipes for cooking beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, and game on their bones.

Chicken, steak, and fish all taste better when cooked on the bone, but we've sacrificed flavor for speed and convenience, forgetting how bones can enhance the taste, texture, and presentation of good food -- think of rack of lamb, T-bone steak, chicken noodle soup, and baked ham. In her simple, bare-bones style, Jennifer teaches home cooks the secrets to cooking with bones.

Each chapter of Bones includes stocks, soups, ribs, legs, and extremities (except for whole fish -- they don't have any). Many of the recipes are simple, with the inherent flavors of the bones doing most of the work. There are traditional, elegant dishes, such as Roasted Marrow Bones with Parsley Salad, Olive-Crusted Lamb Racks, and Crown Roast of Pork, as well as new takes on homestyle favorites, such as Maple Tomato Glazed Ribs, Coconut Chicken Curry, and Halibut Steaks with Orange Cream Sauce. Stunning, full-color photographs of dishes like Rabbit in Saffron Sauce with Spring Vegetables; Grilled Quail with Sage Butter; and Duck Legs with Cumin, Turnips, and Green Olives are sure to inspire.

In addition to the recipes, Bones includes a wealth of information on a wide range of bone-related topics, including the differences among cuts of meat, as well as the history andlore of bones.

Publishers Weekly

In this expansive tome, food stylist and writer McLagan offers an alternative to the rubbery chicken breasts and fish filets now standard in Western cookery. By eliminating bones (and fat) from our diet, McLagan passionately argues, we've traded flavor for health and efficiency. Indeed, her book operates on the premise that the pleasure of gnawing on a lamb chop cannot be underestimated. More than a cookbook, this is a compendium of folklore, literary quotes and historical facts that refer to bones' significance across cultures from ancient times to today. There are chapters on beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish and game, each with an introductory section explaining anatomy and recommended cooking temperatures. Sidebars offer suggestions for carving, using unlikely parts, and recovering endangered bone-cooking arts like "spatchcocking," or removing the wishbone from a bird. McLagan's recipes range from arcane (Lancashire Hot Pot, which traditionally consists of a deep dish of stew covered with a potato crust, and long lamb bones piercing through the topping) to contemporary continental (Osso Bucco with Fennel and Blood Orange Sauce). While some recipes are time-consuming, McLagan's instructions are generally clear and precise. With its emphasis on tradition and technique, this work won't appeal to the 20-minute chef, but it will be a welcome addition to the slow-food aficionado's library. Photos. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

McLagan, a food stylist and food writer, supplies in-depth instructions for preparing not just bones but also the meat that comes with them, whether beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, or game. Each chapter begins with a short overview of the various characteristics of the animal and provides information on cooking temperatures, as well as the various cuts of meat available with handy diagrams. Recipes in each section range from the relatively straightforward operations of preparing stock to more complicated main dishes; that said, McLagan doesn't shy away from less common dishes, including Deviled Bones, Roasted Marrow Bones, Pig's Feet, Fish Head Curry, and Coriander-and-Orange-Braised Elk Ribs. It's a testament to her descriptions and ingredients that these more adventurous items manage to tempt even this reviewer's slightly more pedestrian palate. Recommended for all public libraries.-Courtney Greene, DePaul Univ. Lib., Chicago Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.