Norman Van Akens Feast of Sunlight or Best American Recipes 2003 2004

Norman Van Aken's Feast of Sunlight

Author: Norman Van Aken

200 make-at-home masterpiece dishes from the virtuoso of new world cuisine, Norman Van Aken.

Books about: Middle Path Cookbook or Margaret Fultons Kitchen

Best American Recipes 2003-2004: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazines, Newspapers, and the Internet

Author: Fran McCullough

Where can you turn to find the best recipes of the past year? According to reviewers for the New York Times, People, Food & Wine, House Beautiful, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show,and many others, the answer is The Best American Recipes. Having this volume at your disposal is like subscribing to every food magazine in the country, owning every newly released cookbook, and having a trusted food authority to test every single recipe.

For this year's volume, the most wide-ranging and exciting yet, series editors Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens tested their way through more than a thousand choices, including
* magazines (from Gourmet to Real Simple to Newsweek)
* cookbooks (from The Sopranos Cookbook to The Convent Cook)
* newsletters (from restaurant publications to winery handouts)
* Web sites (from About.com to the California Walnut Commission site)
* food packages (from the back of a crème fraîche package to a tag on a lemon squeezer)
* and even insider e-mails from one food professional to another.
What's new in this year's edition? In a word, simplicity. The Best American Recipes 2003-2004 gives you 147 fabulously easy recipes. There's a foolproof pasta from the world-famous French chef Alain Ducasse; a first-rate barbecue sauce from Lady Bird Johnson; a terrific breakfast from the cookbook that won this year's top award; bar cookies that caused a sensation at a New York cocktail party (made from Rice Krispies, no less); and the hands-down favorite cheesecake of The West Wing's Martin Sheen. In addition, you'll find all the answers to your holiday needs, from a foolproof juicy turkey that's the specialty of a New York restaurateurto desserts for the festive table.
Also in The Best American Recipes are the top ten food trends of the year and a list of the ten best-of-the-best recipes published this year.

Publishers Weekly

By paging through dozens of cookbooks, magazines, newspapers and newsletters, McCullough and Stevens, food writers and recipe sleuths, have come up with moe than 130 of the very "best" of this year's recipes. Several things make the latest edition in this series so much fun. First, there is the witty introduction by restaurant critic Richman, who clearly intends to eat his way right through the book. Then, there is the colorful mix of starters, soups, salads, entrees and desserts. These range from simple (Olive Butter from Saveur) to complex (Rosemary-Scallion Crusted Rack of Lamb from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home; homey (Amazing Overnight Waffles from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Caf ) to fresh (Italian-Style Tuna Salad with Green Beans, Potatoes, and Red Onion from David Pasternack in the New York Times); and from all-American to multi-ethnic (with thanks to Bobby Flay, Madeleine Kamman and Mario Batali, among others). Flavors are bold, and cooking style is "seriously simple." Finally, there are the wonderfully helpful and enthusiastic "cook's notes" and "tips," which accompany nearly every dish, and provide useful information like how to juice a pomegranate or reinvigorate frozen shrimp. McCullough (Great Food Without Fuss) and Stevens (Williams-Sonoma New England) have given readers a nice taste of the year's recipes. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.