Celebrity Chefs

For me, it all started with Julia Child on PBS. As a young girl I would be doubled over with laughter as I watched her make mistakes, say "oh, well!" and move on. The writings of M. F. K. Fisher and an old dog-eared copy of Marcella Hazan's first cookbook were what took me to that next step of realizing all the joys of food. After returning from a time spent living in Italy, where my love of food and cooking was so thoroughly nurtured, I began buying the cookbooks of other chefs whose names were familiar to me, and each one led me to someone new. So when I think of celebrity chefs I naturally think of those who have served as teachers or sources of inspiration to well-known chefs as well as the many people who have influenced my own cooking. Alice Waters, Deborah Madison, Paula Wolfert, Elizabeth David, Joël Robuchon, etc. With so many cooking shows on television these days, even more chefs have become household names. And while many of them are not worthy of such great stature, a great many of them are and they have written wonderful cookbooks to suit many different tastes. In fact, there are far too many books by truly fantastic chefs --- known and unknown --- to even begin to list here, but this is a start.

EMERIL'S NEW ORLEANS COOKING
Emeril Lagasse & Jessie Tirsch
William Morrow
ISBN: 0688112846

Emeril Lagasse has gone on to fame far beyond what he ever could have imagined when he wrote this, his first cookbook, in 1993. Even here, readers will recognize the energy and enthusiasm for which he has become well known, the energy and enthusiasm that this boy from Massachusetts has brought to Cajun-Creole cooking.

Emeril arrived in New Orleans in 1983 and opened his restaurant in 1990 after serving as chef at the famous New Orleans' restaurant, Commander's Palace. He loved the traditional food of New Orleans but he wanted to reinvent some of the heavy classics into lighter versions of themselves. EMERIL'S NEW ORLEANS COOKING highlights many of the recipes that made Emeril and his restaurant famous, from the whimsical to the traditional.

Whether it's a classic or a classic with a twist, the emphasis is always on fresh ingredients and ease of preparation. Instead of "dirty" rice, why not try gnocchi with andouille sausage? Or how about fresh gulf fish with curry-infused oil? Or seafood gumbo if you're looking for something more "New Orleans."

There are many delicious treats throughout this book. Personally, I can't wait to try his recipe for one of my all time favorites, beignets. And there's this idea in New Orleans that everyone's pecan pie is the best. I'll have to make Emeril's before I tell him mine is! But besides all the wonderful recipes --- especially the chapter on brunch --- the black and white photographs of the people and places of Louisiana are alone worth the price.

JOANNE WEIR'S MORE COOKING IN THE WINE COUNTRY: 150 New Recipes for Living and Entertaining
Joanne Weir
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0743212517

Joanne Weir has had the pleasure of being able to travel to many places throughout the world. Her cooking style has evolved from time spent in the Mediterranean and its similarity in climate to the California wine country, where everything grows, something is always in season, and the lifestyle is relaxed.

By celebrating the bounty of the field, what is ripe and ready to be eaten, the ways of cooking and serving can change throughout the year. In this way, we can be completely connected to food and celebrate the times shared at the table with family and friends. After all, many of our favorite foods are associated with memories as much as anything else.

From appetizers through to desserts, included here are recipes for every season of the year. And with ideas for everything from grilled bread with fava beans and escarole for a summer picnic to a roasted leek and gruyère soufflé for a winter sit-down dinner, Joanne Weir provides readers with both simple and complex recipes --- complete with wine selections --- that draw us into the world of our senses.

From the design to the photography to the recipes themselves, JOANNE WEIR'S MORE COOKING IN THE WINE COUNTRY is a beautiful book on every level. As stated by Alice Waters, "…Joanne Weir has never strayed from her firm and unassailable convictions…that cooking should be pure and simple and that ingredients should be pure and fresh…" And that is precisely what comes through on each page of this book.

THE WILLIAMS-SONOMA COLLECTION
edited by Chuck Williams
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1887451153

This collection of five individual cookbooks --- HORS D'OEUVRE, SOUP, PASTA, CHICKEN, and THANKSGIVING --- celebrates the good taste for which Williams-Sonoma is known. The idea behind the series is to bring together prestigious cookbook authors to create a reference for everything from classic recipes to innovative meals.

Edited by Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck Williams, each book follows the same format --- from a section on the basics to a glossary of terms to the inclusion of 40 recipes specific to each book. Along with the wonderful cook's notes and tips for preparation, beautiful color photographs accompany each recipe, which in and of themselves are enough to make readers want to make everything in each of these books.

HORS D'OEUVRE by Brigit L. Binns is divided into chapters ranging from classic amuse bouches to complex canapés to simple dips. Whether you throw together olives with orange and marjoram for an impromptu gathering of friends or go all out with the smoked salmon roulades with cream and salmon roe for an extravagant cocktail party, there are ideas for every occasion.

In SOUP by Diane Rossen Worthington, readers can find soups for every day of the year, be it chicken soup with fluffy matzo balls for a rainy day in January or gazpacho for an unbearably hot day in August. But beyond the seasonal soups and classics like New England clam chowder, also included are dinner party soups, such as crab and asparagus soup or mussels marinière. SOUP is a book after my own heart --- French onion soup, here I come!

PASTA by Erica de Mane serves up everything from the classics (spaghetti and meatballs) to new ideas with roots in the Italian tradition (lasagne with duck and Chianti wine sauce). Included are great tips on such things as matching sauces with pasta and how to make and store homemade pasta. Once, in Italy, a friend took me to a small town known for their pappardelle ragù. That experience was an instance of something so small having such great meaning, and looking at this book reminded me that maybe it's time to make pappardelle ragù right here at home.

From quick suppers to one-pot meals to wonderful recipes for leftovers, CHICKEN by Rick Rodgers takes readers into the world of this most versatile food. Beyond chicken, there are also recipes for turkey, duck, quail, and Cornish hens. So if it's coq au vin or grilled chicken Cuban sandwiches you have a taste for, you'll find it here. Maybe because it's cold outside, but I have a yen for chicken pot pie.

The aromas filling the house on Thanksgiving make everyone giddy with anticipation for that moment when the turkey comes out of the oven and we all sit down to linger over food and conversation among family and friends. THANKSGIVING by Michael McLaughlin brings together the classics along with many new ideas, with tips and suggestions that will help anyone cooking their first Thanksgiving dinner as well as those who cook each and every year. Also, there is the wonderful inclusion of suggested menus, and since Thanksgiving has already passed us by this year, the menu for "A Farmstead Thanksgiving," with its baked ham with honey-brandy glaze and sweet potato biscuits just might be the perfect meal for another special family occasion.

Look for additional titles to THE WILLIAMS-SONOMA COLLECTION in the spring of 2002.

Please refer to our previous cookbook features to find further information on books by other well known chefs, such as Rick Bayless, Madhur Jaffrey, Alice Medrich, Patricia Wells, and many more.

A COOK'S TOUR: In Search of the Perfect Meal
Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury
ISBN: 1582341400

A wry view of the foods being enjoyed around the world by America's food porn critic and celebrity chef. Reviewed by Fred Kovey and excerpted.

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