Cooking & Drink

This highly opinionated, addictively browsable compilation of 1,001 "must try" wines offers the most enjoyable drinking experience for novice and connoisseur alike. Included in the list are classics as well as groundbreaking new up-and-comers from all major regions of the world. Divided into four sections: red, white, sparkling, and fortified wines. The informed selections offer a complete history of the most famous vintages as well as introducing the daring new blends and varietals that are exciting the cognoscenti. Special attention is paid to the world’s classic wine regions like Napa, Chianti, Barolo, Bordeaux, and Burgundy, but the book also takes very seriously recently established areas like Rioja or Australia’s Barossa Valley. Also, the book examines emerging regions just finding their place on the oenological map, like Argentina’s Mendoza, which can provide enormous pleasure at a reasonable price. Each entry comes with an authoritative yet opinionated description of its origin, history, and character as well as anecdotes about the winemakers, the vineyard and the region. This book will immediately appeal to wine fans everywhere and will be a perfect gift item.

This essential and highly readable guide to the entire world of red wines will demystify the complexities of tasting, selecting, storing, and serving red wine.

A trailblazing chef reinvents the art of cooking over fire.

Gloriously inspired recipes push the boundaries of live-fired cuisine in this primal yet sophisticated cookbook introducing the incendiary dishes of South America's biggest culinary star. Chef Francis Mallmann—born in Patagonia and trained in France's top restaurants—abandoned the fussy fine dining scene for the more elemental experience of cooking with fire. But his fans followed, including the world's top food journalists and celebrities, such as Francis Ford Coppola, Madonna, and Ralph Lauren, traveling to Argentina and Uruguay to experience the dashing chef's astonishing—and delicious—wood-fired feats.

The seven fires of the title refer to a series of grilling techniques that have been singularly adapted for the home cook. So you can cook Signature Mallmann dishes—like Whole Boneless Ribeye with Chimichuri; Salt-Crusted Striped Bass; Whole Roasted Andean Pumpkin with Mint and Goat Cheese Salad; and desserts such as Dulce de Leche Pancakes—indoors or out in any season. Evocative photographs showcase both the recipes and the exquisite beauty of Mallmann's home turf in Patagonia, Buenos Aires, and rural Uruguay. Seven Fires is a must for any griller ready to explore food's next frontier.

At San Francisco's acclaimed A16 restaurant (named for the highway that cuts across southern Italy), diners pack the house for chef Nate Appleman's house-cured salumi, textbook Naples-style pizzas, and gutsy slow-cooked meat dishes. Wine director Shelley Lindgren is renowned in the business for her expeditionary commitment to handcrafted southern Italian wines. In A16: FOOD + WINE, Appleman and Lindgren share the source of their inspiration--the bold flavors of Campania. From chile-spiked seafood stews and savory roasts to delicate antipasti and vegetable sides, the recipes are beguilingly rustic and approachable. Lindgren's vivid profiles of the key grapes and producers of southern Italy provide vital context for appreciating and pairing the wines. Stunning photography captures the wood-fired ambiance of the restaurant and the Campania countryside it celebrates.

Thomas Keller shares family-style recipes that you can make any or every day.

In the book every home cook has been waiting for, the revered Thomas Keller turns his imagination to the American comfort foods closest to his heart—flaky biscuits, chicken pot pies, New England clam bakes, and cherry pies so delicious and redolent of childhood that they give Proust's madeleines a run for their money. Keller, whose restaurants The French Laundry in Yountville, California, and Per Se in New York have revolutionized American haute cuisine, is equally adept at turning out simpler fare.

In Ad Hoc at Home—a cookbook inspired by the menu of his casual restaurant Ad Hoc in Yountville—he showcases more than 200 recipes for family-style meals. This is Keller at his most playful, serving up such truck-stop classics as Potato Hash with Bacon and Melted Onions and grilled-cheese sandwiches, and heartier fare including beef Stroganoff and roasted spring leg of lamb. In fun, full-color photographs, the great chef gives step-by-step lessons in kitchen basics— here is Keller teaching how to perfectly shape a basic hamburger, truss a chicken, or dress a salad. Best of all, where Keller’s previous best-selling cookbooks were for the ambitious advanced cook, Ad Hoc at Home is filled with quicker and easier recipes that will be embraced by both kitchen novices and more experienced cooks who want the ultimate recipes for American comfort-food classics.

Today's conscientious carnivores are looking for ways to eat less meat without resorting to carb-centric diets. ALMOST MEATLESS provides ingenious tips for selecting quality meat, poultry, and seafood on a budget, and using them as enhancements--rather than the centerpiece--in a wide range of old stand-bys and versatile dishes. Timely and on trend, ALMOST MEATLESS offers delicious recipes that go light on the meat--maximizing health while minimizing the grocery bill.