Did you know that fennel pairs nicely with langoustines, lobster and crab? Or how about Thai fish sauce with steak? Beyond the assumed tried-and-true pairings (tomatoes and basil, lamb and rosemary, apples and cinnamon), how do you know what flavors go together? Why not take a page from the best or, better yet, 374 pages? In “The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs,” Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg guide readers through thousands of food pairing ideas and suggestions to inspire the chef in all of us to create new and harmonious flavor combinations.
Great cooking goes well beyond following a recipe. It’s also about knowing how to season and prepare ingredients to coax the best possible flavor and pleasure from them. Page and Dornenburg draw on the combined experience of dozens of leading chefs from top restaurants across the country, who share their flavor discoveries, cooking techniques and tips in sidebars such as “Selecting and Using Salt,” “Herbs 101” and “Pairing Pastas with Sauces.”
“The Flavor Bible,” $35, is a must-have reference for all kitchen shelves—mine is right next to “The Joy of Cooking.” www.becomingachef.com. Imagine culinary luminaries Alice Waters, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Anne Willan and Gina Batali in your kitchen, talking you through preparing lobster Newburg or twice-baked spinach soufflés. “Cooking with Les Dames D’Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink,” $35, brings these and other phenomenal women into your own life, speaking to you about their exclusive recipes for delicious treats such as buttermilk berry coffee cake with lemon spice topping from New York Dame Carol Prager, who shares how to prepare the dessert ahead of time using a container method, and Charleston Dame Nathalie Dupree’s best grits with greens and shrimp. (Her insider tip: Serve the mixture with warm corn chips as an indulgently Southern hors d’oeuvre). Along with more than 120 essential recipes, readers can expect engaging and sage advice from some of America’s most trusted food experts.
The Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier is hosting the popular 8th Annual Afternoon in the Country on Sunday, Nov. 9, at Serenbe. Foodies will rejoice with inspired delectables and tastings from renowned culinary artists and winemakers. The day promises a host of interesting activities, including a silent auction, a cake raffle, live music and hayrides. Proceeds benefit the chapter’s scholarship fund for women in the culinary, beverage and hospitality arts and Georgia’s growing organic farm community. www.ldeiatlanta.org.
Recently, I attended the grand opening party for Legal Sea Foods, the New England-style restaurant in the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Atlanta. A full-fledged feature will appear in an upcoming issue, so I’ll spare you the details of the warm and inviting dining destination with scrumptious if-by-sea fare for now. However, when you do visit, consider investing $26 in the chain’s own collection of recipes, “Legal Sea Foods Cookbook,” which contains 200 fresh and simple dishes from appetizers to desserts. My fave? The easy-as-pie microwaved red snapper. Dinner’s ready in six minutes. The informative guidebook also offers tons of interesting information on all varieties of fish and tips on how to purchase, like the fact that mackerel has a small bone in the middle of the fillets that you should ask your fish merchant to remove. www.legalseafoods.com. SP
When she’s not checking out restaurants, interviewing chefs or nodding off after her fifth glass of wine, Life, Food & Style Editor Kirsten Ott dishes culinary and cocktail insights. E-mail her at kirstenott@sundaypaper.com.
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Published in The Sunday Paper, 11-2-08
