FOOD \u0026 WINE: Annual Cookbook 2012 by Food Wine Magazine

FOOD \u0026 WINE: Annual Cookbook 2012 Reviews

• 
  Karina

  When I was in culinary school and dreaming of being the next big Chef i would read Food & Wine magazine and loved the whole food glamour of it's stories and recipes. Now as a mom of 3 I'm just happy I know how to cook anything at all....
  
  So hence this annual cookbook I bought so long ago. Reading it again I became aware a lot of the recipes are NOT for the home cooks. I don't actually buy tons of gallons of wine to cook with or drink while I'm eating. Where would I find snails or goat shoulder? Would i have time in my schedule to search for duck or make ahead caul fat? (A fatty membrane from pigs and sheep used to wrap meat and pâtés) The pictures are beautifully taken.
  
  I need a realistic cookbook for my life although I wish I could make and recreate like a pro...
• 
  Jerry

  This year, Food & Wine finally jumped on the craft brew bandwagon, making it technically Food & Wine & Beer, “a reflection of our growing fascinating with artisanal everything.”
  
  

  
  One of our favorite match-ups is postmaster Chris Lilly’s Chicken with White Barbecue Sauce and a hoppy Samuel Adams IPA.
  

  
  
  So I was prepared to dislike this issue. Not because I dislike beer, but because I dislike overly-hoppy superficial craft beer.
  
  The editors also rave, in the foreword, about their obsession with vegetables: “the vegetable chapter is nearly twice as large as the one in last year’s edition.” I’m not sure what that means. By my count, there are 60 recipes in the vegetable chapter in 2011, and 65 in 2012. The page count is also similar.
  
  The recipes have so far been great. I tried the “Bacon-bourbon brownies with pecans” first. Very rich and a full breakfast at the same time. This recipe is a good example of why I enjoy this series so much. While bacon was already a trendy item in 2011, lard was not, but this recipe uses lard rendered from the bacon in place of butter for the brownies. The recipes can sometimes be a bit twee, as in their heavy overuse of unsalted butter where it doesn’t matter, but being unafraid of lard forgives many sins.
  
  Then, some simple “Crisp butter cookies”; their only flaw is that they became crisp only when completely cooled, which meant that they are the rare cookie that is better cooled than warm out of the oven.
  
  Finally, I made some “Chocolate-cayenne cocktail cookies”. They are less sweet, more chocolatey, with a touch of cayenne. They pretty much literally melt in your mouth. Of three great recipes, they were the highlight. This is one of the recipes that calls for unsalted butter; due to not going to the grocery store for a long time, I was out of unsalted butter, and replaced it all with salted butter. I did not reduce the salt called for in the recipe, because I’m pretty sure that salt in butter is not as available for the necessary chemical reactions as added salt. I can’t be sure, since I’ve never made this recipe before, but I don’t think using salted butter made any difference.
  
  I also have bookmarked “Chilled Persian yogurt soup”, which features cucumber and rose petals, and “Grilled root beer pork ribs”, which feature no hops.
• 
  Indira

  Very comprehensive book. Lots of very nice recipes although some recipes call for items that will be wayyy too difficult for me personally to get. Endives? Wakame Seaweed? Buckwheat Flour? Escarole?
  
  Overall, quite a classy nook though and I appreciate that there are recommendations for wine pairings for each dish, and also random tips, notes and suggestions here and there. A very good book for your personal collection as well as a gift.