Your favorite wine-themed cookbook?

I will start with mine:

The Wine Lover Cooks

by Tony Aspler and Kathleen Sloan

I have tried a number of recipes from this recipe, and they are all hits with my family, even my teenage boys. As a matter of fact, they asked me to cook another recipe from this cookbook this weekend. The recipes are not very complex and really are nice matches with wine. Tonight's dish was:

Pistachio encrusted bass (I substituted bass for the suggested halibut)

The cookbook is actually organized by wine variety and this recipe was in the chenin blanc chapter.

The recipe was quite easy and had you quickly saute the fish in olive oil and then spread the pistachio spread on it and bake it in the oven to finish it off. The pistachio coating was a mix of pistachios, unsalted butter, bread and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Wine: 2004 La Gerardiere Vouvray. 11.5% abv. Nice pale straw color with a melony nose showing hints of minerals. Great balance in an off-dry wine that had a melange of fruit on the palate including honeydew melon, lemon and a hint of apple. Beautiful long finish of melon and apple-llike acidity.

Great match with the pistachio encrusted bass. The side dishes were basmati rice and stir-fried mushrooms with zucchini. They also were a nice match with the vouvray. The real key to these matches is that the wine and food tastes were all about the same intensity and allowed each to shine through and contribute to the overall meld of flavors. Nice Saturday night dinner.

Excuse this as just a bald-faced attempt to keep this thread from getting completely buried. It's a great topic, especially with Thanksgiving and the holidays right around the corner. There must be other wine - and - food books that folks would recommend. Let's hear about them.

[Robin Garr]

Dan (and Tom), I was reluctant to reply because I think it's a great topic for a cookbook, but I'm not famliar with the Aspler book and can't honestly think of one that I really like. I've seen a few weak ones around and immediately forgotten them, but can't offhand think of any in my collection of wine (or food) books.

I'm probably overlooking something important, but I, too, hope your query will turn up some nuggets just in time for the holidays.

My all time favorite is Richard Olney's French Wine and Food,
A Wine Lover's Cookbook.

I also like the annual Food and Wine magazine collections.

Hi Robin,

I am not surprised you are not familiar with the Aspler book as he is a Canadian author and wine critic. I assume the book was/is available in the US, but I don't know that it ever was. My son who is now at college uses recipes from this book and says they all come out good. That's a good recommendation for a cookbook coming from a college kid who is just starting to cook for himself for the first time. I have had other wine related cookbooks recommended to me, but I have not tried them. I thought there should be at least a few other good wine cookbooks out there that other people have tried and liked.

The Aspler book has a lot of features I really like, including a wine and cheese matching chart, a wine and herb/spice matching table, as well as the organization by major grape varietals and recipes that match that variety. It even suggests a similar secondary variety if you don't have the recommended one in your cellar or local wine store. Perhaps the best thing is that the recipes are easy to follow because they are not too complicated. But, the results are the real test and they have been great so far. How many times have you ever heard of teen age boys (16) asking their Dad to cook something from a specific cookbooK?

I should also mention Andrea Immer Robinson's book Everyday Dining with Wine.

The reviews are universally favorable, although I have not read the book. I have been following her recipes for wines sent on her wine club offerings, and have been very impressed.

http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Dining-W ... 0767916816

Yup, she has a couple of good books out there Bob.
BTW how are you fixed for Portugal? Believe we are educating the masses over there on Netscape with this country in November!!

I'll chime in Bob -- some nice reds from Portugal that are approaching length in the teeth.

I should also mention Andrea Immer Robinson's book Everyday Dining with Wine.

This is a very good book. The recipes are interesting and are allegedly hers. Not surprising, as she has to serve and eat something with all that wine!

Another good one is Sid Goldstein's "The Wine Lovers Cookbook" circa 1999. We reach for it whenever we get into a Left Coast mood.

Of course there is also always Thomas Pellechia's "Garlic, Wine and Olive Oil- Historical Anecdotes and Recipes" circa 2000.

The Wine Lover's Cookbook, Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine, by Sid Goldstein.

Much, much more than the usual books in this sub-genre. Not just a collection of 'my favorite recipes with my favorite wines', but a compendium of some basic guidelines that work when you're pairing wine and food together.

Helpful chapters include The Basics, The Ugly Stepsisters (Foods to Avoid), Cooking Methods as a Fctor in Pairing Food and Wine, and Ten Tips to Successful Food and Wine Pairing.

The bulk of the book is divided into White Wine, Red Wines, and Dessert Wines, and within each category the wine is further subdivided in the Progressive Styles format.

White Wines are categorized as Sparkling, Dry/Lighter-bodied, Fruity, Dry/Fuller Bodied. Red WInes are categorized as Medium-Bodied or Full-Bodied.

Within each category you have an introductory precis to the basic varieties, with a brief but informative description of the basic characteristics, the style range, and the spectrum of aromas and flavors. In other words, the wine is treated much as a food entree would be, with the description of the aromas and flavors it brings to the dish.

And in addition, there are some killer recipes that were assiduously field tested (I know, as I was one of the ones doing some of that assiduous testing ).

In short, it is a great go-to book to have in your library. And way more useful than most.

Great review of the Goldstein, Hoke. Mind if I put it in the Wine Library collection and attribute the review to you?

Many thanks, Bob

Feel free, Bob.

Publisher is Chronicle Books.

Thanks, Bob.

I am not surprised you are not familiar with the Aspler book as he is a Canadian author and wine critic.

Tom, is this the guy who writes wine -related mysteries?

I am not surprised you are not familiar with the Aspler book as he is a Canadian author and wine critic.

Tom, is this the guy who writes wine -related mysteries?

That would figure. I think anything wine-related is a mystery.

Dale,

Tony Aspler used to be the wine critic for the largest newspaper in Canada, The Toronto Star, and is an editor for the Winetidings magazine. He was replaced at the Toronto Star about a year or so ago by Gordon Stimmel. Tony is the author of several other wine books, but this one is the only cookbook and his coauthor Kathleen Sloan is credited with the recipes. Tony has his own website tonyaspler.com if you want to check it out. However, no mention of wine mysteries!

Whoops! My mistake. Tony has written some wine mysteries. Specifically, at least three wine mysteries -- Death on the Duoro, Blood is Thicker than Beaujolais, and The Beast of Barbaresco.

Thanks to Bob Ross for letting me know.

The Wine Lover's Cookbook, Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine, by Sid Goldstein.

And in addition, there are some killer recipes that were assiduously field tested (I know, as I was one of the ones doing some of that assiduous testing ).

In short, it is a great go-to book to have in your library. And way more useful than most.

Hoke,

Good to know you are good for something other than just drinking wine. I checked out this book on Amazon and all but one of the 15 reviews I read agree with you that this is an exceptional cookbook. Some even said that it was their favorite cookbook of all.

One thing strikes me as similar about this cookbook and Aspler's. They both organize by the grape variety and this seems to help people match up the wine with food. Aspler says in his introduction that his cookbook is for someone who goes into a restaurant and chooses his wine from the wine list first and then decides what dish to go with it. I have been known to do that on occasions when I get to go to a restaurant with a good wine list.

The Wine Lover's Cookbook, Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine, by Sid Goldstein.

Hey, I've got that book in my collection. I like it too.