Explorer's Guide Santa Barbara & California's Central Coast: Includes the Santa Ynez Coast: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations)

Explorer's Guide Santa Barbara & California's Central Coast: Includes the Santa Ynez Coast: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations) Review

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"Consistently rated the best guides to the regions covered."—National Geographic Traveler

From the region’s laid-back beach towns to the jumble of Monterey’s Cannery Row, California’s Central Coast offers the most spectacular triptych of landscapes—surf, forests, and picturesque small towns—in the West. Includes coverage of the region’s vineyards, culinary gems, and coastal hideaways. Full color photographs throughout

Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants & Events (Food Lovers' Series)

Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants & Events (Food Lovers' Series) Review

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The ultimate guide to Chicago's food scene provides the inside scoop on the best places to find, enjoy, and celebrate local culinary offerings. Written for residents and visitors alike to find producers and purveyors of tasty local specialties, as well as a rich array of other, indispensable food-related information including: food festivals and culinary events; specialty food shops; farmers’ markets and farm stands; trendy restaurants and time-tested iconic landmarks; and recipes using local ingredients and traditions.

The Wines of France: The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers

The Wines of France: The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers Review

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Sure the labels are confusing and the pronunciation daunting, but France's wines continue to set the standard for excellence around the world. Whether you're well versed in French terroir or you're dabbling outside your comfort zone, this comprehensive guidebook will make you an expert in today's best and best-value wines from France. Jacqueline Friedrich's unpretentious tasting notes are utterly enjoyable and contain the perfect balance of information on specific wines, vintages, prices, and producers. So, pour yourself a glass of Pouilly Fuiss?© (that's "pooh-YEE fwee-SAY"), sit back, and savor THE WINES OF FRANCE.

Big Green Cookbook: Hundreds of Planet-Pleasing Recipes and Tips for a Luscious, Low-Carbon Lifestyle

Big Green Cookbook: Hundreds of Planet-Pleasing Recipes and Tips for a Luscious, Low-Carbon Lifestyle Review

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A “Green-Over” is an eco-friendly recipe makeover. In Big Green Cookbook, you’ll find hundreds of luscious, low-carbon recipes. But this bonus recipe provides a sneak peek at how Jackie Newgent, RD, creates her greener recipes. Beef Burritos is the delicious, but not-so-planet-pleasing “before” recipe; Big Green Burritos is the equally delicious, eco-friendlier Green-Over.

Amazon.com Exclusive: Big Green Burritos from the author of Big Green Cookbook Before Green-Over: Beef Burritos Makes 8 servings: 1 burrito each Ingredients 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 2/3-inch cubes 1 cup chunky medium salsa 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon) 8 (8 to 9 inch) flour tortillas 2 cups cooked white rice 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce Directions 1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook while stirring until brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the salsa, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. 2. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low; cook until the beef mixture is tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. 3. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the mixture thickens to desired consistency, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. 4. Warm the tortillas according to the package directions. Cover with foil to keep warm. 5. Serve the beef, rice, cheese, and lettuce wrapped or rolled in the tortillas. Nutritional Information Per serving: 500 calories, 21g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 65mg cholesterol, 990mg sodium, 47g total carbohydrate, 3g dietary fiber, 28g protein After Green-Over: Organic Poultry-Pinto Bean Burritos with Farm-Fresh Veggies Makes 8 servings: 1 burrito each Ingredients 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 pound boneless organic chicken thigh with skin, cut meat and skin into 1/2-inch cubes 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, finely diced 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 (15-ounce) can organic pinto beans, drained (do not rinse) 1 cup chunky hot salsa Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 8 (8 to 9 inch) whole wheat or sprouted grain tortillas 4 ounces shredded locally-produced or organic sharp cheddar or Monterey jack cheese (optional) 1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 1 cup) 4 cups mixed fresh baby greens Directions 1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken meat and skin and onion and cook while stirring until the chicken is fully cooked, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the beans, salsa, lime juice, and salt to taste; bring to a boil. 2. Cover and reduce the heat to medium; cook until the chicken is nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, cover, and turn off the heat. Let "lid cook" (cook covered while the burner is off) until the chicken us fully tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and let sit at least 3 minutes before serving. 3. Warm the tortillas according to package directions, only if necessary. Cover tortillas with a clean kitchen towel or cloth napkin to keep warm. 4. Serve the chicken mixture, cheese (if using), zucchini, and salad greens wrapped or rolled in the tortillas. Nutritional Information Per serving: 300 calories, 9g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 35mg cholesterol, 750mg sodium, 46g total carbohydrate, 7g dietary fiber, 18g protein

After Green-Over:“How-To” Highlights Choose poultry in place of beef; “green-size” the portion; and go organic when possible to help shrink your carbon footprint. Pile on the produce to help boost heartiness of petite-portioned meat or poultry. Select seasonal veggies to add interest, flavor, nutrition, eye appeal, and overall satisfaction. Opt for more flavorful ingredients, such as “hot” salsa, to create extra lusciousness without adding unnecessary ingredients. Go fresh when the option is available and seasonal, such as fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. Pick whole grain instead of “white” bread products; they’re less processed and more nutritious. Reduce the amount of cooking energy that’s required by choosing tender or moist ingredients and just-right amounts of fat. Plus, use “lid cooking” to help tenderize without using extra heat. Chop ingredients smaller for quicker cooking to save cooking energy and time. Choose cheese that’s more flavorful so less is required—and go local or organic when you do. Heat certain pre-cooked ingredients, like tortillas, only if necessary. To cover something to keep it warm, choose a reusable cover, like a towel or cloth napkin, before opting for something recyclable, like foil.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint with Green Cuisine

"Going green" has spread to the kitchen! Big Green Cookbook is the first comprehensive, climate-conscious cookbook, ideal for both culinary novices and experienced cooks. Food and health expert Jackie Newgent reveals simple, practical, and sometimes even money-saving solutions for choosing and preparing food in planet-pleasing ways. It has never been easier to create everyday meals that maximize flavor while minimizing your environmental impact. Inside you'll find:

• A green kitchen checklist

• Over 200 delicious, easy-to-prepare, seasonal recipes that feature fresh, all-natural foods

• Guidelines for going organic and tips for buying locally

• Nutrition information and earth-friendly cooking tips with every recipe

• Clever, new techniques for low-carbon cooking

• An eco-friendly shopping guide and seasonal produce guide

"The Big Green Cookbook shows you how deliciously easy it can be to reduce your carbon 'food' print. It's the perfect tool for anyone who wants to eat well and treat the earth right."
—Ellie Krieger, host of Food Network's Healthy Appetite and author of The Food You Crave

"Big Green Cookbook is THE step-by-step guide for greening your kitchen and your cuisine. Packed with easy tips and fantastic recipes based on the best of the season, Jackie Newgent shows America how tasty green cuisine can be, and why it's so critical to our planet."
—Kate Geagan, MS, RD, author of Go Green Get Lean

Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments

Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments Review

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Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages and to a phenomenally energetic bar scene. Drinking Japan is the first wide-ranging survey in English of the country's unique alcohol culture, with detailed coverage not only of the well-known rice brew sake but of much less explored traditions like shochu, awamori, beer, wine, and Japanese whisky. The book is a practical guide, offering richly illustrated reviews of 122 drinking establishments in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Hiroshima, Okinawa and further afield. The reviews are written with the newly arrived visitor to Japan in mind, with price guides, language help, advice on food and drink choices, and maps and directions to get you to the bars.  Drinking Japan offers detailed background on more than 150 of Japan's best drink brands and the people that make them. There is a long chapter on the history of sake and the contemporary sake world, and the first extensive descriptions in an English-language book of Japan's indigenous spirits, shochu and awamori. Whole chapters are devoted to Japan's whisky, craft beer and wine industries, offering insights that have until now not been available to readers in English.

The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food

The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food Review

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Never before have we cared so much about food. It preoccupies our popular culture, our fantasies, and even our moralizing—“You still eat meat?” With our top chefs as deities and finest restaurants as places of pilgrimage, we have made food the stuff of secular seeking and transcendence, finding heaven in a mouthful. But have we come any closer to discovering the true meaning of food in our lives?
 
With inimitable charm and learning, Adam Gopnik takes us on a beguiling journey in search of that meaning as he charts America’s recent and rapid evolution from commendably aware eaters to manic, compulsive gastronomes. It is a journey that begins in eighteenth-century France—the birthplace of our modern tastes (and, by no coincidence, of the restaurant)—and carries us to the kitchens of the White House, the molecular meccas of Barcelona, and beyond. To understand why so many of us apparently live to eat, Gopnik delves into the most burning questions of our time, including: Should a Manhattanite bother to find chicken killed in the Bronx? Is a great vintage really any better than a good bottle of wine? And: Why does dessert matter so much?
 
Throughout, he reminds us of a time-honored truth often lost amid our newfound gastronomic pieties and certitudes: What goes on the table has never mattered as much to our lives as what goes on around the table—the scene of families, friends, lovers coming together, or breaking apart; conversation across the simplest or grandest board. This, ultimately, is who we are.
 
Following in the footsteps of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Adam Gopnik gently satirizes the entire human comedy of the comestible as he surveys the wide world of taste that we have lately made our home. The Table Comes First is the delightful beginning of a new conversation about the way we eat now.

The Best Wine Bars & Shops of Paris: Fifty Charming and Notable Cavistes

The Best Wine Bars & Shops of Paris: Fifty Charming and Notable Cavistes Review

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In this guide, you will find everything from establishments that have been serving Paris for a century or two to neighborhood cellars, conventional purveyors, hipster hangouts, and even ventures–as the French publisher says–with no “complexes” whatsoever. Some places have the traditional barrels on the sidewalk, old-fashioned wooden cubbyholes for storing the bottles, creaking floorboards, and shopkeepers in starched white aprons; others have ultramodern decor, sleek and streamlined design, waitstaff in jeans and sneakers. Beyond appearances, each cellar has its own approach, its own philosophy, and producers it swears by. One merchant may carry prestigious luxury vineyards; a second, bargain terroir wines; the third, 100 percent organic vintages; a fourth may offer wines for collectors. This is a cross-section of fifty reputable and distinctive shops and an excellent map for those wishing to navigate the wine merchants of Paris.
 
The notable wines offered by each shop are highlighted, and there are lots of places that serve light meals–or even something more substantial–making The Best Wine Bars & Shops of Paris a great restaurant guide, too.