Black Cat S Cooking Class Cookbook

Vanessa and Tony Daou started giving cooking classes in 2005 when they opened the Black Cat Café & Bakery in the tiny historic spa village of Sharon Springs. Here is a compilation of the menus and recipes from three years of cooking classes. Organized into lunch, baking and dinner classes, the forty classes here comprise almost two hundred recipes.

Black Cat, the popular and innovative Cafe in historic Sharon Springs, has become known for its cooking classes and dinners. Their second cookbook celebrates the revival of the dinner club -- and includes a fascinating account of their history. A dinner club, also often known as a supper club, is something like a "guestaurant," a hybrid between the experiences of being a guest at a dinner party and a restaurant - basically a restaurant in the cook's dining room. This eclectic collection features dishes ranging from classic to ethnic (especially Mediterranean) to locally-sourced, farm-to-table recipes. Inspiring and unconventional, you'll find dozens of interesting facts and short-cuts and new "takes" on old favorites. But most of all, it is about simple, straightforward, delicious cooking.

A witty and warm-hearted memoir of abandoning fast-paced American days in favor of discovering the Italian secrets of food, community, and life. Moving across the globe meant Michelle Damiani soon found herself untangling Italian customs, delighting in glorious regional cuisine (recipes included), and creating lasting friendships. From grandmothers eager to teach the ancient art of pasta making, to bakers tossing bread into fiery ovens with a song, to butchers extolling the benefits of pork fat, Il Bel Centro is rich with captivating characters and cultural insights. Throw in clinking glasses of Umbrian red with the local communists and a village all-nighter decorating the cobblestone streets with flower petals; as well as embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office, and you have all the ingredients for a spellbinding travel tale. Exquisitely observed, Il Bel Centro is an intimate celebration of small town Italy, as well as a thoughtful look at raising a family in a new culture and a fascinating story of finding a home. Ultimately though, this is a story about how travel can change you when you’re ready to let it. With laugh-out-loud situations and wanderlust-inspiring storytelling, Il Bel Centro is a joyous and life-affirming read that will have readers rushing to renew their passports. “This is one of the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.” “I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.” “This book made me want to pack my bags.” “I loved, loved this book. Fabulously written, engaging, and entertaining.” “A magical read.”

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Celebrated food blogger and best-selling cookbook author Deb Perelman knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion—from salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and galettes; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe. “Innovative, creative, and effortlessly funny." —Cooking Light Deb Perelman loves to cook. She isn’t a chef or a restaurant owner—she’s never even waitressed. Cooking in her tiny Manhattan kitchen was, at least at first, for special occasions—and, too often, an unnecessarily daunting venture. Deb found herself overwhelmed by the number of recipes available to her. Have you ever searched for the perfect birthday cake on Google? You’ll get more than three million results. Where do you start? What if you pick a recipe that’s downright bad? With the same warmth, candor, and can-do spirit her award-winning blog, Smitten Kitchen, is known for, here Deb presents more than 100 recipes—almost entirely new, plus a few favorites from the site—that guarantee delicious results every time. Gorgeously illustrated with hundreds of her beautiful color photographs, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking. Here you’ll find better uses for your favorite vegetables: asparagus blanketing a pizza; ratatouille dressing up a sandwich; cauliflower masquerading as pesto. These are recipes you’ll bookmark and use so often they become your own, recipes you’ll slip to a friend who wants to impress her new in-laws, and recipes with simple ingredients that yield amazing results in a minimum amount of time. Deb tells you her favorite summer cocktail; how to lose your fear of cooking for a crowd; and the essential items you need for your own kitchen. From salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and galettes; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake, Deb knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion. Look for Deb Perelman’s latest cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers!

Eric Skokan is the award-winning chef/owner of Black Cat Bistro and Bramble & Hare in Boulder, Colorado. He and his wife own a 130-acre organic farm in nearby Longmont, where they live with nearly 400 animals and their 4 children. In Farm Fork Food, Eric Skokan shows what good food is all about -quality, seasonal produce, showcased in creative, original dishes that allow the flavours to shine. The recipes in this book therefore take fresh, natural ingredients and present them in mouthwatering combinations: Winter Radishes with Goat's Cheese, Nori and Smoked Salt; Pork with Grilled Plums, Leeks and Farro. There is something for every occasion.