Merry Christmas to Us

I'm really excited about two Christmas presents we got this year - new cookbooks! Not that we have any time to cook as I mentioned in my last entry. I got Bill Mario Batali's Molto Italiano. I think many of the recipes are going to be really challenging but we're up for it. They are very authentic and not at all Olive Garden! We definitely need to buy a pasta press and meat grinder but we probably should have those items on hand anyway. The other cookbook we got is a follow up to our favorite cookbook The Wine Lover's Cookbook, which I have mentioned in this blog many times before, The Wine Lover Cooks with Wine. The first book is about pairing a wine with your meal based on the "base" (protein) and "bridge" (spices, cheese, vegetables, etc) ingredients used. The second book is about actually using wine in the preparation of the meal by steaming, braising, making a sauce, simminering or poaching with the wine. All three books are EXTREMELY informative by offering pages of discussion of both the food and wine. The wine books are actually really great learning tools and I still haven't found a chance to sit down and read the new one. I HIGHLY recommend them. Yes, they are a little more advanced and time consuming but totally worth it.