Focusing on a central theme in each issue, such as 25 party ideas (number 25: nautical party) or 35 quick and tasty dishes, Food & Wine indulges a broad range of culinary connoisseurs and thirsty enophiles. Expect a number of well-rounded recipes and festive commentary on the theme at hand, but don't expect that Food & Wine will be weighed down by said theme--each issue also contains a home shopping guide (in case you need to know where to purchase a green bamboo tray), restaurant reviews, a Drinks/Wine section, and shorter articles that run from "Win a Date with a Chef" to "The Joy of Slow Cooking." --A.J. Rathbun

As I read through this cookbook soon after purchase, I felt as though I was re-living my years growing up in a Second generation Hungarian Household in Northern Ohio. All of my grandparents were born in Hungary. The recipes are just as the ones I too learned first hand from my grandmother. I spent much of my time as a child in her kitchen. It also gives flexibility to the modern cook using ingredients that are available. The stories and traditions the author shares are ones that I have shared with my own children. This cookbook is one that I will definitely give copies of as gifts to family members! Thanks for the memories, Yolanda! --Elaine from Colorado

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience as a food writer in Paris, Wells (Bistro Cooking) presents cherished recipes from famous Parisian restaurants, such as BenoŚt Guichard of Jamin's Tarte Tatin (Caramelized Apple Tart), Jo‰l Robuchon's Creamy White Bean Soup, Caf‚ Bonaparte's Chicken Salad and Le D“me's Sole Meuni‚re. She ferrets out the best recipes from the authority venues, such as La Maison du Chocolat's Bitter-Sweet Chocolate Mousse and Chef William Ledeuil's Fresh White Beans with Mimolette, Roquette and Pistachio Oie. If readers can get over some haute cuisine pretension (a Black Truffle Mayonnaise recipe suggests using "eggs that have been enclosed in a glass jar with the truffles for 1 day"), they will find down-to-earth recipes such as The Market Gardeners' Zucchini and Curry Soup and The Taxi Driver's Wife's Secret Mussels. Regional France is well represented by the likes of southwestern polenta (H‚lene's `Polenta' with Sheep's-Milk Cheese) and seafood from Brittany (Memories of Brittany Lobster with Cream). Wells has a knack for choosing simple yet elegant recipes quintessentially French with reliable results in the North American kitchen. She follows a growing trend of replacing red meats (although there is a short chapter on them) with poultry, seafood and vegetables (a whole chapter is devoted to potatoes).

In this elegant two volume set, the author has highlighted recipes combining tastes of a selection of wines and cheeses through their composition and history.

This book has been translated and enhanced from the fifth edition of Carte de Bucate by Sanda Marin that was published in 1966. The first edition was published in 1938 and contained close to 10,000 recipes. After the war, an abbreviated version was republished and has served as inspiration to many cookbook authors in Romania. Nevertheless, Sanda Marin's Cookbook remains the one book every Romanian, young or old, has heard about and has used and loved. This English version has been featured in The International Cookbook Revue, vol. II, no. 1, p.53, Jan.-Feb., 1997.