Pork and Sons or Thanksgiving 101

Pork and Sons

Author: Stephane Reynaud

Pork & Sons is an authentic and intensely personal cookbook, presenting the reader with a multitude of ideas on how to cook fine and succulent pork, whilst giving a rare glimpse into a day in the life of a small family business in rural France. The recipes are wholesome and rustic, encapsulating the flavours and taste of a region.

As author Stйphane Reynard delivers his recipes to us, he invites us to share his family's age-old passion for the pig and to celebrate the long, delicious history between man and swine. Introducing to us, through evocative photographs, his grandfather and a somewhat strange collection of other family members and workers on the farm in the mountainous Saint-Agrиve, he creates a rich atmosphere and sense of ancestral tradition.

The 150 recipes are divided between thirteen chapters, including one on black pudding, one on sausages and one on ham. Each recipe is accompanied by an enticing photograph of the dish, and between each chapter there are photographs of the region, of the faces of the region and of their daily work, and further ingeniously hand-drawn illustrations of the pig itself in all manner of poses.

This is a colorful and vivid cookbook with a huge range of possible approaches to the selection, preparation, and cooking of pork. It is an affectionate tribute to the pig, an acknowledgement of its sumptuous flavour, its versatility as an appetizer or main course, and its great popularity around the world.

Publishers Weekly

This delightful, affectionate homage to the pig is a blend of cookbook and travel guide, celebrating the pig and the bounty it provides. Reynaud, the owner and chef of restaurant Ville 9 Trois, just outside of Paris, learned about pigs through his butcher grandfather, attending his first pig killing at the age of seven. Now, more than 30 years later, he shares his reverence for tradition and all that the pig offers in this exceptional book. Taking the reader on the journey from slaughter to table, he reveals a rich and rustic world largely unknown to most Americans. Readers meet Aimé, who can butcher a 400-pound pig in just a few hours; Blachou and his faithful dog, Florette, who help out during the slaughter; and the pâté team of Pompom, Kiki and Jacquy. Hearty, mouth-watering recipes—150 in all—range from the more common (Pork Tenderloins with Porcini Stuffing and Super Maxi Royale Choucroute) to the unusual (Pig's Tongue with Sorrel and Stuffed Pig's Ears). Sections on blood sausage, ham, sausage making and wild boar will fascinate as well as tantalize. Reynaud offers alternatives for hard-to-find ingredients and provides a list of mail-order butchers in the U.S. and France. Originally published in France in 2005, this collection is a must-have for cooks and food lovers everywhere. 240 color photos and 100 line drawings. (May)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Interesting book: Issues in Economics Today or Strategy

Thanksgiving 101: Celebrate America's Favorite Holiday with America's Thanksgiving Expert

Author: Rick Rodgers

Every fourth Thursday of November, Americans open their homes to friends and families. But when was the last time most of us made dinner for such a big crowd? With Thanksgiving 101 by your side, preparing for the holiday will be a pleasure. With step-by-step instructions for classic Thanksgiving dishes, as well as new twists on old favorites, this book will become gravy-stained in its first outing. Whether you're looking for new ways to cook turkey; traditional trimmings, chutneys, or chowders; a vegetarian entrée; or fresh ideas for regional classics, including Cajun-or Italian-inspired tastes, Thanksgiving 101 serves up a delicious education for novice and experienced cooks alike. And cooks will turn to these dishes all year long whenever they are throwing a big party.

With foolproof recipes, detailed menu timetables, and down-to-earth advice, Thanksgiving 101 is the holiday cook's best friend.

Publishers Weekly

In his briskly informative, humorous fashion, Rodgers tells you Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner but Were Too Harassed to Ask. A Thanksgiving specialist--he's the author of The Turkey Cookbook and teaches Thanksgiving 101 classes--Rodgers has developed and refined over 150 recipes, surefire cooking methods and detailed timetables to help the anxious host and hostess master all aspects of the national feast. Whether unmolding the cranberry mold, serving up lively vegetables (Not Your Grandmother's Succotash), baking Buttermilk Biscuits, mastering do-ahead gravy, mashing lump-free potatoes or roasting a bird--10 different ways--Rodgers reassures the cook in the kitchen. Along the way, he gives some snazzy twists to the basics, e.g., "Tamale" Stuffing with Pork, Chiles and Raisins, Scalloped Yams with Praline Topping, and Pumpkin-Walnut Roulade with Ginger Filling. Menus, informative essays on ingredients, a complete q&a section on turkey, great pies and inspiring leftovers (tacos to Tetrazzini) complete the confidence-building course. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Here, in one volume, is everything you need for success in planning, preparing and producing the perfect Thanksgiving for a gathering of eight to 12 guests. As a cookbook author and cooking teacher who specializes in this particular holiday, Rodgers knows the tables and traditions inside out. Don't think, however, that this book is rigidly bound to only the classic recipes; throughout the seven chapters on appetizers and beverages, soups and salads, turkey, stuffings and dressings, side dishes, breads, and desserts, the author includes international dishes and exotic ingredients along with the standard favorites. There is "make-ahead" information for most of the recipes, a planning timetable, safety notes on handling and cooking times, and a sensible chapter on dealing with leftovers. The biggest potential problem with Thanksgiving 101 will be keeping multiple copies on the shelf as the fourth Thursday in November approaches. Highly recommended for all popular collections.--Wendy Miller, Lexington P.L., KY