Book #2 update, or what happens between manuscript and finished, printed book

August 11, 2010

Book #2, previously known as “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees to Enjoy with Wines You Love” but now known as “100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love – I miss the alliteration of “entrees to enjoy” but had to agree with my publisher that some readers might think “entrees” too high-falutin’ – is coming along nicely.

As you know if you’ve been following along, I turned in the manuscript for this, my second cookbook in the “100 Perfect Pairings” series, in January, and then photography happened in February. (If you haven’t been following along, here’s a post about the photo shoot.)

Sharing

June 22, 2010

A few cool things are happening that I wanted to share with you.

One is, “100 Perfect Pairings” continues to get good reviews. Here’s one from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, another in Carolyn Cope’s blog Umami Girl, and yet another in Napa Sonoma magazine.

Cool, huh?

100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates to Enjoy with Wines You Love – now at a store near you!

May 19, 2010

Well, it finally happened.

The book that I spent much of 2008 writing and creating recipes for, that I spent much of 2009 shepherding through the edit process – not “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees” mind you, which I wrote last year, but the first “100 Perfect Pairings” book that I initially proposed to a publisher back in 2007 – is a real, live, out-in-the-world cookbook!

It’s very strange to have this thing that’s been a mostly private phenomenon become a public one. Well, phenomenon, I don’t know. But it’s out there in public! And so far, to good reviews.

Photo Shoot in NYC, Part II

April 3, 2010

I almost forgot one of the best parts of being in NYC! Linda, my editor at Wiley, brought a surprise for me to the photo shoot – my first actual real-live copy of book #1! Holding it in my hands was, and still is, both fabulous and weird. There’s a piece of me that’s so thrilled! But there’s also a piece that’s been living with it, in so many incarnations, for so long, that it seems familiar and therefore, like not that big of a deal.

Weird, huh?

100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees Photo Shoot in NYC

March 30, 2010

I got back from Rancho La Puerta (see previous post) on a Saturday, spent one night at home, then left for New York on Sunday. After a 12-hour delay – ! – I arrived late Monday night, just in time to be at the studio on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Lessons in Food and Wine Pairing: One that didn’t work.

February 17, 2010

I thought it might be interesting to talk about a recipe that I cut from my book, “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees to Enjoy with Wines You Love,” because I couldn’t make it, well, a perfect pairing!

100 down! Plus a final message of love to my recipe testers!

February 4, 2010

A month ago today, I hit “send” on the manuscript for my second “100 Perfect Pairings” cookbook. It took me a week or so to recover, then another couple of weeks to catch up with all I’d been putting off, and then, well, another week of procrastinating blogging and – here we are!

99 down, 1 to go! Plus thoughts on pairing with Cab

December 10, 2009

I have spent the last couple of weeks cooking up a storm for the Cabernet Sauvignon chapter of my second “100 Perfect Pairings” book. On the docket last week: Peppered Prim Rib Roast with Crème Fraîche Horseradish Sauce, Lemon- and Olive-Stuffed Leg of Lamb, New York Steaks with Espresso Pan Sauce, Steak and Radicchio Caesar Salad, and Good Old-Fashioned Pot Roast! I couldn’t have done it all without my trusty kitchen assistant Judy. My freezer is stuffed with carnivoric leftovers.

What to pair with Thanksgiving dinner? A major rave

November 20, 2009

Right on the heels of my minor rant about the San Francisco Chronicle’s food and wine pairing advice comes some fabulous advice from the Chron’s Jon Bonné about what to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. Bottom line? Drink what you like, says Bonné.

68 down, 32 to go! Plus Merlot musings

October 25, 2009

It’s been a quick month since my last post. Since then, I’ve finished the recipes for the Gewürztraminer chapter of my cookbook “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees to Enjoy with Wines You Love.” I’ve also finished the Rosé and Pinot Noir chapters, and am now about halfway through Merlot. All in all, about one third of the book is complete and I’m on track to deliver it to Wiley, my publisher, as agreed on January 4.