"jean-georges vongerichten" news and stories

The cookbook shelf of a former vegetarian. Photo: emdot, Flickr.

Whether you're a full-fledged veg or a pro-greens protein fiend, vegetarian cookbooks are the door to a world where beans, greens and grains are celebrated. These books will introduce you to a whole new pantry of ingredients. Just as a meat eater might strive to make use of the entire animal, vegetarian cooks grab inspiration from far and wide and turn every bit of edible, natural earth into a grand culinary experience.

What follows after the jump are five vegetarian cookbooks that any veggie lover must have, covering the staples of meatless cookery -- secret recipes from restaurants, classic culinary bibles, respected names and haute vegetarian food. Which do you think will reign supreme?

• Normand Laprise urges cooks to not ignore the truffle in hard times -- suggesting how far an ounce can go -- from flavoring your in-shell eggs, to truffle ice cream (recipe included), scrambled eggs, risotto, and bread with a truffle center.
• February is the perfect time to indulge in bitter-lettuce salads, like a Simple Winter Salad of radicchio, watercress, frisee, and endives.
• Daniel Boulud opens DB Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, offering freshly ground burgers, a refusal to massacre meat to well done, and delicious and warm Madeleines -- plus the new Lumière restaurant.
• There's little as delicious as a strong beer, and Stephen Beaumont runs through the regions and beers that offer strong flavor in your brew.
• A look into Jean-Georges Vongerichten's new Vancouver restaurant and his in-kitchen process.
• Eating in the Year of the Ox, recipes for: Barbecue Pork, Sesame-Hoisin Sauce, Potstickers, Ginger Vinegar Dipping Sauce, Shrimp Dumplings, Salmon Spring Rolls, Spiced Soy Dipping Sauce, and Stir-Fried Noodles with Duck

• Chef David Rocco takes on the scourge known as school lunches.
• Yum: merging food and booze, like Wine-Soaked Potato Salad, or the featured recipe: Pumpkin and Coconut Mousse with Candied Ginger.
• Cape Vessey aims to turn the goat cheese naysayers into fans.
• Chef Michael Smith's Lentils with Local Apples.
• Can you crush addiction with wine making? San Patrignano -- a winery in Italy -- thinks so.
• Jean-Georges Vongerichten hits Vancouver.
  

• Click here for an invaluable run-down on cleaning your wine glasses, from washing sober to getting out stubborn stains.
• Recipes: Grilled Fifth Town Goat Cheese Panini with 3-Minute Heirloom Tomato Consomme plus Patric Leduc's Brined Pork Chops with Chipotle Sauce and Dana's Peach Galettes.
• Forget Anne of Avonlea and try cheese from Avonlea, namely -- Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar.
• Be still my heart -- a meat club I wish I had an invite to.
• If you thought faux corks were bad, or cartons, now there are wines you can drunk straight from the plastic bottle.
• Jean-Georges Vongerichten is heading for Canada, Vancouver to be exact.

Maybe you accidentally used salt while beating the batter for your cheesecake. That's a flop in the kitchen alright, but it certainly doesn't taste good (I would know - I've done it). However, there are kitchen "accidents" that resulted in some of today's most famous foods and dishes. The Chicago Tribune lists some of the best mistakes we've ever made, and includes recipes.

• Jean-Georges Vongerichten  "invented" the molten chocolate lava cake in 1987 while trying to make 300 small chocolate cakes for a party
• We all know the birth of chocolate chip cookies when Ruth Wakefield thought Nestle Toll House chocolate chips would melt into her cookies
• Gooey butter cake is a coffee cake that went wrong in St. Louis
• When the Tatin sisters forgot to line a pie dish for apple pie, the Tarte Tatin was created