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Cook Books - $625 - $18

Cookbooks
By CHRISTINE MUHLKE
Published: December 3, 2010

What confusing times these are. And I’m talking just about new cookbook offerings. Fall’s usual glut of ­chef-y titles, primed for the giving, are notably absent. The food we’re being offered is much simpler, much faster and removed from the realm of fantasy — unless we’re talking about “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking,” the Microsoft executive turned cooking whiz Nathan Myhrvold’s $625 tome on 21st-century techniques (which you can preorder in advance of its March 2011 publication). The one big restaurant book is from a chef in Denmark who plucks his ingredients from rocks, beaches, logs, even cracks in the sidewalk. In short, we’re looking closer to home. More

Bonus 25

Alluring Burgundies in Low Places

By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: December 7, 2010

SIMPLY uttering the word Burgundy conjures up storied names that have beguiled wine lovers for centuries: Chambertin and La Tâche, Le Montrachet and Musigny. These wines can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The memories, it must be said, are priceless. More

Steamed Dumplings: Homemade Is the Way

By MARK BITTMAN
Published: December 3, 2010

STEAMED Chinese-style dumplings — often called shu mai, although there are many other types — are a real treat. Sadly, though, when served in restaurants they are often disappointing, with too-dense filling, not much flavor and a wrapper that’s chewy rather than tender. More

Shrimp and Cilantro Shu Mai
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