Scratch That (TM) Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings

by Connie Fairbanks, Maritza Medina- M Design (Illustrator), Julie Stillman (Editor)

Connie Fairbanks has been cooking since she was five, so it was only natural that her first cookbook would be a user-friendly book of family favorites and the how-to's of entertaining with style and ease. Scratch That includes 18 seasonal menus that you can prepare every night, and more than 110 recipes that you can make with ease as a home chef. Each menu includes suggestions for the perfect wine with each meal. Connie's Notes accompany each recipe, along with tips on shopping for seasonal ingredients, explanations of cooking terms, suggestions for food presentation, table decor, and anecdotal travel stories. Dozens of recipes are accompanied by tantalizing photographs. Two introductory chapters offer advice on essential kitchen equipment and necessary know-how for beginners and pros alike, including a selection of basic recipes, and tips on how to make a perfect cup of coffee and stock your spice rack. Following the menus, Scratch That concludes with two a wine and beer primer for perfect pairings, and Connie's advice on how to optimize the dining-out experience.

200 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published February 15, 2007

About the author

I'v been reading cookbooks since I could read. My mother said my nose was always was in a cookbook, even when I was supposed to be asleep. My first read was a James Beard cookbook that suggested putting ice cubs in raw hamburger patties to keep them juicy- still works.

After much corporate travel, I was exposed to ingredients and great food from all over the world. Luckily, many of these exotic ingredients are normal in our neighborhood grocers. I'm curious about food and will try almost anything again except for grasshoppers in Mexico City and andouillete in the Burguncy region of France.

My mother, aunts, and grandmothers were all great home cooks. Many of their recipes can't be improved upon, and some can't...........

I wrote Scratch That to give home chefs access to 2 -3 three courses menus with wine pairings. All recipes use seasonal produce, with minimal cans and bottles.