Wine Food: New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking [A Recipe Book]

by Dana Frank, Andrea Slonecker

A delicious, comprehensive playbook that pairs 75 wine styles—including where and who to buy them from—with 75 recipes that complement them perfectly “If you want to know what good taste in the modern food and wine scene looks like, this is your manual.”—Jordan Mackay, co-author of The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste Wine Food is a wine course in a cookbook for everyone who wants to learn about wine simply by drinking it. Here, natural wine bar and winery owner Dana Frank and wine-loving recipe writer Andrea Slonecker distill the basics—how to buy, how to store, how to taste—and deliver more than seventy-five instant-hit recipes inspired by delectable, affordable wines that go with them beautifully. Each recipe opens with a succinct summary of the wine style that inspired it, followed by a brief explanation of how it complements the flavors and textures in the recipe. There are also recommendations for three to eight producers of each wine style. Frank and Slonecker also include a wine flavors cheat sheet, a label lexicon lesson, a short course on wine tasting like a pro, and illustrated features on matching wine with types of favorite foods (typical take-out, beloved pasta dishes, and popular sweets). Whether you like thinking about which bottle to pour at brunch, with picnic fare, for midweek dinners, at weekend feasts, or for all of those times, Wine Food makes learning about wine flavorful, fun, and easy.

Genres: Cookbooks, Wine, Cooking, Food, Food and Drink, Nonfiction

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 11, 2018

Reviews

[Tamera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really nice cookbook with some very nice elements, but it isn't the cookbook for me. If you have any kind of wine and no clue what to drink with it, this is your bible. I really liked the "Pairing Cheat Sheet" scattered through the book, covering everything from meatballs, soup, want to drink but dont want to cook (Lays potato chips and white burgundy!) and take out time. My problem with the book are the recipes. They are not things I would make or they are things my husband wont like. Items are too esoteric for my family, such as Indian spice duck breast with burst grapes and glazed cipollini, Glou glou Thai Beef, Big boule sandwich with roast beef, pickled beets and gorgonzola, Fig fatoush with grilled halloumi, biscuits and morel gravy, and delicata crostata with fennel sausage, ricotta and buckwheat honey. A few items might be doable- leftover beef hash with herby poached eggs paired with Lambrusco sounded interesting. But overall, a book to browse but not use. I hate to rate it low since its a matter of preference, so i rated it for layout, pictures and cheat sheet pairings.

[Bussola Vespucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popcorn for Dinner : Pared with - literally any wine you have.
This book DOES know all the secrets of wine!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank and Slonecker pair wines with simple and more complex foods, often in unusual combinations, to emphasize balance but also to inspire readers to pair wines and foods. They move beyond the usual wines and introduce new varietals with an emphasis on affordable wines but within that vein, not buying cheap wines and not buying wines in a box or can. In that vein, they also de-emphasize the notion of cooking with wine you are drinking but instead keeping wines you haven’t finished to use in the next week or so and cooking with that. Beginning material explains wine labels, sizes, glassware, temperature (cool!)
Color pictures are of wines and food but many dishes have no picture. The pictures are to inspire and evoke a spirit of celebration.
Each wine/recipe entry includes a type of wine, recommended producers, an explanation of the wine and why it goes with the recipe, how many it serves, and then the recipe, which includes clearly stated ingredients and then instructions. Recipes often include what can be made ahead and how to store. Recipes range from basic to complex but even if you don’t make the recipe paired with a given wine, reading the introduction to the recipe can give you an idea of what kind of dish might work as a substitute with that wine.
There are several pairing cheat sheets throughout the book, pairing with cheese, or cheap eats.
These are great recipes on their own to serve to guests, a torta frittata with spring mushrooms and stinging nettles or a raclette party. And some recipes are good for dinner parties like a burrata with strawberry salad.
This book introduces wines that people may not be familiar with and unique recipes. It may not be a book for every day cooking but it would make a nice addition to entertaining cookbooks. And there are several menus provided for parties, including a Georgian feast.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

drinking and cooking by Dana Frank and Andrea Slonecker, it was like being back popping corks and prepping with my old crews.
I often ask “who inspires me, feeds me who brings me ideas, takes me where I haven’t been?” There’s nothing like exploring food and wine pairings with people who get it- the magic that can happen when all engaged know and understand ingredients and flavors. This book does just that- each page offers that experience of tasting and talking with a friend that is just as excited as you are for what is being prepared and presented.

[Savanna Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This (cook)book is a work. Of. Art. Not only will this be used for its intended purpose of being a reference of knowledge, but I genuinely sat and read every word, and had a great time doing so. The photography of food and wine were sexualized in the very best way❤️‍🔥! The writing style was not only informative but also extremely relatable and digestible. (Hehe that was an accidental food pun)

[Aarthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good recipe ideas/inspiration.

[Courtney B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning about so many different wines and the food pairings one wouldn't typically expect with certain wines. It was a fun read, and I would recommend it to any wine and food lover!

[Devan Marques · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent photography (very important in a cook book). This is definitely a wine book with a side of food, perfect for learning how to think about pairing. Well written and entertaining.

[James McLaughlin]

Just tried the orange wine with the mushroom risotto - delicious.
Lots of good pairings and the recipes are not complicating.

[Kathy Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this to granddaughter Catie, hopefully she's enjoying it!

[Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you know your friends love you and understand you and care about your interests, they get you this book.

[Autumn Kotsiuba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Georgian recipes!! Bookmarking this book for when I have a proper kitchen again.