The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine

by Jeff Smith, Corbet Clark, Gary Jacobsen (Illustrator)

Presents more than four hundred recipes featuring wine as an ingredient and offers advice on choosing and storing wine and matching food with wine

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Culinary

447 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Jeffrey L. Smith was the author of a dozen best-selling cookbooks and the host of The Frugal Gourmet, a popular American cooking show.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Stina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #25 for 2018
The Legendary Book Club of Habitica's Ultimate Reading Challenge: A book you borrowed or were given
The Ultimate PopSugar Reading Challenge:
- A bestseller from the year you graduated high school
- A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
Full House Bingo: Nonfiction Hobby Book
Alphabet Soup: F
Abandoned Book Rescue: (unprompted)
Read the Year: April - Grab a book that will help you explore your creativity

This was an unexpectedly weird read. As soon as my Goodreads updates started posting on Facebook, my friends began commenting about the sexual harassment complaints against Smith later in his career. Not having followed his career, even in the '80s, I looked up the accusations and resulting settlement. And y'know, that explains some of the ick factor I had reading Smith's descriptions of his college career, the people who initiated him into the world of wine and theology, and his creepily evangelical approach to wine. I mean, I like wine quite a bit and even worked in a wine shop, but I just kept getting a really strange vibe off this guy.

The sections on ingredients and kitchen equipment were weird in a different way. It was a sort of time capsule of mid-1980s culinary trends. Some have stood the test of time and become commonplace instead of gourmet. Others...yeah, not so much. And the little wine glossary wasn't particularly enlightening. Sure, I already knew a lot of it from working at Chuckie's (seriously, it was a much nicer shop than you'd guess from the name), but I'm sure there are better wine references out there nowadays.

Being a cookbook, it of course had recipes. They were, however, oddly lacking in, of all things, wine. Some instead focused on wine pairings, but there were enough recipes that had fuck-all to do with wine that I had no idea why they were included. The recipes were also largely uninspiring. Surely living in the 21st century for nearly two decades hasn't made me that sophisticated, but they all seemed so pedestrian. I did snap photos of maybe a dozen recipes I might like to try, but I haven't even looked at them since.

I really should try at least one of them. It will take a lot of revision due to Smith's love of olive oil and dairy products (neither of which my husband can tolerate), but I will give it a go. I'll even blog it, if I ever land on a blogging platform I like.

[Mark Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started using this book as early as 14 years old. This was the cookbook that really brought out my love for cooking. Yes, I would have my parents supply the wine I needed to cook with. Mix chicken, bacon, cream, butter, and spices together with red wine for something that your guests will not believe.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with other Frugal Gourmet cookbooks, there is a great deal of history included in the book. Since I have little knowledge of wine, the extra info is nice to have. I am not sure that I will do much cooking from the book since I am not a wine drinker, but maybe if it is only a small amount in a sauce or something, I might eventually try some.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

i learned so many things about cooking with this book

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite in the Frugal Gourmet series. The food is scrumptious, and the information about serving and pairing wine with food is excellent.

[David Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best of the Frugal Gourmet cookbooks.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid addition to the Frugal Gourmet books, but not my favorite. That's a tie between The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian and … Our Immigrant Ancestors. Connected by the use of various wines (including fortified wines, mirin/sake, etc.) this book covers a wide range of complete recipes, as well as sauces, marinades, desserts, dessert drinks and more. Like all of his books, Cooking With Wine begins with the usual sections on cooking techniques, kitchen tools (those he likes, those he doesn't), ingredients and definitions - useful to new readers, but essentially the same first 25 pages that you have if you've already read any of his other titles. I was also not a big fan of how this was arranged: in some cases recipes were arranged by main ingredient, in others, by cooking method, and still others by country of origin. But these are minor gripes on my part. 3.5 stars.

[Freddie the Know-it-all · Rating 1 out of 5]

Drag Queen Cooking Hour: The Original Foodie

I blame this guy for creating Foodies and thus making interesting conversation nearly impossible nowadays.

I used to think Sports Talk was the most boring articulated wind there ever was, but Foodie Talk by far outdoes it. Moreover, Foodie Talk is not even just a cocktail of chloroform and lies -- it is nothing if it isn't plain old womanly one-upmanship.

This guy really started it all. And look at him: his whole life is a crockpot-of-shit. The King of Product Placement -- "I only use Disney™ garlic-presses" -- and one of the world's first pedos.

[KennyO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having received the book as a gift I was obliged to at least peruse it. Smith has continued his tour of food history with wine as the theme of this volume. It’s far less engaging than his earlier work and I wasn’t enticed to try new things through reading it. Still, I enjoyed browsing of an evening.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays and intros to the recipes are precious and informational. I loved those as much as the recipes and his smiling face on the cover. I had no idea he was a minister. And, the biblical and historical exploration of wine was interesting.

[Emily D · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was always something a little off about Jeff Smith. He was always too cutesy, too warm and fuzzy. Then the scandal. Recipes are easy, call for easy to find ingredients, and are mostly standards. Hated his friendly bantering commentary.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, I wasn't familiar with a lot of things when I read it, but it's informative.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the frugal gourmet and the intro about the history of wine. Wasn’t as thrilled for the recipes.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good cookbook. I love the essays and explanations. The recipes all sound great. Can't wait to start cooking.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to hold open a paperback like this and follow a recipe and cook without getting sauce or whatever on the pages. Anyway, we watched Jeff Smith and enjoyed him back in the '90s and when we bought our home I was itching to try out my new kitchen and actually learn some cooking skills. I was given this book about 15 years ago and made a few things from it. Written in the congenial manner of the TV host himself. It was weird how this guy just vanished off the face of the earth after he was accused of past dalliances as a minister. It left a void among the jaunty TV chefs. And he has died on us in the meantime, as has my enthusiasm for cooking, though the two things are not really related.

[Ken M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found several recipes that have been favorites for years. This is one of several books that introduced me to cooking professionally. Just find a recipe that sounds good and try it! You won't be disappointed

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wine is food

[Karlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

because who doesn't love cooking with wine!

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day, Jeff Smith was the quintessential entertaining TV chef. This book contains simple recipes and is an excellent accompaniment to the TV series.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11502792

[Kerrymac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but rarely use the recipes!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeff Smith has assembled a collection of recipes that use wine as an ingredient. There is also a section on kitchen equipment and terms as well as a discussion of herbs and spices.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just terrible.