Review
Anyone who has had the pleasure of dining at Charleston's divine Cypress Lowcountry Grille will be thrilled with executive chef Craig Deihl's cookbook, aptly titled "Cypress."
But being a Cypress devotee isn't the only reason to buy this cookbook. For any serious culinarian, taking this book into the kitchen will be a learning experience, as Deihl intended it to be a teaching tool. Hence, the extended pantry chapter, the chapter on cooking techniques and the chapter on stocks.
Most importantly, the book includes black-and-white photos of each step of any recipe where Deihl feels that seeing the technique will make a difference in your learning experience.
And if you're just an armchair foodie, you'll love it, too. The pictures will have you drooling, and the wine pairings that lushly describe a specific wine for each recipe will have you reaching into your private stash for just the right bottle to pair with this mouthwatering cookbook. --
Charleston Post and Courier, April 25, 2007Cookbooks by chefs are so scary for most people they often end up reading the narrative and thumbing through the recipes, never to see the light of day in a neophyte's kitchen. But in Craig Deihl's new book, "Cypress", there are more than enough easy-to-replicate meals that won't scare you to death.
Named for Deihl's Charleston, S.C., restaurant, Cypress Lowcountry Grille, this cookbook is loaded with a nice balance of accessible ingredients and classic combinations that are pretty to the eye and palate. -- Denver Post, March 27, 2007
Cypress may call itself "a lowcountry grille," but its fusion cuisine is high-end. Its cookbook follows suit, with recipes as complicated as they are creative.
The recipe for the "Maryland-style" crab cakes, for example, comes with "truffle-essence arugula and sweet corn puree" and is really five recipes in one -- you've got to make your own corn stock and basil oil, along with putting together the puree and dressing the arugula. For that kind of trouble, I'll wait until I can visit Charleston to try Craig Deihl's expert preparation of the dish. But if you're a budding chef who loves to experiment, this book has plenty of fuel for kitchen adventures. -- Baltimore Sun, May 2007
From the Inside Flap
Charleston, South Carolina, is a small city that's big on food. Centuries of culinary history and an abundance of fresh ingredients from the surrounding farmlands, woods and waters render Charleston's dining scene as one of the most popular in the country. Now from this city of great food, award-winning restaurant Cypress Lowcountry Grille and one of the Southeast's most exciting young talents, Executive Chef Craig Deihl, comes Cypress.
Bold, imaginative, passionate . . . these are just a few words used to describe Chef Deihl's dynamic cuisine. This fast-paced, visual cookbook showcases his signature style of classic dishes, indigenous lowcountry ingredients and global spice. Readers will learn a variety of traditional cooking methods and ingredient pairings to ensure success with Deihl's recipes, as well as how to "think like a chef" and create a personal repertoire for cooking and entertaining at home.
A native of Danville, Pennsylvania, Chef Craig Deihl is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University. He trained for nearly five years at Charleston's venerable Magnolias Uptown/Down South before helping launch Magnolias' sister establishment, Cypress Lowcountry Grille, in 2001. Deihl is inspired by the challenge of playing a prominent role in Charleston's burgeoning dining scene and influencing the national reputation of the Holy City's cuisine.
Cypress is beautifully illustrated through the rich photography of Rick McKee. Rick also collaborated on Magnolias (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2006). A frequent contributor to national magazines, Rick works out of his studio in historic Charleston, South Carolina.