Customer Reviews

Everyday Dining with Wine

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Immer is truly becoming a resource for wine & food combinations! This is her fourth venture into publishing books on this, and each is just outstanding, fun, practical, and interactive.

Here she goes where not many venture, into inexpensive but good wines for everyday, home dining. She offers recipes paired with selections that one would not normally think of. Here she introduces us to what she learned in Spain --- having wine with our dinner, and not just our ordinay routine of trying to enjoy our favorite with everything, but reaching out to try Reisling with "Plank Cooked Salmon". I was not into this at first sight, but first bite changed it all. She is right on that the combo of the Indonesian Five Spice BBQ sauce lights up with a great WashState or Aussie or NewZealand Riesling.

There are more great things like this to try out, all lined up by grape type, i.e. Chardonnay, Dessert Wines, etc. This is nice way to venture out, e.g. try type normally wouldn't or go the other way and line up a recipe like "Turkey Quesadillas with Sesame-Sweet Potato Mole Sauce" and she what she pairs it with: in this case "Barrel Fermented Chard."

She writes with spice and it is just plain fun to treat your taste buds to new delights with the likes of "Chicken Legs Braised in Pinot Grigio Mojo" paired with a Pinot Grigio. Or for finale, how about "Ice Wine" with "Tropical Fruits on the half-shell with Banana Crunch Topping". Truly Yum!

Finally, couldn't resist letting you into some combos here that knocked me out: Spanish wines with Spanish Stype Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo and Manchego Fricos, and Cheese Grits with Shrimp and Chorizo. Great brunch or weeknight supper with an attitude!

There are some good color photos, source suggestions along with technique advice. This lady can cook, pair wine and entertain all the while. This is certainly a volume to put in your collection and give away to those friends who need this jumpstart in their wine/dining life.

If you often enjoy a glass of wine with your dinner and want some simple and healthy meals perfectly matched with your wine, this book is for you. Everyday Dining isn't touted as a "healthy" or "diet" cookbook, yet Andrea's recipes are often low-fat or slimmed down versions of classic foods. Lowering the calories and keeping it simple both translate to dishes that are realistic for weekday dining. Another feature is that she gives several alternative wines for pairing with the dish, so you don't feel locked down to wines you don't have or can't find. The wines are also fairly common so if you want to match her suggestions verbatim, you can. The book is full of interesting wine tidbits as well as full wine-themed menus when you really want to impress your guests. All-in-all, there is a lot going on in this book.

I received this cookbook as a present at Christmas this year. One of my New Year's resolutions was to take a cookbook, use it for a week, then try the next one. Andrea Immer's cookbook has lasted for several weeks, due to popular (okay, my husband's) demand.

The recipes are mostly on target, although I think I must have a hotter oven than Andrea's. Her use of herbs and wine reduction sauces are superb. I like that most recipes use just a few ingredients. The roasted Brussels sprouts (with balsamic vinegar and sage) are the best treatment of this difficult veggie I've ever had. The Chicken with Mojo, the shrimp ceviche, the short ribs ragu, oh, I do go on. They are all great. Really. And when you pair the food with Andrea's choice of wine, the experience is sublime. Buy this cookbook for yourself and for your best friends. It is worth it.

Any quibbles I have would be in the lack of photographs, and the management of the oven temperature. Some things seem to cook faster than the cookbook states.

My husband and I are very much enjoying Andrea's recipes. They are tasty by themselves...fresh and flavorful. However, with the right wine it can truly be an experience. And, matching wine and food doesn't have to be expensive. Andrea recommends affordable and easy to find wines. The ingredients in her recipes are not exotic so they are also easy to find in the grocery. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking to learn how to match wines with good food. Cheers.

I purchased this book late last year after hearing Lynn Rosetto Kaspar suggesting it on hear radio program 'The Splendid Table' (perhaps a year earlier). We have tried several recipes along with the suggested daily wine pairings. I have thoroughly enjoyed every dish, especially the mustard and tarragon crusted scallops and a duck dish. We have prepared both of these several times for both us alone and for guests, who have gushed with delight over the meals. I rave about this book to every guest and suggest they buy it.

The wine pairings have been perfect, too. I was totally stunned how well a wine could complement a dish. A prime exemplar was the pairing of the aforementioned scallop dish with Dry Creek's Fume Blanc. A revelation!

Okay, I know I am a typical guy. My wife prepares the dishes. But, she has stated that most of the dishes are quite easy and we will have them on weeknights even though she has worked a full day.

I have not been able to find all the wines, sadly, without ordering on-line. I have only tried a few of the monthly wines, too. The weekly wine choices seem to be pretty good, thus I have not found it really necessary to purchase the more expensive bottles.

It seems unlikely that you could go wrong with these recipes and wine pairings. Enjoy!

I love Andrea - I watch her on fine living network. She truly wants to make wine accesible to everybody. The recipes in here are very nice but the most helpful is of course, her wine recommendations. She makes both general and specific wine recommendations. I have spent the past summer getting to know some whites I never tried before - Riesling, Voignier, Gewurtztraminer and I absolutely am in love with them because of this book!
So this book is good for beginners to intermediates - if you really are a true newbie and don't know where to start - I would also highly recommend The Wine Club by Maureen Petrosky.

As a beginner learning about wine and food, this book has been invaluable. I highly recommend it.

This is a fabulous resource of recipes for those who like fresh, fast meals with fewer ingredients. It's also an education on wines, grape types and regions. I love it. I recommend it to everyone. You won't be disappointed!

I absolutely love this book. The recipes are easy to do even on a weeknight when I'm pressed for time. Some of the food & wine pairings are absolutely amazing (eg, oatmeal crusted chicken with Gewurtztraminer). Wholeheartedly recommend.

this is a great "textbook" of food and wine pairing! A must have for any person who loves to entertain and match their wines to what they create. Absolutely wonderful book! A great source of wine information as well and a great cookbook!