Whether you say "to-may-to" or you say "to-mah-to," chances are you'll agree there's nothing like the taste of a sun-ripened heirloom tomatoand this beautifully photographed book is a cornucopia for the tomato lover. First there are the recipes: 50 in all, provided by such notable food names as One Market, Caprial's Bistro, Jimtown Store, and DaVero Olive Oil. Perfect for brunch, cocktails, or dinner, tomatoes are showcased in such delicious dishes as Gazpacho with Cucumber Salsa Verde, Cheese and Pesto Fondue with Tomato-Foccacia Skewers, and Grilled Sea Bass with Lemon-Oregano, Tomato Relish. Accompanying each is a wine pairing suggested by Kendall-Jackson, which each year hosts the Heirloom Tomato Festival in Sonomathe inspiration for this book. Then there's the photographic glossary of the top 25 heirloom varieties, detailed cultivation information, and an invaluable sourcelist of seeds and plants to entice those who want to eat their fruit and grow it too. Add to this, advice on choosing and storing tomatoes and a brief history, and you have a book as vibrant as the tomato it celebrates.
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About the Author
Mimi Luebbermann is the author of almost 20 books on gardening and cooking and is a contributor to numerous national cooking and gardening magazines. She lives on a small farm in Petaluma, California.
Robert Holmes' photographs have appeared in National Geographic , Travel & Leisure , Conde Nast Traveler , and in numerous other magazines and books. He lives in Northern California.
Dan Mills has specialized in wine and food photography for nearly 25 years. His work has appeared in Time , Fortune , Forbes , Wired , the Los Angeles Times , and New York Times . He lives in Northern California.
Robert Holmes' photographs have appeared in National Geographic , Travel & Leisure , Conde Nast Traveler , and in numerous other magazines and books. He lives in Northern California.
Dan Mills has specialized in wine and food photography for nearly 25 years. His work has appeared in Time , Fortune , Forbes , Wired , the Los Angeles Times , and New York Times . He lives in Northern California.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read cookbooks like many people read magazines: cover to cover. The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook offers not only delicious, yet simple, recipes with a suggestion for a wine paring, but also a variety of other tomato topics that range from how to's of saving seeds, drying, and cultivating of favorite heirlooms. Your gardener, chef, and tomato lover will appreciate the beautiful illustrations as well.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Eva Gerald
Format:Paperback
Unlike most of the other reviewers of this book, I actually made some of the recipes. The tomato bisque was thin and bland, tasting mostly of onion and watery cream with just a hint of tomato flavor. I expect that ripe heirloom tomatoes of "any" variety (I used brandywine, pineapple, and black zebras) may be too soggy, and the soup really suffered. The same thing happened when I made the brandywine tomato sauce -- the tomatoes disintegrated into nothing, leaving me with a lot of specks of skin and a watery sauce. It would have been helpful if the recipes had suggested several varieties that would work best, something the author did only a few times.
The crab cakes were okay but would have been quite bland if I hadn't added more seasonings than the prescribed salt and pepper, and it's a good thing I did because the tomato-corn relish that accompanied it was quite unremarkable and would not have made up for the lack of seasoning in the crab cakes and the citrus aioli also didn't add much to the cakes other than a citrus-y bite.
Too many "recipes" merely involve cutting up tomatoes and other fruits/vegetables, seasoning them, and adding a commonplace dressing. Most people could figure that out on their own; why was recipe space wasted on it? And do you really need a cookbook to tell you how to make a BLT just because you're using heirlooms?
There are, however, informative sections on common heirloom varieties and their cultivation along with lots of pretty pictures, so I gave it two stars for that.
The crab cakes were okay but would have been quite bland if I hadn't added more seasonings than the prescribed salt and pepper, and it's a good thing I did because the tomato-corn relish that accompanied it was quite unremarkable and would not have made up for the lack of seasoning in the crab cakes and the citrus aioli also didn't add much to the cakes other than a citrus-y bite.
Too many "recipes" merely involve cutting up tomatoes and other fruits/vegetables, seasoning them, and adding a commonplace dressing. Most people could figure that out on their own; why was recipe space wasted on it? And do you really need a cookbook to tell you how to make a BLT just because you're using heirlooms?
There are, however, informative sections on common heirloom varieties and their cultivation along with lots of pretty pictures, so I gave it two stars for that.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book at Crate and Barrel while on vacation and bought it, since I grow alot of different kinds of tomatoes. I love this book so much that I'm here shopping for it for friends as gifts. What I esp. like is that many of the recipes are good as vegetarian entrees. Also, I like to collect cookbooks on one topic, so it was a good addition to my collection. And I did follow the procedures for saving heirloom seeds. So, I'm all set for next summer's growing season, and I can't wait!
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A. Dixon
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Joyful and lovely color photos, especially the cover! Enticing to say the least and sure makes you want to cook with tomatos, especially heirlooms. Well-written and full of good information. The other bonus is that it pairs wines with tomatos which is not always an easy job -enjoy!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Jane Austin
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic book if you love tomatoes, especially heirloom tomatoes. It has so much information inside of it. Wines to go with them, salads to make out of them, chutneys & how to make preserves, soups, salsas, bruschettas to make out of them the list goes on. They also have a chapter on "growing and cultivating". I've only had one salad out of this book since I just received it and it was delicious. If you're a tomato lover you probably would like this book of recipes too. Enjoy it!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book provides a great introduction to heirloom tomatoes including both growing and eating them. There are beautiful photos throughout the book, and most, but not all, of the recipes feature a photo of the finished dish.
The recipes also include wine pairing suggestions (of a type of wine, such as Chardonnay, not a specific brand of wine and/or vintage) which I thought was a wonderful addition.
The first chapter is an Introduction which includes the growing popularity of heirloom tomatoes, a description of the Heirloom Tomato Festival at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, and an overview of 20 varieties of heirloom tomatoes which includes physical characteristic, flavor and a photo.
The next chapter is on Tomatoes + Wine. It describes the characteristics of Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel as well as the specific heirloom tomatoes for which they each pair best. The author provides a helpful tip: "Simply match the color of the wines to the color of the tomatoes." and goes on to explain that lighter color tomatoes have less acid and more sugar. "White wines match the flavors of light-colored tomatoes, with lower acid balance, while red, pink, and black tomatoes have deeper flavors with more acid to balance their sugars, resulting in richer, bolder tastes."
The third chapter, Cooking with Heirloom Tomatoes, describes how to choose and store tomatoes, tools of the trade, basic techniques (stemming and coring, peeling, slicing, and seeding), basic tomato recipes (Tomato Concasse, Tomato Coulis, Tomato Water, Roasted Tomato Puree, Oven-Dried Tomatoes) and how to freeze your tomato harvest.... Read more ›
The recipes also include wine pairing suggestions (of a type of wine, such as Chardonnay, not a specific brand of wine and/or vintage) which I thought was a wonderful addition.
The first chapter is an Introduction which includes the growing popularity of heirloom tomatoes, a description of the Heirloom Tomato Festival at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, and an overview of 20 varieties of heirloom tomatoes which includes physical characteristic, flavor and a photo.
The next chapter is on Tomatoes + Wine. It describes the characteristics of Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel as well as the specific heirloom tomatoes for which they each pair best. The author provides a helpful tip: "Simply match the color of the wines to the color of the tomatoes." and goes on to explain that lighter color tomatoes have less acid and more sugar. "White wines match the flavors of light-colored tomatoes, with lower acid balance, while red, pink, and black tomatoes have deeper flavors with more acid to balance their sugars, resulting in richer, bolder tastes."
The third chapter, Cooking with Heirloom Tomatoes, describes how to choose and store tomatoes, tools of the trade, basic techniques (stemming and coring, peeling, slicing, and seeding), basic tomato recipes (Tomato Concasse, Tomato Coulis, Tomato Water, Roasted Tomato Puree, Oven-Dried Tomatoes) and how to freeze your tomato harvest.... Read more ›
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Beautiful photographs and good general information about heirloom tomatoes. Those of us who grow tomatoes, heirloom and otherwise, are always looking for interesting, inventive recipes for what is often an overly bountiful harvest. This collection provides both. It's a nice mix of variety-specific and "generic" heirloom dishes. Really helpful info on pairing wine and tomatoes. I particularly liked the section on preserves - who doesn't want a reminder of summer in the middle of February? A must-have for the tomato lover.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent information and recipes
This book is well written , great photos, with a wealth of information with recipes that are delicious.
Published on November 8, 2009 by Waves
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heirloom Tomatoes
We just planted heirloom tomatoes in our garden this year and I wanted a cookbook just for them. The cookbook has so many interesting recipes....I am anxious to try them! Read more
Published on June 7, 2009 by Lydia Riggen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious
I bought this book as I am growing a large varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year. What a treat! Fabulous and delicious recipes are throughout this book and will be fun to... Read more
Published on May 21, 2009 by Jean C. Gardiner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heirloom Tomatoes
This is a wonderful cook book for Heirloom Tomatoes. My husband and I are Heirloom Tomato growers, new this year, and with the large quantities of tomatoes available, these... Read more
Published on August 10, 2007 by Diane R. Sundquist
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