Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings and Seasonal Menus [Hardcover]

Frank McClelland (Author), Christie Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2008

130 elegant seasonal recipes from acclaimed Boston restaurant, L'Espalier.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McClelland, the owner-chef at the well-regarded Boston restaurant L'Espalier, where he offers special menus with wine pairings each Monday night, aims to help people understand how to match a wine's qualities to a dish's flavors. In this book, he teams up with freelance food writer Matheson to offer an enthusiastic approach to the basic principles of wine pairing, emphasizing that people should drink what they enjoy. The recipes are organized as components of elegant four-course menus, which in turn are arranged seasonally, showcasing how well-chosen wines bring out the changing flavors of fresh vegetables, meats and fish. Each menu begins with wine notes; specific bottles are recommended, but the authors also give the rationale behind their choices, so that people can explore different vineyards. In keeping with L'Espalier's focus, many of the dishes are French accented, from a roasted fruit-topped pain perdu to a poussin pot-au-feu, but there are Spanish and Italian menus as well. Some of the recipes are fairly complicated, but they are broken into less intimidating parts so that any reasonably confident home cook should have no problem tackling the menus. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (September 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558323775
• ISBN-13: 978-1558323773
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,609,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Special Occasion meals, not really everyday. February 15, 2009

By kiwanissandy VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The premise of this book came from the author and L'Espalier's wine director conducting Wine Monday's at their restaurant. They would have a 4 course meal centered around a theme with accompanying wines for each course. So all these recipes are 4 courses with 4 suggested wines. So don't consider this everyday dining, this is special occasion dining.

Also, the author suggests specific wines with specific vintages, they would be impossible to find at your local wine store. It would have been more helpful to have had a generalized suggestion so you can create the same affect in your own home.

The mushroom riscotto was delicious. The suggested wine is Beaumont des Crayeres, Grand Prestige, Champagne...at $50.00 a bottle this is not something I'm serving on a casual dinner at home. This is a special occasion event, anniversary, 50th birthday party, etc. You'd go broke doing this every Monday.

This book would be great if you had a wine tasting club and you had each couple bring the suggested wine and you prepared all the food. They are all 4 course meals so the time required and cost is up there. These are not Monday meals, they're Sunday evening meals.

If you want a book for everyday meals and wines I would suggest Everyday Dining with Wine by Andrea Immer. Wine Monday's is excellent for the special occasion meals when you want to impress your guests. This is in the same category as Wine Food & Friends, top dollar meals with top dollar wines.

This book has few pictures, the print is light green on white paper so it's really hard to read. Some of the recipes are Grilled Quail, Civet of Rabbit with Chanterelles and Spaetzle, Truffled Leek Mousse with Cepe Vinaigrette, Roasted Peppered Venison with Red Currant-Zinfandel Sauce and Celery Root and Parsnips, Blueberries with Mascarpone Sabayon, and the list goes on. I hope this helps you decide.

5.0 out of 5 stars great for those who like to entertain by cooking for friends at home December 9, 2011

By Seattle Economist

Format:Hardcover

I pulled this book off a public library shelf as a "random grab" and am now buying my own copy because I know I will come back to it again as a resource for hosting meals at home. The recipies are very accessible, with a level of difficulty nicely placed between ordinary home cooking and restaurant cooking extremes. The recipes use sophisticated flavors and vegetables, without calling for ingredients so unusual that they require a trip to a speciality store. The book lays out several seasonal four course meals for six, with each course paired with a specific wine. The wine sugggestions are very helpful - and even though the particular wine suggestions will go out of date, they provide guidance in selecting a type of wine to accompany each course. Overall, a find. And despite living on the West coast, makes me want to visit the author's restaurant in Boston one day.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An elegant, practical, 'user friendly' addition to any family or community library cookbook collection November 8, 2008

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

A good wine can make a meal. Conversely, an inappropriate wine can detract from one. That's why "Winde Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings With Seasonal Menus" is so important for any menu planning from ordinary family meals to special celebratory dinners. With the assistance of food writer Christie Matheson, the award-winning proprietor of L'Espalier and Sel de La Terre restaurants, Frank McClelland showcases sixteen of his favorite menus (one for each of the four seasons of the year) with recommended wine pairings for each dish. "Wine Mondays) is enhanced with wine pairing notes, helpful tips and information about wine varieties and regions, and advice for shopping at local markets using fresh, in-season ingredients for best result. "Wine Mondays" is an elegant, practical, 'user friendly' addition to any family or community library cookbook collection.