Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus (Hardcover)

by Frank McClelland (Author), Christie Matheson (Author)
Key Phrases: mascarpone cream, candied chestnuts, grilled ramps, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc (more...)

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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Review
A simple, straightforward guide to food and wine pairing. Filled with delicious recipes and the appropriate wines to match, this is a must-have guide for both experts and novices in the field of food and wine pairing. Kudos to Chef McClelland and his team for a job well done! --Ralph Hersom, wine director for Wine That Loves, former wine director of Le Cirque 2000

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...any reasonably confident home cook should have no problem tackling the menus. --Publishers Weekly

Truly delightful! Wine Mondays, with its refreshingly simplified approach to food and wine pairing, is a fantastic opportunity for enthusiasts to explore at home what so many have enjoyed at L'Espalier. This book is perfect for the home cook who loves to entertain! --Chef Charlie Trotter

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (September 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558323775
• ISBN-13: 978-1558323773
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #720,964 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	kiwanissandy "Go Bucks!" (Heart of Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

1 of 4 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 (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

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.