Charlie Trotter's Meat and Game (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Michael Voltattorni (Author), Tim Turner (Author), Belinda Chang (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Charlie Trotter's eponymous Chicago restaurant is one of America's finest. Awarded Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 1999, Trotter has also published a number of cookbooks celebrating his unique cuisine. Charlie Trotter's Meat & Game, a welcome addition to his professional cooking series, follows the approach of the previous books: glamorously oversized and beautifully illustrated with color photos, it presents recipes--100 plus, in this case--that showcase Trotter's remarkable cooking. Most readers will want the book for armchair fantasizing rather than cooking from; the recipes almost uniformly require hard-to-find or costly ingredients (sometimes both) and painstaking preparations. But Meat & Game presents Trotter at his most imaginative; anyone interested in refined and magnificently conceived American cooking will treasure the book.

In chapters devoted to game in all its manifestations--from antelope, boar, and grouse, to hare, partridge, and quail (and including also lamb, pig, rabbit, and duck, among others)--Trotter offers his glorious specialties. These include Sweet-and-Sour Braised Lettuce Soup with Foie Gras and Radishes; Steamed Pheasant Breast with Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, and Alba White Truffles; and Roasted Scottish Hare Loin with Green Garlic, Braised Tiny White Leeks, and Caper-Cornichon Egg White Vinaigrette. Trotter offers suggestions for substitutions (Venison with Mole and Cashew Vinaigrette can be made with beef, chicken, pork, or, interestingly, lobster) which, improved practicality aside, offer an expended sense of dish-creation Trotter-style. With wine notes, a section on "basic" preparations such as Shellfish Oil and Dried Pickle Chips, and a glossary, the book revels in a great chef's food dreams, which all can, in imagination at least, share. --Arthur Boehm

Product Description

After nearly two decades of practicing his art, Charlie Trotter has established himself as one of the true visionaries of modern American cuisine. In the past two years alone, Trotter has received the Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurant awards from the James Beard Foundation, and his Chicago restaurant was named best in the world by the Wine Spectator. His first cookbook, published in 1994, broke new ground with its stunning food photography, exquisitely wrought recipes, and deluxe format. With nine books and an award-winning PBS cooking show to his credit, Trotter hasn’t looked back. CHARLIE TROTTER’S MEAT & GAME finds the chef in top form and, like the wines from his restaurant’s renowned cellar, perfectly paired with the feast at hand. Exotic meats like pheasant, duck, wild boar, and venison take their place alongside ever-versatile lamb, pork, and chicken; and such robust fare proves to be the ultimate platform for Trotter’s synthesis of French technique, Asian minimalism, and improvisational verve. Start off with a classic refigured—French Onion Soup with Shredded Pork, Goat Cheese Brie, and Sourdough Croutons—and then segue to a study in color, texture, and aroma with the Smoked Squab with Israeli Couscous–Stuffed Tinker Bell Peppers and Chocolate Vinaigrette. Introduce pleasant hits of spice with a Cumin-Corriander-Scented Lamb Tenderloin, tempered by the cool, tangy finish of a Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce; and for those for whom one way, even two, is never enough, the Foie Gras Five Ways awaits. Whether you put this book to work in the kitchen or admire it with your feet up, just don’t take your eyes off Trotter—you may miss where American cuisine will be tomorrow.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (September 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580082386
• ISBN-13: 978-1580082389
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #17 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Game
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• This item is part of The Charlie Trotter Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carnivore celebration, November 9, 2001

By	Flipper Campbell (Miami Florida) - See all my reviews

Chef Trotter and photographer Tim Turner have plated another winner in their fine series for serious home cooks. This, to me, is the most practical of Trotter's works since the classic first book. The format will be familiar to fans: detailed recipe on the left, beautiful and helpful full-page color photo on the right. Some recipes are fairly simple (as far as it goes with Trotter), some are moderately difficult and some, of course, are ridiculously complex. But as always he urges users to vamp and adapt, and that is good advice since Trotter tends to cook in layers that can often stand alone. Two notes: There are more minor errors in the text than I have ever spotted in this series. And the artistic shots of animals that begin the chapters might be a bit unsettling for some, given that the beasts' cousins are on the plate in the pages to follow. I would recommend the first book or the much simpler Kitchen Sessions for those looking to see what the fuss is about. But for those who know what they're getting into, this cookbook is a cause for celebration.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 9, 2004

By A Customer

If you live in Chicago and love to cook... this is an amazing book. A lot of the ingredients may seem hard to find but it seems that Treasure Island has all of the items.....

Even if you don't follow the exact recipes you will be inspired....

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meat & Game Extravaganza!, August 16, 2002

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

More of Trotter's high output of creative, skilled dishes with exotic ingredients, sauces and minimalist-Asian accent. Continues the 10-Speed Press tradition of well done cookbooks, with superior photos, text and in Trotter's case, two photographers scenic photos lining the pages.

These recipes are certainly difficult if not impossible for the average home chef, or even the sophisticated amateur gourmet as well. The ingredients are exotic and difficult to obtain (no source help is provided at all) and the techniques and difficulty of steps for each entree are staggering.

Not to despair however, for the interested gourmet. As Trotter himself suggests: "think of the recipes as interpretations found to be particularly pleasing. Look at these pages for inspiration and fresh ideas, then make the dishes your own, either by substitutions we have offered or through the endless possibilities evoked by the foodstuffs themselves." Further, nearly all recipes include suggested substitutes, e.g. for the Asian=Glazed Wild Boar Chop he suggests pork, lamb or chicken.

Especially attractive to this reviewer is the enormous collection of game: from grouse to partidge to quail to antelope, buffalo, venison, et al. Excitement from such as: "Roasted Chestnut Soup with Foie Gras, Cipolline Onions and Ginger," "Grilled Pheasant Breast with Wild Strawberries, Pistachios, and Apricot-Curry Sauce," Smoked Squab Breast with Israeli Couscous-Stuffed Tinker Bell Peppeers,Ennis Hazelnuts, and Savory Chocolate Vinagerette," "Asian Glazed Wild Boar Chop with Kimchi, Burgundy Carrots, and Their Puree."

True to his inspiration of fusion, he combines Western European technique without sauce, and in their place consistently and creatively replaces with Vinaigrette or Emulsion.

Suggest interested also check out Mark Miller's "Red Sage," Trotter's "CT Cooks at Home," and "How To Cook Meat" by Schlesinger.