Jeremiah Tower Cooks: 250 Recipes from an American Master (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As founding chef at California's famed Chez Panisse, chef at San Francisco's Stars, and author of the award-winning New American Classics, Jeremiah Tower is a forefather of New American cooking. His culinary signature is pristinely flavored food made with the freshest seasonal ingredients. Jeremiah Tower Cooks presents 250 recipes for dishes like Chilled Mushroom Soup with Spiced Crab, Ricotta Dumplings with Fava Beans and Savory, and Spiced Duck Sichuan Style. Though dishes like these can demand a shopping and cooking commitment, there's nothing difficult about putting them together. For cooks interested in simple yet refined cooking that veers to the deluxe (Tower's favorite hamburger is made with truffles), this cookbook is a must.

Organized by courses and food categories, the book begins, provocatively, with "Delights and Prejudices," a compendium of often-wry observations. (Tower favors using a microwave, for example, but only for reheating food--"[so used] it changes the food less than any other method," he says--but is against the pervasive roasted garlic purée, which he finds "indigestible.") Tower is also a culinary reader and dishes like English Autumn Salad (adapted from Robert May's 1685 Accomplisht Cook) and The Anchovy Toasts of Austin de Croze (from his 1931 What to Eat and Drink in Paris), among others, reflect that pursuit. A selection of mostly simple, mostly fruit desserts includes New Summer Pudding, "Burnt" Passion Fruit Curd, and Black Bottom Pie, which Tower says "needs no comment. Or rather, I can't think of any that would do justice to this perfect pie." With many more opinions, and illustrative paintings that are a welcome change from the usual food photography, the book will fill many hours with good reading as well as superior cooking. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Like a culinary Zelig, Tower seems to have popped up during key moments in modern food history. He was chef at Chez Panisse in the 1970s and is often credited with inventing "California cuisine." This Renaissance man of the culinary world (he's also the author of New American Classics and a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner) has an opinion on everything, from frying eggs to aging game birds. An initial chapter of basic instructions is appropriately titled "Delights and Prejudices." Tower is admirably specific, even when it comes to something as simple as a Chicken Club Sandwich, yet not afraid to suggest shortcuts, as in Spit-Roasted Chinatown Suckling Pig Pizza, where he tells the reader simply to purchase the pre-cooked pig. Occasionally recipes veer into fussiness, as with Rich Mussel Bisque with Shrimpmeat Garlic Toasts and Nasturtiums, and Tower is not immune to the author-chef curse of calling for highly specific ingredients that mere culinary mortals may have trouble laying their hands on, as in Figs with Wild Thyme Honey in Red Wine and Lapsang Souchong Custard. On balance, however, exciting, innovative recipes such as Leatherwood Honey- and Sichuan Pepper-Glazed Rack of Lamb with Eggplant Pasta and Green Goddess Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce dominate. Donald Sultan's vivid still-life paintings are a perfect match to Tower's lively style, and if sometimes recipes get out of hand, well, that's to be expected from this kind of creative mind. (Oct.)Forecast: It has been 16 long years since Tower's New American Classics won a James Beard Award, but he returns with a bang here. Exceptionally attractive art, including an eye-catching cover, is sure to promote sales.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang; First Edition edition (October 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584792302
• ISBN-13: 978-1584792307
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #756,377 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well titled, March 22, 2003

By	Peter Kaminsky (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

there are good chefs and good writers. rarely are the two combined in one person. jeremiah towers' recipes are accessible and have the personal touch that distinguishes a culinary artist. the writing has the charm and self awareness of one who knows that food is to be enjoyed, in the preparing, the eating, and the combination of daydreaming and appetite that gives birth to new recipes.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Jerimiah Fallen Towers, December 13, 2002

By	David Herrera (CA United States) - See all my reviews

Sorry. Having collected over 500 cookbooks, and reading them from cover to cover, I think that this book has failed. Mr Tower in his first book had several recipes that became instant "in-house-make-and-shine" dishes that were not only incredible, but simple, taste knock-outs and interesting. This book, in my opinion, has eliminated the very people that are buying this book: the home cook. There is a great interest in many diverse ingredients that we can cook with. But the items we have in our pantry or available at most markets seem to be very elusive in this book. I love/loved Mr. Towers first book; it is one of my top five of all time, but, this book is inflated and overdone, with very little interest to me.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Best, January 9, 2004

By A Customer

I have many cookbooks which are award-winners and this one beats them all by a mile. One can almost be moved by his genius and versatility with food when eating these dishes.