A Passion for Cheese: More Than 130 Innovative Ways To Cook With Cheese - Hardcover

Gayler, Paul

3.5

10 ratings by Goodreads

9780312192044: A Passion for Cheese: More Than 130 Innovative Ways To Cook With Cheese

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312192045 ISBN 13: 9780312192044

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1998

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Shortlisted for the prestigious Andr� Simon Award-- a collection every cheese lover will cherish.

A Passion for Cheese is a celebration of a wondrously versatile, varied ingredient and an exploration of the ways in which cheese can be combined to create unashamedly modern, sublime dishes.

Highly knowledgeable about cheese, Paul Gayler has put the distinctive qualities of each cheese first, before marrying-- or juxtaposing-- it with other ingredients. The saltiness of Cashel Blue, for example, contrasts wickedly with the sweet syrup of pecan pie, while smoked mozzarella melds beautifully with the wood-charred taste of blackened leeks and red onions to make a supreme salad. From soups to pasta, meat and fish to vegetable dishes, sauces to desserts, these recipes simply ooze temptation.

With an increasingly wide selection of international cheese available in delicatessens and supermarkets, A Passion for Cheese uses popular and less common cheeses, but always offers alternatives where appropriate. It will seduce you into learning more about the character of different cheeses, and courage you to experiment with novel suggestions for an alternative cheeseboard.

With daring, stylish photographs by Gus Filgate, this book demonstrates a chef's creative insight and reveals that this ancient food is forever adaptable to exciting contemporary uses.

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Review:

Chef Paul Gayler's A Passion for Cheese, shortlisted for England's distinguished Andre Simon award, contains dishes so elaborate and photos so vivid that this book qualifies as prime food porn. Certainly, while most dishes look and sound so mouthwatering that one would happily order them off a restaurant menu, making them requires the dedication of a chef or serious cook. For Parmesan-crusted Sea Bass with Thyme-Grilled Vegetables, the veggies must be prepared a day ahead, the fish coated with a complex cheese mixture and pan cooked, the vegetables reheated, a vinaigrette prepared, and the finished dish lovingly assembled. Still, the rewards are high in taste and artistic impression.

By contrast, Chef Gayler's text, particularly his eight-page introduction, explains the basics of cheese making, buying, and storage in simple, articulate terms. His notes before and after each recipe prove he is a natural teacher as well as a talented creator--and, lest you be tempted to give up now, there are recipes suitable for daring but less ambitious cooks. The Canellini Bean Soup with Fontina Gremolata; a tiramisu that's unusual in that it's frozen; and Zucchini and Cheddar Clafoutis with Rosemary (which resembles a crustless quiche or tart), are delicious, but far less complex to put together. This book is a cheese-lovers dream. --Dana Jacobi

About the Author:

Paul Gayler has worked in some of the most respected restaurants in London, including a period as Anton Mosimann's Deputy at the Dorchester and as Head Chef at the fashionable Inigo Jones restaurant. He has made himself a name as a pioneer of "Vegetarian Haute Cuisine." Within two years of The Lanesborough opening, the hotel was given the AA's most prestigious award for cuisine and became the highest rated five-star hotel for cuisine in the UK-- a tribute to Paul Gayler's ability as its Executive Chef. He is a member of the Guilde de Fromagers and is the author of several books, including Virtually Vegetarian, which, like this book, was shortlisted for the Andr� Simon award.

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