A Cook's Table

This cookbook will not be like most other cookbooks. And when we write this, we're not claiming that we have reinvented the genre, one that has not really changed all that much--other than in presentation--over the centuries. Our book is not organized by the seasons. It is not pegged to certain proteins, the cuisine of a specific country or cooking techniques, be they primal or avant-garde. Instead, we have organized this book around a handful of the most commercially important and recognizable grapes. The recipes in each chapter are conceived so as to complement one of that grape's resultant styles of a finished wine.

This is not the first cookbook to double down on the importance of a dish and a wine complementing each other. However, we think it goes further on the subject without getting bogged down by theory, formulas and rules--and the invariable exceptions to them--in a very commonsense and straightforward way. We have all come a long way from "white with fish" and "red with meat."

Jan has often said that he'll figure out what to cook and how to cook it based upon what he is in the mood to drink and vice versa. That very unfussy, sort of weeknight ethos is present throughout these pages. The recipes aren't designed to elicit oohs and aahs or impress by employing the newest technology or technique--the words sous vide, air fryer and even tweezers will not show up in them. Instead, there are dozens of recipes, some simple, some less so, that hew to traditions that in some cases date back hundreds of years or borne of necessity or by chance. Many others are grounded in Jan's background in professional kitchens, including his own in Miami, Two Chefs.