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Cooking with Booze

You’ve gotta love a book with a title like that! We are told that drinking isn’t good for us so Cooking with Booze presents us with a delightful solution to that guilt-ridden dilemma. Don’t drink (so much), just eat!

Ryan Jennings and David Steele are witty and they know their stuff. Ryan is a food writer and restaurant critic and David is a food writer. The sumptuous photography by Geoffrey Ross makes these dishes look good enough to eat...or drink.

Delicious Recipes Using Beer, Wine and Spirits: that’s what it says and it isn’t a lie. This has got to be more comprehensive than any book on the subject that I have hitherto seen. We can all think of a short list of the usual suspects like Tiramisu, Boeuf Bourguignon and Crepes Suzette. They are all here along with all the other classic booze-laden standards, but there are pages and pages of tempting recipes that will probably be new to you.

The chapters take us from Brunch to Dessert and the dishes are surprising, exotic, romantic, and mouth-watering but all are full of innovation. Each recipe has a little foreword which is well worth reading: ‘Nothing says “home sweet home” like bickering siblings and apple Cinnamon muffins. If these don’t bring some peace to the family, just pass around the bottle.’ It’s almost poetic!

Oh, but take a look at the recipes! Cranberry-Cointreau Scones, Apple Beignets with Calvados Cream, Yum! But there’s more than just sweet treats. Cuba Libre Back Ribs laced with a nice little belt of dark rum. Braised Lamb Shanks with Sherry-Poached Figs. Mustard-Glazed Brats with Caramelized Onions probably sounds alarming to my British readers. Brats are not small unruly children (well, yes they are but not in this case), they are a type of sausage.

That’s not the end of the alcoholic marvels. Each recipe has a suggested cocktail, wine or beer so you can have some more booze with your booze! Vodka Salmon Nests has an Absolut Mojito. Cranberry and Almond Irish Whiskey Cake is paired with Black Velvet, a real retro taste of Champagne and Guinness.

Cooking with Booze is full of smart and inspiring recipes and cocktails as well solid advice about beer and wine. It’s informative but it’s a lot of fun as well.

Cooking with Booze
Authors: Ryan Jennings and David Steele
Published by: Apple Press
Price: £14.99
ISBN 978-1-84543-222-5