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From one of today's fastest-rising food television stars, this cookbook is the ultimate guide to "real food for real people." With simple, great-tasting recipes all served up with a dash of humor, Sam the Cooking Guy : Just a Bunch of Recipes (Wiley; Paperback; April, 2008; $18.95) will make cooking fun and easy for everyone from kitchen pros to complete beginners.

On his popular cooking show Sam the Cooking Guy, Sam Zien proves that it is possible to make great recipes at home that are "big in taste and small in effort." Sam is not a chef -- he's just a regular guy who cooks in his home with his family, his dogs, and his neighbors around, just like the rest of us. His refreshing approach to cooking uses basic ingredients, equipment, and techniques that the average home cook can actually understand -- no foie gras, truffle oil, or "Peruvian mountain-raised squab in sesame-lime-soy-marinade" here. Even the most kitchen-phobic home cook will be able to understand and make these recipes at home, with all instructions given in plain English, not "chef-speak."

“I want to eat well, but I don’t want it to take a year,” explains Zien. It doesn’t have to, with any of his 125+ recipes, which take simple supermarket ingredients, apply a few basic steps, and turn out delicious dishes. In chapters like I Love Brunch, Just Chicken, Outside Food and Don’t Be Mean to Vegetables, Zien provides wacky-named recipes for things like Day-After Stuffing Omelet, Fridge-Fried Rice and Painless Risotto, about which he writes: “My recipe is not traditional, but it’s also not a pain. And it still comes out wonderful.”

We all have to eat, but making meals shouldn’t take up all our spare time, so SAM THE COOKING GUY shows how to make scrumptious food fast. The book is also filled with smart tips that make cooking more fun, such as:
* Try new foods at least once
* Measuring is a waste of time
* Play the “I don’t have that ingredient game” (and force yourself to find a creative substitute)

Zien started cooking after leaving his biotechnology job, and he earned legions of fans, (and 8 Emmy’s) with his San Diego cooking show Sam the Cooking Guy. His new show Just Cook This is currently airing on the Discovery Health Channel, where he’s winning over many more people who thought they couldn’t cook until he showed them how. The inspiring advice in his new book will entice lots more oven-averse people into the kitchen. Using the unlikeliest ingredients to create really tasty treats—Doughnutmisu, anyone?—Zien will win your readers or viewers over too.

Sam will be featured on NBC Today Show, April 1 and in NYC April 1 and 2, and available for media. He will also be available for print and radio interviews nationwide.

More than ever, Americans are seeking ways to avoid weight gain and its associated health problems—but they still want to eat out and enjoy it! To cater to today’s increasingly health-conscious consumers, successful chefs, restaurateurs, and other foodservice professionals must rise to the challenge of providing nutritious, well-balanced food that is still great-tasting and indulgent enough to leave diners feeling satisfied. In its newly updated guide to healthy cooking, The Culinary Institute of America provides professional chefs with all the tools they will need to create menus and recipes that are high in nutritional value and in flavor.

TECHNIQUES OF HEALTHY COOKING (Wiley & Sones; January 2008) includes more than 400 enticing recipes divided into chapters like Soup, Salads, and Appetizers; Main Dishes for Lunches and Dinners; Side Dishes; and Breakfast and Beverages. They include:

* Warm Salad of Hearty Greens, Blood Oranges, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
* Corn Velvet Soup with Crabmeat
* Carrot Consommé with Lemongrass, Ginger, Spicy Asian Grilled Shrimp, and Bean Threads
* Tenderloin of Beef with Blue Cheese and Herb Crust
* Poached Cornish Game Hen with Star Anise
* Apple-Cheddar Pizza
* Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Glaze
* Pecan Carrots
* Celeriac and Potato Purée

And no food bible, even a healthy food bible, would be complete without a chapter on Baked Goods and Desserts, which are just as scrumptious as their bad-for-you counterparts. Recipes like Chocolate-Ricotta Bavarian, Honey-Vanilla Cheesecake, Poached Pears, and Lemon Tart are allmade with whole-grain flours, fruit juices to replace traditional sugars, and other healthy ingredients, proving that when it comes to healthy eating, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. And lest one should doubt the healthfulness of these delicious dishes, the book includes nutritional information for every recipe, including the amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and cholesterol.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelor's and associate degree programs in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. A network of more than 37,000 alumni in foodservice and hospitality has helped the CIA earn its reputation as the world's premier culinary college. Courses for foodservice professionals are offered at the college's main campus in Hyde Park, NY and at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, CA. Greystone also offers baking and pastry arts, accelerated culinary arts, and wine certifications.

About the CIA: Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelor’s and associate degrees, as well as certificate programs, in culinary arts or baking and pastry arts. A network of more than 37,000 alumni in foodservice and hospitality has helped the CIA earn its reputation as the world’s premier culinary college. Visit the CIA online at www.ciachef.edu.

A representative from the CIA will be available for interviews.

They’re back!!! Sheila & Marilynn Brass and their James Beard and IACP nominated book Heirloom Baking, have a lot more to say! The sistersMarilynn and Sheila Brass launched a whole new category with their “heirloom” recipes. Now the acclaimed authors turn their culinary skills and interest in the past to the rest of the menu with HEIRLOOM COOKING(Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Hardcover; October 2008) presenting delicious, savory, and timeless heirloom recipes for main dishes, side dishes, appetizers—more desserts—and more, collected over decades and updated for the modern kitchen

A little about the books and the ladies;

Marilynn and Sheila Brass have spent a lifetime collecting handwritten recipe books, known as “Manuscript Cookbooks” and loose handwritten recipes known as “Living Recipes.” Heirloom Cooking collects 130 of the very best of these recipes, which together represent nearly 100 years of America’s most loved and most delicious meals. All of them have been skillfully updated.
The recipes come from all over the country and Canada. The oldest date back to the late 1800s, but every decade and a wide variety of ethnicities is captured here.
The book is divided into sections including Starters; Salads; Vegetables; Breads; Main Dishes: Lamb, Beef, Veal, Pork, Fish, Chicken and Turkey, Vegetarian; and Dessert.
As they did in Heirloom Baking, the Brass Sisters provide valuable ancillary material such as how to prepare and use certain ingredients. Wherever possible, substitute ingredients are provided within each recipe, including for example, ways to make non-kosher recipes kosher. Vegetarian recipes are also included.

About The Authors

Marilynn Brass and Sheila Brass are home cooks with more than ninety-five years of cooking experience between them. They have made appearances on Antiques Roadshow FYI as culinary antiques experts. Marilynn is a former employee of WGBH/Boston, in The Old House/Yankee Worship/Victory Gardenproduction unit. Sheila Brass is a former designer of children’s clothing and is currently employed in the public television division of WGBH/Boston. Together they are principals in their company Shelmar Antiques. They live in Cambridge, Mass.

Fan’s can’t get enough of the ladies. And some of their die-hard fans in Boston can also see them on television The Brass Sisters: Queens of Comfort Food (WGBH, Pilot). They will be touring this fall in cities TBD, and available for radio and print interviews nationwide.

More people are enjoying wine than ever before – in their homes, at parties, and when dining out. According to Wine Spectator, worldwide wine consumption has increased each year since 2002, and is expected to increase by 30 million cases by 2010. That’s a lot of grapes! As further proof of its growing popularity, for the first time in history, wine surpassed beer and spirits as the alcoholic beverage of choice for Americans who drink.

Thirsty for more information? Look no further than WineWise (Wiley Hardcover; September 22, 2008; $29.95) by Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith, and Michael A. Weiss, professors of wine studies at The Culinary Institute of America. With more than 17 years experience, this team of experts gives a thorough introduction to the different styles, flavors, and costs associated with wine varietals. Ten chapters representing major wine-making regions provide comprehensive information about appellations, top producers, native grapes, and understanding labels. Along the way, they offer insight into the winemaking process as well as insider tips on pairing wine with food. Novices and oenophiles alike will take away a heightened understanding of wine and will feel confident identifying flavors and selecting the best bottle from restaurant wine lists.

WINE WISE covers great wines at all price points, and includes a chapter on “Bargains” that highlights the greatest inexpensive wines from around the world. Each author weighs in with their top picks, representing every category of wine. With more than 500 good to great quality bottles to choose from, consumers are sure to find a wine that fits their price range.

The “Living with Wine” section includes even more ways to enjoy a WineWise way-of-life:

Hosting an At-Home Wine Tasting – step-by-step guidance on selecting wine and glassware, creating a tasting sheet, and other considerations to guarantee success.
Warm Weather Wines – best bets for the summer season like New Zealand “fruit salad in a glass” Sauvignon Blanc enjoyed with grilled salmon, or a lighter red like Beaujolais-Villages paired with a steak hot off the grill.
Off the Beaten Path – wine recommendations the authors truly love and think you will too!
Wine List Values – using a per-bottle price range, choose consistently outstanding wines like Alsace Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris, or Spanish Reds from Montsant, Toro, and Jumilla to name a few.

With color photographs and maps throughout, WineWise will make exploring wine a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I hope you will recommend this comprehensive guide to your readers.

The authors will be available for interviews nationwide this Fall.

Frozen desserts are an essential part of every pastry chef’s repertoire, but until now, there has been no comprehensive guide to creating them. FROZEN DESSERTS (Wiley Hardcover; September 8, 2008; $60.00); indispensable resource from The Culinary institute of America and former French Laundry Executive Pastry Chef Francisco Migoya fills that gap, offering detailed instructions
for producing all types of frozen desserts, from ice creams, sorbets, and gelato to granités, mousses, bombes, and
semifreddi. It covers both modern and traditional techniques, offers in-depth guidance on perfecting dessert production and
troubleshooting problems, and provides nearly 200 stellar recipes for frozen dessert bases as well as plated desserts and savory items. Throughout, 125 striking fullcolor photographs illustrate techniques and finished desserts.

About the Author: Francisco J. Migoya (Hyde Park, NY) is currently an Assistant Professor of Café Operations at The Culinary Institute of America. Trained in France and at the CIA’s Mexico City program, he served as Executive Pastry Chef at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry as well as Bouchon Bakery and Bouchon Bistro. He has also worked as a pastry chef at New York City’s Veritas and The River Café.

Francisco J. Migoya will be available for interviews.

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