Here are a few favorites from the crews at our restaurants:

Cooks' Ingredients
by Philip Dowell & Adrian Bailey "This book is a constant source of knowledge of both familiar and unfamiliar ingredients. It is full of identifying photographs and immense variety - a lovely reference book. Anyone who has an appreciation of food, particularly unique, rare and worldly ingredients, should have this text" ... Ingrid Berger, Dahlia Sous Chef

Mediterranean Cooking
by Paula Wolfert
"Easy to follow and adventuresome with a wide variety of foods. The moussaka recipe is my favorite" ... Pam Leydon, General Manager Dahlia Lounge & Palace Kitchen

The Book of Jewish Food
by Claudia Roden
"Because Claudia Roden is a Sephardic Jew born in Cairo, this scholarly, beautifully written history of the Jewish people has a special emphasis on Sephardic (Mediterranean, North African, Arabic and Asian) cuisine. As a child of Ashkenazi Jews, I grew up familiar with the foods of the East European Jewish ghettoes: chopped liver made with schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) beet borscht with sour cream, and potato latkes, to name a few. So it really fascinated me to think about Jews in faraway lands dining on eggplant pickles, pigeons stuffed with dried fruits, honey and saffron, and flaky pastries drenched in rose water. This book is packed with over 800 delicious recipes." ... Shelley Lance, Executive Pastry Chef

The City Café
by Mary Sue Millikin & Susan Feniger
"These two cooks have both traveled extensively in India. The City Café cookbook features simple recipes, unique spices, and different cuts of meat to the ones usually found in cookbooks." ... Dale Johnson, Dahlia Lounge Ass't Manager

The Classic Italian Cookbook
by Marcella Hazan
"Straightforward, delicious stuff! Amazing lasagna and tortellini recipes" ... Gigi Steinbock, Etta's Seafood Server

Charlie Trotter's Vegetables
by Charlie Trotter
"The recipes are a little labor intensive but they use unusual veggies, and the book has beautiful photos." ... Duskie Estes, Sous Chef

Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook
by Alice Waters
"This was the right book at the right time for me. It was a validation of the food that I was trying to cook when I was starting out as a chef" ...Tom Douglas

China Moon Cookbook
by Barbara Tropp
"Because the recipes require some advance preparation, this book can be a little maddening, but the terrific food makes it worth the effort." ... Steven Steinbock, Operations Manager

How To Bake
by Nick Malgieri
"The recipes actually work." ...Anna Morrow, Pastry Baker

Classic Home Desserts
by Richard Sax
"Fun recipes and interesting history of desserts. The gingerbread with lemon sauce is my favorite!" ...Richmond Tracy, Pastry Baker

The Table Beckons
by Alain Senderens
"A great book by this Michelin 3-star chef; observations on food and wine pairing and personal cooking philosophy. Less about technique and recipes (although there are many terrific recipes) and more about food and wine and their connection to a quality life." ... Johnathan Sundstrom, Dahlia Lounge Chef

Food of Italy
by Giuliano Bugialli
"Each time you open this book, you get a quick trip to Italy. " ... Kristina Ryan, Etta's Bartender

Sauces; Classical & Contemporary
by James Peterson
"Best reference book available for stock and sauce production. Concise technical information - not too classically bent. Solid on classic technique by very contemporary use of ingredients and less heavy preparations." ... Holly Smith, Dahlia Sous Chef

A Treasury of Great Recipes
by Mary & Vincent Price
" "Great Recipes" was printed in the '50's and contains the full menus from the Price's favorite restaurants around the world. I like that this is a "period piece", giving you a feeling for another era and many different styles of restaurants." ... Eric Tanaka, Exec. Chef

Soul & Spice
by Heidi Haughy Cusick
"This book describes root beginnings of American cooking and is an interesting history of how the African slave trade influenced American cooking . Everything from cous cous to cornbread - the recipes range from the Carribean to North African and the Deep South. " ... Chris Fitzgibbon, Sous Chef

Patina Cookbook
by Joachim Spichal
"Whimsical without losing the focus on great flavors. Fun, but still a serious cook book. Recipes are well-rooted in classic cooking; not a jumble of ethnicities or extra ingredients." ... Matt Costello, Palace Chef

And Some Other Gift Ideas!
From now until Christmas, when you purchase a gift card (of a minimum value of $25) from our restaurants, they will come accompanied by a little bag of handmade peanut brittle made by our Palace Kitchen bakers.

We still have Christmas Puddings for sale. They are a delicious traditional finish to your holiday meal and will serve from 10-12 people. Wrapped in a festive gift package, they also make a wonderful gift. We can ship - please call us at (206) 448-2001.