The Wine Lover’s Cookbook by Sid Goldstein The Wine Lover's Cookbook demystifies the art of pairing wines with food and offers 100 mouthwatering recipes designed to bring out the best in any bottle. Whether you're a dedicated oenophile or a beginning wine enthusiast, author Sid Goldstein will lead you on a fascinating trip through the flavor profiles of the most popular varieties and tantalize you with great dishes to accompany them—grilled sea bass with mango— roasted red pepper relish; duck breasts with honey, ginger, and lavender; chicken cacciatore with Kalamata olives and fennel; and many more. You'll find tips for successful food and wine pairing and discover why the classic matches work. From Syrah to Sangiovese, Pinot Noir to Pinot Grigio, The Wine Lover's Cookbook is an indispensable guide to increasing your enjoyment of both food and wine. Qty: @ $22.95

Cowgirl Cuisine: Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl Adventures from a Texas Ranch by Paula Disbrowe Disenchanted by her hectic New York City lifestyle, Disbrowe, a former travel writer, packed her bags and moved to Texas Hill Country to become the chef at Hart & Hind Ranch. The dishes she created there combine her love for Mediterranean food with fresh local ingredients and cooking traditions from south-central Texas, with recipes such as Texas Tofu Scramble, and Eggs over Polenta with Serrano-Spiked Tomato Sauce. Also included in the Ranch Breakfast section are more traditional recipes like Blackberry Blue Corn Muffins and Banana Bread. Other sections included are "Charming Sandwiches and a Belt-Busting Burger," which feature Smoked Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Cream, and a Venison Burger. In the chapter "Ring the Dinner Bell" are fun, and simple dishes like Halibut with Salsa Verde and Cowgirl Steaks with Pink Peppercorns and Red Onion Marmalade. Throughout, Disbrowe shares various tales from life on the ranch (from raising baby chicks to living with a pet goat). Disbrowe's goal, she explains in her intro, was to write a cookbook "about fresh, satisfying food that is easy enough to prepare while living life to the fullest." In this she has succeeded. (Mar.) From Publishers Weekly. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Qty: @ $29.95

Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt by Marlena Spieler and Sheri Giblin Toasted golden in a pan or browned to melty perfection under the broiler, grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort food -- and a meal in itself. And believe it or not, it just got better. Author Marlena Spieler has created 50 mouthwatering new takes on this fromagophile's favorite. Her tantalizing pairings range from hearty Sage Sausage and Jack Cheese with Preserved Lemon to Melted Alpenzell, Emmentaler, Pear, and Cumin. There are also plenty of new twists on the tried and true, such as Smoky Bacon and Cheddar with Chipotle Relish or Fresh Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and Fig Jam. Oozing with cheese suggestions, an array of quick-to-make mustards, and tips on choosing the perfect bread for each sandwich, this cookbook will make anyone stand up and say "cheese!" Qty: @ $16.95

Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover by Diane Phillips Convinced that pot pies are the quintessential comfort food, Phillips (The Perfect Mix) has collected 85 recipes that take a new look at an old favorite. While she praises the kind of cooking most baby boomers grew up with, her sophisticated dishes have nothing in common with the frozen pot pies of yesteryear and rely on ingredients from many regional and international cuisines. Phillips offers an abundance of the kind of satisfaction that comes from good eating; however, many of the recipes here are missing the crucial pot-pie ingredient--pie crust. There are biscuits, probably the most traditional option, as well as mashed potatoes, borrowed from the humble shepherd's pie. There are roasted vegetable toppings, cheese and breadcrumbs, mashed beans, tortillas, crispy fried noodles, the ubiquitous polenta and even foccacia. New takes on American regional favorites--from Lobster Pie, which is bathed in a sherry bisque and topped with buttery breadcrumbs, to a Southwestern-inspired chicken pot pie with a tortilla and corn crust--are included, along with French, Mediterranean and Asian selections. It's hard to resist Beef Burgundy with Boursin Potato Cake Crust, Down East Clam Pie with Bacon Biscuit Crust or Snapper Veracruz with Jalape?o Jack Cheese Crust. Phillips offers a flexible outlook and suggests many ways to use leftovers. (Jan.) From Publishers Weekly. Copyright © 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Qty: @ $18.95

Maverick’s: The Story of Big-Wave Surfing by Matt Warshaw "A voodoo wave." "The Everest of the ocean." What surfer in his right mind would choose to surf Maverick's with its 50-degree murky water, 60-foot faces, punishing rock bottom, and shifting Central California currents over riding the warm, blue, big waves of Hawaii? But Maverick's presents a surfing challenge like no other. Each winter, starting in October, an elite corps from around the world journey to Maverick's to test themselves on its cold, forbidding waves-because challenge, above all else, motivates the big-wave surfer. With heart-stopping photography and an exceptional, driving text, Maverick's tracks the five most dangerous days in the break's history, including its first casualty: big-wave celebrity Mark Foo, who died on the morning of his very first visit. Surf journalist Matt Warshaw weaves into this vivid record the complete and unconventional history of big-wave surfing, from its ancient Hawaiian origins through to the modern drama of tow-in surfers. Like Into Thin Air, Maverick's promises to transcend its core audience, appealing to the huge armchair market that is enthralled by the sporting life lived at the extreme of danger. Qty: @ $29.95