My Favorite Herb Press Release from Callawind

“Fresh herbs can jazz up the most mundane dishes in a way dried herbs can’t. Now, when such seasonal treats are at their peak, is a great time to pick up a copy of Laurel Keser’s MY FAVORITE HERB: How North America’s Great Chefs Savor the Flavor of Herbs.” —New York Daily News

Thyme makes Emeril Lagasse “happy happy.” Alice Waters selects sage as the rage. Nora Pouillon picks parsley for pizzazz. Michael Smith is lavish with lovage. Debbie Gold salivates for savory.

Professional chefs all across North America agree that herbs are the key to adding dazzle to their dishes. In MY FAVORITE HERB: How North America's Great Chefs Savor the Flavor of Herbs by Laurel Keser (Callawind Publications, US$19.95/CDN$26.95 trade paper), 51 of them reveal their personal favorite and how they use it. The book covers 30 popular and easily available herbs and, for the more adventurous cook, includes a few specialized herbs like stinging nettle and scented geranium.

Readers will find more than 125 recipes — from appetizers to desserts — all tested in the author's home kitchen and scaled to family-size proportions. A sample of the tempting taste treats in the book include:

Sugar Snap Peas with Brown Butter and Sage (Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California)
Lemon Thyme Chicken with Rosemary New Potatoes (Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's, New Orleans, Louisiana)
Cilantro Orzo (Michael Thomson, Michael's Restaurant and Ancho Chile Bar, Fort Worth, Texas)
Fresh Mint Ice Cream (Scott Mason, Ketchum Grill, Ketchum, Idaho)
Chocolate–Rose Geranium Soufflé (Jerry Traunfeld, The Herbfarm Restaurant, Fall City, Washington)
Persian Lamb and Parsley Ragout (Nora Pouillon, Nora and Asia Nora, Washington, DC)
Chervil Parmesan Biscuits (Jody Adams, Rialto, Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Chilled Melon Soup with Anise Hyssop (Frank McClelland, L'Espalier, Boston, Massachusetts)
Red Snapper, Shrimp, Clams, and Oysters with Pernod Tarragon Butter Sauce (Bobby Trigg, The Ferry House, Princeton, New Jersey)

In addition, the book contains:

herb buying and storing information
information on how to dry and/or freeze herbs
recipes for making basics such as stock, simple syrup, tempura batter, and roasted garlic
tips for creating herb butters, herb pestos, and herb vinegars

MY FAVORITE HERB not only celebrates the flavor of herbs, but illustrates what a healthy alternative they can be to butter, cream, and oil for enhancing the taste of almost any food.

A glossary, bibliography, mail order resources, chef and restaurant listing, index, and metric conversion chart round out the volume.

MY FAVORITE HERB the 2000 Book Award — Food and Seasonings Category — from the International Herb Association (IHA), a professional trade association providing education, services, and development opportunities for those in herbal endeavors since 1985.

About the author: Laurel Keser combines many years of professional food writing with a lifelong passion for cooking with herbs. An experienced herb gardener, Laurel has had her own herb recipes published in The Herb Companion magazine. She lives near Philadelphia in Lindenwold, New Jersey.

KINDLY SEND A COPY OF YOUR REVIEW OR MENTION

MY FAVORITE HERB: How North America’s Great Chefs Savor the Flavor of Herbs
by Laurel Keser
Released: Fall 1999
Published by Callawind Publications
Distributed by Biblio Distribution (a division of NBN — National Book Network)
Format: 8 x 9 inches / 240 pages
Herb illustrations and black & white chef photos throughout
Price: US$19.95 / CDN$26.95 paper
ISBN: 1-8 96511-12-0
Available at retail and online bookstores or by calling 1-800-387-5085

For more information, please contact Pamela Carmen at Callawind Publications:
Tel: (514) 685-9109 / Fax: (514) 685-7952 / E-mail: pamela@callawind.com