Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings and Seasonal Menus Hardcover – September 6, 2008

The premise of this book came from the author and L'Espalier's wine director conducting Wine Monday's at their restaurant. They would have a 4 course meal centered around a theme with accompanying wines for each course. So all these recipes are 4 courses with 4 suggested wines. So don't consider this everyday dining, this is special occasion dining.Also, the author suggests specific wines with specific vintages, they would be impossible to find at your local wine store. It would have been more helpful to have had a generalized suggestion so you can create the same affect in your own home.The mushroom riscotto was delicious. The suggested wine is Beaumont des Crayeres, Grand Prestige, Champagne...at $50.00 a bottle this is not something I'm serving on a casual dinner at home. This is a special occasion event, anniversary, 50th birthday party, etc. You'd go broke doing this every Monday.This book would be great if you had a wine tasting club and you had each couple bring the suggested wine and you prepared all the food. They are all 4 course meals so the time required and cost is up there. These are not Monday meals, they're Sunday evening meals.If you want a book for everyday meals and wines I would suggest  Everyday Dining with Wine  by Andrea Immer. Wine Monday's is excellent for the special occasion meals when you want to impress your guests. This is in the same category as  Wine Food & Friends , top dollar meals with top dollar wines.This book has few pictures, the print is light green on white paper so it's really hard to read. Some of the recipes are Grilled Quail, Civet of Rabbit with Chanterelles and Spaetzle, Truffled Leek Mousse with Cepe Vinaigrette, Roasted Peppered Venison with Red Currant-Zinfandel Sauce and Celery Root and Parsnips, Blueberries with Mascarpone Sabayon, and the list goes on. I hope this helps you decide.

I pulled this book off a public library shelf as a "random grab" and am now buying my own copy because I know I will come back to it again as a resource for hosting meals at home. The recipies are very accessible, with a level of difficulty nicely placed between ordinary home cooking and restaurant cooking extremes. The recipes use sophisticated flavors and vegetables, without calling for ingredients so unusual that they require a trip to a speciality store. The book lays out several seasonal four course meals for six, with each course paired with a specific wine. The wine sugggestions are very helpful - and even though the particular wine suggestions will go out of date, they provide guidance in selecting a type of wine to accompany each course. Overall, a find. And despite living on the West coast, makes me want to visit the author's restaurant in Boston one day.