Wild Garlic Gooseberries and Me or Beer School

Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me

Author: Denis Cotter

Whether creating a restaurant masterpiece or foraging in hedgerows and woods, the author searches for a new connection between food, people, and land. Divided into four themed chapters, It's a Green Thing, Wild Pickings, Nature and Nurture, and Growing in the Dark, each include information and anecdotes about the vegetables that feature as well as many delicious recipes. There are simple salads and soups as well as more challenging main meals and mouth-watering desserts. Recipes include: Fresh Tagliolini with Abyssinian Cabbage, Pine Nuts & Sheep's Dressing; Courgette Flower, Pea and Chive Risotto; Samphire Tempura with Coriander Dressing; Sea Spinach, Potato and Hazelnut Pancakes; Braised Celeriac Gratin of Chestnuts and Blue Cheese with Red Wine Sauce. Stunning images of the landscape, the food, and the finished recipes complete this delightful read and unique recipe book.

Publishers Weekly

Irish chef Cotter's lyrical rumination on local fruits and vegetables is much like a relaxing Sunday afternoon walk in the country. Following a loose structure, Cotter wanders from topic to topic, from discussing the etymology of sea spinach to an early morning wild mushroom hunt with little transition. While this may frustrate some readers, Cotter covers a remarkable amount of culinary ground and eventually gets to all the major players in the garden, from root vegetables and tomatoes to multiple varieties of kale and the joys of fresh asparagus. Supplemented with plenty of recipes for dishes ranging from the familiar (Tomatillo Salsa, Field Mushroom and Potato Gratin) to the exotic (Nettle Risotto, Watercress Soup with Walnut and Sweet Pepper Salsa), the real treasures are buried in the text, where Cotter offers numerous riffs on standards like beets, and how to employ turnips in a curry. Readers accustomed to skimming will gloss over many of the jewels scattered throughout the book, but patient cooks will be rewarded with a renewed appreciation for their garden's bounty.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book about: Cristinas of Sun Valley or Pesach for the Rest of Us

Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery

Author: Steve Hindy

What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker? A brewery, of course.

"A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter provided it. Beer School explains how they did it: their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Steve writes with a journalist's skepticism-as though he has forgotten that he is reporting on himself. Tom is even less forgiving-he's a banker, after all. The inside story reads at times like a cautionary tale, but it is an account of a great and welcome achievement."
—Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter(r)

"An accessible and insightful case study with terrific insight for aspiring entrepreneurs. And if that's not enough, it is all about beer!"
—Professor Murray Low, Executive Director, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School

"Great lessons on what every first-time entrepreneur will experience. Being down the block from the Brooklyn Brewery, I had firsthand witness to their positive impact on our community. I give Steve and Tom's book an A++!"
—Norm Brodsky, Senior Contributing Editor, Inc. magazine

"Beer School is a useful and entertaining book. In essence, this is the story of starting a beer business from scratch in New York City. The product is one readers can relate to, and the market is as tough as they get. What a fun challenge! The book can help not only those entrepreneurs who are starting a business but also those trying to grow one once it is established. Steve and Tom write with enthusiasm and insight about building their business. It is clear that they learned a lot along the way. Readerscan learn from these lessons too."
—Michael Preston, Adjunct Professor, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, and coauthor, The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth

"Although we (thankfully!) never had to deal with the Mob, being held up at gunpoint, or having our beer and equipment ripped off, we definitely identified with the challenges faced in those early days of cobbling a brewery together. The revealing story Steve and Tom tell about two partners entering a business out of passion, in an industry they knew little about, being seriously undercapitalized, with an overly naive business plan, and their ultimate success, is an inspiring tale."
—Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Publishers Weekly

This winning tale of the rise of the Brooklyn Brewery follows the basic pattern of every entrepreneur's memoir: a restless visionary sets out to accomplish a dream, barely survives a series of setbacks, emerges victorious-and ready to tell readers how they can do the same. But this account serves up more than the usual suds and foam-its counsel is sound and its prose lively, and it should appeal to both wannabe industrialists and beer drinkers, not that those categories are mutually exclusive. In fact, the authors, foreign correspondent Hindy and banker Potter, decided to found their New York brewery, now 17 years in business and among the top 40 in the U.S. in sales, after consuming many bottles of Hindy's homebrew. The longtime partners tell their story in engaging, candid voices, delivering cautionary anecdotes, reflections on longstanding disagreements and lingering resentments, and brutally frank self-assessments. It helps the story immeasurably that beer is a more colorful subject than, say, spreadsheet software, a fact that gets the reader past the inevitable chapter on financing. Though Hindy and Potter may not help the aspiring entrepreneur strike gold, they offer a compelling model and a heartening story. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

Foreword.

Preface Steve and Tom Introduce the Brooklyn Brewery.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1. Steve Tells How Choosing a Partner Is Like a Second Marriage.
Lesson One: Even a Dog Can Shake Hands.

Chapter 2. Steve Discusses the Importance of Building a Solid Team.
Lesson Two: Is It a Business or a Family Business?

Chapter 3. Tom Talks about Creating the Business Plan: A Money-Raising Tool and More.
Lesson Three: The Business Plan Won’t Be Graded on a Curve.

Chapter 4. Tom Asks, “What’s the True Mission of the Business?”
Lesson Four: Being Flexible If the Mission Statement Becomes “Mission Impossible”.

Chapter 5. Steve Discusses the Keys to Successfully Motivating Employees.
Lesson Five: Feeling Good Is No Substitute for Prudent Controls.

Chapter 6. Tom Tells the Story of Their Dot-Com Revolution: Fishing for Finance and Failing.
Lesson Six: Chasing Money Is Not a Business Strategy.

Chapter 7. Steve Talks about Building a Brewery in Brooklyn.
Lesson Seven: Sometimes You Stand Alone.

Chapter 8. Steve Discusses Publicity: The Press Wants You!
Lesson Eight: A News Release Can Go a Long Way.

Chapter 9. Steve Reveals How the Revolution Kills Its Leaders First.
Lesson Nine: Hiring and Firing.

Chapter 10. Tom Talks about Cashing Out and Reinventing the Business, Again.
Lesson Ten: Only You Will Know When It’s Time to Sell.

Chapter 11. Tom Wants to Know If You Have What It Takes.
Lesson Eleven: There Are No EntranceExams for Entrepreneurs.

Timeline.

Index.