Synopses & Reviews
Since opening their Durham, North Carolina, restaurant in 1986, chefs Ben and Karen Barker have been hailed as rising stars of the American culinary scene. Their award-winning Magnolia Grill has been featured in publications such as
Bon Appetit,
Food and Wine, the
New York Times, and
Southern Living. With a menu that changes daily and draws inspiration from fresh, often locally produced ingredients, the restaurant is the ultimate showcase for the bold, imaginative cuisine that embodies the Barkers' motto, Not Afraid of Flavor.
From spectacular soups to inventive updates of classic American desserts, this beautifully illustrated book features more than 125 exciting recipes from Magnolia Grill. While not strictly Southern, many of the dishes display a Southern sensibility--making creative use of regional ingredients or offering a new twist on a familiar favorite. Clear, detailed directions encourage readers to try such "fearless" creations as okra rellenos, spicy green tomato soup with crab and country ham, pan-roasted duck breast with sun-dried cherry conserve, striped bass with oyster stew, wild mushroom bread pudding, brown sugar pear poundcake, and Jack Daniels vanilla ice cream.
Review
Enables a home cook to recreate restaurant-style fare. . . . [that] is rustic and simple, so as not to take attention away from ingredients' natural favors. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Review
This is as good a chef cookbook as has been published in the last several years, even in New York City. (Los Angeles Times)
Review
For everyone who has relished a meal cooked by the Barkers, Not Afraid of Flavor is a love letter you'll want to savor every day. (TasteFull)
Review
Ben and Karen Barker are the King and Queen of Flavor, which is truly the soul of Magnolia Grill. (Chef Emeril Lagasse)
Review
Unlike so many chefs' books, Not Afraid of Flavor is designed to really make their celebrated cooking accessible for home cooks. The recipes are clear, easy to follow and, more to the point--they work in a home kitchen. (Savannah Morning News)
Synopsis
Bold, imaginative cuisine from two nationally acclaimed chefs This beautifully illustrated cookbook features 125 favorite recipes from Ben and Karen Barker's Magnolia Grill, recently voted one of the best restaurants in America by Gourment magazine. Their clear, detailed directions encourage readers to try such delicious fare as cream of vidalia onion soup, striped bass with oyster stew, pork osso bucco with creole baked beans, brown sugar pear poundcake, and Jack Daniels vanilla ice cream. This exciting collection of recipes showcases the rich layering of flavors, distinctive combination of fresh regional ingredients, and melding of traditional Southern cooking with other culinary influences that have become the celebrated hallmarks of the chefs whose motto is "Not Afraid of Flavor."
About the Author
Ben and Karen Barker met on their first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America and have been cooking together ever since. Voted Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2000, Ben has also appeared on Food and Wine's Ten Best New Chefs in America and Who's Who of Southern Cooking lists. Before opening Magnolia Grill, the Barkers, who live in Chapel Hill, N.C., were chefs at Restaurant La Residence and the nationally acclaimed Fearrington House. Ben and Karen Barker met on their first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America and have been cooking together ever since. Karen is the 1999 winner of Bon Appetit's American Food and Entertaining Award for Best Pastry Chef and has been nominated several times for the James Beard Foundation's Best Pastry Chef Award. Before opening Magnolia Grill, the Barkers, who live in Chapel Hill, N.C., were chefs at Restaurant La Residence and the nationally acclaimed Fearrington House.
Table of Contents
Enables a home cook to recreate restaurant-style fare. . . . [that] is rustic and simple, so as not to take attention away from ingredients' natural favors. (
San Francisco Chronicle) This is as good a chef cookbook as has been published in the last several years, even in New York City. (
Los Angeles Times) For everyone who has relished a meal cooked by the Barkers,
Not Afraid of Flavor is a love letter you'll want to savor every day. (
TasteFull) Unlike so many chefs' books,
Not Afraid of Flavor is designed to really make their celebrated cooking accessible for home cooks. The recipes are clear, easy to follow and, more to the point--they work in a home kitchen. (
Savannah Morning News) Ben and Karen Barker are the King and Queen of Flavor, which is truly the soul of Magnolia Grill. (Chef Emeril Lagasse)