New Cookbook Weaves Step-by-Step Gourmet Recipes With Personal Stories in a "Warm, Witty Book"

DALLAS, Texas March 29, 2004—"You Said a Mouthful: Great Recipes and the Stories They Evoke," a collection of more than 50 time-tested recipes and personal stories, is now available at www.lulu.com, an on-line marketplace for books.

The book began as an attempt by writer and part-time cook Brian Cummings to pull together his repertoire of recipes developed over some 30 years of weekend experimentation, and evolved to include the stories that transcribing those recipes brought to mind.

Described by Dallas food and wine editor Jim White, as a "warm and witty book," it's loosely organized around the things the author likes to cook: breakfasts, dinners, soups, salads and baked goods. It also has sections on stock and sauce making that, as the author says, "attempt to de-mystify and simplify two techniques that turn can cooks into chefs."

The step-by-step instructions for the recipes are easy to follow and offer tips and insights that lift the finished dish out of the ordinary and make it not just good but exceptional, Cummings notes. The tips and insights include:

·Adding a little beef broth along with red wine to a tomato-based sauce is critical if the wine is to work its magic on the sauce.

·Peeling off the thin sheet of fat that covers the bone side of a slab of ribs allows the flavor of the sauce or rub to penetrate the meat.

·Simmering onions slowly with a little sugar brings out their best flavor, is critical for making French Onion soup and makes the difference between a good sauce and a great one.

But, as important as the recipes and ingredients are, Cummings feels the stories are equally as important.

"I hope the book encourages people to create memories of their own by taking the time to leisurely prepare and enjoy their meals in the company of good friends and family. When dinner is chicken fingers eaten in the backseat or solitary afterthoughts to a busy day, life becomes something we get through rather than the source of great memories it should be."

The book also includes chapters on how to buy cookware and knives and a temperature chart that explains what happens to food at various temperatures.

Cummings has been writing and cooking for most of his 58 years. His career as a writer began as a reporter for the former Pittsburgh Press and has continued as a public relations professional in both the corporate and agency worlds. His avocation as a chef began with breakfast and has continued with dinners, appetizers and a variety of other edibles. This first book, "You Said a Mouthful," attempts to meld those two talents.

For more information on the book, visit www.recipestories.com




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