Dining Dakota Style or Cognac

Dining Dakota Style: A Celebration of Heart and Recipes

Author: Junior League of Sioux Falls

Deemed the official cookbook of Sioux Falls, Dining Dakota Style offers a collection of recipes ranging from elegant entrees and desserts to simple regional favorites. South Dakota is presented through culinary traditions and stunning photography. Delight in the treasured dishes inspired from the heartland to dine Dakota style.

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Cognac: The Seductive Saga of the World's Most Coveted Spirit

Author: Kyle Jarrard

"Rich in history and admirable scholarship. . . . It's a fine grande champagne of a book, to be savored over and over."
-Patricia Wells, author of The Provence Cookbook Called the "brandy of the gods" by Victor Hugo, Cognac is a universal symbol of refinement and quality. In the first comprehensive history of this celebrated drink, Kyle Jarrard charts Cognac's birth in the 1500s and its transformation into the world's most coveted brandy. Along the way, he reveals how Cognac distillers weathered vineyard die-offs, the German occupation, and other challenges over the years-and offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Hennessy, Remy-Martin, Courvoisier, Martell, and other legendary brands.
For any Cognac lover, this fascinating book will make the perfect gift.
Kyle Jarrard (Paris, France) is a senior editor at the International Herald Tribune and author of the highly acclaimed novels Over There and Rolling the Bones.

Publishers Weekly

It's fitting that a Paris-based novelist and International Herald Tribune editor should chronicle the history of the famously refined French brandy. And Jarrard does a nice job of it, offering a thorough, well-researched and objective history of cognac. He begins with a geological history of the French province of Charente, on the Atlantic coast, where the town of Cognac is located. The Romans brought the first grapes to the region, but it would be centuries before viniculture really took root there. The earliest attempts to make what we now call cognac began during the Middle Ages, as alchemists and apothecaries experimented with putting local grape pressings through their distillation apparatuses. While France evolved from a feudal kingdom into an imperial, colonial power, the cognac-making process developed, although factors like weather and warfare often prevented distilleries from obtaining the necessary raw materials. By the Napoleonic era, however, cognac began appearing on the world market, and its makers worked at refining their product and their methods as demand for the elegant, amber, aromatic brandy increased. Jarrard brings the story to the present, examining the various brands dominating the market today, including Hennessy, Remy-Martin and Courvoisier. Although a more driving narrative and some strongly defined characters would've given this text more life, it's a must for aficionados. B&w photos. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Novelist Jarrard (Rolling the Bones) tries his hand at nonfiction in this history of the Cognac business. The first part of the book provides a rather ordinary survey of French history and how geology, politics, and religion contributed to the economic development of the Cognac region and its famous distilled spirits. In the last part of the book, however, Jarrard shifts to profiling the firms and people of today who contribute to the current success of the Cognac trade. Cognac production comes to life, and Jarrard provides a fascinating look at the growers, barrel-makers, bottle-makers, and producers of Cognac. In this respect, he succeeds in doing for Cognac what William Echickson did for Bordeaux in Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution. Since tasting notes are sparse, this book will appeal more to readers interested in the business rather than the sipping of Cognac. Recommended for large public libraries and special collections.-Andrea R. Dietze, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.