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Celebrating the Seasons at Westerbeke Ranch

by John Littlewood

Description:
The essence of California's wine country cuisine is captured in 'Celebrating The Seasons At Westerbeke Ranch' by Sonoma-based Chef John Littlewood, executive chef at the legendary Westerbeke Ranch Retreat Center in Sonoma, California.
Published by Happy Palate Press (hppress.com) on April 1, 2006, the book includes recipes shaped by Asian, French, Hispanic, and Mediterranean influences. The multicultural potpourri of menus and recipes is presented in an accessible, reader-friendly format. Fans of the book include yoga teacher and author Rodney Yee, who calls the book, "A blissful meditation! John's food is like a perfectly balanced yoga class. Now we can all share the secrets of his healthy, delicious cooking!"

Celebrating the Seasons includes more than 170 healthy and savory recipes and 16 complete menus for every day and every season, as well as special occasions ranging from an Earth Day buffet, Easter brunch, Cinco de Mayo  fiesta, summer birthday party on the beach. Bastille Day celebration. New Years' hors d'oeuvre buffet, Chinese New Year party, and Valentine's Day dinner. This user-welcoming  cookbook  offers recipes for meat, fish, and chicken dishes, as well as specially marked vegetarian and vegan options, a handy index organized by degree of difficulty, an ethnic ingredient guide, hundreds of time saving hints, an illustrated resource section, and shopping and equipment guidelines. Illustrated with photographs and images of iron art from the rustic Westerbeke Ranch, Celebrating the Seasons gives the reader a real sense of the casual, welcoming style that makes the Ranch popular with discerning guests from all over the world.

Chef Littlewood is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and is Executive Chef at the Westerbeke Ranch  Retreat Center in Sonoma, California. With over 25 years experience in professional kitchens, John has cooked in Michelin starred restaurants in Paris, luxury hotel barges in Burgundy, exclusive resorts in the Caribbean, and has taught cooking at Columbia College in California's Sierra foothills. John's work has been featured in Bon Appetit and Cooking Light magazines. He has demonstrated his recipes at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley, and in wineries and special events such as the Chefs' holidays at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Chef Littlewood lives in Sonoma, California, and Celebrating the Seasons is his first book.