Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)What a find! I was almost not going to buy this but I'm so, so glad I did.
From the cover and the typography, you'd think this was a cookbook for college students trying to be vegan while living in a dorm. If I had published it, I would have gone in a completely different direction and designed a book that was as upscale and sophisticated as the recipes. As the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover.
Shagrin's genius is her unique "meat" recipes of differently prepared seitan (veal, pork, beef, etc.) and tofu (scallops, sea bass, bacon, etc.). These serve as the base of many of the recipes. From there you can go fancy-schmancy, such as dijonnaise-crusted beef tenderloin medallions with bearnaise sauce over roasted eggplant and garlic mashed potatoes, or go with gourmet versions of down-market foods such as orange-sesame grilled chicken fingers. Or you can stuff your face with veganized Twinkies and nacho cheese Doritos. Yes, you heard me: vegan bearnaise sauce and vegan Twinkies. You'll also find fresh pasta - finally, egg-free pasta! - pizza dough, and other staples.
I don't think this book would be suitable for a newbie vegan or newbie chef. Some recipes are complicated and time-consuming (even intimidating). Some ingredients are expensive or hard to find (exotic mushrooms and such). A few recipes call for commercial products like Dr. Cow's nut cheeses or Daiya, and she uses a lot of MimiCreme although there are several recipes for making a go of it from scratch.
But overall the food looks astonishingly good. I knocked off a star because I spotted a few editorial glitches, and some vague instructions such as "cook until well done." How will I know when "well done" is? What does "well done" look like?
Click Here to see more reviews about: Veganize This: From Surf & Turf to Ice-Cream Pie--200 Animal-Free Recipes for People Who Love to Eat
Get 29% OFF
0 comments:
Post a Comment