The Man Who Ate Everything Review

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(More customer reviews)I would never have bought this book if a friend hadn't insisted that I sit down and read at least the first chapter. I like to eat food, not read about it. But Jeffrey Steingarten is a riveting, funny, argumentative, bloshy, emphatic writer. I laughed my way through this. I bought a copy for myself, then went back for two more to give as gifts. A surprising treat. In the beginning Steingarten writes about how he ate his way all the foods he had convinced himself he was repulsed by. And found some of them surprisingly good (others revolting). I would have argued that a book about food by the food critic for Vogue could only be a stuffy, pompous self-satisfied piece of writing. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. If Steingarten was an item of food I'd convinced myself I couldn't possibly like, I must now go back on myself and say, love it, DELICIOUS.

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Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto's Kikunoi Restaurant Review

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(More customer reviews)I have two sorts of cookbooks in my collection. There are the books that I cook from, in which many pages have food stains, folded-down corners, and bindings that fall open to favorite recipes. I also have cookbooks that I consider "picture books." Sure, they have recipes, but I look at them primarily for inspiration or entertainment or fantasy ("Yeah, like I'm gonna cook something with two pounds of fois gras!" or "That's over the top, but isn't it beautiful?"). I rarely cook anything from the picture books, but that's okay; I enjoy them nonetheless.
Kaiseki is very much in the latter category. If this book isn't nominated for an award on visual merit alone, I shall be appalled. Photographically, it's simply stunning. If you appreciate how beautifully food can be presented... well, it earns its five stars right there. It's also a stunning example of how good Japanese food can be; many of the photos make me yearn to consume them.
The cookbook is organized in an unusual manner. The recipes are all in the back of the book, in small type (too small, I think). Most of the book is given over to the delicious photos, menus, and text. The text is largely what you'd expect as a long headnote in a regular cookbook. For example, you get two long paragraphs about the seasonality of fresh bamboo shoots, accompanying a blow-you-away picture of bamboo shoot sushi (it looks like a bird of paradise flower arrangement). These sections are divided into Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, reflecting the restaurant's focus on eating whatever is ripe right now.
I can't imagine that I'm going to cook anything here, though. The author doesn't try to Americanize anything, or to suggest "if you can't find sea bream, substitute [something else]." It's definitely a Japanese book. Maybe, if you have more Asian markets than I do and you know the cuisine better, you're better able to contemplate the recipes. If so, you'll probably be interested in steamed tilefish with fresh green tea leaves; or abalone in a salt dome; or fresh black soybean skewered on pine needles.
But don't worry if your ability to make these recipes is as distant as my own. Kaiseki may spend more time on your coffee table than in your kitchen, and that's okay. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book, and well worth it for anyone who simply loves to admire food treated well. It would make a superb present for any foodie, too.

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Culinary Artistry Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a self-taught home cook who enjoys the activities of the kitchen. I entered the cooking arena one of the standard ways, using cookbooks. Collections of recipes familarized me with the techniques and ethnic cooking styles. Gradually, my cookbook collection included reference books that provided some of the theory behind tastes and preparation styles. Gold's 1-2-3 series, Peterson's Sauces, and others introduced to me the philosophies that allow a cook to go beyond mimicking a recipe to improvising and even creating a dish. Culinary Artistry is perhaps the best available reference for learning about the traditions of combining flavors and food groups.
It contains vital information that I suspect is taught only in some of the culinary schools. It provides valuable charts of information about cooking and menu planning. The book contains sections on Menus, including a seasonality chart and a chart explaining successful seasoning combinations. There is a section for Composing Flavors, the highlight of which is a chart showing successful food contrasts. Another section involves Composing A Dish. Here there is a chart showing great food matches and one showing seasoning matches. The Composing A Menu section offers a chart showing frequent accompaniments to meats and paragraphs presenting theories about Hors Douevres, Cheeses, and Desserts. This was a sparse and incomplete passage in an otherwise comprehensive book. Finally, there was a fun section addressing the Evolution of Chef's Styles. Here the authors provide sample menus comparing chef's offerings from earlier decades to their present day productions.
The volume offers multiple anecdotes, quotes, and side bars concerning the views of popular chefs. Various recipes are interspersed to illustrate the principles. My one criticism was that the book was laid out like a college textbook. Photos, captions, quotes, highlighted lines, sidebars, and other areas compete on the same page, magazine style. The book serves as reference, frequently glanced at rather than read straight through as a narrative.

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The Soup Bible Review

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(More customer reviews)I was never so disappointed in a book as I with this one. Can someone tell me what the soup on the cover is? Can't find it referenced anywhere.
I was looking forward to learning about making soups, not just the generic - this soup consists of water, leeks, etc. If you want to know the name of every consomme possible, than this is for you. I was very disappointed especially after purchasing "The Sauce Bible". I expected more than this book delivered.

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Lidia's Italian Table: More Than 200 Recipes From The First Lady Of Italian Cooking Review

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(More customer reviews)This companion to a PBS series presented by Ms. Bastianich includes over 200 authentically Italian recipes. I believe the value in purchasing this book depends a lot on how many cookbooks of Italian cuisine you already have. There is a fair amount of overlap with Ms. B's first book, `Al Cucina di Lidia'. For example, in the PBS title, there is a recipe for rabbit, `Coniglio al Balsamico' which features balsamic vinegar and sage, while in the earlier book, there is a similar recipe, `Coniglio alla salvia' featuring balsamic vinegar and sage. Both are braises, cooking for about 45 minutes. Both books also include recipes for sauerkraut and pork. The overlap may be less than 10 percent and Ms. B. does cite her book as a reference, along with ten (10) other titles, about half of which are in Italian. It is just important to realize this in weighing the value of the book.
Based on the incidence of recipes for strudel, fresh pasta, polenta, and risotto, I would say the book concentrates on the cuisine of northern Italy, which is totally expected, as Ms. B was born and raised on the Istrian peninsula, east of Trieste. The chapters and number of recipes in each are:
Appetizers: 21, many of bruschetta and including prosciutto
Soups: 22, including an essay on how to make a good minestre.
Fresh Pasta: 16, including an essay on pasta making and several recipes including game meats
Dry Pasta: 14, including essay on tomatoes and sauces
Rice: 11 recipes, almost all for risotto
Gnocchi: 11 recipes, many with game meat
Polenta: 9 recipes, mostly regional specialities
Vegetables: 20, including lessons on prepping artichokes and favas
Game and Chicken: Rabbit and boar and venison, oh my
Meat: 19, including recipes for sauces
Fish and Shellfish: 17, including general tips on handling bivalves and crustaceans
Sweets: 22, including Strudel and Zabaglione.
If you have no Italian cookbooks or only cookbooks covering the hard pasta / tomato ridden Neapolitan cuisine or really need a book for game recipes, you could do no better than this volume. If you absolutely must have every cookbook by a major Italian cookbook author, this will be a worthy addition to your collection. If you have Ms. B's third book on Italian-American cuisine, this will be a very good compliment, as I expect no overlap there. If you really enjoyed the PBS series for which this book is a companion, then I highly recommend it.
But, if you already own a few of the other hundreds of Italian cookbooks, I suggest you at least browse the book before signing up. There may be more overlap than is worth you money. I will still give it the highest rating, because on its own merits, it is a very good book.

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Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making Review

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(More customer reviews)This tome on sauce making is easily the most thorough coverage I have ever been exposed to. Well, it's the only one I've been exposed to, and I doubt there is anything as complete as this.
Readable, in-depth, expansive, edifying, and complete.
This is a book that needs to be studied and intellectually digested over a period of time as if one were attending college to become a world class chef. This is professional material and should be treated accordingly.
A prized gift for the professional, the potential professional, and the (really) serious home cook.
That being said, if you want to just whip up a quick sauce in the pan, I'm not sure this will serve your needs. There are dozens of sauce recipes, and they're good, but the idea behind the book is to teach you how to use a particular technique, then apply your knowledge in your own unique way. This is a "get a PHD in sauces", not a whip-it-up-quick index card recipe book.
Twenty muscular chapters include:
1. A Short History of Sauce Making
2. Equipment
3. Ingredients
4. Stocks, Glaces, and Essences
5. Liaisons: An Overview
6. White Sauces for Meat and Vegetables
7. Brown Sauces
8. Stock-Based and Non-Integral Fish Sauces
9. Integral Meat Sauces
10. Integral Fish and Shellfish Sauces
11. Crustacean Sauces
12. Jellies and Chauds-Froids
13. Hot Emulsified Egg Yolk Sauces
14. Mayonnaise-Based Sauces
15. Butter Sauces
16. Salad Sauces, Vinaigrettes, and Relishes
17. Pruees and Puree-Thickened Sauces
18. Pasta Sauces
19. Asian Sauces
20. Dessert Sauces
A superb instructional manual that will make you an expert if you study and apply some effort. It gets my highest rating and reccommendation for anyone who craves praise for their cooking prowess (like me).
- Alleyrat

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Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes Review

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(More customer reviews)As someone who owns close to two hundred cookbooks (passion or sickness, your choice on what to call it) I've vowed not to purchase another one for the rest of my cooking days. When I first glimpsed "Falling Cloudberries" at a bookstore I had to will myself to walk away. Never again, I said.
Never say never.
First, a bit of background. Like most foodies and cooks, Tessa Kiros grew up scented by cooking smells and surrounded by people who're passionate about food. Her book is filled with recipes that represent her heritage: Greek, Finnish, Cypriot, South African, and Italian. As such, there are dishes here that challenge the American palate, especially those of pedestrian tastes, but what a delightful and tasty challenge it is.
I'll set aside the sheer beauty of this book for now and rate it on the essentials--the approachability and accuracy of its recipes, the reliance on fresh and obtainable ingredients, a balanced mix of easy, intermediate and advanced cooking methods, logical and sensible organization, practical tips to ensure success, satisfaction with the end product, and (always a consideration for me) a generous representation of everyday fare.
I've tried about a dozen from this thick book and it's, without doubt, a 5-star cookbook just basing it on the above:
(1)Finnish - Gravadlax with Dill Cucumbers; Potato Pancakes (of course, to go w/ the gravadlax); Fresh Salmon, Dill & Potato Soup; Finnish Meatballs; Stroganoff with Pickled Cucumbers and will later try the Cinnamon and Cardamom Buns
(2)Greek - Dolmades; Tzatziki; Chickpea, Feta & Coriander Salad; Calamari with Butter, Lemon & Garlic; Prawns with Peri-Peri; Lemon & Oregano Chicken; Stuffed Vegetables and will later attempt the Baklava
(3)Cypriot - Moussaka (if you can make lasagna, you can make this without batting an eyelash); Pork in Red Wine
(4)South African - Fried Chicken and Barbecue Ribs, if you can believe it!
That's it...that's as far as I got and tons to go. Everything I tried was simply delicious and none of them required tremendous labor, just the same amount of effort I put into everyday cooking. For those that are fussier, I plan to just make them in the weekends when I have more time.
The book is drop-dead gorgeous and I mean every part of it. From the spine to the flyleaf, to all the photos to the quality of bond, and it even came with a pretty ribbon bookmark (how thoughtful). It's peppered with tidbits on Tessa's family and her growing up cooking with them. There's even a penciled drawing of her family tree that I thought added an amusing and extra special touch to this very personal account of food and cooking over several generations. Really creatively executed and one can easily tell that it was a labor of love. It's too beautiful that I don't cook with this book lying as is on my counter. I photocopy the page I need or wrap it first in clear plastic before using. Even these precautions don't seem enough. Someday, when I can no longer grasp my chef's knife or intimidate a slab of pastry into submission with a whack or two, I want to look at this book and just lose myself in its pristine beauty. Ridiculous, I know, but there are cooks out there who know precisely what I mean--they're the same people who look longingly at gorgeous cookbooks and say `never again' without much conviction!

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The Big Book of Fish & Shellfish: More Than 250 Terrific Recipes (Big Book (Chronicle Books)) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has so many good recipes in it, I don't know where to start! My favorite is the Salmon Stuffed with Mascarpone Cheese and Spinach (use frozen). The recipe bakes it but I put mine on the grill. The Morehead City Shrimp Burgers is another favorite, as well as the Buttery Garlicky Steamed Clams. The book doesn't have any pictures in it, but don't let that be your deciding factor, the recipes are really good, and each recipe is accompanied by a brief description or introduction. Some of the recipes feature fish that may not be popular for all areas but in those cases, the author may mention that another type of fish can be substituted. Or substitute your favorite fish. If you are not familiar with buying and cooking fish and seafood, the author lays out the basics in the beginning of the book which covers the difference between fresh and frozen, what to look for, storing, and appropriate cooking methods.


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For those who love fishor clams, lobster, scallops, mussels, octopus, oysters, crab, or shrimpbut are in need of a definitive guide to making it at home, here's a Big Book that's a whale of catch. This tell-all volume helps the home cook not only select the fish or shellfish from the market, but also then turn it into a delicious meal in a few easy-to-follow steps. The book is organized by type of seafood, so if, say, snapper is not available that day, a quick substitution can be made with catfish, flounder, or whatever similar fish is freshest. The author's tips for selection, preparation, and cooking techniques (including poaching, steaming, baking, grilling, frying, and roasting) allow the reader to cook with confidence. With more than 250 outstanding recipes, from appetizers and main courses to great classic side dishes, this latest addition to the Big Book series means nobody has to be chicken of the sea.

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The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest (Mollie Katzen's Classic Cooking) Review

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(More customer reviews)Many different ethnic and cooking styles are represented in this beautiful cookbook. As with The Moosewood, this book is richly illustrated with hand drawings and includes color photos. The fat, dairy and egg content of many of the recipes has been significantly reduced without sacrificing taste!There is even a list of all the vegan, low-fat and nonfat recipes in the back of the book for easy reference. Chapters include: Soups, Salads, Breads, Sauces, Dips and Spreads, Entrees, Desserts, Menu Planning Notes, Improvisation Notes (for those chronic experimenters), and Bean and Grain Cooking Charts. Each food section has a list of recipes in the beginning in addition to the complete index in the back of the book. It is sure to become a favorite in your kitchen.

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This second volume in Mollie Katzen's classic cooking series features over 200 vegetarian recipes and a bounty of kitchen guidance from one of America's dearest cookbook authors. Mollie first revised ENCHANTED BROCCOLI in 1995, adding lighter, easier-to-prepare versions of her signature recipes, plus a selection of new dishes and techniques. As with MOOSEWOOD, this new edition of ENCHANTED BROCCOLI is a companion volume to Mollie's new TV series, and features 16 pages of color food photography, plus 5 new recipes and a new section on making fresh pasta at home. Available in January 2000

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Cucina Di Calabria: Treasured Recipes and Family Traditions from Southern Italy (Cookbooks) Review

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(More customer reviews)Even with the knowledge that the author is a first-generation Italian-American (or, more accurately, Calabrian-American), I'm used to these cookbooks proclaiming to contain authentic recipes and they turn out to be nothing more than Italian cuisine that's been completely Americanized (Giada De Laurentiis is one example).
Not so with "Cucina di Calabria."
I was very happy that the author took the time to authenticate American Italian recipes (which, unfortunately but not surprisingly, have been completely Americanized in many cases) and that she tasted and tested the recipes she got from the always gracious people of Calabria. Her efforts paid off in the final product and I'm proud that, finally, a cookbook of the wonderful cuisine that is Calabria's is available to the cooking public in the English language.
While Palmer did an outstanding job with this book, it's important to know that there is no such thing as *the* definitive Italian cookbook. Many people (sadly, American Italians most of all) don't realize that Italy has never been a truly united country since Roman times (and even then it was splintered). The North has a heavy French, Slavic, and German influence (among others) that's prevalent in their cooking (polenta, butter, cream, lard, and the like are staples of Northern Italian cooking) while the South has a heavy Greek, Albanian, and Middle Eastern influence in their cooking style (olive oil, peppers, spaghetti, pizza, etc.). Despite all that, though, the author did one hell of a job in compiling a cookbook that, as it stands now, is the bible for Calabrese cooking.
It also helps to take the time to read the detailed history of Calabria she included in the beginning of the book. I'm grateful for the fact that she didn't overlook the Greek and Albanian influences that are prevalent in Calabria to this day and also included the fact that there is a strong Middle Eastern influence in Calabrian food. And I'm glad someone had the nerve to call it like it is with the prejudice that Northern Italians have against their own people in Southern Italy. Not a lot of people would admit to that but it's very true.
I couldn't have said it any better when Palmer said that Calabrian cuisine took the best of the people who invaded the land over the centuries and made it their own. (And an enthusiastic thumbs up for including two recipes she got from one of my ancestors' towns - Luzzi, in the province of Cosenza!).
I highly recommend this book for its authenticity and downright delicious and easy to prepare food that will result.

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The 150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Dishes from Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks (150 Best Recipes) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Best American Recipes series of cookbooks is my favorite set of cookbooks. I own every volume from 1999 to the 2005-2006 volume. Every fall I prowl book stores waiting for the new version - but this year I saw "The 150 Best American Recipes" instead of the 2006-2007 edition I was expecting. Well, a junkie has to have her fix, so I bought the book, even though it is a collection of what the authors, Fran McCollough and Molly Stevens, think is the best of the best of the books in the series. I mean, I own all of these recipes already. But I've had the book less than a week, and have discovered Santa Rosa Plum Gallete, missed from the 2001-2002 volume. We agree that Amazing Overnight Waffles (2003-2004) is the best waffle recipe ever, but my favorite salad, Shepherd's Salad with Bulgarian Feta (2003-2004), missed the cut. If you don't own any of these books, this is a great one to start with. I only hope there is a new book on the horizon.

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The Best of the Best from the Last DecadeAcclaimed by the critics, The Best American Recipes series has long been the universal choice of home cooks and professional chefs as the one infallible source of the year's most dazzling recipes.Now in The 150 Best American Recipes, two of the food world's most respected professionals pull out all the stops to create the ultimate resource: a can't-live-without-it collection of the most exciting recipes of the last decade. Out of literally tens of thousands of recipes that have appeared in print -- in cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, and even in flyers and on the Internet -- from the deservedly famous to the wonderfully obscure, from top-flight chefs to unknown but gifted cooks -- they chose the most distinctive. Then came the key step: extensive testing in their own kitchens. If the dish wasn't spectacular, it didn't make the cut. Finally, they pitted their favorites against one another and chose the winners: the very best of the best.In The 150 Best American Recipes, you'll find:Scores of brilliantly simple dishes that are sensationally delicious.The best recipes from the great chefs and cooks of the era, including Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller, Judy Rodgers, and Alice Waters.Miraculously quick, remarkable everyday dishes that you'll want to make countless times and share with your friends.Holiday dishes that are certain to become instant traditions in your family.Valuable tips and techniques to make all your cooking easier.

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