Cookbook Review Thread

[KJS]

The mention of a cookbook in the other book thread here made me revisit a 2p2 idea I have had for a while: a thread all about reviewing and recommending cookbooks. Like many others here I love to cook. I am by no means an expert (or even intermediate, to be honest) but cooking is my main creative outlet and I am very enthusiastic. I have not amassed a great collection of cookbooks but am willing to review what I do have. I hope others are willing to let us know their favorites (and duds if they know them) too.

I'll start:

Fish: A Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking by Mark Bittman (http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Complete-Guide-Buying-Cooking/dp/0028631528/sr=8-1/qid=1170282067/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8253243-2300957?ie=UTF8&s=books)

I absolutely love this book. If you like seafood, I think it is a must have. I say this because it has what I find to be a great combination of cookbook essentials: tips on how to get the best ingredients, tips on techniques for cooking those ingredients and great recipes. Bittman points out very early on in the book that the key to good seafood cooking is in buying good fish. Therefore, he starts with a section on what to look for in your fishmonger as well as how to identify good products. I found this information extremely helpful when I started venturing out to markets all over Seattle in search of great seafood. I now have my favorites and can tell anyone why I think they are the best. He then moves into sections on over 70 varities of seafood, giving alternate names for each, a bit on how to choose the best product and some recipes. There is an emphasis on simplicity in the recipes and many come with a list of worthwhile substitutions if that variety of seafood is not readily available. The goal is to turn you into someone who feels confident buying good fish and preparing it well in your home without fancy techniques and ingredients that are not readily available to home cooks. I have on several occassions taken this book to the fishmonger, gotten the freshest seafood they have available and then gone to the supermarket to get whatever I need to make a recipe he has for that (or a similar) fish. I have had great results every time.

The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition with 1,000 Recipes (http://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-All-New-Recipes/dp/0936184744/sr=8-8/qid=1170287799/ref=pd_bbs_8/102-8253243-2300957?ie=UTF8&s=books)

This massive tome is an amazing book for all levels of cooks. The recipes are great but even better are the explanations on why they are so good. Very much a study in applying testing to cooking recipes, this book goes to great length to show by trial and error why certain techniques result in the best results. Would you ever fry an egg in 4 different pans at 8 different temperatures using 3 different fats to find the best? No need; these guys have done it for you (small skillet on very low heat, with a tbs of butter, add egg after butter foams, cover for 3 minutes, if you want to know). They also test cookwear and products (best supermarket bacon anyone?) which can take tons of guesswork out of cooking. I find this invaluable as I am new but also impatient and want to quickly hone in on the best methods and products so I can get right into eating great food.

KJS

Edited to add: I did not see the OOT Thread (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8976917&an=0&page=0#Post 8976917) on this topic before posting this. If anyone thinks this is too redundant, feel free to lock this and I will just move this post as a response in that thread.

[El Diablo]

KJS,

No reason to lock or move. If people want to post more extensive stuff here or pop it back up later, that's fine.

For the time being I'll link two threads:

Current OOT cookbook thread (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8976917&an=&page=0&vc=1)

Older OOT cookbook thread, see my post there for links to other good recommendations (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=5939474&an=&page=0&vc=1)

[Ron Burgundy]

[ QUOTE ]
The mention of a cookbook in the other book thread here made me revisit a 2p2 idea I have had for a while: a thread all about reviewing and recommending cookbooks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've had this idea for a while too, I'm just too lazy to make long review posts. I guess I should just do them 1 or 2 at a time. I have like 15 cookbooks so this will take some time.

I think this thread has much potential for greatness. The other thread currently in OOT is just for recommending basic books. I think it would be awesome if people posted very detailed reviews of all their cookbooks.

There's so many cookbooks at bookstores now that it would take a few hours just to take a quick glance at all of them. There probably a bunch I would want to get, but don't have the time to discover them on my own.

[Dids]

I've mostly stopped using cookbooks, because the internet is just a more functional resource.

At one point I bought 3 Rachel Ray cookbooks, because the concept of a 30 minute meal was appealing.

Her books are horrible. She makes up for a lack of cooking time by just throwing a fuckton of seasoning at her dishes, which means that a lot of what you're cooking is 1- expensive 2- pretty over seasoned. Also a lot of the recipies in the ones I had were (for lack of a better term) pretty white trash. A lot of pretty in-elegant stuff.

[dylan's alias]

Dids, you are right. Rachael Ray makes nasty food in 30 minutes. I mentioned this in the OOT thread, but the NYTimes 60 Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey is an excellent source for a wide variety of fairly easy to make meals. Most can be completed in well under an hour. This was the first cookbook I bought for myself and pretty much taught myself to cook from it.

[Dids]

BTW-

www.epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com) GOAT (not goat) site for this stuff. It has dones of stuff from older magazines. Really really good, especially if you want to get fancy.

www.cooks.com (http://www.cooks.com) is a decent resource for online stuff. A lot of kinda tuna-surprise trashy stuff, but some good basic ideas that you can work with.

[turnipmonster]

aside from generalized cooking manuals like the professional chef and joy of cooking, I think there are two cookbooks I have that really stand out for me by covering their topics really well as well as providing outstanding recipes.

1) the breakfast book (http://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Book-Marion-Cunningham/dp/0394555295) by marion cunningham. I love most breakfast foods, this book has tons of amazing recipes in almost every category of breakfast items (quick breads, cereals, eggs, pancakes, sweet stuff, etc).

2) daily soup cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Soup-Cookbook-Leslie-Kaul/dp/0786883006/sr=1-1/qid=1170355230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9652603-9892122?ie=UTF8&s=books) is a really great book if you love soup. they go over the basics (stocks, spices, etc), but the great thing is many of their recipes start the same way and after making a few of their soups you can be creative and branch out. plus there are lots of high quality soup recipes and variations thrown in.

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
I've mostly stopped using cookbooks, because the internet is just a more functional resource.


[/ QUOTE ]

But what about all the crap that gets splashed on your laptop?

Seriously though, for finding a certain recipe to go with an ingredient in a hurry, I do love the Internet. For prolonged study, I need books. I gotta sit at a computer all day for work; don't need my hobbies to add to my online time.

KJS

[KJS]

2) daily soup cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Soup-Cookbook-Leslie-Kaul/dp/0786883006/sr=1-1/qid=1170355230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9652603-9892122?ie=UTF8&s=books) is a really great book if you love soup. they go over the basics (stocks, spices, etc), but the great thing is many of their recipes start the same way and after making a few of their soups you can be creative and branch out. plus there are lots of high quality soup recipes and variations thrown in.

[/ QUOTE ]

This sounds pretty good. As a pretty novice cook, I love the idea of getting books that can add to my general knowledge as I progress through the recipes. Sounds like this book can do that. Thanks.

KJS

[El Diablo]

Experienced cooks,

Any of you guys have How to Cook Everything by Bittman, or were you already advanced enough by the time that came out that it was too basic? If any of you have it, would love your opinion on how that stacks up against other basic cooking books. When I want to know how to cook something new, I just head to the net, most often to Williams Sonoma Recipes (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/index.cfm). But I'm thinking it's about time for me to have a book in the kitchen.

[KJS]

Just ordered it yesterday.

KJS

[Chimp]

I really encourage you to get a book rather than rely on the internet for recipes. You will learn so much more from a book. First, good cookbooks (I'll recommend some later) have a lot of explanations, helpful hints and various essays about ingredients and techniques that you cannot easily get from the internet, or at least not in as much depth or in an organized thematic manner.

More importantly, a good book will teach you A LOT about a particular theme or cuisine. You will learn so much faster when you see how a bunch of disparate ingredients are treated in a single cuisine or restaurant. I'm not sure I'm explaining it well, but here's an example. If you think to yourself, "I want some paella," you could go to the internet and find a recipe. With luck, it might be a good recipe. But with no background knowledge, you wouldn't know that authentic paella is cooked open-air on a fire so it develops a crust. You might not know how to substitute ingredients if your store doesn't have the exact items. You won't know the differences between the basic classic paella varieties so that you could pick one and improvise off of it. You also wouldn't know the basic foundational ingredients of Spanish cooking such that you can incorporate new things into your version. You might not know that an easy way to greatly improve your paella is to throw discarded shrimp shells into your canned chicken broth that a basic recipe would call for.

If you had a good Spanish cookbook, you would have access to all of this extraneous information. You would see different Spanish dishes that have nothing to do with paella. You will notice flavor combinations in all of these recipes that will stick in your brain, and sooner or later you will recall these combinations so that you will start to be able to improvise riffs off of the basic recipes and techniques, which is what good cooking is all about.

Basically what I'm saying is that working off of discrete recipes from the internet will never teach you how to think like a chef. Books can do that.

[Magic_Man]

If you don't know anything about cooking, "I'm Just Here For The Food" by Alton Brown is great! Especially for us geeky types, Alton Brown is the man. The book is divided into cooking techniques, with recipes for each method; in other words, there is a frying section, a searing section, a sauce section, and many more. Each section has a long description of how the cooking method works, ways to do it properly, and several recipes for that method. The end of the book has a great section on cooking gear - what pots to buy, what to look for in knives, etc. If you want a science-and-math-targeted guide to cooking, Alton Brown is #1.

[The DaveR]

KJS, Bittman has a regular column in the Food Section of the NY Times called "The Minimalist." It's a very good column. The website also has short videos that accompany most weeks. I think Bittman is terrific. Everything is designed to be made quickly and it's basically like Rachel Ray except for people who love food and have good taste.

[turnipmonster]

I haven't seen the bittman book, but my two favorite references are joy of cooking and the professional chef. professional chef has all recipes by weight and not volume, but has a lot of good info. it's not really a book you buy for recipes though. joy of cooking as you probably know has lots of good general info on cooking as well as a ton of recipes.

I learned to cook working in a restaurant, but both these books filled tons of gaps in my knoweledge.

[turnipmonster]

rachel ray's show is on when I go to the gym, every time I look up at the tv there she is dumping a metric fuckton of oil over everything. does her food suck?

[amplify]

For Joy of Cooking: I haven't read the most recent incarnation, but the last time they completely revised it, they ruined it for me. Perhaps I just got used to the quaint tone of the original, how everything seemed geared toward southern formal dinner parties, but Ethan Becker's first rewrite just didn't work for me at all. I have used literally hundreds of the cooking recipes, and hundreds of the baking recipes as well. The cookie and bars section alone is worth the price.

This (http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-Irma-S-Rombauer/dp/0026045702/sr=8-3/qid=1170433386/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-1860272-4536120?ie=UTF8&s=books) one is the orignial and best

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
rachel ray's show is on when I go to the gym, every time I look up at the tv there she is dumping a metric fuckton of oil over everything. does her food suck?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've watched her show a couple of times and it looks pretty crappy IMO. Plus she's loud as [censored] and clearly has zero volume modulation.

Also, for very good food writing under the guise of cookbooks I suggest Richard Olney.

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
rachel ray's show is on when I go to the gym, every time I look up at the tv there she is dumping a metric fuckton of oil over everything. does her food suck?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've watched her show a couple of times and it looks pretty crappy IMO. Plus she's loud as [censored] and clearly has zero volume modulation.

Also, for very good food writing under the guise of cookbooks I suggest Richard Olney.

[/ QUOTE ]

turnip,

Bittman also does the occasional travel story for The Times and here's a recent one on Mexico. (http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/travel/28Choice.html?ref=dining)

[piradical]

Chimp, you have inspired this thought:
The French Menu Cookbook- Richard Olney
Japanese Cooking- Shizou Tsuji
More Classic Italian Cooking- Marcella Hazan
Adventures on the Wine Route-Kermit Lynch
I was sitting in my restaurant one day and I realized that the sense of food, of the vision of a menu as I had it was not intuitively understood by any of those who work with me. How could something like this be passed on? To my thinking these books more than any others hold the essence of an understanding of food and cooking.
Absorb these book not for any recipes but for an understanding of one of the pleasures of life. I make this post only because I am always so impressed by the level of threads here.

[dankhank]

[ QUOTE ]
KJS, Bittman has a regular column in the Food Section of the NY Times called "The Minimalist." It's a very good column. The website also has short videos that accompany most weeks. I think Bittman is terrific. Everything is designed to be made quickly and it's basically like Rachel Ray except for people who love food and have good taste.

[/ QUOTE ]

his article this week 'ode to the broiler' will probably end up being the most helpful one to me yet. bittman is money. he gets right to the important information about good food and makes cooking it seem easy. i will buy some scallops and try to cook them for the first time now, for example.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/dining/31mini.html

[M2d]

though i own a bunch, the only cookbooks i really use often are the Hazan book, joy of cooking and an old betty crocker book i use for pancakes. i've also found the frugal gourmet books pretty good, but you can't find them anymore since he, you know, turned out to be a molester.

[Aloysius]

Didn't know about Bittman food column, will check it out.

As far as his book "How To Cook Everything", this is my comment from the OOT thread:

[ QUOTE ]
Eh - it's OK imo. I was a little dissapointed (got it as a gift). Seems to be a lot of basic stuff with shortcuts, and while it has good recipe ideas, I've usually turned to another cookbook to make a better version of the Bittman suggestion.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is bobman's post:

[ QUOTE ]
I love Bittman, but it doesn't sound quite right here. I think it's excellent for people who don't cook at all and who need to learn how to make delicious food without putting a ton of time into it. That was my situation when I received HTCE as a gift, and as a result, I love it. But every more experienced cook who reads it that I've talked to thinks, "What's the big deal, all these recipes are simple and I already understand how to saute a chicken breast or buy a piece of pork."

[/ QUOTE ]

FWIW I don't consider myself that experienced a cook at all, but am prolly more comfortable in the kitchen than your average person and found it to be a little too basic.

-Al

[Aloysius]

[ QUOTE ]
I've mostly stopped using cookbooks, because the internet is just a more functional resource.

[/ QUOTE ]

Practically speaking this is my line also. /images/graemlins/heart.gif Epicurious. But find it handy to have cookbooks lying around that are:

1) Great primers / basics (I like Joy of Cooking alot too)
2) Cuisine specific (for Korean, highly recommend Korean Mother's Cooking Notes (http://www.hanbooks.com/kormotcookno.html))
3) "Genre" specific - (that turnip rec for breakfast foods looks awesome, just ordered it on Amazon, I also have Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book (http://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Silvertons-Sandwich-Book-Sandwiches/dp/0375412603), good stuff)
4) Celebrity chef aimed at home cooking can sometimes be good (has anyone read this - Charlie Trotter Cooks At Home (http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Trotter-Cooks-at-Home/dp/1580082505)?) - the Silverton book kind of falls in this category - nice to have around to make a more advanced dish which I occasionally do

-Al

[Chimp]

OK, here are some recommendations for Americal regional cuisines:

Californian:
Chez Panisse Vegetables (http://www.amazon.com/Chez-Panisse-Vegetables-Alice-Waters/dp/0060171472/sr=8-3/qid=1170468601/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-6649882-6187251?ie=UTF8&s=books) and Fruits (http://www.amazon.com/Chez-Panisse-Fruit-Alice-Waters/dp/0060199571/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/002-6649882-6187251)
- These two are great reference books, organized by every type of fruit and veggie you'll come across. They include a lot of useful information about seasonality and usage. Recipes are pretty basic Cal-Med, but they're good for learning how to use good quality produce.

Zuni Cafe (http://www.amazon.com/Zuni-Cafe-Cookbook-Compendium-Franciscos/dp/0393020436/sr=1-1/qid=1170468873/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3857903-2400149?ie=UTF8&s=books)
- Has a ton of great recipes as well as useful essays re: techniques and ingredients

Gulf Coast/Caribbean:
Norman Van Aken (http://www.amazon.com/Normans-World-Cuisine-Norman-Aken/dp/0679432027/sr=1-2/qid=1170469203/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-4845382-8216467?ie=UTF8&s=books)
- One of my favorites. Great recipes, especially if you like spicy or tropical flavors

Creole: Emeril (http://www.amazon.com/Emerils-New-Orleans-Emeril-Lagasse/dp/0688112846/sr=1-7/qid=1170469373/ref=sr_1_7/104-0984297-1506328?ie=UTF8&s=books)
- Yeah, that's right, Emeril. This book has awesome recipes, and they're really easy for the home cook.

Mid-Atlantic:

Inn at Little Washington (http://www.amazon.com/Inn-Little-Washington-Cookbook-Consuming/dp/0679447369/sr=1-1/qid=1170469513/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6586848-2216730?ie=UTF8&s=books)
- another one with really good but easy-to-follow recipes.

[bonds]

I have Bittman's How To Cook Everything and use it as my most basic reference tool. If I want to make something that I haven't attempted in years, say, pumpkin bread, my usual strategy will be as follows:

1. See if it's in Bittman.
2. See if it's also in any of the 15-20 other cookbooks I have.
3. Check allrecipes.com for variations.
4. Pick the one that sounds best, based on whatever modest level of experience I have, or if I can't decide, go back to Bittman.
5. Wing it from there.

I've been satisfied with Bittman -- it seems to me that it's exactly what it claims to be, a very basic book that will allow you to make a ton of different dishes and variations without having to spend all weekend learning stuff.

I wouldn't waste money giving a copy to anyone who knows anything much about cooking, but i've given it to family and close friends who are trying to get started in cooking at home.

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
www.epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com) GOAT (not goat) site for this stuff. It has dones of stuff from older magazines. Really really good, especially if you want to get fancy.

[/ QUOTE ]
My favorite cookbooks are full of notes; I'll jot-down things to be careful of, or places where I've modified the recipe. This makes them all the more valuable.

The problem with most online recipe sources is that you can't take notes. Not so with Epicurious, though; if you go to the bother of creating a login, you can save notes for yourself that stay with the recipe.

/images/graemlins/heart.gif epicurious.
-Sam

[Ron Burgundy]

[ QUOTE ]
rachel ray's show is on when I go to the gym, every time I look up at the tv there she is dumping a metric fuckton of nutmeg over everything. does her food suck?

[/ QUOTE ]

[adsman]

The best cookbook I own and I own a lot of them, is 'Slow Cooking' by Joanne Glynn. Beautifully photographed and handsomely laid out, this is a book for people who take pleasure in cooking. Most of the recipes are quite long, up to 6 hours for some of them, but the preparation time is quite short and not too difficult.

These are meals which you prepare and then let sit on or in the stove for hours, happily bubbling away. I have cooked a number of these recipes for friends and they have always gone crazy over the food.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slow-Cooking-Not...TF8&s=books (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slow-Cooking-Not-Fast-Food/dp/1552855805/sr=1-1/qid=1170516566/ref=sr_1_1/203-5503640-9176725?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[thewarden]

It's not a cookbook per se, but Marion Nestle's "What to Eat" takes a row by row look at everything you find in your grocery store and breaks it down by what's best for you, what you should be looking for, etc. It's a great book, and I'll gladly let you borrow it, Vinny, you just got to let me borrow that New Best Recipe Book!

[JaredL]

All,

I'm a total noob at cooking. My idea of cooking is getting something from Trader Joes and putting it in the oven, maybe with some rice on the side. Anybody have any suggestions on books or websites that would be good for me?

My wife doesn't really cook either and the way our schedules work it would work out a lot better if I did the cooking. We both really like Asian food, primarily Chinese, Japanese and Thai and to a lesser extent Korean and Indian food. In a book I would like general info and especially recipes for foods that don't take forever to prepare (long cooking time is ok) and I would love to learn a few staple meals. I live in Pittsburgh so getting some ingredients may be a problem though there are asian grocery stores around.

Anything come to mind?

Jared

[bernie]

Personally, I'm kind of a picky eater(which sucks). I like a book that has pictures of (all)the stuff. Williams-Sonoma, iirc, does this.

b

[MrMon]

I am a huge fan of www.foodandwine.com (http://www.foodandwine.com/), by the magazine of the same name. To access their recipe database you have to be a subscriber, but it's the best $20/yr you'll ever spend. I always start there if I need to find a recipe, usually succeed, but if I don't, I'll look elsewhere. You can search by up to two ingredients, issue date, chef, plus other filters. There is almost no trashy food here, all top notch stuff from top notch chefs. Quick and easy, it's usually not, but it's almost always good. Fantastic even. I would really hate to cook without it.

[asofel]

Williams-Sonoma has an excellent pasta book.

I tried eating it last night. Didn't go well.

[Rhone]

Marcela Hazan is the nuts. Everything I've ever made from her books has turned out fantastic.

Here's a question, though. Any good Chinese cook books out there? I have one from the 70s that I found in a used book store called The Good Food Of Szechuan, which is pretty good, but I'd like to find some more.

[oneeye13]

i really like the barefoot contessa cookbooks. they have mostly simple recipes that people would actually cook. i think i've probably made 15 dishes from them and liked almost all of them.

[Snafu'd]

I just picked up Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques (http://www.amazon.com/Jacques-Pepins-Complete-Techniques-P%C3%A9pin/dp/1579121659/sr=1-1/qid=1170792764/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) which is an updated, one volume version of his famous La Technique (http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Jacques-Pepin/dp/0812906101/sr=1-2/qid=1170792932/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) and La Methode (http://www.amazon.com/Methode-Illustrated-Fundamental-Techniques-Cooking/dp/0812908368/sr=1-1/qid=1170792981/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) illustrated cooking technique books. The book has over 1000 techniques and recipes that are given in a step by step illustrated format. Although there are many techniques and processes in this book that are far more complicated and involved than I am interested in, there are more than enough that are practical and can be learned by even the most amateur cooks.

[Ron Burgundy]

I'll review my raw food books first.

I bought these not because I'm a raw foodist, but because I just like eating fresh produce, and wanted some new ideas on how to eat them. There's a lot of ways to incorporate raw food techniques to make traditional food different or healthier.

One thing I like about all three of these is that they don't talk about meat eaters or cooked food eaters in an insulting tone, which is too common in the raw/vegan culture.

Raw (http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Charlie-Trotter/dp/1580084702/sr=1-2/qid=1170894425/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3942497-6300945?ie=UTF8&s=books) By Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein

This book is almost all recipes. There's really nice big pics of every dish. Obviously, a Charlie Trotter book is going to have very complicated recipes using a lot of rare ingredients. So it's not something you would use to look for fast and easy weeknight dinner type things.

I've taken a lot of ideas from this book, but I've only made two dishes following the recipe. One of them good (tacos), one not so good (jicama-corn salad).

Living Cuisine (http://www.amazon.com/Living-Cuisine-Spirit-Health-Guides/dp/1583331719/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/102-3942497-6300945) By Renee Loux Underkoffler

This book has extensive chapters talking about the techniques and ingredients used in raw food preparation. It also has a lot of recipes, including desserts. No pics, though.

I've used a lot of the dessert ideas, and they've all been good. This book is how I discovered that avocado and chocolate go very well together.

Raw Food Real World (http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Food-Real-World-Recipes/dp/0060793554/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/102-3942497-6300945) By Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis

I've made a bunch of recipes from this book and they've all been really good. Especially the salads and smoothies/shakes. There's pics of every dish, and of the very hot Sarma eating various things.

The authors also talk about their "detoxing" and some other stupid hippy nonsense. Skip those chapters, trust me.

[Aloysius]

[ QUOTE ]
I just picked up Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques (http://www.amazon.com/Jacques-Pepins-Complete-Techniques-P%C3%A9pin/dp/1579121659/sr=1-1/qid=1170792764/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) which is an updated, one volume version of his famous La Technique (http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Jacques-Pepin/dp/0812906101/sr=1-2/qid=1170792932/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) and La Methode (http://www.amazon.com/Methode-Illustrated-Fundamental-Techniques-Cooking/dp/0812908368/sr=1-1/qid=1170792981/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6237100-9752054?ie=UTF8&s=books) illustrated cooking technique books. The book has over 1000 techniques and recipes that are given in a step by step illustrated format. Although there are many techniques and processes in this book that are far more complicated and involved than I am interested in, there are more than enough that are practical and can be learned by even the most amateur cooks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just picked this up - pretty much agree with above review. Prolly fairly obvious - but this is French cuisine focus techniques (lots of sauces) and recipes. The fact that there are step-by-step photographs is very, very helpful and executed well on the page. This is especially true for when Pepin describes how to fillet fish, or cut chickens and truss them up etc.

If you are into French food this is very useful.

-Al

[ElSapo]

[ QUOTE ]
I've mostly stopped using cookbooks, because the internet is just a more functional resource.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure I wholly agree with this. I've gone through a bit of a cycle, actually, where I used cookbooks, stopped and am now back.

Part of getting recipes off the internet is that they are often simplified or just very basic. Which is ok, but not only are you missing something more complicated but you're also missing some of the process explanation and context.

If you're not into straight cookbooks, I'd suggest Culinary Artistry ... amazon link. (http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Artistry-Andrew-Dornenburg/dp/0471287857)

It's not a cookbook, but a discussion of flavor pairing, dish creation and menu construction. It's more of a reference book than a cookbook or textbook; it's really an excellent book to have on hand.

And along the lines of something someone suggested earlier (Inn at Little Washington), I've really enjoyed "Happy In The Kitchen" by Michel Richard .... amazon link. (http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Kitchen-Craft-Cooking-Eating/dp/1579652999/sr=1-1/qid=1171742760/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6846201-1708142?ie=UTF8&s=books)

The dishes will make you rethink a lot of process, and though they're supposedly "easy to follow for the home cook" I found them almost depressing (in a good way). They really demonstrate the type of cooking and prep that goes into a 4-star professional establishment. It's amazing. And Richard comes right out and says "the gulf between home cooks and professional chefs has never been larger." If you've ever eaten at one of Richard's restaurants, it's an experience. I ate at Citronelle a while back and put together a sort of mini-review of the place ... Citronelle review. (http://www.teamwetdog.com/Sandwich/citronelle.html)

Amazing - His book discusses the "mosaic" dish I ordered and thought was so amazing. Probably the most visually arresting dish I've ever had -- and it was born from a need to use scrap. That blows me away.

[chesspain]

I have a bunch of cookbooks (albeit only half has many as I had before my divorce /images/graemlins/frown.gif), although it is difficult for me to keep track of which books contains a recipe I might have read. Consequently, I often use cooks.com when looking for a recipe, even though many of the recipes there suck.

Consequently, I thought it would be awesome if there was a program into which you could type all of your cookbooks--and then when you want a recipe for one or more ingredients, you type in said ingredient(s), and the software lists the various recipes by your book and page number.

[dylan's alias]

By far the best cookbook I have is The Balthazar Cookbook. For those not from NYC, Balthazar is a French Bistro in SoHo, and is IMO consistently the best restaurant in Manhattan. Nothing is too fancy (it is a bistro) but everything is done perfectly. I've never had a bad dish there.

The cookbook is the entire menu, exactly as it is made there. The preparations can be a little time-consuming but the results are worth it. As a scary aside, the recipe for garlic mashed potatoes called for 6 potatoes, 2 cups of cream and 3 sticks of butter! (There's a reason restaurant food tastes so good)

One ingredient that consistently comes up is veal stock (recipe in the back). I bought some cut up bones, made the stock, then reduced it to a demiglace (very thick, almost a gel) and froze it into ice cubes (1 cube = 1 cup stock). A few hours of work on a lazy weekend day has really transformed my sauces (and lasted about 6 months before I ran out). Homemade veal stock is the missing ingredient from a thin, runny sauce that lacks body.

Basically, I can't recommend this cookbook enough. You will find things you want to make and will impress a crowd.

Favorites:

Goat cheese and onion tart

Duck a l'orange

Braised short ribs

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i117/posnera/balthazar.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/Balthazar-Cookbook...TF8&s=books (http://www.amazon.com/Balthazar-Cookbook-Keith-Mcnally/dp/1400046351/sr=8-1/qid=1171813275/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7171008-0221718?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[ElSapo]

[ QUOTE ]
Consequently, I thought it would be awesome if there was a program into which you could type all of your cookbooks--and then when you want a recipe for one or more ingredients, you type in said ingredient(s), and the software lists the various recipes by your book and page number.

[/ QUOTE ]

Try MasterCook. The version I have, which came with a textbook, has about 20 cookbooks already entered. You can create your own cookbooks, enter your own recipes, and so on.

I'm not a huge fan but some people rave about the program.

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
Try MasterCook.

[/ QUOTE ]
Looks interesting. 2+2 Beware, though; I googled MasterCook and found a trial. Unfortunately, Avast warned of adware when I downloaded it, so I didn't install. Be careful with trials out there.
-Sam

[jeffnc]

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream book and a Donvier and you should be good to go.

[Aloysius]

Just got recommended this cookbook by several friends and picked up a copy, looks good:

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2755532-4328025?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182337332&sr=8-1)

I'm a big fan of braised foods so am going to try out alot of these recipes (also a very forgiving method of cooking wrt mistakes, always a good thing imo). Stevens also breaks down science of braising.

From Amazon page:

[ QUOTE ]
Braising--cooking food slowly and at low temperatures in a closed pot with a little liquid--produces deeply flavorful food. Molly Stevens's All About Braising is a definitive exploration of this soul-satisfying approach to food. With 125 simple recipes for braises of all kinds--from meat and poultry through seafood and vegetables, plus a thorough anatomy of technique (Stevens explores oven versus stovetop braising, for example)--the book will please cooks at every skill level. Most importantly, perhaps, it will send them to the kitchen to prepare enticing dishes such as Braised Endive with Prosciutto, Whole Chicken Braised with Pears and Rosemary, Duck Ragu with Pasta, and Veal Shoulder Braised with Figs & Sherry. Braises can also taste as good or better the next day, and Stevens supplies advice for second-day service. Included, too, is an "Opinionated Pantry" which, besides exploring relevant ingredients, expresses Stevens's ongoing commitment to using only the best and freshest available.

Throughout, Stevens's offers sensible, rewarding counsel. "If it comes down to a matter of cooking or not cooking dinner for your family," she says, "I recommend buying commercially raised chicken [as opposed to locally produced or other naturally raised poultry]. Make a satisfying home cooked meal, and sit down and enjoy it with your family." In other words, Stevens is wise. "The act of cooking on a regular basis will make you a better cook," she concludes, "and will improve the quality of your life and of those around you." --Arthur Boehm

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
From Publishers Weekly
Cuisines as diverse as Vietnamese, Moroccan, Italian, British and American all use braising; the technique can be a means to cook everything from vegetables to pork belly. Stevens, a Fine Cooking contributing editor, says that braising is simply "tucking a few ingredients into a heavy pot with a bit of liquid, covering the pot tightly and letting everything simmer peacefully until tender and intensely flavored." With the help of appetite-inducing photos of Vietnamese Braised Scallops, and Braised Endive with Prosciutto, Stevens illustrates just how exciting a braise can be. "Braising," she clarifies, "is a building process. The cook adds layer upon layer of flavor, nuance, and character to a dish at each stage." Although braising is a relatively simple cooking method, Stevens takes her time explaining it, drawing on food science to explain not just how, but why (for example, "Give food plenty of space," because "If the pan is too crowded... the released moisture can't escape and will cause the meat to steam, not brown"). Aside from Stevens's sometimes superfluous prose and ho-hum anecdotes, the book contains interesting tasting notes and cultural information, and Stevens's lengthy instructions will be particularly valuable to beginners. Photos, line drawings.

[/ QUOTE ]

-Al

[slamdunkpro]

[ QUOTE ]
Just got recommended this cookbook by several friends and picked up a copy, looks good:

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2755532-4328025?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182337332&sr=8-1)

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent book. Her recipes are really solid; it's one of my go-to books

[guids]

I just got the CIA: The Professional Chef, and The essentials of classic Italian cooking. Teh CIA book is MAMMOTH, and great for giving you a complete basic overview of everything you need to know about cooking, from any cut of meat/seafood, to hwo to use equipment. Its a big book, that imo, is just best read cover to cover, rather than skipping any parts. Essentials, has a great introduction taht describes the different regions of Italy, and how the geography comes into play as far as the types of food within each fo the regions, the rest is just a bunch of recipes, so basically I just read the beginning, and skip around to recipes as needed.

[mikeczyz]

sitting behind me is my cookbook bookshelf. i've got about 150 back there. you might call me a cookbook fiend.

i'm a huge fan of ethnic cooking. i love bold brassy flavors and i find that mexican, chinese, indian and SE Asian food give me what I'm looking for. For SE Asian, I love hot, sour, salty, sweet. bayless and kennedy for mexican food. fuschia dunlop is my new favorite author for chinese...her two books on szechuan and hunanese cooking are must-haves.

[Jeff W]

Can anyone comment on A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider (http://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Cook-Sally-Schneider/dp/1579652492/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3752142-6747924?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191842695&sr=8-1)? Thanks.

[AceLuby]

I have 3 cookbooks by the Colorado College and they are the 3 best cookbooks I own.

[wuwei]

[ QUOTE ]


i'm a huge fan of ethnic cooking. i love bold brassy flavors and i find that mexican, chinese, indian and SE Asian food give me what I'm looking for. For SE Asian, I love hot, sour, salty, sweet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet is very good. I also really enjoy Seductions of Rice (http://www.amazon.com/Seductions-Rice-Jeffrey-Alford/dp/1579652344/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4349791-3131032?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191865012&sr=8-3) by the same authors. Alford and Duquid write cookbooks that you can enjoy like a good book. This one has a history of rice and some fun stories about the authors' travels through asia. Very nice photography throughout the book. The recipes can involve some running around searching to find ingredients, but not that bad.

I just noticed they now have a book out on Indian cuisine, I will have to check that out soon. I recommend heading to a bookstore, grabbing a couple of these books and paging through them for a while. They'll suck you in.

[mikeczyz]

i've also got seductions of rice, their book on home baking and the indian cookbook. all are superb. highly recommended.

[Aloysius]

So was looking through reviews of Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/1579651143/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/103-8420785-1023852?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews) and looks interesting... but seems like it's much more of a "coffee table" cook book than a practical one for everyday use?

The reason I ask is cause I'm in LA with a ton of very good SE Asian / Asian rest. options nearby (and cheap).

I've found with certain Asian cuisines (Thai come to mind) it's just not practical to cook alot of the dishes at home, because it's so labor intensive with a ridiculous amount of ingredients - really much easier to go out to a restaurant for me.

But I haven't explored SE Asian cooking at home really (I /images/graemlins/heart.gif Vietnamese food, for example), so any thoughts on this or additional cook book recs would be great, thanks.

-Al

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

what is a good Korean Cookbook? I find that most cookbooks and recipes online try to make the dish a little bit different as if to make their recipe original. thats not what i want. i want a cookbook written by someone who runs a Mom and Pop corner restaurant in Seoul. Authenticity and not watered down for Americans is the goal! Any recommendations? I especially want to learn how to cook all of the different varieties of ban-chan.

[Aloysius]

KKF - I mentioned this one way earlier in the thread, I like it alot:

[ QUOTE ]
2) Cuisine specific (for Korean, highly recommend Korean Mother's Cooking Notes (http://www.hanbooks.com/kormotcookno.html))

[/ QUOTE ]

I also like this blog - My Korean Kitchen (http://mykoreankitchen.com/2007/08/03/raengmyun-in-pyongyang/), has some good recipes and general stuff on Korean food.

-Al

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

Thanks a bunch. That book looks good. I agree with you that cooking Thai food is laborious and much of it is stir fried which smells and heats up your house. The curries are good to cook at home though.

[mikeczyz]

Thanks for the korean rec...i've been looking for a good korean cookbook.

[ike]

Mexican Everyday (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039306154X/bookstorenow600-20) by Rick Bayliss

This book is awesome. I've only started cooking very recently and I'm not any good at it, but using these recipes I've consistently gotten delicious, reasonably healthy food without much time or effort.
If you ever get a chance to eat at one of his restaurants in Chicago, do. The meal I had at Topolabampo was probably the best Mexican food I've ever had, quite a few meals in Mexico included.

[Chicago Twister]

I've accumulated a lot of cookbooks over the years, and they are usually in one of two types. General cookbooks like Joy & New Basics, and specialized cookbooks. I also have a number of books geared specifically to professional cooking as I used to be a chef.

The specialized cookbooks are my favorites because while they don't expand the breadth of my knowledge much, the expand the depth a great deal.

My favorite specialized cookbooks are:

Professional Pastry Chef (http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Pastry-Chef-Fundamentals-Baking/dp/0471359254/ref=sr_1_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193892754&sr=8-1) by Bo Frieberg

Splendid Soups (http://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Soups-Recipes-Master-Techniques/dp/0471391360/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193892809&sr=1-1) by James Peterson

Sauces (http://www.amazon.com/Sauces-Classical-Contemporary-Sauce-Making/dp/0471292753/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193892883&sr=1-1) also by Peterson

Bread Baker's Apprentice (http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-Apprentice-Mastering-Extraordinary/dp/1580082688/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193892992&sr=1-1) by Peter Reinhart

Bernard Clayton's new Complete Book of Breads (http://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Claytons-Complete-Book-Breads/dp/0743287096/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193893090&sr=1-1) by Bernard Clayton

I also have one pretty cool cookbook which is a general cookbook like Joy or Basics, but Italian. Silver Spoon (http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Spoon-Phaidon-Press/dp/0714845310/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1088475-9423605?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193893206&sr=1-1) by Phaidon press has a basic version of pretty much every Italian dish you could ever think of, and 2,000 other ones too.

[bobhalford]

Anyone have the French Culinary Institute book "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine?" I've got it sitting in my amazon cart and at nearly $50 I'm hesitating to pull the trigger.

As a beginner cook, I use the Bittman book. I think it's strength is offering primers on all different food types, telling you how to store them, various ways of cooking them, etc.

A friend told me that epicurious is the best site simply because Gourmet magazine recipes are known for having the best recipes.

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
So was looking through reviews of Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/1579651143/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/103-8420785-1023852?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews) and looks interesting... but seems like it's much more of a "coffee table" cook book than a practical one for everyday use?

[/ QUOTE ]We have this book, and my wife definitely enjoys it. The soup she made in ICEDF:Pumpkin was from HSSS.

[BK_]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone have the French Culinary Institute book "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine?" I've got it sitting in my amazon cart and at nearly $50 I'm hesitating to pull the trigger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just bought this recipe and recommended it in the Whats Coooking EDF #4 thread. It has a ton of really good information and I think it is easily worth the price tag. It has some good recipes, but it is most useful as a theory and "how-to" guide.

[BK_]

Can anyone recommend a good Spanish cookbook?

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
Mexican Everyday (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039306154X/bookstorenow600-20) by Rick Bayliss

This book is awesome. I've only started cooking very recently and I'm not any good at it, but using these recipes I've consistently gotten delicious, reasonably healthy food without much time or effort.
If you ever get a chance to eat at one of his restaurants in Chicago, do. The meal I had at Topolabampo was probably the best Mexican food I've ever had, quite a few meals in Mexico included.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just got Bayless's Authentic Mexican as a birthday present a few days ago. I've yet to cook anything from it, but reading through it and looking at the pictures I'm pretty psyched to start trying some of the stuff in there.

[mikeczyz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Mexican Everyday (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039306154X/bookstorenow600-20) by Rick Bayliss

This book is awesome. I've only started cooking very recently and I'm not any good at it, but using these recipes I've consistently gotten delicious, reasonably healthy food without much time or effort.
If you ever get a chance to eat at one of his restaurants in Chicago, do. The meal I had at Topolabampo was probably the best Mexican food I've ever had, quite a few meals in Mexico included.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just got Bayless's Authentic Mexican as a birthday present a few days ago. I've yet to cook anything from it, but reading through it and looking at the pictures I'm pretty psyched to start trying some of the stuff in there.

[/ QUOTE ]

authentic mexican can be a bit intimidating for cooking noobs...i usually recommend mexico one plate at a time for a mexican starter cookbook.

[jeffnc]

I look forward to trying a couple of the recommendations in this thread.

1)
If you want a Hazan cookbook, the one you want is Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. The other 2 came before this one, and this is basically a compilation of them and they are obsolete.

I like this book because it's pure, authentic Italian, without any American influence. (Well, how would I know? I didn't grow up cooking in Italy. But I think it's true, based on reading the book and reading what others have written about the book.) This is the sort of book that makes you feel you're learning so much more than just recipes.

Interestingly, some of the recipes are surprisingly simple. Like T-Bone steak rubbed with a little garlic and grilled over hot coals.

I feel like a cool guy after reading - I can go anywhere and if need be whip up my own pasta sauce from scratch after a quick trip to the store. Canned tomatoes, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, pepper, simmer for awhile, fresh chopped basil mixed in just before serving, and voila (bad timing for French I guess), you have a nice sauce to mix your Penne into (and that is exactly what you do - you don't just pour the sauce over the Penne.) Why buy dry pasta made with brass extruders? Might be a fine point, but she does have a point, and it does indeed make a good pasta dish (has to do with how the sauce coats the pasta.)

2)
As someone mentioned, Ben and Jerry's and a Donvier, and you are golden for dessert. Any girl will want to be invited to your house for dinner, believe me, whether dessert is Coffee Heath Bar, or Lemon Sorbet.

3)
Joy of Cooking is a classic - you will learn about cooking techniques and ingredients as well as some good recipes.

4)
Misc copies of Cooking Light magazine - you can usually find a recipe or 2 every month that you'll like.

5)
Cook's Illustrated magazine. They have an online presence as well. I'm very impressed with the quality of this magazine. Fewer glossy photos (think a little more Wall Street Journal pictures), and seemingly less content (ad free I think?), but really high quality stuff. Kind of like a high-end Consumer Reports for food and cooking utensils and techniques. There is some free content on their web site if you'd like to get a taste for it. For example
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/testing.asp?testingid=528&bdc=6336