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

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

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 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.