Cookbook Spotlight

'Secrets of the Skinny Chef' - Cookbook Spotlight

by Maggie Ruggiero, Posted Apr 2nd 2010 @ 1:00PM

secrets of a skinny chef Photo: Amazon.com

Secrets of a Skinny Chef
By Jennifer Iserloh
Photographs by Mitch Mandel
Rodale -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

My winter diet weighs heavy on me... in every respect. I've allowed myself to eat as I please knowing that my down winter coat hides a multitude of sins. With the first buds of spring come the guilt.

So I turn to Secrets of a Skinny Chef. Initially I'm skeptical. Who wouldn't be? The cover says the recipes are decadent and guilt free. I expect there to be a contract with the devil in the appendix. Instead, there is the most unassuming bible of healthy, good eating.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

Seasonal Spanish Food - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 1

by Maggie Ruggiero, Posted Mar 17th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Photo: Amazon.com

Seasonal Spanish Food
By José Pizarro
Photographs by Emma Lee
Ten Speed Press 2010
Buy it on Amazon

What makes a standout cookbook, at least for me, is cracking it open and being so tempted by everything that you don't know what to make first. The book never makes it to the coffee table because you can't get it out of the kitchen. In record time, it's spattered and dog-eared. Seasonal Spanish Food is just that kind of book.

But it's more than just recipes. I found myself standing in the kitchen, mid stir, reading Pizarro's recipe stories. It's the whole package, the real deal. There's charm and enticement throughout.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

My Favorite Ingredients - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 5

by Maggie Ruggiero, Posted Mar 11th 2010 @ 2:00PM

my favorite ingredients Photo: Amazon.com

My Favorite Ingredients
By Skye Gyngell
Photographs by Jason Lowe
Ten Speed Press 2010
Buy it on Amazon

Inspired by seasonal eating, Skye Gyngell has assembled her favorite ingredients and given them star treatment in casual, stunning recipes. The lush flavor combinations are daring but not at all fussy, and her mindful use of ingredients and simple techniques result in utterly embraceable food.

Her sixteen favorites range from single items like cherries, chocolate or honey, to more complex categories, like shellfish. There's lots of wiggle room in each chapter to find what you crave, and even in the dead of winter the possibilities for something sumptuous are at your fingertips. Sometimes a category is a little less accessible, like game birds, for instance, but after reading the recipe, heck, you kind of want to track down a partridge even if you have to go out and shoot it yourself. Oddly enough, after reading the recipe, I noticed that my butcher advertises partridges. Live, learn, and eat well.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

'Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Feb 10th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges book cover Photo: Amazon.com

'Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges'
By Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Photographs by Sang An and Daniel Del Vecchio
Broadway Books 2007
Buy it on Amazon

At age 23, Jean-Georges Vongerichten was sent to Bangkok as the Oriental Hotel's chef de cuisine. Expected to cater to an international clientele using European techniques while making use of the local Aw Taw Kaw's market offerings, he was forced to start from scratch in conceptualizing flavor palates. But like a seasoned painter discovering a whole new color scheme, Vongerichten was dazzled by the potential for one-of-kind nuances and tastes -- and he had a keen knack for creating them, which later made him a pioneer of the fusion cuisine phenomenon.

Writes the chef, "One day, I went to the market to buy apples for our signature foie gras dish and there were none. Instead, I bought some ginger and Thai mangoes... I went back to my kitchen and seared a piece of foie gras, caramelized a piece of mango and reduced an intense vegetable broth with some ginger. When I ate this combination, fusion was born for me."

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Chefs, Cookbook Spotlight

Mad Hungry - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 6

by Jacqueline Terrebonne, Posted Jan 29th 2010 @ 2:00PM

mad hungry Photo: Amazon.com.

"Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys"
By Lucinda Scala Quinn
Artisan - 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Many cookbooks rely on a theme. Sometimes, it's an over-arching concept, like all of French cuisine. Other times, it's a little more niche, like, say, cupcakes or bacon. But Lucinda Scala Quinn went a totally new direction for her latest cookbook, "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys." More than just a theme, she introduces us to a way of life, one where feeding a ravenous family -- without picking up the phone for takeout -- can be quick, fun and delicious.

As the Executive Director of Food for Martha Stewart, Quinn knows how to deliver impressive meals. But her recipes here come across completely differently than the fussy pages of "Martha Stewart Living." Steps are stripped down; flavors are dialed up. This approach makes for a revolutionary and yet straightforward approach to not just getting dinner on the table, but truly serving something that meets the demands of big appetites with more than just hefty portions.

Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

'Beaumont's Kitchen' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 0

by Jacqueline Terrebonne, Posted Jan 15th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Beaumont's Kitchen Photo: Amazon.com

'Beaumont's Kitchen: Lessons on food, life, and photography with Beaumont Newhall'
Photographs by Beaumont Newhall, Henri Cartier-Bresson
Radius Books-2009
Buy it on Amazon

A brilliant mix of art book and cookbook, "Beaumont's Kitchen" seduces you with its restrained beauty. Light years from the world of celebrity chefs and megawatt food gods, this book exposes us to the world of a man who was just as at home in the darkroom as he was the kitchen. Known as one of the father's of photographic history, Newhall took up writing a column called the Epicure's Corner for the Brighton-Pittsford Post in 1956. There, he would unravel the mysteries of the kitchen in his warm and instructional voice.

His articles are clipped and laid out into this book. As a collection, they give a historical sense of how much recipe-writing has changed in the last decades. Totally conversational, the recipes are part of the narrative -- no columns of ingredients and curt orders here. Instead, it's the voice of a friend guiding you through a recipe he might have picked up on a trip abroad or in his mother's kitchen.

Filed under: Books, Cookbook Spotlight

'The Balthazar Cookbook' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 8th 2010 @ 2:00PM

balthazar cookbook Photo: Amazon.com

'The Balthazar Cookbook'
By Keith McNally, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson
Clarkson Potter Publishers -- 2003
Buy it on Amazon

If you ever thought delectable French food could only be attained at overpriced restaurants, this cookbook by Balthazar restaurateur Keith McNally and company will prove you wrong. And hats off to them for revealing the beauty of French cooking: For the most part, it necessitates a minimal amount of ingredients (of good quality, bien sûr), executed to perfection.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Restaurants, Reviews, Cookbook Spotlight

'My Nepenthe' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 2

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Jan 6th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Andrews McMeel Publishing

'My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur'
Recipes by Romney Steele
Photography by Sara Remington
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC - 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Resting on the grandiose cliffs of the Big Sur, California's picturesque central coastline, Nepenthe Restaurant has become an eating mecca for the artistic, bohemian crowd.

Movie buffs may even recognize the terrace on the cover from the 1960's romance The Sandpiper, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The likes of Henry Miller, Steve McQueen, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles have sat around the table of the Fassett family's restaurant for the past sixty years -- and now cookbook readers can too.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Reviews, Cookbook Spotlight

'DamGoodSweet' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 1

by Sarah De Heer, Posted Dec 30th 2009 @ 2:00PM

DamGoodSweet Photo: Amazon.com

'DamGoodSweet'
Recipes by David Guas & Raquel Pelzel
Photographs by Ellen Silverman
Taunton Press -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

When a cookbook can transport the reader to a specific region, passing down the history and memories of the locale through recipes, then that reader is in for a treat. New Orleans, a city of vibrant traditions, is a melting pot for melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Classics that have made their way all over the country include beignets, pecan pie, coconut cream pie and red velvet cake. "DamGoodSweet," a tribute to the Big Easy, is filled with recipes for such classics, as well as some dishes that have fallen out of favor like Calas Fried Rice Fritters.

Broken down by classic New Orleans recipes, pies, cakes, custards and puddings, ice creams, jams and curds, and lagniappes (a little something extra), Guas and Pelzel offer 50 recipes that will keep your sweet tooth satisfied like bananas Foster, fried apple pies, and old fashioned chocolate pudding.

"DamGoodSweet" separates itself from other baking cookbooks by bringing back the importance of preserving and passing down recipes and memories, making it one of our favorite baking books of the year.

See what we tested and whether the book is worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Reviews, Cookbook Spotlight

'Good Eats: The Early Years' - Cookbook Spotlight

COMMENTS 2

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Dec 21st 2009 @ 2:00PM

good eats cookbook cover Photo: Amazon.com.

'Good Eats: The Early Years'
By Alton Brown
Stewart, Tabori & Chang -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Fans of Alton Brown are sure to like "Good Eats: The Early Years," an episode-by-episode companion guide to his popular Food Network show. Of course, Brown has gone on to host "Iron Chef America" and become a spokesman for Welch's and Diamond Crystal Salt, but it is "Good Eats" that garners him perhaps the greatest culinary respect.

The book follows "Good Eats" through six seasons, episode by episode. There are diagrams, screengrabs from the show, tips from each episode, and recipes, which Brown calls "applications." Think Mr. Wizard meets Julia Child on Monty Python -- that's actually what this host is going for.

"Good Eats: The Early Years" is not the TV show. "It's more like 400 pages of liner notes," Brown writes. "But really good liner notes."

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Filed under: Books, Chefs, Reviews, Cookbook Spotlight