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Title: Food Network Kitchens Cookbook : Recipes, Tips & Tricks for the Home Cook by Food Network Kitchens ISBN: 0-696-21854-2 Publisher: Meredith Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Maybe a little better than all that
Comment: I would have to agree with the previous reviewer that this cookbook tries almost too hard to fit too much in a small space, and that the photos are often useless, including a number of captionless shots of Food Network chefs cooking or chatting. These pictures look like something from a bank brochure, in my opinion.
But I also think that saying this is a "celebrity chef" cookbook is entirely wrong, and that the whole point of the book is to showcase tried-and-true favorite recipes of the NON-celebrity chefs behind the scenes, who make all the glossy TV shows possible. It isn't like Emeril and Sara are in the trenches preparing for today's episode, trying to decide if the cheesecake needs another half-cup of sugar. That's why they're not mentioned in this book, which is quite clearly titled.
As for the recipes, I kicked off my experimentation by making Mory's Honey Challah just tonight, and if I had a Top Five Pieces of Bread I've Ever Had In My Mouth list, this would have to be on it. Many more mouth-watering recipes to try.
One other note: I find that a good number of the recipes include sub-recipes that could easily be used with other dishes, such as a mahi (fish) tacos recipe that includes a sub-recipe for "escabeche," which is basically a spicy, chunky carrot/jalapeno relish, somewhat like the pickled "hot mix" you can buy at the store. It would go swimmingly with any mexican dish, or with any other spicy main course, like something cajun, or a big fat Chicago-style Italian beef sammich. The recipe for brisket (TEN HOURS in the oven! Woo!) includes a homemade BBQ sauce recipe. There are also "master recipes" in the back, for things like chicken stock and broth...elemental recipes that give the reader a broader knowledge to aid experimentation. They're also used in a number of the main recipes, of course.
Overall, a very fine cookbook with a very broad reach. Find the best price and buy it.
Rating: 4
Summary: These are Quality Recipes for Good Cooks
Comment: This 'food network kitchens cookbook' is a type of celebrity chef cookbook, similar to those by Sara Moulton and Tyler Florence, which are by well known culinary personalities not associated with a particular restaurant or cuisine like Mario Batali (Italian) or Ming Tsai (Chinese). Books in this class are most useful to people who are already reasonably good cooks and use such books as a resource to broaden their range without having to buy a large number of cookbooks. The 'celebrity chef' source for these books should be a reasonable assurance that the book's recipes will be well crafted. In satisfying this objective, this volume succeeds very well.
First, the book contains recipes from a wide range of cuisines with a totally predictable distribution. Out of the advertised 160 recipes, I count 19 Italian, 10 Mexican, 7 Japanese/Chinese, 6 Thai/Vietnamese, 5 French, 4 Greek/Mediterranean, 4 Southwestern/Tex-Mex, 4 Cajun/Creole, 3 Central European, and 2 South American. This count is based entirely on the country name in the title of the recipe or a distinctly Italian, French, Spanish, etc. name of dish or ingredient (Challah, for example is Yiddish and is counted as a central European dish). The potato, cheese, and egg breakfast dish may have a Spanish origin, but I didn't dig that deeply. You get the idea.
Second, the book contains sections on breakfast, sandwiches, breads, and desserts. One or more of these subjects are often missing from this type of book. Including them reinforces the value of the book as a source for entertaining and 'having fun with food'.
Third, I find the recipes very sophisticated, worthy of something found in 'Cooks Illustrated' or 'Good Eats'. The recipe for foccacia, for example, is very careful to start with a sponge, which is allowed to bloom for 30 minutes. No short cuts here. Another example is in the biscuit recipe which adds butter in two different ways to enhance both flakiness and tenderness. I'm impressed. The score here isn't perfect. I detected a less than ideal recipe for Snickerdoodles cookies. None of this should be surprising. These recipes come from a demanding kitchen environment where they are prepared often, with some amount of experimentation and analysis to present them on Food Network shows.
Fourth, the discounted price is right. My giving four (4) stars is based on a price of 23 dollars or less. The list price of about 30 dollars is too much for 160 recipes.
Fifth, there are very few exotic ingredients required, in spite of the diversity of the sources. It does require lemon grass, but does not require Kafir lime leaves or Aleppo pepper. Similarly, there are few overly complicated recipes and several which are fairly simple. However, this is NOT a 'fast and easy' book. I suspect that most novice cooks would find most of the recipes in this book somewhat involved. This is consistant with the fact that the authors did a good job of presenting interesting recipes which give professional quality results. All the dishes I prepared were very successful.
So why didn't I give this five (5) stars? The main reason is that the book tries to do more than it can possibly do well in 281 pages. It also does not do one thing which this 'celebrity chef' class of book commonly does: give us a nice story or background to make each dish more interesting and make us want to read through the whole book. The book does not include an estimated preparation time make ahead tips. This is why I make the point of saying this book is best for a cook with experience. The misdirected effort is in the 'essentials' chapter of 14 pages which gives a page or two on subjects which can each fill large books. A sentence referring the reader to books on technique by Jaques Pepin or James Peterson would have been much better. Also, of the advertised 300 photographs, only about half do justice to the food. Many are pictures of the food network staff at work. Many pictures of the food are too close or too far away. The photographs do not significantly enhance the value of the book. Some background stories however about Mario or Sara or Emril would have been great fun, especially if they connected the recipe to the show. If getting permission to include such material was too much to ask, then stories on how they worked up the recipes would have been neat. A missed opportunity, I think.
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Title: From Emeril's Kitchens: Favorite Recipes from Emeril's Restaurants by Emeril Lagasse ISBN: 006018535X Publisher: Morrow Cookbooks Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Get Togethers: Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals by Rachael Ray ISBN: 1891105116 Publisher: Lake Isle Pr Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: 30-Minute Meals 2 by Rachael Ray ISBN: 1891105108 Publisher: Lake Isle Pr Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen : An indespensible guide for anybody who likes to cook by Tyler Florence ISBN: 0609609971 Publisher: Clarkson Potter Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $32.50 |
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Title: 30-Minute Meals by Rachael Ray, Dan Dinicola ISBN: 1891105035 Publisher: Lake Isle Pr Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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