"The New Best Recipe" Review - Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Review

From the people who bring you America's Test Kitchen, "The New Best Recipe" is a monolithic book with just about every American recipe imaginable. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had brined your pork before breading and frying it? Or if you had used panko instead of Italian bread crumbs? Well, the people at Cook's Illustrated help to answer those questions by giving you a detailed account of about a dozen or more different techniques they experimented with for just ONE recipe. Admittedly this compulsively formulaic method sometimes results in strange and overly elaborate directions, but it is informative all the same and it's an excellent go-to book if you're ever stuck wondering exactly how to get something just right.

This is the perfect resource for beginners as well because the explanations of how to use the recipes are detailed and the side information detailing equipment and techniques to use is plentiful. And because you are practically guaranteed to create a delicious dish regardless of your level of experience, it is a very encouraging book to cook from.

For experienced cooks, it's an extremely interesting read that will never fail to teach you something new. Beyond the recipes themselves, you'll learn exactly why each choice is made at every step of the process. You'll also be exposed to a great deal of history behind the dishes and how different techniques came to be. The greatest joy might just be sifting through all the recipes and finding the one that blows your own classic recipe out of the water!

To see the new Top 5 Essential Cookbooks Reviews list, follow me to Globetrotter Diaries.

Globetrotter Diaries is a cooking food blog that explores the culinary cultures around the world by cooking a local dish each week and providing tips and techniques to help you in the kitchen. We hope you'll join us on our adventures!

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The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander

This huge volume, with 1126 pages, is a complete resource for all Australian cooks. It was first published in 1996, revised in 2004, and contains a wealth of information about ingredients and the way they can be used in recipes. It is ideal for someone starting out in the kitchen for the first time.

Alexander has been cooking for a long time and is dedicated to her craft. In the introduction to her book she outlines her views on food, including the production of food by economically sustainable methods, using fresh food, genetically modified food and the concept of producing and sharing food as a family.

At the start of the book there a list of utensils with a definition and a brief explanation of how each is used. It contains much useful advice for purchasing each item, for example it is recommended that saucepans should not be bought in a set as rarely are all sizes required and goes on to suggest which ones could be purchased as a starter set. This sort of information is invaluable for someone setting out on the adventure of cooking on a budget.

There follows a rather long section entitled "basics" in which are definitions of some of the less familiar ingredients and terms which is found in the book as well as frequently used preparations such as stock, pastry and batter. After this a very useful section related to measurements, quantities and conversions which has been included because Alexander understands that there are occasions that some recipes, such as bread, biscuits, cakes and pastries, require greater accuracy and new cooks need guidance to feel more comfortable when cooking. At the same time she encourages cooks to be adventurous and to test by tasting.

The rest of the book is devoted to chapters, organised alphabetically, each one based on an ingredient beginning with abalone and concluding with zucchini and squash. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction usually including a personal comment about the writer's experience with that particular ingredient, followed by a general account of where the product fits into the Australian situation. We find out about varieties and season, selection and storage, preparation and cooking and then are given a selection of recipes in which the ingredient is featured. On the side of each page is provided more useful incidental information such as how recipes can be modified by the addition of other ingredients. At the end of each chapter is a list of recipes where the ingredient used in other chapters. For example in the chapter on "eggs" there is a reference to "potato frittata" in the chapter on "Potatoes."

Alexander considers that this book will be worthwhile if it encourages young people to start cooking and experienced cooks to enjoy cooking more. It is certainly a very comprehensive volume which reflects her enthusiasm for food and cooking and on which, any cook, old or new, can depend and find inspiration.

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The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl

My first experience with one of Ree Drummond's recipes came when I was surfing the internet for the ultimate apple dumpling recipe. My husband had stated that he'd never had an apple dumpling that he actually liked (and folks, this is rare. He is the easiest man to please cooking-wise.)

Because of the dearth of an adequate apple dumpling recipe, I made it my mission one day to find a recipe. I happened upon Ree Drummond's site of The Pioneer Woman and was astounded at the blog I found there. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous photograph of apple dumplings on a beautiful blue and white dish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. The photograph alone had my mouth watering.

But it was the way she talked about her mom and the recipes she wanted her mom to bring when she came for a visit that made me keep reading. This is one cookbook author who isn't afraid to be authentic. One of the first recipes Ree recreated from her mother's binder of recipes was the apple dumpling recipe. I'm an impatient person, so I just printed off the recipe, got the ingredients and went to work. My family felt they had died and gone to heaven (even if I didn't serve them on such a beautiful plate as she did). I made eight batches of those dumplings before they finally allowed me to stop.

That's when I returned to her blog and marveled at the detailed way she shares her recipes. Every step has a beautiful photograph. Her marvelous sense of humor pervades the writing. It took no time for me to be completely hooked, wondering if there was enough ink and paper in the whole world to copy every one of her recipes for my very own. I felt I had stumbled upon the greatest cookbook ever.

I guess William Morrow Cookbooks felt the same way because that is when I discovered that she had a cookbook coming out. They made good use of her step-by-step process complete with photographs in the cookbook. No complaints here about not enough photographs of important steps.

I bought one of the first copies. I was very anxious to find out if the cookbook was as good as her blog. I'm here to tell you that my only disappointment in the book is that it is far too short. Now don't get me wrong...her cookbook is a standard-sized cookbook. I just know that there were a few of my favorites from her blog that didn't make the cut. (Do I hear a sequel in her future? I hope so...)

I read a review of her cookbook by Publishers Weekly. They commented that her constant references to her husband, The Marlboro Man, made the book distracting and juvenile. I'm guessing that a man wrote that review. As for this woman, I was enchanted by her serialized story of her romance with a cowboy that took her from the sushi-eating vegetarian beaches of California to the heart of cattle country. The main story is on her blog. Anyone who has read that understands the references in the book. In fact, to me, that was a big part of the charm of her book.

If you're just looking for a good cookbook without any of the down-home stories about life on a ranch, buy a Betty Crocker or Joy of Cooking cookbook.

If you're looking for entertainment, combined with the most detailed recipes with step-by-step full color photographs that are sure to guarantee your success, check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. It's my new favorite cookbook, and I've given them as gifts to my favorite cooks.

About the Author:

Kathleen Birmingham is a ghostwriter of hundreds of articles, lesson plans, newsletters, and books. Currently she is partnering with Russ Stevenson creating a system to help numerous people get their ideas out of their heads and down on paper. For more insight into her philosophies on the business of writing, visit her at:

http://americasauthormaker.blogspot.com/

http://kdbwriting.blogspot.com/

Copyright - Kathleen A. Birmingham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks - A Cookbook by Michael Bennett

Local Fort Lauderdale Chef/Author Michael Bennett has penned a Caribbean-style cookbook from his years of living in the "Islands." Chef Bennett is the executive chef at Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale; his first book is titled "In the land of Pirates, Misfits and Cooks", a first-hand "taste of living" in the Caribbean.

Bennett has coined the term "Caribb-ican" a cross between Caribbean and American styles of food preparation. To excite one's palate and to experiment with new methods of cooking and innovative ingredients makes the old new again. Chef Bennett takes the reader on playful culinary journeys throughout the many islands of the Caribbean showing you that with a little ingenuity you can bedazzle your taste buds by being tropically inspired with what Mother Nature has already given us.

The recipes are easy to read, easy to follow and easy to prepare. This book was designed with simplicity in mind to appeal to the most novice of home cooks yet intrigue the experienced cook at the same time. The ingredients are readily available at your local grocery store making this exciting style of cooking accessible at a moment's notice without much plan other than having the ingredient list with you as you shop. On most pages there are sidebars that highlight cooking tips, preparation tricks and "inside information" as it pertains to healthy eating and variations on the preparation of the dish.In the Land of Pirates, Misfits and Cooks is available for purchase at foodbrats.com or at Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale.

Christine is a lifestyle entertaining specialist and freelance writer focusing on food, wine and events in South Florida, from Palm Beach to South Beach. As the creator and editor of the South Florida Food and Wine blog Christine's focus is to write and compile up-to-date information on all things food, wine and events in South Florida. To contact Christine visit South Florida Food and Wine at:

http://southfloridafoodandwineblog.blogspot.com/

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