The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2007

By erika on 7/29/10 3:34pm
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Apparently America's Test Kitchen puts out one of these books every year.  I have to admit, I'm surprised!  The volume of work that clearly went into producing this book must have been staggering.  

Although admittedly it seems that the book itself is just cherry-picked awesome stuff from the Test Kitchen Empire.  According to the back of the book this includes eight different books produced during the year, plus a television show.  

So in theory, if you are consuming all that other Test Kitchen stuff, everything in this book would probably be old hat by now.  But if, like me, you have only the vaguest recollection of having heard the phrase "America's Test Kitchen," then you will be delighted by this book.  DELIGHTED I TELL YOU.


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Jane Donovan, "Essentials: Egg"

By erika on 7/26/10 3:41pm
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If you, like me, own your own chickens, then you are already sitting up a little bit straighter in your chair to learn that there is an "all eggs, all the time" cookbook.  Recipes just about eggs!  Seriously, I am only one person, and I'm getting four eggs a day this time of year.  And some morning the thought of Yet Another Homemade Egg McMuffin turns my stomach.

This is part of a series which also includes Chocolate and Tomato.  I am mildly intrigued by the thought of single-ingredient cookbooks.  As someone who is definitely not super-accomplished in the kitchen, I like the idea of walking through an exploration of all the different things you can do with a singe ingredient.


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Finally Thin!

By sarajean on 6/14/10 3:02am
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Kim Bensen knows what it’s like to be fat. At 350 pounds, she has been there with so many people who struggle with their weight, year after year. In her book, Finally Thin! How I Lost 200 Pounds and Kept Them Off—and How You Can, Too, Bensen describes so many humbling, embarrassing, and telltale moments that those of us who’ve struggled with our weight can groan or gasp or nod with and say, “Yeah, I’ve been there! That is me.” Bensen’s bravery in sharing these stories helps create a bond between her and the reader right off the bat.

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What To Eat, by Marion Nestle

By ecoscott on 6/13/10 4:12pm
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Is it a cookbook in the sense that it has recipes with amounts measured out and instructions on how to make dishes? No. But to cook you need ingredients, and to cook well you need good ingredients. The beauty of this book is that it doesn’t tell you what to make, it simply tells you what to use whenever you make whatever you make. That’s valuable. You’ve probably heard of Michael Pollan by now, the journalist who has become somewhat famous for his books about our food system, leading to a set of speaking engagements where he has become a leader in the slow food and organic movements.

On the very top of the cover, it reads: “Absolutely Indispensable.” – Michael Pollan.

So, there’s that.

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Honest Pretzels

By sarajean on 4/26/10 10:11pm
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The cover of this book grabbed my attention one day as we were waiting for story time at the library. Someone had left it out in the children’s section, which I found odd; why would a cookbook be in the children’s section, after all?

It turns out that Honest Pretzels is a children’s cookbook, and a delightful one at that! It’s full of fun and simple ways to make everything from homemade pretzels to scrambled eggs and more. As a very so-so cook (okay, I pretty much stink at everything but baking), I thought this cookbook was an awesome find. People like me who lack the culinary skills that many seem to wield so easily can learn to make plenty of different dishes and snacks with this easy how-to guide.

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Wandering and Feasting: A Washington Cookbook

By becksta on 4/14/10 12:20am
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Wandering and FeastingWandering and Feasting

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Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite: Recipes from the F Word. Gordon Ramsay

By lisala on 3/23/10 11:11am
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Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite.
Key Porter Books.
Toronto, Canada. 2008.
ISBN: 9781554701339.

The F Word is a television show featuring British (technically, Scottish) chef and restauranteur Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay, who owns a number of highly-respected Michelin star restaurants has featured in a number of "reality" cooking shows, including Kitchen Nightmares, and Hell's Kitchen. The recipes in Healthy Appetite are derived from Ramsay's BBC America show Gordon Ramsay's F Word. The concept of the show is simple; Ramsay works with celebrity cooks to prepare a three-course meal for 50 diners using recipes that can be prepared at home. The tricky part is that the diners get to decide if the food is acceptable, and whether or not they'll pay the bill.

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The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from An Accidental Country Girl Ree Drummond

By lisala on 3/19/10 4:59pm
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Ree Drummond.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
Harper Collins, NY. 2009.
ISBN: 978-0-06-165819-8

Ree Drummond, after college in Southern California, was planning to pack it up and move to Chicago and start law school. But during a visit to her parents, she met, became smitten by, and married the Oklahoma rancher she blogs about as "Marlboro Man." In 2006 she started blogging about cooking and ranch life, and over time added blogs about homeschooling and photography to her site. The Pioneer Woman Cooks is not only a large Website, with five blogs and a community portal, it's the title of Ree Drummond's New York Times best-selling cookbook.



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Christiane Jory, "The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook"

By erika on 2/25/10 3:54pm
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Everyone, I trust, is familiar with "dollar stores" (or "99 cent stores").  Frankly, I love them.  I have been shopping at the dollar stores here in Washington since their arrival about fifteen years ago. 

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Debbie Puente, "Your Shirt Is Not An Oven Mitt"

By erika on 2/23/10 6:19pm
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Every so often I run across someone who sheepishly confesses that they don't have the slightest clue what to do in the kitchen.  I have to sheepishly confess that I was once one of those people, myself.  In the future, I will simply point them in the direction of Debbie Puente's wonderful and authoritative Your Shirt Is Not An Oven Mitt.

The topic of "cookbooks for beginners" is fraught with peril.  You have two extremes: the first assumes that you need information not only on cheddar and bleu cheese, but on strange exotic cheeses with French names.  The other extreme is embarrassingly insulting, and tends to make awkward use of slang like "yo dawg" and "to the extreme" which comes off about as convincing as when your dad does it.


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