The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition by Cook's Illustrated Magazine
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Book Reviews of The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition
Book Review: A great encyclopedia of "Benchmark" recipes, with explanations
Summary: 5 Stars
{Review written Jan 2005}
This is a SOLID book, and it's a great reference to have in one's culinary library to fall back on, in the event you encounter problems or need guidance on how to troubleshoot or otherwise improve upon something that's giving you grief.
Want to make a solid version of "Coq au Vin" (chicken stewed in red wine) ? It's in there. Want advice on how to make an all-American classic like "Yankee Pot Roast" ? You got it - along with tips on what cuts of beef work best, and why. Want a good recipe for Deli-style "Egg Salad" ? Fine. Also included is a detailed treatise on how to hardboil & peel eggs without having the yolks turn green and how to avoid having the shells split during cooking or stick to the whites when you peel them.
STRENGTHS:
* Good breadth (1,000 recipes, most of them are popular and frequently asked-for classics ... not just American but also some international favorites from around the world).
* Excellent depth - each recipe gives detailed instructions on not just HOW to make a given dish, but also what does/doesn't work, and WHY the author(s) arrived at the version of the dish that they recommend. Very informative and instructional.
* Reliable - all recipes have been well-tested, evaluated repeatedly and polished before inclusion.
NITS:
* I have a sligtly older edition of this book, in which pictures were few, and usually of the black & white hand-drawn variety. The newer edition (which is the one I've linked to this review) includes photos for some recipes (along with other additions), which are a welcome improvement.
* Just because Chris Kimball & Co (re: Cooks Illustrated / America's Test Kitchen) are reliable sources when it comes to things like basic food science and diligent recipe testing, it doesn't mean they're perfect by any stretch. Case in point is wine - I've found from experience that their advice/competence in that area is rather mediocre.
Book Review: My New Go-To Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this about six weeks ago on the strength of the reviews here and on my increasing familiarity with America's Test Kitchen and bound annuals of the CI magazine. I thought it would be a nice reference to have, and it is, but it is much, much more than that. I'm a bit of a cooking "geek" myself. I like to know the whys and wherefores and not just blindly follow a recipe. In fact, most of my cooking is done without any recipes at all. I know what to do because I have learned most of the basic techniques and have a good sense of what flavors and textures go together. But I am constantly on the lookout to hone the techniques I already have and to learn new and better ones. That's why this book and all the CI books and magazines are so good. They are really learning tools. By working through their recipes for basic dishes you learn how to do it better, more efficiently, and bring out the best flavors. Thanks to this book I have finally figured out how to make a good pie dough. Their process for partially mixing flour and fats in the food processor, but then not adding the water to the mixture in the processor, but doing it on the counter by hand, made all the difference in the world for me. I now have much greater control over the process and can apply this technique to any different pie dough recipe I come across. Same is true for the pork chops I made the other night. This is not something I cook everyday, so I wanted some help with technique and timing. One of the things CI has taught me is to always use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of cooked food so that you take it off the heat at the peak of flavor and juicyness. And it worked beautifully. So thanks, Cooks Illustrated, for one of the best tools a cook can have. This book is one that would make an excellent present for any young person setting up their own household who is serious about wanting to learn to cook.Book Review: Gold standard at my house
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best all-purpose standby cookbook I've used. I have the Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006, Betty Crocker, and How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, and a multitude of books devoted to particular cuisines. The New Best Recipe is extremely reliable. It's a happy medium between the fussiness of the Joy of Cooking and the homey-ness of Betty Crocker. The recipes are much better refined than in Bittman's How to Cook Everything (which does tell you how to cook everything, just not necessarily how to cook it well!). I'm always surprised at the breadth as well. Random sampling: tabbouleh, caesar salad, broiled chicken, phad thai, apple crisp, chocolate ice cream.
Before each recipe is an explanation of how the authors arrived at their final formulation of the recipe. They try it a bunch of different ways and arrive more or less scientifically at the "Best" Recipe. The explanation helps beginners learn how recipes work and it also helps you to tweak the recipes as needed since you can understand what elements are critical and which aren't. Of course, you can always ignore the explanation and get right to the recipe if you're not up for the extra reading.
Further, this book is currently a steal!
If you like it, I'd also recommend Thomas Keller's Bouchon and/or Ad Hoc at Home. The recipes are a little more exotic than The New Best Recipe, but the preparations aren't much more complicated. As you might guess from the title, ad hoc is the easier of the two.
Book Review: Be the most amazing cook ever, right now!
Summary: 5 Stars
Would you like to be a fabulous cook? Can't afford a ritzy cooking school? Ever wondered if the mortals in your kitchen could learn to cook like GODS??!!Wonder no more...this cookbook comes to us courtesy of the team at Cook's Illustrated magazine, which while not widely known, is the single best source of cooking information and recipes on the planet.
Cook's takes classic recipes, deconstructs them and puts them back together, streamlined for the home kitchen but sacrificing nothing in terms of knock-your-socks-off flavour. Bonus: these recipes don't fail, unlike those in most other cookbooks.
I was always a decent cook, but after finding Cook's Illustrated I became an amazing cook...this book will make you one too. I didn't know food could taste this good; you will produce dishes that rival 4 star restaurants, I kid you not. The directions are crystal clear, and you get lots of expert advice on how to choose ingredients and equipment. Most recipes show you master-chef level tips and tricks that are easy to learn.
I can personally recommend the Coq au Vin p. 341 (my family literally begs for it), and if you cook the steak and Madeira pan sauce p. 389, they will probably name a religion after you. Other highlights, French Onion Soup p. 43, various pastas with garlic and oil pan sauces p. 238, Fresh Tomato Sauce for pasta (INCREDIBLE!!!) p. 241, Molasses Spice Cookies p. 785, Lemon Pie p. 907, Key Lime Pie p. 908, Creme Caramel p. 958. Well, you get the idea...I could go on and on, the recipes are so utterly delicious.
This cookbook is kick-ass, world class. Everyone you cook for will wonder where you learned to cook like that. I have lots of cookbooks and almost never look at any of my old ones any more. This one is just that good!
Get it, get it now, you will be so very happy you did, and so will any cook you get it for. The Best Recipe rocks.
Book Review: Way better than my mom's cookbooks.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never been a fan of white meat on chicken, even at restaurants breasts always seem overcooked and unenjoyable. But after preparing the Chicken Parmesan recipe in the book, I was able to taste the best chicken meat to ever grace my tongue, all prepared by my own hands. Really... I'm not exaggerating.
About Ingredients;
Although this book requires a well stocked kitchen, it does not frequently require exotic ingredients like many other gourmet cookbooks do. I have found that when I buy ingredients for the dishes in this book, I can usually use them again in other recipes.
About Meals;
This book does a good job at helping you prepare whole meals. Many of the directions include instructions for the main dish and a side dish, leaving only a salad for you to come up with on your own. Proportions are usually on the hearty side, and I have fed five people with a recipe for four a couple times.
About Instructions:
I find the instructions to be a bit wordy for my tastes, but they are never unclear. Just be prepared to read a paragraph for an instruction that could just as easily have been stated in one or two lines.
About Extras:
This book is chalked full of kitchen advice. For a new cook like myself there are things in here that have opened my eyes. It's section on grilling taught me more in one hour that I learned from my father during my whole life.
Give the gift of a helper;
This was my Christmas gift for my girlfriend who enjoys cooking but, like myself, is still new to it. It is difficult to match the satisfaction I receive from working with her for an hour in the kitchen and preparing meals that outdo those of both of our parents. If you give this as a gift, expect to spend many hours in the kitchen with the recipient, and expect to enjoy them.