I love cooking, and I love cookbooks. I'm selective, though. My latest purchase comes from America's Test Kitchen, and it's called The Best 30-Minute Recipe Book. I've pored over the entire thing--it's quite the read--and it includes little quick tips, equipment reviews, and techniques for faster, better results. The list of recipes I want to try is fairly extensive, so I will probably tackle one or two a week. Then I can try them out on my friends!
In my experience, when I try a new cookbook, it usually takes a few recipes to figure out the basic techniques and style of the book. You can't just try one recipe with perhaps less than satisfactory results and then decide you don't like the book. And, if you like the recipe, usually the next time you cook it it will turn out even better and in less time. When I first tried Rachael Ray's recipes, they were complicated to do and took me WAY more than 30 minutes. (And about 5 pans, which resulted in a horrible clean-up, which soured the experience as well.) However, after a few different attempts (and watching her cook on TV) I have figured out her methods and can now tackle most of her stuff pretty easily. The nice thing about Rachael Ray is, she has introduced me to some new fresh herbs and taught me how to chop a lot faster.
I also love Ina Garten, who writes the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. My favorite is called Family Style. I've tried a bunch of things out of it, and she is very clear about her tips and tricks for success. My favorite thing about this book, unlike some of her others, is that it is simple and the recipes aren't too strange. I'm not looking for something that requires only food storage items, but I don't want to have to shop for every ingredient in aisles I have never before visited.
As I try some new things that should only take 30 minutes, I will let you know what I find, and if I can actually recommend the cookbook!
In my experience, when I try a new cookbook, it usually takes a few recipes to figure out the basic techniques and style of the book. You can't just try one recipe with perhaps less than satisfactory results and then decide you don't like the book. And, if you like the recipe, usually the next time you cook it it will turn out even better and in less time. When I first tried Rachael Ray's recipes, they were complicated to do and took me WAY more than 30 minutes. (And about 5 pans, which resulted in a horrible clean-up, which soured the experience as well.) However, after a few different attempts (and watching her cook on TV) I have figured out her methods and can now tackle most of her stuff pretty easily. The nice thing about Rachael Ray is, she has introduced me to some new fresh herbs and taught me how to chop a lot faster.
I also love Ina Garten, who writes the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. My favorite is called Family Style. I've tried a bunch of things out of it, and she is very clear about her tips and tricks for success. My favorite thing about this book, unlike some of her others, is that it is simple and the recipes aren't too strange. I'm not looking for something that requires only food storage items, but I don't want to have to shop for every ingredient in aisles I have never before visited.
As I try some new things that should only take 30 minutes, I will let you know what I find, and if I can actually recommend the cookbook!
1 comment:
Hey Tamera, If you find a recipe that you love and your kids actually loved, please share it on your blog so that we can try the recipe too. I love cookbooks too, but rarely try more then a few recipes out of each one, so instead of buying a new one you are trying, just share the best of the best with us.
Post a Comment