More Best Recipes (America's Test Kitchen) Review

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(More customer reviews)Those of you who complain about Cooks Illustrated's habit of redundant recipes between books, look elsewhere. Literally everything in this book is a rehash; I'm about to explain why this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and why CI fans probably don't need this book anyway.
This book is exactly as advertised: the best stuff from the last five years or so of the magazine. A lot of this stuff has been covered in the TV show books; for that, you want the 10th anniversary book, especially if you haven't bothered with ordering the last two years directly from the publisher or never got the first edition of The Best Recipe (where the first season was documented). And diligent collectors of the Best Recipe series will have all or most of these recipes anyway (some stuff, like Pizza Bianca or Almost No-Knead Bread, has as far as I know only appeared in the TV books and the magazine). But for the most part, this is a book for people who are just getting into the whole Cooks Illustrated thing -- something to be bought as a set with The New Best Recipe.
It does adopt a bit of the informality in some of the later Best Recipe books, showing recipes in part as problem domains as recipes in and of themselves. And chances are a lot of the recipes are just the sort of things you want collected all in one place like this. On its own it's worth the 4 stars; it just has a bit of a limited audience compared to some of its seriesmates. Get it for a new cook, or for someone who's just woken up to the geek side of the kitchen. But if you've been collecting CI books as long as I have, it probably isn't for you.

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Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving Review

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(More customer reviews)With all sorts of recipes and gift ideas you better believe these are Gifts Cooks Love. The recipes range from the savory, Rustic Rosemary Parmesan Crackers, and onion marmalade, to making your own olive oil and herb-cured albacore tuna for tuna salad-I can hardly wait to try this one out. Let's not forget the sweet gifts, jams and preserves, candied apples, biscotti, Mexican hot chocolate and double fudge brownie pops.
Scrumptious is the word that comes to mind. I have yet to make anything from the book. There will be plenty of recipes that I will try out. In perusing the book, the recipes all seem quite easy with readily available ingredients and instructions that have wonderful cooking tips. My only criticism is I found one recipe that called for corn syrup. I am the enemy of corn syrup. It is the cheapest cooking ingredient around with evil lurking about-just think fat. Unhealthy and unnatural.
That said, I am rather enticed by the thought of making dried porcini mushrooms and panforte.
What I believe that sets this book apart from other gift giving recipe books is the the presentation of the final product and ideas for gift baskets. You could give someone a smores basket, making your own chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows, or how about an Italian basket, with pasta, sauce and mushrooms.

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From Orange Cardamom Marmalade and Salmon Gravlax to Rustic Rosemary Parmesan Crackers and Blueberry-Blackberry-Basil Margarita Puree, the recipes in Gifts Cooks Love will help you create the perfect gift for any occasion. Because making a handmade gift takes time--one of life's most precious commodities--Gifts Cooks Love emphasizes that giving a handmade offering expresses something very personal.In this beautifully presented book, Sur La Table and Diane Morgan offer something for every level of cook, providing accessible recipes delivered with helpful kitchen tips and ingredient notes, as well as guidance for artfully wrapping and presenting these edible gifts. Gorgeous full-color photographs encourage and motivate creativity, while the 40 recipes inside Gifts Cooks Love are certain to please all palates any time of year, from the sweet and simple to the gourmet. Some of the techniques include preserving fruits, dehydrating fresh mushrooms, smoking and curing meat and fish, and creating spirited beverages. For the beginning cook, there are even simple-to-make no-cook food gifts. And because tasteful treats deserve equally tasteful presentations, each delicious recipe comes with a beautiful packaging idea. Gifts Cooks Love will show you how to turn your handmade gifts into homemade hugs with a few slices of art paper, colorful twists of ribbon, or quick strokes of a brush.

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Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been over 10 years raw and over 10 years macrobiotic before that. During this time I have viewed countless cook books. Ani's Raw Food Essentials is one of the best. By design, it's an impressive book. It has a beautiful layout along with the strength and feel of a high quality text book. It provides detailed instruction for basic raw food staples (salads, soups, smoothies, cereal, wraps, sandwiches, and rolls), comfort food favorites (pizzas, pasta, cheezes, scrambles, pancakes, pies, cakes, cookies, and ice kream), and innovative creations that will leave you and your friend's heads shaking in amazement (tortilla soup with jalapeno-lime kream, Korean dumplings, vanilla and lemon Kream crepes, and scones!!). Whether you are a beginner or advanced student, you will find that it does all these things, and it does them all very, very well. A couple distinguishing factors make her book stand out from all the rest. First, instead of limiting itself to a series of recipes, it provides the theory and concepts behind each of them to a far greater extent than I've seen before. Whether it's the basics of salad dressings, cheezes, soups, pizzas, smoothies, wraps, or deserts, Ani provides detailed instruction that will give you the power to develop your own creations. Second, she incorporates a broader range of ingredients and by doing so lessens the reliance upon high fat seeds and nuts that some people may be concerned about with raw food. You will learn how to utilize fruits, veggies and sprouted grains in places where you may have previously used seeds or nuts. By way of example, her mock tuna salad is made with carrots instead of sunflower seeds, and her onion ring batter is made with a buckwheat base. Of course seeds and nuts are still used in good proportion throughout as they provide essential oils and protein, but you will be pleasantly surprised to learn how to utilize more fruits, veggies and grains in your courses. Finally, there is a most charming 2 page chapter on how to incorporate raw food for our canine friends. In the beginning pages, Ani discusses how this is her version of "Raw Foods 2.0." She is being modest. Her book reaches the next level beyond that.

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Chef Ani Phyo is back with Ani's Raw Food Essentials, full of everything you need to know to master the art of live food. Phyo shows you how to whip up simple, fresh recipes using what you've already got in your kitchen while also offering tips on dehyrating and more sophisticated techniques. Looking for innovative meals that are healthy and delicious? Phyo offers everything from classic comfort foods like nachos and burgers to Reuben sandwiches and bacon, along with more gourmet dishes like risotto, angel hair pasta, and her "you-won't-believe-they're-raw" desserts.Ani's Raw Food Essentials once again proves that you don't have to sacrifice taste to reap the benefits of raw foods, all while living a greener lifestyle. Recipes include: Broccoli and Cheeze Quiche, Kalamata Olive Crostini, Cashew "Tofu" in Miso Broth, Grilled Cheeze and Tomato Sandwiches, Cheeze Enchilada with Ranchero and Mole Sauce, Pad Thai, Pesto Pizza, and many more.

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