Book Reviews: Cookbooks
Okay, the three cookbooks I ordered for my birthday came yesterday, and I got to go through them last night. Here are my preliminary thoughts (with the caveat that it's hard to tell on a cookbook til you've tried the recipes):
The Perfect Scoop, by David Leibovitz - OMG. Awesome book of some of the best ice cream recipes I've ever heard of - Guinness-Milk Chocolate ice cream? Vietnamese Coffee ice cream? Eggnog ice cream with bourbon AND rum? I'm so there.
He starts out with a basics section that includes step-by-step instructions for making the custard, which seems to be the trickiest part of most French-style ice cream recipes. (The American-style isn't cooked, but it's not as creamy and rich, either. Best for fruit ice creams.) The other sections are Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Sauces and Toppings, Mix-Ins (including cookies and brittle) and Vessels (such as cones).
There are TONS of recipes in each section, and they're all neatly laid out with precise instructions. Plus, he has a nice, friendly voice. This book seems like a winner - can't wait to start making ice cream!
The America's Test Kitchen Baking Book, by America's Test Kitchen - This book reminds me of those old Betty Crocker cookbooks with the ring binders. I am not sure how well it'll hold up over the years, but it is nice to have the colorful pictures and detailed instructions.
The recipes seem pretty good, and there are a lot of them - everything from quick breads to yeast breads to cakes. A lot of these recipes were on the ATK show, and some have been published in their magazines and books. On one hand, I've seen them before; on the other, it's nice to have them in one place.
There's a lot of text in this cookbook; every recipe has a lot of information about how they arrived at it, what could go wrong, etc. It's useful info, but it also means there can be several pages between recipes. That might prevent you from finding things quickly, so they put a very handy index in the back - separated by tabs. That helps a lot.
Overall, this is a good cookbook, if not an OMG-I-Love-It cookbook, and I can see myself using it a lot.
Great British Cooking: A Well-Kept Secret, by Jane Garmey. This was the main disappointment of the bunch (though at $11, not too big of one). Not because British food is no good, which might be the impression you got if you didn't know better. More because the author fell into the trap of equating a traditional cuisine like British food with "historical food". There's a ton of rabbit and squab and suet and other stuff we just don't eat anymore.
Also, some of the recipes seem a little off. I mean, one recipe for a simple stew called for 2 pounds of beef (not that much when the meat is cubed) and SEVEN LARGE ONIONS! Um...seven? That's way too much onion for me. And no, it wasn't supposed to be an onion-based dish, but all you would taste in that recipe is onion.
Some of the traditional puddings look good (although many require suet - which is really hard to find here and doesn't fit with American tastes, anyway). I may try a few of the recipes. But mostly, this will go in the pile of interesting books about the history of food, and I'll keep looking for a practical English/Irish cookbook...
The Perfect Scoop, by David Leibovitz - OMG. Awesome book of some of the best ice cream recipes I've ever heard of - Guinness-Milk Chocolate ice cream? Vietnamese Coffee ice cream? Eggnog ice cream with bourbon AND rum? I'm so there.
He starts out with a basics section that includes step-by-step instructions for making the custard, which seems to be the trickiest part of most French-style ice cream recipes. (The American-style isn't cooked, but it's not as creamy and rich, either. Best for fruit ice creams.) The other sections are Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Sauces and Toppings, Mix-Ins (including cookies and brittle) and Vessels (such as cones).
There are TONS of recipes in each section, and they're all neatly laid out with precise instructions. Plus, he has a nice, friendly voice. This book seems like a winner - can't wait to start making ice cream!
The America's Test Kitchen Baking Book, by America's Test Kitchen - This book reminds me of those old Betty Crocker cookbooks with the ring binders. I am not sure how well it'll hold up over the years, but it is nice to have the colorful pictures and detailed instructions.
The recipes seem pretty good, and there are a lot of them - everything from quick breads to yeast breads to cakes. A lot of these recipes were on the ATK show, and some have been published in their magazines and books. On one hand, I've seen them before; on the other, it's nice to have them in one place.
There's a lot of text in this cookbook; every recipe has a lot of information about how they arrived at it, what could go wrong, etc. It's useful info, but it also means there can be several pages between recipes. That might prevent you from finding things quickly, so they put a very handy index in the back - separated by tabs. That helps a lot.
Overall, this is a good cookbook, if not an OMG-I-Love-It cookbook, and I can see myself using it a lot.
Great British Cooking: A Well-Kept Secret, by Jane Garmey. This was the main disappointment of the bunch (though at $11, not too big of one). Not because British food is no good, which might be the impression you got if you didn't know better. More because the author fell into the trap of equating a traditional cuisine like British food with "historical food". There's a ton of rabbit and squab and suet and other stuff we just don't eat anymore.
Also, some of the recipes seem a little off. I mean, one recipe for a simple stew called for 2 pounds of beef (not that much when the meat is cubed) and SEVEN LARGE ONIONS! Um...seven? That's way too much onion for me. And no, it wasn't supposed to be an onion-based dish, but all you would taste in that recipe is onion.
Some of the traditional puddings look good (although many require suet - which is really hard to find here and doesn't fit with American tastes, anyway). I may try a few of the recipes. But mostly, this will go in the pile of interesting books about the history of food, and I'll keep looking for a practical English/Irish cookbook...