THe Gourmet Cookbook
RUTH REICHL
|
|
154 reviews (2004) (1056p)Visit this book's Amazon.com page >>
| Book Description |
| For beginners and seasoned cooks alike, The Gourmet Cookbook is an eloquent, essential companion in the kitchen - one that will take its place among the classic cookbooks of our generation. Under the discerning eye of the celebrated authority Ruth Reichl, the editors of America's premier cooking magazine sifted through more than 60,000 recipes published over the past six decades. Testing, tasting, and cross-testing to ensure that every cook achieves the same superb results, they selected more than 1000 recipes. The Gourmet Cookbook is encyclopedic but eminently accessible. With it, cooks can go back to the days when Beef Wellington ruled the table or prepare something as contemporary as Crispy Artichoke "Flowers" with Salsa Verde. Those in a hurry who want simple dinners with flavor and flair will find hundreds of possibilities, including Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze and Skirt Steak Fajitas with Lime and Black Pepper. At the same time, The Gourmet Cookbook is the perfect volume for entertaining, full of adventurous recipes for special occasions: Blini with Three Caviars, Fragrant Crispy Duck, and Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake. Throughout the book you'll find hundreds of valuable tips from Gourmet's eight test kitchens. Illustrated instructions explain everything from how to cut up a chicken to how to shuck an oyster. |
| Amazon.com Review |
| When Gourmet magazine opened shop in 1941, it addressed a small epicurean audience. In those days, fine dining was French, seafood specialties always seemed to include cream and sherry, and game made the meal--or so the magazine preached. The bill of fare has changed since then, and fine dining now includes dishes from the world's four corners, commanded by a broad, food-aware audience. Over the years, Gourmet has chronicled all this, changing to reflect a wider, more democratized food scene that has also, paradoxically, raised the bar on what's expected of the average, too-busy cook. The Gourmet Cookbook is the most comprehensive of the magazine's recipe anthologies--a mega-tome offering more than 1,000 formulas drawn from Gourmet since its birth. The statistics are indeed impressive: more than 100 hors d'oeuvre recipes; an equal number of vegetable dishes; 200 desserts--21 chapters in all, touching all courses and including stops at breakfast and brunch specialties; breads and crackers; plus sauces, salsas, and preserves. Included are recipes from Gourmet contributors like James Beard and Jean-Georges Vongericten, and hundreds of sidebars like "Salad Greens Primer" and "Blind Baking," all useful and informative. There are classic dishes like onion soup gratiné, gefilte fish, corn fritters, and peanut butter cookies; "new classics" such as fried calamari and spaghetti alla carbonara; and the "modern," including oatmeal brûlée with macerated berries and grilled lobster with orange chipotle vinaigrette--"every recipe you'd ever want," says the text, something of an understatement. Cooks should know, however, that this is not a basic cookbook, despite its Noah's ark of formulas. Rather, it's a Gourmet cookbook, which means that, notwithstanding some rudimentary recipes, the focus is on the stylishly up-to-date (which is not to deny the excellence of the formulas), resulting, often, in refinements. Thus its recipe for mac and cheese calls for dijon mustard and panko; its beef stroganoff requires cremini mushrooms; its grilled chicken calls for brining; and so on. Recipes can also run to over 450 words, and require unusual ingredients. (A list of sources is provided.) Of all its chapters, those for sweets are the most immediately attractive. For all the praise, though, there's one major goof. The recipe titles are printed in a light butter-yellow color, making them almost illegible. For many readers, this will be a deal-breaker; others will find it merely annoying. Should you own the book? For dedicated cooks and foodies the answer will be, How can I not? --Arthur Boehm |
| Ruth Reichl Award Stats |
|
| *Major Prize = Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, and PEN/Faulkner Award |
