A great all-around cookbook with vast scope
Rating:
5 / 5
Of the dozens of cookbooks I use, this is the one that I continually return to, after owning it for over 10 years. Its recipes extend to all aspects of the meal, from salads and soup to wonderful desserts, and cover many different techniques. Its real strength is in the approach: solid, well-tested, basic master recipes are presented, followed by a range of variations to them. We end up knowing how, for example, to prepare 32 kinds of cream soup, and a dozen kinds of quiche. The author alerts the cook to pitfalls and how to avoid them, as well as giving advise on how to rescue the situation when things go wrong. For cooks at all levels. My favorite cookbook.
Great Reference Book for Beginner or Advanced Cooks
Rating:
5 / 5
Cooking has been my hobby since I was 8-years old. I own (and use) over 35 different cookbooks, all of which are specialty books by cuisine or food category. A compulsive recipe clipper, I really needed a basic cookbook for times when recipes seemed incorrect (especially those from the Los Angeles Times Food Section!). This is it. Clear, concise and well organized. A beginner could teach herself how to cook using just this book, yet an advanced chef would find it helpful when brushing up on "rusty" techniques or trying something new to him/her. It's up-to-date but not one of those horrid "take one box of cake mix" type of books. Loads of practical info -- I especially like the weight & measurement conversion charts inside the front and back covers, which come in handy when you're doubling or splitting a recipe or translating foreign measurements.
A Longtime Kitchen Companion
Rating:
5 / 5
As a long time cook, I discovered this book about five years ago. Now I use the master recipes for almost everything I make. The recipes are well explained, the procedures tried and true and they all work wonderfully. Having experimented with many souffle recipes over the years, I tried the master recipe contained here. It produces a consistently perfect souffle - the only one I use.I have learned many techniques from this book and with a bookshelf full of recipe books - this is the first one I reach for reference.
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