The New Basics Cookbook

Rating:
Summary: an indespensible resource
Review: After reading the other reviews, I just had to write a rebuttal.

This cookbook is fantastic. I have made literally dozens of dishes from this book and every single one has been delicious and beautiful. Indeed, I have even used recipes from it to prepare meals professionally for clients who have always been satisfied. The wealth of information provided about buying and preparing different ingredients is always on target and incredibly worthwhile.

I have never had a problem finding the ingredients as listed in any normal chain grocery store of reasonable size - and I am not talking about the [gourmet specialty stores] here.

I love to cook, and I can turn to this book with utter confidence in exceptional results every time.

One note, however: some of the cuts of meat they recommend can be very very expensive (ex: Roast Fillet of Beef). Instead of using the more expensive cut, read through their section about that meat and cooking methods for a more than servicable substitution.

This book is astoundingly and delightfully complete, neglecting almost no method or ingredient.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A True Classic, A Must Have for Cooks
Review: I bought my copy of The New Basics about ten years ago. I have used it several times each month since then.
This cookbook educates the cook on all the basics of cooking. You learn all about the different types of vegetables, fruit, poultry, meat, and fish and the different (and delicious) ways to cook them. You can use this book in its most basic form by following its guidelines and roasting a chicken or grilling asparagus very simply or you can make one of the more complicated recipes. Either way-you're never at a loss for preparing just about anything.
In addition, this book also offers a number of suggestions for first courses, appetizers, desserts, sidecourses etc. And it has numerous helpful boxes with tips on different types of wines, herbs, condiments etc.
I would recommend this book to most cooks-from beginner to more advanced-as there is something in here for almost everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The New Basics Cookbook
Review: It is a classic among cookbooks. The recipes are uniformly excellent. If you love and have the time to cook and are not on the Southbeach diet or need to be on one,I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Great, but the title can be deceiving
Review: This is a great cookbook for anyone with a bit of cooking knowledge and gourmet tastes. The recipes in this cookbook are more inventive than those in Fannie Farmer, but they also generally turn out well, unlike those in some of the other "gourmet" cookbooks I owned prior to this one. I have never had a recipe in this book fail on me.

However, this cookbook should not be seen as comprehensive; if you're looking for a cookbook with all the basics, either in terms of techniques or recipes, this cookbook won't have everything you're looking for (nor, I believe, is it meant to, despite the title). It occasionally mentions technique when relevant, and includes interesting little sidebars, but this is not where you'll learn how to cook from the ground up.

Also, I've had to be flexible with some of the recipes, especially for meat. The cuts of meat called for are often nonexistent in grocery stores -- even gourmet grocery stores in the Boston area. I would imagine they would be even more difficult to find in smaller cities. I even grew up using beef from my grandparents' cows -- direct from the butcher -- and I still have never heard of some of the cuts this cookbook requires. Unless you're on very good terms with a butcher, you'll need to be flexible with the meat recipes.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a bit of cooking experience. I think you'll find it interesting, engaging, and inventive, without being too specialized in terms of cuisine. It's a great tool for planning dinners and learning how to entertain. For beginners, I think this cookbook might be confusing, and for very advanced cooks, it would be neither an adequate reference tool nor sufficiently specialized.

Rating:
Summary: Anything BUT the basics
Review: This book may not have been published until 1989, but it is the quintessential 80's cookbook: the recipes are way too fussy, too expensive, too pretentious, just too... too. The motto of the Silver Palate gals could easily be, "Why dirty one pan when Miguel can wash five?" These recipes are fine for caterers, or for amateurs with plenty of staff, whose idea of fun is running around all day after chanterelles, golden raspberries, and obscure fish. But with a few exceptions (I still make the Beet Vichyssoise and the Tarragon Pea Soup) these recipes just are not useful for your average weekend hostess, let alone everyday cooking. It's not that I'm scared of these recipes, although some of them are tricky - I am a cook with lots of experience and my friends consider me a foodie. It's just that I've found the regular old (American and ethnic) basics are as good or better than this silly nouveau stuff, and they're cheaper and faster too. If money and time are no object, then you might call this a basic cookbook. Otherwise you should look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven, but still a good addition to any cookbook collection
Review: I have owned and used this book for many years, and have found the recipes to be uneven - many are outstanding, and some are not so good. Given the size and scope of the book, this should not be a surprise. I am especially critical of some of the baked items, which do not seem to be carefully tested. However, I think it is worth having simply for the ideas - many of their recipes are quite inventive, and they have lots of fun ideas for entertaining. It is true that they are not low-cal, but you can easily omit much of the heavy cream or cheeses and use lighter alternatives. They also offer a nice range of recipes from easy to somewhat difficult, which makes it a nice choice for beginner to accomplished cooks. If you are the kind of cook who reads cookbooks for fun, and likes to "research" recipes before making things, this is a good one to have - definitely a "basic" essential for entertaining or for making easy haute cuisine at home. This one still ranks among my top choices of cookbooks.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: I have just bought my 2nd copies of almost all of the Silver Palate Cookbooks, including this one because mine were so dog-earred and stained from much loving use. I began with the first one the year it was published in the early 80s, when I was just out of college. My mother had taught me how to cook, but this took it to a whole new level of wonderful tastes. Many of the ingredients were very hard to find then, but most of them can now be found at the local grocery, which I give Lukins and Rosso at least some of credit for. I put them up there with great cooks whose work has affected millions of American Palates and a whole generation of baby-boomer "foodies". I think their cookbooks will endure.
I have never had a Silver Palate recipe bomb and the instructions are easy to follow. My only frustration is how they organize things sometimes, but I keep an index of my own cookbook favorites anyway. If you like to cook and unless your taste buds crave things made with velvetta, cream of mushroom soup and those canned crunchy onion rings, the Siver Palate books are a must have!

Rating:
Summary: Beware the Brisket
Review: I have had my copy of The New Basics for many years. I wouldn't say that I'm intimidated by it, although the layout is not particularly user-friendly and I do agree with those who consider the book to be a bit pretentiously over the top. But I will concede that it is a book of its time -- the 1980s.

That said, there is no excuse for what is either a major editorial gaffe, writers' ignorance, or laziness all around regarding the brisket recipe (Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef). I should have gone with my gut instinct and known that if one bakes an already-browned brisket at the prescribed 375 degrees for the stated 3 to 3 1/2 hours in liquid consisting solely of 2 tablespoons tomato paste, one will have a burnt mess. Fortunately, I happened to rescue the meat before it was a total waste, but my 8 Qt All-Clad dutch oven will need resuscitation. Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

While I have enjoyed a few of the recipes, such as the minnestrone and the coq au vino bianco, I am now very reluctant to try anything else.

Rating:
Summary: The one I keep going back to
Review: I bought this book 13 years ago when I didn't know how to boil an egg. It has taught me all the basics and I still go back to it for ideas and old time favorites. It is my most used cookbook and I would recommend it for the novice and pro equally. My only negative comment is that the recipes are not low fat or low calorie, but rather high taste oriented. Check out the Moroccan Chicken recipe.

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE
Review: Give this to the person just starting out in the kitchen and the person who has been cooking for 50 years. Both will find it equally enjoyable. Simply one of the best cookbooks out there. Incredibly informative-- you could curl up and read it for hours. The recipes, while sometimes a bit more complicated that other cookbooks, are worthy of your time and efforts.