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Summary: Home Gourmet
Review: I love this book and if you like to cook with fresh foods I think you'll love this book too. It's not a no or low fat cookbook. The author instead tries to eliminate as much fat as she can without sacrificing flavor. She uses highly flavorful fresh herbs and spices to boost taste and then uses just enough fat to achieve the desired results. The recipes do call for several ingredients but they go together quickly and I've found the substitutes she often recommends lead to delicious results as well. I've been cooking from this book almost exclusively for the past couple of weeks and everything has been great - the fish section has been my favorite with the tuna steak with coconut-cilantro chutney to the fish baked with fennel and served with orange sauce - I find with this book I welcome the addition of more fish to my diet.
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Summary: Delicious and Creative cooking
Review: I love this book, and its definitely become one of my bibles, along with How to Cook Everything and (for my pressure cooker) Pressure Perfect. I have a huge collection of cookbooks and I would say that this one falls into the category of creative home cuisine, as opposed to restaurant-based food, ethnic food, or categorized foods (sautes, braises, stews, etc). She has such an interesting and flavor-based approach to cooking that it will be hard to think of food in the same way after you have read a few chapters and attempted a few recipes. The book is designed for people who love to improvise in the kitchen, and its recipes establish the basic building blocks that allow the home cook to pick and choose the ingredients s/he wants to combine. Sally also includes her favorites, for fool-proof results, and recommendations for where to buy some of the more exotic ingredients (after reading her chapter on salads I rushed out and bought a bottle of Vinaigre De Banyuls, a 50 yr old sherry vinegar, and a properly aged balsamic. It makes a huge difference in a salad, and now I know that proper vinegar has as complex a taste as fine wine). Like John Ash's Cooking One on One, this is not a book about convenience or how to use every leftover ingredient in your pantry, but about how to make simple food that is fresh, clean, and tastes great. If its not worth it to you to spend a dollar on a pint of whole milk or cream every once in a while, you won't get your money's worth. But if you want a foundation for flavorful home cooking, this book is fantastic.
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Summary: New techniques, fun ingredients
Review: I love this book. I have to admit, it contains ingredients not normally found in the average low-fat person's pantry, and some ingredients not easily found in a standard grocery, but part of the point is that perhaps we haven't used these types of ingredients enough to get the flavor, instead of cheaper, fattier, more easily obtainable ingredients. In the meantime, I like her use (very much like Julia Child's "Master Recipies") of guides to improvising many of the basic recipies, techniques, etc. This is another book that focuses on technique, it teaches one how to cook as opposed to how to follow a recipe. I've found myself cooking from it often, substituting and making do when I can't find anchovy paste. (Although when I follow the ingredients to the letter, the food sparkles with flavors). Deceptively easy recipies such as "Red Lentil Stew with Carmelized Onions" are incredibly complex tasting, and filling to boot. Curry crusted shrimp, easy, delicious, nutritious. I've recommended this book to many friends, all have raved.
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Summary: A wonderful cookbook!
Review: I received this book as a Christmas gift and have made main dishes, side dishes, seasonings, accompaniments, and desserts using it. All of the recipes have proven delicious, eliciting, "Ooh. Ahh." Classic and inventive recipes, exciting variations. I've dozens of cookbooks but this is the first lighter cooking one in my collection. What makes me take this one to the kitchen--and to the bed table!--is the myriad flavoring possibilities for, say, olive oil. This book deserves its laurels. It should be on the shelves of 21st century cooks. All of my friends will be receiving a copy.
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Summary: Cookbook For Our Times, Par Excellence
Review: If I had to live with only one cookbook, or were recommending a single volume for any contemporary cook, it would be this. While it does not cover in detail beginning cooking technique such as knife skills, basic cuts, and identification of tools, it provides substantive information and such an intelligent point of view that even a modestly-experienced cook could utilize it. Schneider's approach, not really new to readers familiar with the also wonderful Martha Rose Shulman and Rozanne Gold, among others, is nevertheless a practical way of eating healthy in delicious, sophisticated dishes. Schneider endorses the practice of replacing heavy and often unhealthy fats with herbs and spices. By using wholesome fats judiciously, by highlighting intrinsic flavors, and by using taste rather than slavish adherence to tradition, she presents a mighty range of wonderful recipes. The recipes also turn out fantastically. Her straight forward, first person writing reveals her love of food and is devoid of pretentions. The recipes include informative introductions, exceptionally helpful notes about ingredients, variations and extensions, and guidelines for advance preparation. The book is gorgeous looking, with a beautiful lay out and user-friendly format. The index is complete and detailed, and each section of the book lists its recipes for the convenience of a cook looking for, say, ideas for tonight's soup. The sections of the book include a great Vegetables chapter, Beans/Legumes, a wonderful Pasta chapter, Grains, Seafood, Meat/Poultry, Breads, a fantastic Soups section, Salads, Desserts, Flavor Essences, Broths, Oils, and Sauces. An appendix provides nutritional analyses of the ingredients and each dish (including calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, and sodium for dieters.) Large and weighty, the book would make a great gift and addition to any cook's library.
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Summary: The Way We Eat
Review: If we eat a certain way, why not cook to meet that end? That's about it. This book is not fancy, but it is easy and most of all very practical. It gives cooking a thoughtful and simple perspective. I enjoy thumbing through this book and making plans on what I will try next.
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Summary: A New Look at how to cook!
Review: Sally Schneider has super ideas to enhance the flavors of common foods. She uses the makings of intense flavors, made in advance,for cooking. There are new techniques to add variety to your meals. Like Julia Child, there are many details about what to expect as you go along and tips about your own development of recipes. I have cooked for over 50 years and learned many useful ideas from Sally!
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Summary: Well Thought Out New Way of Cooking Tasteful Food
Review: Schneider has spent the time many of us would like to: experiementing with various ingredients and techniques to maintain all the richness of the food we love to cook and eat and write reviews on. She achieves this not so much by abstinence from certain taboo foods or ingredients (e.g. sugar, fat, etc.) but with techniques such as pre-emulsification, glazing, etc. This book is mammoth, over 600 recipes. I look forward to delving more into her approach. What has been attempted to date has delivered what promised: rich food that is healthy: Seared Lamb with Moroccan Spices and Tomato Jam, Country Terrine with Pistachios, Risotto with Red Wine, Rosemary, and Champagne Grapes, Upside-Down Red Wine-Pear Tart, Chocolate Mousee Cake. Broad is the scope of this work, laced with Charts (e.g. one of the best detailed I've seen on rice and grains) and Sections on Rubs and Essences and Marinades. It is exhaustive and well laid out, with pleasing type font that is easy to read and pleasant to the eye. Also covered are techniques, glossary, index, and sources listing. A resource that will be used repeatedly to try out this new flavorful way to cook. Recommended for all levels of cooks.
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Summary: A new classic of cooking
Review: Simply put, this cookbook has recipes that are easy to shop for, easy to cook and tasty to eat. I've tried several recipes so far and each one has been a success. They are not too labor or time intensive. This is a great book for beginners because the author gives variations for many of the recipes. It strikes a nice balance between having many recipes yet not overwhelming with too much information.
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Summary: The Dust Jacket Says It All!
Review: The text on the back of the (unique) dust jacket for this wonderful cookbook says it all. "A new way to cook is a redefinition of healthy eating, where no food is taboo, great taste rules, and the concept of self denial just doesn't exist." I note that some readers who have reviewed the book on this site appear to be disappointed because it didn't meet their "low fat" cooking expectations. When disappointment sets in, it is often because expectations and reality are out of synch, so buyers should not expect this to be a another "low fat cooking" tome. This book focuses on whole foods, wholesomely and creatively prepared while keeping an eye on using healthy fat sources in moderate amounts. It also has a wealth of instructional text for those who may be unfamiliar with the products or techniques referenced. I've been cooking since my childhood, nearly 40 years, and this is one of the best cooking references I have ever used. The recipes are simple to follow for all but the very inexperienced cook and very reliable. The range of recipes is also excellent...from seared Lamb with Morrocan spices and tomato jam to roasted vegetable soup. If you like this cookbook, you may also want to investigate Nancy Harmon Jenkins' "The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook" which, although not as extensive as this book, is also wonderful.
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