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The New American Chef : Cooking with the Best of Flavors and Techniques from Around the World

The New American Chef : Cooking with the Best of Flavors and Techniques from Around the World

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $18.87
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Insights from leading experts on 10 important cuisines.
Review: Featuring: Mario Batali, Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Penelope Casas, Susan Feniger, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Zarela Martinez, Mary Sue Milliken, Julie Sahni, Piero Selvaggio, Nina Simonds, Masa Takayama, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Paula Wolfert, Su-Mei Yu and dozens more!

"[The books of] Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...are the best place to experience the cult of The New American Chef."
THE NEW YORKER

"This glorious work literally sings with the excitement of what is our own culinary make-up: diversity, passion, exuberance, intrigue and spice."
CHARLIE TROTTER, chef-owner, Charlie Trotter's

"Learning to think like the 'dream team' of culinary authorities featured in this brilliant book will inspire and guide you to juggle global ingredients and techniques so you can cook, and create, like a maestro."
MICHAEL GELB, New York Times bestselling author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

"A groundbreaking work filled with expert teaching and an abundance of mouthwatering recipes."
MICHAEL ROMANO, chef-partner, Union Square Cafe

"Dornenburg and Page collaborate successfully once more....[a] thorough...guide to the values, tastes and methods that form each cuisine."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"An invaluable reference."
PATRICK O'CONNELL, chef-owner, The Inn at Little Washington

"Preparing good food is an act of love, which comes through on every page of THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF."
DR. ROBERT MULLER, Retired Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best books of the year
Review: I had already thought that THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF was one of the best books I read all year. I subscribe to the authors' enewsletter, and just read that this book was mentioned as one of the best books of 2003 in a number of publications, including by Gael Greene of NEW YORK, Kathie Jenkins of THE ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, Carolyn Jung of THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, Marilyn Marter of THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, William Rice of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Bart Ripp of THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE, Cheri Secard of FABULOUSFOODS.COM, MURIEL STEVENS of THE LAS VEGAS SUN, and Marion Sullivan of THE CHARLESTON POST AND COURIER. Great minds think alike!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This years best gift. Even I can entertain with style
Review: I have always been stressed about how to create a meal for guests. The New American Chef has changed my life. Beautiful and varied recipes with simple suggestions on presentation has made me a confident chef (dare I call myself by this name) and entertaining a joy. I gave this book to everyone for the holidays from kids going off to their first apartments, newlyweds, my parents, clients and my eleven year old son (who then asked for a kitchen tool as a holiday gift). We love to try the recipes and the book is written in a way that makes you realize why the cooking channel is true entertainment. It reads like an ambrosia of short stories.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A fascinating look at 10 different cuisines
Review: I have been trying to buy a copy of this book on Amazon ever since hearing the authors speak at the Cascadia Culinary Arts conference here in Washington on May 22 (they were incredible) but it's been "out of stock" for weeks. VERY frustrating. I wish that I had bought a copy at the conference, but I didn't want to carry it around at the time. If I knew how hard it would be to find a copy, I would have! I spent two hours reading a friend's copy of "The New American Chef" and found it fascinating. The authors joked that it's the "Cliff Notes" of 10 different cuisines, but it's so much more. I love the idea of their "culinary compass" that they wrote about in the beginning of the book that maps out the way chefs cook today, and whether their focus is on experimentation or authenticity. It was obvious from their talk and from what I saw of this book that they think about food differently from other writers. I want my own copy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delicious reading
Review: I started reading The New American Chef late one night, and had to force myself to stay in bed and not race right to the kitchen and start cooking. There are so many great recipes in here--and, unlike most books for cooks and foodies, there's also so much more: smart advice, fascinating history, insights from some of the best chefs in the world. I plan to buy it for all the cooks on my Christmas list.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The New American Chef is my new favorite book.
Review: I would consider myself a cook who knows just enough to make himself dangerous in the kitchen, but definitely come up against my learning wall, i.e. I know what lemongrass is but not always where and how to use it. This book is giving me the grounding and general knowledge that I need to make my cooking stronger every night.

Not being one to be inspired following a recipe, I want to learn the rules so I can make the food I want to cook. (The exception being the case of Daniel Boulud, who is described as the Zen Master of Braising. I was happy to find his recipe for braised shortribs, I will follow that one!) I also want whatever I'm cooking to taste like the dish I had at the restauranat that made me want to try to make it at home in the first place. This book teaches that. For example, I didn't know chicken stock in Mexican cooking was lighter than in French cooking.

I am finding this book great night table reading because the chapters tell stories. This is not simply a "how to" book, it is a "here's why" book. Like their previous books, this one is like sitting at the table with the chefs and talking over a meal.

The special sections are eclectic but they are always helpful and interesting. In the chapter on Spain, there is a section on Sherry. (At first I laughed because I fell into "bad Sherry experiences" by drinking cream Sherry when I was younger.) THeir advice on what kind of Sherry to drink with what kind of Spanish dishes is helpful and encouraging me to want to try Sherry again. There is a section on "two chefs journey to your table" which is about how two top Vietnamese chefs made it to America and started cooking. This was both inspiring and touching and gave me the sort of behind the scenes information I always look forwad to in these authors books.

I found plenty of good advice in this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to save themselves the time of having to read 10 cookbooks yet wants to know the tips on how to get it right when cooking the food of these 10 countries. This is the first book I can think of that reflects the way I eat at home, one night making an Italian dish and another night making Mexican food. It's nice to finally have this information all in one place!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Incomplete and Inconsistent
Review: I'll let others provide the raves. Just like every 'how-to' book ever written, this book was written in segments. And, unlike most of those other how-to books, it shows. It all starts during the story boarding process of writing a book (outlining what you will write about). The heading structure is decided upon for the topics, and a well-thought-out book of this nature should have identical topics for every chapter. It is in this planning stage where inconsistencies are discovered and corrected and the writers and editor work together to fix them. This wasn't done well for this book. For example, for some reason Andrew has his own section in the preface where he writes in the first person about his experiences, Karen does not have her own section. The other two sections in the preface are written as the collective, "we."

Notably missing from this book are the cuisines of: Greece, Middle East, Germany, and the Caribbean.

As a book is being written, new and unforeseen topics appear. The writers and editor decide whether this unforeseen topic is out of scope for the book, or, if it is not, the topic is to be included for all chapters. Considerations in the yes/no decision include schedule, resources, and funding. If these three components cannot be properly executed for the entire book, the topic should be abandoned. For this book, each cuisine is on its own as if it had its own budget; good information that is included in one, is excluded in the rest. This is just poor design and layout. Here are some inconsistencies:

Japanese cooking
Page 47 has a table showing the menu for a formal Japanese dinner. It lists 12 courses and the order in which they should be served. This is not included for the Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Moroccan, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines. Something of this nature is invaluable to all cuisines for anyone wishing to put together an ethnic dinner. For example, readers will have to look elsewhere to find that a traditional sequence for a formal French dinner is: Cold app or soup, Soup, Hot app (always fish/shellfish), Intermezzo (sorbet), Main course, Salad, Cheese, Dessert (entremets).

Page 50 shows the seasons for obtaining Japanese ingredients when they are at their peak. It greatly expands upon their entry for Japanese cuisine in the book, Culinary Artistry (by the same authors). This is great information. Again, this is not available for the other cuisines.

I know that their contacts are different for each cuisine. However, if one contact has useful information about a specific cuisine (menu list or seasonal ingredient) and that is to be included, a light bulb should appear over the heads of the writers and editor and they should make this valuable topic available for all the cuisines by going back to their contacts and doing the necessary research.

Italian cooking
All the other cuisines have regions section titled, "The Culinary Map of <insert country>". Italy does not and this is one country that definitely has regional cuisine.

French cooking
Page 166 shows the regional sections of France reduced to a table. None of the other cuisines have a table. Ideally, as one who prefers to find necessary information quickly and easily, all sections should have a discussion of the regions followed by a table.

There is no information regarding cheese.

Chinese cooking
Page 222 has a great table on pairing teas with food. This is excellent information. But, this is yet another book by Andrew and Karen where they shy away from pairing wine with food. In the French section, there are only four non-informative paragraphs under a heading, How Wine Builds Character. Daniel Boulud is quoted as saying, "French dishes are designed to be paired with wine." Yet, there is no information explaining how. You'll need to look elsewhere.

It's not that difficult and wine/food matching can be summarized in a few pages. For example, an introduction to a home cook wanting to match food and wine can be to break both down into the basics of contrast and complements, and go from there.

Acid's contrast is salt; its complement is sweet
Bitter's contrast is sweet; its complement is also sweet
Sweet's contrast is bitter' its complement is salt
Salt's contrast is acid; its complement is sweet
Tannin's contrast is fat; its complement is sweet

After knowing this, a few examples can show a cook how to decide to contrast or complement a food to wine. An example to contrast is learning that the richness in game, such as duck, is diminished with fruit (Duck à l'Orange). Earthy wines are also contrasted with fruit if only because the earthy wine doesn't contain the fruit it should. Add fruit to the dish to enhance the fruit flavor that is supposed to be in the wine. Tips like this are simple and easy to follow and don't require 100s of pages found in books devoted to the topic. There's no reason not to include them in this series.

They can also list the flavor profiles of a particular grape, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, which is known to possess: blackberry, black raspberry, black currant (cassis), bell pepper, eucalyptus, mint, black olive, green olive, earth, mushroom, chocolate, cocoa, molasses, smoke, plum, cedar, tobacco, licorice, graphite (pencil box)...

Mexican cooking
Page 281 has a small table explaining characteristics of seven fresh chilies. Page 282 has a small table explaining characteristics of seven dried chilies. What's missing is a link to the two explaining that dried_chile_x comes from fresh_chile_y. For example, how many readers won't know that a chipotle pepper is a dried, smoked jalapeno? Or that a poblano chile is renamed ancho when it is dried? This is useful information.

These inconsistencies can be fixed when the planning stage is correctly executed. There seems to be such a rush to get these books out for this franchise, that I'm always left looking elsewhere to get the complete picture.

Other books you will need to look at to reference this missing parts include: The Restaurant Lover's Companion by Steve Ettlinger with Melanie Falick and Ethnic Cuisine by Elizabeth Rozin. Both of these books are consistent from one cuisine to the next and have a feeling of completeness with them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cross-Cultural Culinary Insight
Review: If you like to cook and like international foods, this is THE cookbook for you. Not only do you get interesting recipes, you get clear explanations of the techniques and ingredients that lie behind different cuisines of the world. Even if you are already quite familiar with certain cuisines (say French or Italian), it's fascinating to see how they compare in design and execution with others (say Indian, Thai or Moroccan). A very logical and helpful approach to cooking that is also great fun. Looking forward to the sequel!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "A shortcut to sophistication"..."A godsend."
Review: The best books are written with a crystal-clear purpose in mind, and Beard Award-winning writers Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (BECOMING A CHEF, CHEF'S NIGHT OUT) have really honed in on a crucial subject for THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF.

Their analysis of the current culinary situation hits the nail on the head. "Whereas a young professional cook may have had the opportunity in years past to develop a solid grounding in classic technique (most frequently French) before branching off into multiethnic experimentation, today the same cook has to work from day one with an extraordinarily wide variety of ingredients and techniques," they write. "The widespread availability of international ingredients has outpaced our ability to assimilate them into our daily cooking. This represents both a major opportunity and a major challenge for the New American chef."

Few full service restaurant operators or, especially, restaurant critics would argue against Dornenburg's and Page's thesis.

This book is designed to fill the ever-widening information gap. And while it seems like an impossibly large topic to cover, this clever duo devised a format that distills the essentials of 10 influential cuisines (Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Moroccan, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese) into digestible lessons for the reader.

Each chapter begins with a lengthy profile of a particular country's cuisine, with key fundamentals spelled out via interviews with respected chefs and cookbook authors. Then come recipes (one hundred in all for the book) that enables the reader to tackle the lessons just learned. Dozens of celebrity chefs dot the roster of contributors.

"We've narrowed down the gist of what you need to know about each cuisine in order to retain its spirit in your cooking," Dornenburg and Page say. "In thirty pages per cuisine, we can make you feel like you have just taken an immersion course in that cuisine and our experts will enable you to better reproduce its food and its spirit in your kitchen."

What a godsend. This book will be of value to just about anyone who works in the back of the house or write a menu cooked there.

- RESTAURANT HOSPITALITY (December 2003)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Take a trip around the world through 10 different cuisines.
Review: THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF has a simple premise: Interview some of America's pre-eminent experts on 10 different cuisines (Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Moroccan), and share their knowledge and insights with readers through honing them down into 35 fascinating pages per cuisine. The result? Readers are able to take an educational and delicious tour around the world through the histories, cultures and cuisines of 10 nations. This is a great book to read, and an even better book from which to cook, as it features dozens of recipes perfected by some of the country's best chefs and cookbook authors including Mario Batali, Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Penelope Casas, Susan Feniger, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Zarela Martinez, Mary Sue Milliken, Julie Sahni, Piero Selvaggio, Nina Simonds, Masa Takayama, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Paula Wolfert, Su-Mei Yu, and many more. This single volume can take the place of 10 tomes on your cookbook shelf. However, if you're looking for even more great reading about each of these cuisines, Nach Waxman (legendary owner of New York's infamous Kitchen Arts & Letters bookshop) provides his recommendations for further exploration at the end of each chapter. THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF is the perfect gift for the food lovers in your life (even yourself!).


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