Rating: Summary: Don't buy anything else! Review: I know nothing about cooking and this is the best book I've ever read. The recipes come out great and she has included all the dishes I want to make - like cornbread, muffins, macaroni and cheese - and indeed they are the best versions of these things I've ever encountered. And you learn why! That other book called Best Recipes does not hold a candle to this one.
Rating: Summary: Dinner Party Winners Review: Whenever we entertain and want to make a dish that dazzles people, I turn to one of four cookbooks and this is one of them. The recipes are so clear and they work every time. Not only does the food taste great, this cookbook tells the reader what works, what doesn't, and why. I have complete faith in The Perfect Recipe. The meals also make for special dinners with your spouse.
Rating: Summary: BRAVO, PAM! I'M GETTING RAVES! Review: I have a number of cook books gathering dust in my kitchen because I'm always turning to "The Perfect Recipe." Though some may find all of Pam's research unnecessary, I have found it fascinating to finally find out why so many methods I've used in the past haven't been successful. I made the mocha cheesecake for a party, and it was the best everyone had ever tasted. The muffins, the brownies, and the cobblers are unbeatable too.
Rating: Summary: Comfort Food at its Finest Review: I have been a gourmet cook for over ten years and have mastered the exciting, pretty dishes. But after having kids, I realized the need for "comfort" food recipes. The recipes in this cookbook are easy to prepare and a hit with the kids. For those who complain about the high fat content, try adding a salad and some veggies with your main dish...just like Grandma.
Rating: Summary: Great Basic Recipes - My husband rates recipes as winners! Review: I never really learned to cook, so Ms. Anderson's book was a welcome find at my local library. I liked it so much that I checked it out twice, and I am now purchasing it. Our favorites are the Strombolis and the Beef stew. Although many of the recipes were quite high in fat, we don't eat these dishes every night, mabey once a week. I found the research Pam did very interesting and informative. She really gave me a starting point. I will refine her recipes to make our new favorites!!
Rating: Summary: Best recipe book for basics Review: This book is great for explaining basic recipes such as fried chicken, fruit cobbler and meatloaf. Not only does Anderson supply the best out of a half-a-dozen different methods of preparing a recipe, she explains how to shop for ingredients and why the particular recipe she chooses is best. Great reading and excellent recipes!
Rating: Summary: FOOLPROOF RECIPES FOR GREAT FOOD! Review: If you want to understand why things work in the kitchen, this is the book for you. If you simply want a book with great classic recipes - chicken pot pie, cole slaw, chocolate cream pie, etc.- this is also the book for you. I always like to try a new recipe before serving it to company, but I don't worry about that with the recipes in this book. I love reading cookbooks, and this one is particularly interesting as Pam Anderson explains why warm filling keeps a pie crust flaky or how to make cabbage stay crisp in coleslaw. This is one of those books that every cook should have. If you own it, you will return to it over and over again.
Rating: Summary: A good stab at perfection but misses the mark Review: This book should be geared for the beginning cook. It gives good basic instructions on cooking basic foods.After cooking several recipes, i.e. fried chicken, hamburgers, chocolate pie, homemade broths, etc. I found that my old stand by recipes were at least as good, maybe better. These recipes seemed excessively fatty. For example, using 100% ground chuck did not make for a better hamburger, it just added the extra step of draining fat. A good, flaky pie crust can be made with half the fat. The steps the author goes through to get her "perfect" recipes are humorous and somewhat educational. However, they are also a little complicated. Good cooking is not nearly as hard as this book makes it appear.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Cookbook Review: This is an excellent cookbook for someone who wants to get their recipes "just right." As a novice cook, I learned a great deal from this book, which explains in detail the processes the author went through in trying to create the "perfect recipe" for staple dishes such as prime rib, fried chicken, meatloaf, apple pie, and muffins. This cookbook, like all cookbooks, isn't perfect (despite the title). In fact the worst thing about this book is the title, becuase it creates impossibly high expectations for all the recipes. For example, the meat loaf recipe is decent, but hardly "perfect." On the other hand, the basic muffin recipe is marvelous and is indeed the best recipe for muffins I have ever tried. The pancake and brownie recipes are similarly magnificent. So, on the whole, an excellent cookbook written by a chef who knows her stuff. Just lower your expectations and try more than one recipe before giving up.
Rating: Summary: Perfect is a matter of taste Review: Aimed at the palate of middle America, perhaps; too fat and too sweet for my taste, and probably also for others who are accustomed to a vegetarian, vegan, low-fat or otherwise healthier way of eating. Even the hungry males in my family thought the artery-choking macaroni and cheese was too rich. The blue ribbon apple pie had lost its fruit flavor under all the sugary fuss. And the preparations she finally arrives at after all her trial and error are often too picky and belabored for real life. The basic cookies were just as good without the supposedly crucial superfine sugar, for example. As a reader, I enjoyed following Anderson's Sherlock Holmes methodology, but as a cookbook, this one has been gathering dust in my kitchen. Having now read the other reviews, I'll go back and try the muffins just to be fair.
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