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Summary: I READ this cookbook!!!!
Review: I'm a cookbook fanatic. I love them, but I don't generally sit and READ them. This one was a page turner. It sounds strange, but it is true. To read all the tests that they performed to figure out exactly how to make "the best" of each recipe... well, it was just plain interesting. I've recommended this book to friends (those that cook more than me and those that cook less) and everyone has come back to thank me for this recommendation.One thing I really like is that they do give variations. They are not stuck on one "best" recipe. The explain why you might like the recipe one way or another. I use this cookbook so often it is hard to make specific recommendations, but I do love both their foccacia and pesto recipes. I can only say one negative... though it has a good selection of recipes, it does not have all the standards covered. I have had a few surprises, as far as a recipe I knew would be in there not being there. Guess I need to buy their latest book...
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Summary: The best cookbook I've ever used
Review: I love to cook and hate to read cookbooks, yet I find myself lost in the pages of the Best Recipe. It is extremely readable -- you can read the interesting explanations of how the authors chose the recipe they are presenting or you can skip to the recipe itself. The book makes recipes simple to use through no-nonsense techniques and clear explanations (e.g., "the mixture should resemble wet sand"). If you want a cookbook you'll use every week, buy this one.
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Summary: Reference Book for Your Kitchen
Review: Something everyone should have in their kitchen. Every recipe has been a winner and the detailed descriptions of their tests are wonderful. All the other positve reviews are 100% accurate regarding this book.
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Summary: Geeky Gourmet
Review: The science of cooking revealed. I love this book.
They talk about protein strands. They try 10 different
methods to cook a chicken. They accept no advertisers, like
Consumer Reports. If you like to cook, if you're a scientist at heart, get it.
Rating:
Summary: As Close to a Perfect Cookbook As It Gets
Review: I read cookbooks like others might read novels - I have about 200 in my collection at the moment - and I love to cook; I'm always looking for new recipes to try or ways to make old favorites even better. The Best Recipe is now sharing the top spot ranking in my cookbook library, along with Ronni Lundy's Butter Beans to Blackberries. Everything I've made has been absolutely wonderful (with the exception of the apple pie, which was good, but not outstanding). I can see where this book would also be a very useful tool for people who don't cook a lot or hate to cook, since the explanations and detailed instructions take a lot of the pain and guesswork out of it. One more note: a reviewer on here complained that many traditional favorites were no longer "traditional" once Cook's Illustrated put them through their testing and revision process. While I respect that opinion, I personally feel that "traditional" doesn't always mean "better." Certainly, lasagna is "traditionally" made with ricotta cheese, but if the lack of it improves the flavor and the texture of the dish, why would you stick with an old recipe that is clearly not as good just for the sake of tradition? As usual, cooking is a matter of personal preference - no one is ever going to agree with others 100% of the time on what is the best dish - but I must say The Best Recipe comes the closest to almost any cookbook I've ever seen to getting people to agree on it.
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Summary: The quest for food perfection
Review: Ever daydream about having enough time to actually try those dozen white bread recipes from various books and see which one tastes and looks the best? Well the authors do have the time, and enough cash to not only experiment with bread but dozens of other food favorites. This book contains maybe 30% recipes, and 70% experimentation and a guide to how these cooks quested for perfection in every recipe. For example, Pancakes. They wanted their pancakes to look, taste, feel and smell perfect so the cooks fiddled around with recipe after recipe, swapping ingredients, trying various flours, etc until they achieved their goal. An admirable task to say the least. What does that mean to you? It equates to a perfect recipe, tried and proven by perfectionists. And best of all, each recipe includes a two page detail about what works and what doesn't, and how they achieved perfection with this food. Must buy, must read, period. Difficult book to put down, you keep flipping from chapter to chapter in search of your favorite foods.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: I have already tried 2 or 3 recipes and they turned out GREAT! I love this cookbook. This is the best one I have purchased in years. Lots of useful tips and general info, great recipes.
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Summary: Everything I needed in a recipe.
Review: I love this book. Have referred back to it over and over either to understand why something works or doesn't work or to try a recipe or reuse a recipe. This is great for the logical mind that wants to know "why". I especially enjoy the way Kimball breaks down every possible method which was used and why, then concludes with the "best" method (and why). The only downfall of this book is the index. It's not well designed and difficult to navigate. Other than that, highly recommend and a must for any cookbook library.
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Summary: An idea for writing more helpful cookbook reviews
Review: How many times have you come read a sentence like this?: "I have tried only two recipes so far and the results were superb." I suspect that most cookbook reviews, whether by consumer or professional, are based on a limited sampling of specific recipes--usually less than ten percent of a book. To be fair it would be nice to know how many recipes a reviewer tried. To be practical for those of us who already own the book or others thinking of buying it, why not let readers know what SPECIFIC recipes you found very good or very disappointing. I've also culled through all 137 reviews to see what recipes stood out either way. In fact, I intend to make a copy of this post and put it inside my book. OVERALL COOKBOOK EVALUATION FIRST: No need to repeat many of the strong points made by others. If I were forbidden to have more than one cookbook, this would be it--not only for the recipes but because it's so informative. I can't think of a better tutorial for beginnings (providing you've cooked for two to four weeks first). Even the best cookbook--and "The Perfect Recipe" is no exception--will have a few duds. If I could only have two or three more cookbooks, I'd look at Mark Bittman/Vongerichten collaborations which are amazingly clear and simple and usually darn good. The White Dog Cafe Cookbook is also a must. Bear in mind that there are many great cookbooks I surely haven't sampled or only once or twice, so any omission isn't a criticism. FAVORITES AND DUDS My wife and I, who both cook, have tried maybe l5 receipes so far. Our biggest dud was the apple pie recipe that uses two apples. We thought both the crust and the pie were far inferior to one she's been using from Gourmet for years. The macaroni and cheese was so-so, we thought. On the other hand, even if you eat very little meat, it's worth treating yourself to the Chile Con Carne recipe. You first make a chile paste--a very simple process using a toaster over, a little water and three ingredients. The smell of those dried chiles toasting in the oven will astound you. Using a good chef's knife to remove the remaining fat from the beef cubes a chef cut for me and watching the unused fat pile up makes me wonder how much of this stuff is in even a low-fat hamburger. After doing this, the meat comes out so tender it flakes to the touch. The calories drop and most of the disadvantages of meat-eating disappear. If you want to impress friends, make the chile a day or more ahead since it improves as it sits. Serve over pasta (egg noodles especially good) rather than rice. As with pasta sauces, don't overdose. Spread it out. Make it last. You can look forward to more good meals in the future. It freezes well. Another recipe we liked was the chicken pot pie--outstanding the first day, but not this one is mediocre as a leftover. RECIPIES CITED IN 137 REVIEWS Favorites Mentioned by More Than One Cook: The French toast, the banana nut bread, the meat loaf (more specifically the one with brown sugar glaze), chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. Favorites Mentioned once: Beef goulash, chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup, Molasses-Spice Cookies, the Fettuccini with Bolognese Sauce, Stir-Fried Asparagus, braised Green Beans Italian Style, Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing, Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Arugula, cream cheese brownies, pancake/waffle recipe, Sauteed Chicken Breast Cutlets with a Lemon-Caper Sauce and Quick-Cooked Carrots with Red Wine Vinegar and Thymeroasted garlic potatoes and the barbecue rub. DUDS: Two people turned thumbs down on the clam chowder. We weren't the only ones to find the Macaroni and cheese was nothing special. The guy who loved the beef goulash disliked disliked the cornbread and buttermilk pancakes. What Cook's did here, they did extremely well. If they choose to write a book about French or Thai cooking, it will be equally good I'm sure. One negative review complained that many of the recipes were not traditional enough, while most critical posts took the opposite position (i.e., too American).
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Summary: Excellent Cook Book - Very Informative
Review: What can I say? This is a cook book that strives for perfection in each recipe. The method is scientific and explained in great detail. If you read how they arrived at what is called the best recipes, you will be a very knowledgeable person in the kitchen. Bottomline: You will either love this book or hate it - I love it. If it is too scientific for you, try Betty Crocker's Cookbook which I rate very highly.
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