5 comments about The Complete Meat Cookbook: A Juicy and Authoritative Guide to Selecting, Seasoning and Cooking Today's Beef, Pork, Lamb and Veal.

1. I've always been intimidated by cooking meat...I'm much better at veggies, fish and poultry. This book will take me a lifetime to get through but all my first tries have been hits. Well organized. Lots of variety. THE source on cooking meat.



2. This book helps bridge the gap between those that are accurate for "yesterdays" meats and the extremely LEAN mrats we get today.
   It contains much that will help the Home cook prepare "good" meals.



3. I was sooooo disappointed with my butcher who told me the cut of pork I'd anticipated making a roast from was unavailable. All he had left was lowly pork shoulder!
   
   My meat purveyor came to the rescue with a recipe from this cookbook for Milk-Braised Carnitas. "Wow! Amazing! Fantastic! Awe-Inspiring!" were the words my guests used to describe the melt-in-your-mouth food-gasm that resulted.
   
   Subsequently I bought the book and have learned much from it. Highly recommended!



4. This is one of the finest cookbooks for anyone who has shunned a vegan lifestyle. The marinades and dry rub recipes are worth the price of the book alone, and to be frank, I haven't had one mediocre meal from this cookbook.
   Bruce Aidells makes his livelyhood as a meat packer and sausage maker. In this book you become very aware that he loves his work.
   Buy the book! You will be very pleased with the meals that come from it!



5. This book passes the only test a collection of recipes needs to pass: the food tastes great. I am pretty sure I have loved everything I have prepared from this book, including the chili Colorado, the oven-roasted tri-tip, the garlic-roasted pork loin, the pork and coleslaw sandwich, the roasted leg of lamb, the roasted pork tenderloin with rum pecan glaze over sweet potatoes, the boneless short ribs with tomato and fennel, the Korean short ribs, the Chinese braised pork loin, the Thai pork curry, the Catahoula smoky short ribs and, of course, the pot roast and brisket. Unlike a previous reviewer, I do not find that the recipes call for exotic ingredients, and unlike another reviewer, I do often consult this book for last-minute meal ideas. An excellent reference and kitchen companion.

2 comments about Jerky: Make Your Own Delicious Jerky and Jerky Dishes Using Beef, Venison, Fish, or Fowl.

1. Livingston takes a definite outdoorsman approach to jerky. He is sharply critical of USDA safety regulations, and he doesn't believe in nitrate cure as a preservative (he includes it in a few recipes, but says it's for preserving the color of the meat, not as a safety procedure). Some of the air-drying recipes gave me the willies just thinking about them! Livingston's approach to safety is to use meat from trusted sources, which often means avoiding the local supermarket in favor of a butcher or processor. He says if you use meat from known sources you'll avoid many problems. Good advice, but not always practical.
   The book is lively and readable, but too many of the recipes are for curing 10 pounds of meat -- I wish he'd included smaller-quantity versions of some of them.
   This is NOT the definitive book for beginning jerky-makers, but it's probably a good buy for an experienced jerky-maker to add to his/her library.



2. Whether you are a big fan of jerky, or a fan of big (lots) of jerky, this book has something for you. I never knew there were so many different recipes for jerky until I bought this book. The results taste far better than anything I've ever bought in a store. I highly recommend the book. Recipes frequently call for several pounds of meat, but you can either scale them down, or just use less meat and make more marinade than you need. The novice chef needn't worry: The recipes are very simple.

   Another review notes that the author deviates from standard guidelines when it comes to cooking temperatures, and that's true. However, most recipes call for temperatures of 140 degrees, which is just slightly below the minimum temperature of 145 recommended by the FDA. When you consider that jerky spends 8-10 hours in the oven, I don't think food safety is an issue at these temperatures for anything other than pork, which the author recommends against.

   Recipes that call for lower temperatures are left to the reader's discretion, but clearly marked as such.

5 comments about The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Steaks, Salads, Stir-fry, and More - Over 130 Luscious Lean Beef Recipes for Every Occasion.

1. Betsy Hornick, with the assistance of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the American Dietetic Association, and Richard Chamberlain (owner and head chef of Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House in Dallas, Texas), has compiled more than 130 lean beef recipes and presents them within the pages of The Healthy Beef Cookbook. Lean beef is low in fat and an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals. When prepared properly, lean beef is as nutritious and healthy as it is tasty and delicious. From Dijon-Wine Steak Kabobs with Mushroom Wild Rice; Tenderloin, Cranberry, and Pear Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing; Mediterranean Burgers with Hummus; and Ancho Chili-Rubbed Beef Steaks; to Bow Tie Pasta with Beef and Beans; Beef and Broccoli Soup; Roasted Herb- Rubbed Beef Tri-Tip with Orange and Red Onion Salt; and Five-Spice Tenderloin Steaks with Creamy Polenta, here are recipes suited for any family or celebratory dining occasion. Enhanced with appendices ranging from "The Skinny on Beef and Health", to "Beef Basics from the Experts", "Easy Steps to Cooking Lean Beef", "Guide to Using Alternative Cuts of Lean Beef in Recipes", "Quick Guide to Matching a Beef Cut with a Recipe"; and "Measurements and Equivalents", The Healthy Beef Cookbook is a highly recommended and guaranteed popular addition to any personal kitchen cookbook collection!



2. I recently found the book at my local library. As I was paging through the book, I found page after page of healthy recipes that looked and sounded wonderful! The back of the book has a section of very helpful information regarding nutrition, cuts of beef, etc. I decided to purchase the book through Amazon. I'm looking forward to making it a part of my library.



3. We got the book as a Christmas present, and have already made several recipes. They have all been quick and easy, and turned out great. The fact that the recipes are healthy is a huge bonus. The espresso bourbon sauce is particularly great - I can't get enough of it. This is a great cookbook for beef lovers or for people looking for healthy recipes.



4. Chef Richard Chamberlain brings to print wonderful recipes typical of the fine dishes served in his Dallas restaurant. This book is a must for true "beef lovers" and would be a great present for your friends and family. It is great to read that "all of the red meat I have been sticking in my face" for so long, could actually be healthy; when prepared properly.



5. I love, love, love this book. As someone who can't eat a lot of dairy and loves food and taste, I have to say this is a great cookbook. It seems like most recipes either have cheese or cream in them. These recipes have a lot of fresh ingredients and taste delicious. I love the sun dried tomato meatloaf (best I've ever had), the tortilla soup, and the chili is great (adding some bacon makes it even better...less healthy, but it is good!). Our kids love these recipes, too. It's definitely a staple cookbook that everyone should have.

1 comments about Taste of Home Ground Beef Cookbook.

1. Almost every recipe in this book that i've tried is worth keeping. A few too many time consuming recipes or too many ingredients required. It's my go-to book when i'm trying to figure out what to do with the ground beef I thawed out the night before. Many family favorites from this book. Definitely worth buying!

5 comments about Steak Lover's Cookbook.

1. This book is filled with wonderful recipes. Last week I made the Strip Steaks with Spanish Cheese Sauce. It is absolutely delicious. The Calabres cheese is pungent, but it makes a wonderful sauce for this steak, so don't be afraid to try it.



2. I bought this book to help me become a better grill chef. I love a steak cooked on my grill. There are tips for how to grill successfully here, especially on page 26 and page 6. There are several notable tips for insuring a great grilling experience, such as the admonition to use Salt on page 40 and 51. I love the composed butter recipe for T-Bone steaks.

   The book is organized by types of "cuts". It is the uptown cuts that interest me the most. The sections about the T- Bone, Porterhouse, Strip, Rib Eye, and Sirloin. There are recipes for each type of cut. There are many asides in this book that describe the history of and tools used in cooking steaks.

   I will not comment on the downtown or cross-town recipes because I've not spent much time with them.

   I cannot help but favorably recommend a book the mentions a personal favorite steak house of mine in Ponder, Texas.




3. I was excited when I first received the book. At first glance it looked compact enough, with large print that is easy to refer to. I was disappointed at the lack of real pictures (it's difficult to follow recipes without a color picture as a guide!). I wanted to learn methods to cook steak. This book basically gives you a bunch of different sauces and side dishes. If you are one of those steakhouse lovers that believe in nothing but salt, pepper, and a hot grill/pan to make the perfect steak, this book is not for you.



4. First, I have to say that this cookbook has the best guide I've ever found to figuring out the doneness of a cut of steak without having to slice it open and let out those wonderful juices. That alone made its purchase worthwhile. The rest of the book is organized by cut of steak. There's the tenderloin chapter, the T-bone chapter, porterhouse, strip or top loin, rib, rib-eye, sirloin, chuck, etc. Each chapter starts with information on that particular cut: what its texture and taste are like, how large and thick it tends to be, what it may be called by your butcher, and how it can best be cooked. If you really want to turn out the best steaks in town, it's hard to find a better resource than this cookbook!
   
   Some of the recipes in here are fairly standard. For instance, in the tenderloin chapter you'll find the classic "Steak au Poivre," or peppercorn steak. Some recipes are twists on classics: such as Surf and Turf, Asian Style. Rice pulls recipes from various cuisines, such as Stuffed Filets with Ancho Sauce, Steak and Noodles Vietnamese Style, and Three-Pepper Fajitas. You'll also find a few recipes that won't quite fit your standard view of steak: Asian Beef Salad with Cucumber, for instance, or flank Steak Sandwiches with Red Pepper-Dill Ketchup. Some are his own recipes; others are from various other chefs. You'll also find appetizers and side dishes, from Beer and Cheese Spread to Mango Guacamole.
   
   New and interesting things are done with steak in this book; it's about as far as one can get from slapping it on the backyard barbecue two minutes before the football game. These are sumptuous and inventive dishes. But I think Mr. Rice realized that if he was going to put out a steak cookbook, he would have to cater to that other crowd as well. So every now and then you'll find him exhorting you to "serve it with beer!" (I think that last quotation should be imagined in a deep, manly voice.)

   Not every recipe in this cookbook is equally stunning; some are merely mediocre. But the information provided is top-notch, and there are certainly some real prize-winners among the recipes (our favorite is the Bloody Mary Steak and Sauce).




5. I found this cookbook interesting reading because it also includes buying and cutting tips as well as recipes for side dishes.

1 comments about Recipe of the Week: Burgers: 52 Easy Recipes for Year-round Cooking (Recipe of the Week).

1. America's favorite food in the opening decade of the 21st century isn't the hot dog or mom's apple pie -- it is the hamburger in all its variations and diversities! The latest addition to the popular Wiley cookbook series 'Recipe of the Week', veteran cookbook author and hamburger authority Sally Sampson has compiled 52 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes that will provide a different style hamburger every week of the year. Accompanied by the superb full-page sized color photography of Yunnee Kim, each recipe notes how many burgers it will make, a brief word of personalized introduction by Sally, the ingredients for the condiment and the burger it goes on, easy and well presented step-by-step instructions for its preparation. From Beef Burgers with Soy and Lemon; to Curried Chicken Burgers with Chutney; to Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burgers; to Lamb Burgers with Herbs; to Cuban Style Pork Burger, to Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Burgers, this is a fabulous collection of gourmet quality burgers that goes quantum leaps beyond anything a fast food join can turn out. "Recipe Of The Week: Burgers" is a welcome addition to any personal, family, or community specialty cookbook collection. Also very highly recommended are two earlier Wiley cookbook collections by Sally Sampson: "Recipe of The Week: Kabobs" and "Recipe Of The Week: Cookies"!

1 comments about 101 Things to Do with Ground Beef (101 Things to Do With...).

1. I also have the chicken book. My family & I have enjoyed trying the new dishes. Most are quick & easy and not expensive to make. We hesitated making a couple of the dishes but they were quite tasty.

3 comments about The New Steak: Recipes for a Range of Cuts plus Savory Sides.

1. I love this cookbook! It has great simple BBQ recipes and the Truck Tacos alone are worth the book. The recipes are not just steak, but great combinations of meat, starch and greens. Lots of meals for the summer and summer parties.



2. I love this book!! The best part are all the side dishes -- it's so great to find something else to put on the plate besides a plain old baked potato and veggie. Some of them are simple and some are really exotic but so far they've all been spectacular!! I bought this book looking for ways to flavor up our weekend steak on the grill nights because my husband likes his steak cooked past well done. I didn't expect a "steak" book to include all these amazing side dishes. I love it, highly recommended!!!!!!



3. This book is a gem, a collection of great offerings in a lovely package. The fine writing is a major treat, too. We've been giving Cree LeFavour's cookbook "The New Steak" to everyone for birthdays and other occasions. One friend announced that he had taken it to be to read before falling asleep, so that he could savor the recipes, enjoy the photos, appreciate the excellent writing and perhaps influence his dreams. For us, it's the best new cookbook in a very long time. We give it top marks.

5 comments about Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse.

1. Just received this book for a week, and I am already a hero! What did I made? Potato Skins, Morton's Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing(best dressing ever), Beef Filet Diane(such a elegant and complex steak source), Manhattan Martini, and Cadillac Margarita. I am amazed how accurate these recipes are, everything I made so far were as good as what I tasted at Morton. Definitely will try the Crab Cake, Shrimp Alexander, and some of the desserts soon.



2. A more apt name would have been: "Morton's recipes for home cooks".
   
   This book completely leaves out the 3 biggest secrets that make Morton's steaks so legendary:
   
   1) their spice blend
   2) their aging process, (dry, wet, etc)
   3) type of beef (Grass-fed or grain-fed? Kobe or Angus? etc)
   
   I would have loved to have made their spice blend at home or learn how to do a home aging process Mortons way.
   
   They also (surprisingly) don't cover how to cook on a infrared burner or cast iron skillet which, personally, I've found have given me the closets "steakhouse" results.
   
   Sure, that is probably above most casual cooks heads, but for a steak enthusiast and wannabe steak chief (like myself) something that touts itself as "Morton's steak bible" comes up short.
   
   Unfortunately, the steak recipes and cooking procedures are basic and very simple. If you've spent more then 10 mins looking up how to cook steaks on the internet, this book isn't going to teach you anything new.
   
   However, if you want to learn how to cook some of Morton's non-steak items some of these are actually quite good.



3. I use this cookbook at least 1-2 times a month. It lets you know how to make everything or where to find it. The pictures are amazing. I have to have pictures! I got this book as a gift and since we use it so often I like to try to purchase one for friends and family on special occasions, so they'll have the same enjoyment. I have learned so much about this book and unlike visiting Mortons it didn't cost me and my husband 300+. Of course I would rather be at Mortons than in my own kitchen... :) Point is " You should get this book"! You can learn a ton!



4. I had a hankering for creamed spinach made the only way I like - Morton's style. I bought this book and never looked back. Month after month of pumping out hashed browns, creamed spinach and Cajun ribeye... all of my friends think I'm a chef and I've gained at least 10 pounds.
   
   This book is a must for an red-blooded steak lover. Now I dream of luring a cow into my apartment.



5. Great find! Especially if Morton's is a favorite spot for steaks etc. The recipes are straight forward and anyone who thinks a great steak is hard to prepare will be surprised. The secret as you can see with this "bible" is not to "over-do" it with spices, marinades etc., let the flavor of the beef shine through. Highly reccommended.

5 comments about Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes.

1. Good book, recipes are simple and easy to follow. The only draw back is that they are written for a stove top cooker. I have and 8 qt counter top electric and the times differ. I'm still playing with the recipes, and am finding thats kinda fun. Would reccomend the book.



2. There are so many recipes in this book, I hardly know where to begin! Tried only two recipes so far, one for chicken, one for beef, both very tasty.



3. I've been using a pressure cooker for years. This is the largest and most comprehensive cook book for my cooker that I have ever seen. I can't imagine needing anything more. This book is 470 pages of great information and wonderful recipes - something for everyone. I am so pleased I ordered this!



4. This is a comprehensive cook book, full of good and useful information for the beginner or the experienced cook. The list of cooking times for individual foods included most everything one finds in the supermarket, the cooking tips are very helpful in customizing ones own favorite recipes to pressure cooking or crafting new recipes. If one can only get but one cookbook about pressure cooking, this would be the one to get.



5. If you use a pressure cooker, this is a must have. My days are busy! Beef stew? 7 minutes. Swiss steak? 10 minutes. Great recipes, well organized and totally loaded with ideas that won't risk your life and limb. I'm tired of the, "my grammy's pressure cooker exploded and we were scraping food off the walls for a week" story. Today's cookers are safe (when used correctly), huge time savers and create fabulous meals especially from tougher cuts of meat. My favorite is pot roast using a chuck roast, onions, carrots, celery and Johnny's Seasoning salt. Fall apart tender, melt in your mouth delicious. Plus, faster cook time = "green" cooking.