5 comments about Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking.

1. This is a bible and a foundation for anyone interested in seeing good results from their efforts in undertaking french cooking. These recipes are durable and refined for someone who wants to illicit "oh wow" responses from their guests. I can't overstate the social value of enlisting your friends and local grocers and butcher for this journey. This is a book for someone with some time and love to dedicate.



2. I was quite pleased to receive this cookbook as a gift, but disappointed once I started cooking the recipes. Mr. Bourdain's talents as a writer are not to be denied, but it must be said that these recipes are a bit anemic and wanting. While I definitely appreciate his passion for good food, that passion doesn't seem to extend into making the actual food himself. Which is totally fine -- Bourdain's advocacy for top-quality cuisine is definitely appreciated -- but it means I'll look elsewhere for the nuts and bolts of good recipes.



3. Classic cooking done in classic Anthony Bourdain style. If you like his TV show, you'll love this book.



4. The recipes includes are a bit difficult in my opinion (especially finding the right ingredients), but Bourdain's aim is to challenge you and not to dumb down everything, which I appreciate.
   
   His writing style is very approachable and unlike with most cookbooks you feel like he's talking to you as he warns you to not overfill the blender when you are making soup and hold the top down tight unless you want soup all over you.
   
   I've made one thing so far which was mushroom soup and it was delicious, so I can imagine the the rest of the food is equally so.



5. That's a big statement but I can tell you with all honesty. This is the best cookbook I've ever read, more importantly it is the best cookbook I've ever USED. And, do I use it often, YES! Here Tony Bourdain shines not only as an amusing and talented writer but exposes to us all to the REAL principal behind all great dishes, and not just French food, that good, quality ingredients coupled with time-proven methods ARE the best. I have been a cook for many years and I specialise in Italian cookery but Tony's book brought me back to appreciate French-style cookery as never before. But the country of origin doesn't matter, it's the approach. No BS! Tell it like it is. All cookbooks are, to me, guides, but Tony has the nous to say, in places, you MUST do this and that. Little details and quality advice tips that take a good dish to 'great' status. His, utterly correct emphasis on the basics like a good stock or jus, tells us that these are the real fundamentals of good cookery. And, he shows us that which is so true: all great cookery has its origins in 'peasant' food, be it French, Italian, British or Asian. I class this book and Fergus Henderson's, 'Nose To Tail Eating' as two of the most important cookbooks of the 20th Century.
   William Kenneth Halliwell
   Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

5 comments about Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day.

1. I love this cookbook so much I bought one for three of my friends for Christmas!



2. this book is excelent for those who like to eat healthy and are lookig to put some variety into their cookin! Easy to read with lots of common and easy to find ingredients.



3. This is a wonderful cookbook for those who typically cook a strict, healthful diet, but it will also fool our friends and family who aren't ready to give up their poor diets. Easy to follow recipes.



4. I've had this cookbook since I was an intern right out of college, and it has been my favorite ever since. I especially like the fish recipes, the chick pea artichoke heart stew, and veggie chili recipes. I find that with the lower fat recipes, I can usually eat as much as I want, and still know that I am maintaining a healthy weight, which I struggle with usually. I am buying this book today for my mom, who is now living alone and needs healthy easy recipes. My husband likes it too, since the meals are hearty (he's 6'-5"). I usually make a double recipe and freeze half in individual servings. I highly recommend this, especially for new cooks and busy people, since the recipes are all reasonably quick (like, 45 minutes to an hour). It may not be for gourmets, since there are a lot of pre-prepared foods used (canned beans and vegetables.) You could always substitute your own soaked dry beans if you were feeling ambitious, but the cookbook is great because it uses lots of shortcuts. I highly recommend the book, and I'm not even vegetarian!



5. This has been great to go with her other book, simple cooking. I do wish it was in a binder type cookbook. Would be easier to use in the kitchen. Has great recipes.

5 comments about Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains.

1. I have only tried the Cheesecake Factory Jambalya but have read the other recipes. The jambalya tasted EXACTLY like that at the restaurant. I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. I have only read the others but they all look promising.



2. I bought a similar book and really enjoyed making some of the receipes, most of which seem authentic. Now I just need to get my wife to make some of these...



3. This was a gift for my husband for Valentine's Day. He loves to cook. He hasn't made any of the recipes yet, but he has sticky notes in numerous pages to make things! Great book for anyone that likes to cook and easy as well!



4. I bought this book and the second one for my husband who loves to cook. He really enjoyed them! Lots of great recipes that are very close to the restaurant ones!



5. This book was recommended to me, so I got it as a bridal shower gift for a friend. I glanced through it and it looks like it has some good recipes. Hopefully they will enjoy them.

5 comments about The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food.

1. Jennifer Lee answers many mysteries in this book that may have interested you. (Where do all those Chinese people come from who work in the restaurants? How did fortune cookies get started? Who writes the fortunes? What is the real origin of Chop Suey?) For those answers, it's worth reading the book.
   
   Her lens is a most unusual one: She visits Chinese restaurants where lottery winners got fortunes that gave them the numbers they used to win an unprecedented number of second prizes.
   
   What she learns is that Chinese food as prepared and eaten in the United States says more about Americans than it does about the Chinese. She also shows how self-organizing principles (from complexity theory) apply to explain why Chinese restaurants are so similar.
   
   Ultimately, this book describes what it means to be human and to want a better life. In that sense, it's very life affirming.
   
   I found that the book had two major drawbacks. First, Ms. Lee chooses to tell you the story of how she tracked down her answers rather than cutting through the preliminaries. I found much of her research reporting to be less interesting than the punch lines when finally reached.
   
   Second, I wondered how competent she was in doing this research. She seemed to rely a lot on interviewing people face to face. Surely, a lot of answers could have been gotten in other ways. Where I became most skeptical was in her section on picking the best Chinese restaurant in the world. One of her criteria was that lots of Chinese people eat there. I have Chinese-American friends who take me to many superb, attractive (as opposed to "hole in the wall") Chinese restaurants where my wife and I are the only non-Chinese Americans in the place. None of these restaurants were mentioned by Ms. Lee. She didn't even visit the cities where our favorite Chinese restaurants are such as Honolulu.



2. The opening chapters of this book by Jenneifer 8. Lee have a merry verve. Who invented chop suey, a dish unknown in China? Who was this General Tso, anyway? (A Chinese Colonel Sanders, perhaps?) Can it be true that Japanese invented the fortune cookie? (Gasp!) But there's more to this book than Kung Pao chicken, chopsticks, and zodiac calendars.
   
   Chapters on Chinese immigration and the movement of immigrants around the nation to work in restaurants are told in a lively reportorial style that still provokes thought. They give stale discussions of immigration policy a human face, and her visits to China bring alive such abstractions as "push" and "pull" factors.
   
   Sprightly chapters on the business side of restaurants and supplies -- and "The Soy Sauce Trade Dispute" -- deliver a lot of commonsense economics in a most agreeable way. The economic side of the book culminates in a theory of "open source" economic adaptation that is, to this reader, quite fresh.
   
   Finally, the book has a lot to say about America, our history, and our culture. Lee even proposes a new metaphor to replace the old "melting pot" and the newer "salad bowl." Our nation is "stir-fry," she writes. We'll see whether the new label gets a larger market share among academics and pundits.
   
   Finally, an advisory: Reading this book is like watching the Ang Lee film, "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." As soon as you put it down, you'll have a strong urge to drive to the nearest Golden Dragon, Peking Gourmet, or Hunan Garden and order too much.
   
   -30-



3. This is a breezy and entertaining foray into the world of Chinese/American cuisine diaspora. Lee writes well. This book, however, would have benefited from better editing. Some parts of the book resemble a chop suey. The book contains several typographical errors that should have been corrected during the editing process.
   
   Ex:
   p. 183. "Robert Borgas." Lee means "Robert Porges." Lee should have asked Seth Faison for his comments before the book was published.



4. Jennifer Lee has written an engaging book on the phenomenon of Chinese food in America. It is filled with factoids that most likely you did not know before, such as the fact that there about twice as many Chinese restaurants in America as there are McDonalds.
   
   She delves into such arcana as the origin of General Tso's chicken, the history and anatomy of fortune cookies, the making of those trapezoidal carry-out food boxes, why Jewish people especially love Chinese food and a stroll through the best Chinese restaurants in the world.
   
   It would be tempting and a cliché to say that, thirty minutes after reading it, you're hungry for more. Alas, that line has apparently been taken by a prior reviewer.
   
   If you enjoy Chinese food, you will enjoy "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles."
   
   Confucius say, "You have a fun reading ahead of you..."



5. As others have said, Ms. Lee writes very well, and most of this was really interesting. But she has a total blind spot about fortune cookies, and for me, there was WAY too much stuff about trying to research exactly who invented them. When I realized that I was starting a THIRD chapter on this same subject -- which she'd already covered exhaustively in two previous chapters -- I groaned inwardly and just skipped to the next chapter. OK, we get it: fortune cookies are not Chinese, any more than General Tso's chicken or chop suey. Except for this one flaw, the book was a lot of fun.

5 comments about Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen.

1. As usual Bobby presents each recipe in an easy to understand format. I think the greatest testament to his ability is to create food that has such great flavor from a simple list of indgredients. The veal chop with the ancho-maple-horseradish glaze is a gift from heaven. His ancho maple glazed turkey was a smash this thanksgiving. There are too many great recipes from this book to mention. He continually provides great recipes with each book and I look forward to owning his next installment. His food is quick and easy to prepare. I think that everyone should own several Flay cookbooks and use them regularly. Many of his recipes are staples in my house and they will easily become those in your house as well.



2. This is one of my new favorites. The results have been extremely good. Some recipes are relatively fast to make while the super tasty duck taco recipe involves making 3 different sauces. However, once some of the sauces are made, they can be frozen and used in other recipes shortening the cooking time. Some of the green sauces work really well on salads. The ingredients are authentic and readily available in my home town of Houston. The use of blue cornmeal in pancakes give a great text and flavor boost along with visual appeal. The green pea soup green chile soup is excellent, but it appears that the mint-cumin crema calls for way too much cumin, especially compared to other version of the cumin crema in the book. Although some recipes take some effort, the results are worth and will impress your dinner guests. I'm working my way through the various recipes.



3. I purchased this book after I had a chance to experience dinner at Mesa Grill, I have prepared several items from the book and they taste great, very easy to follow directions, I look forward to all the other things in the book, I highly reccommend this book to anyone that is a fan of Bobby Flay or if you just like southwestern style food.



4. I watched Bobby Flay's biography on television and his cooking seemed so interesting I thought I would purchase one of his books and and give it a try.
   
   First, the recipes are easy to follow - though several steps are required during preparation the end result is well worth the effort. The results are fantastic. Before viewing his biography my mind set was that most of the food would be too spicy. Not so. The recipes include some heat but it seems the heat is nicely complimented with sweet and citrus flavors. The combination is indescribable. The prickly pear margarita is especially delicious and so are the salads.
   
   If you are looking to create unforgettable dishes with lots of fresh flavor this is the book to use.



5. I am a big Bobby Flay fan and I absolutely love this cookbook! I would have given it 5 stars but do to having to order special spices, that are not available anywhere near me, I could only give it 4. I find almost all of his recipes pretty simple and soooo delicious!

5 comments about Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2: More Amazing Clones of Famous Dishes from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains.

1. This cookbook is another GIFT in a collection of MASTERPIECES as far as I'm concerned! Okay, fast food & restaurants are probably one of the worst things we can do to/for our bodies and our health and that of our families...but NOW, with the help of Todd Wilbur, we can actually make the foods and treats that we grew up eating and still like to enjoy..... but without the horrible preservatives, refined sugars, and chemical additives that are ever-present in chain-restaurant foods! The past several years, I've tried to make the switch to ORGANIC eating for my family, which isn't always easy....but, with these great & dependable recipes, I can feed my kids (and Hubby) the foods they like (and they can continue to think its junk food...when its really healthy and organic ingredients for the most part!) So EVERYBODY WINS!!! Granted, for the organic purists, you will have to make adjustments when recipes call for items that aren't health-conscious like "Bisquick" baking mix (which has partially hydrogenated crud in it!) but you can easily substitute your own organic baking mix or other items and still come up with Amazing Clones that your family will devour! I use organic evaporated cane sugar (available at Trader Joes & even Walmart!) for all my cooking/baking and it works excellent, it just needs a bit more time to dissolve in recipes and thats the only difference I've found! Thanks again, Todd...are you running out of food ideas yet?



2. Took my sister to Applebee's and she tried their Fiesta Lime Chicken....loved it.....Fiesta Lime Chicken has been copyrighted by Applebee's and the name can't be used by others.....but if you like that dish.....and buy this book....you won't be disappoined. Bought a book for each of us.......other favorite recipes in here too.....easy and fun to make.



3. This book is interesting. Some of the recipes were not from restaurants in my area. Some of the recipes took more time than I would want to take to make something. But, I usually keep my cooking fairly basic. It does have a lot of recipes & I'm sure many people would find it very useful.



4. The cookbook is adequate. However, many of the recipes that I wanted were not in this edition. I am also somewhat disappointed in the format used in producing this cookbook.



5. I haven't yet made any of the recipes, but I see that the recipes look really good.

5 comments about Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! : 150+ Restaurant Favorites to Make at Home--All 8 POINTS or Less.

1. Great book, lots of flavor in most recipes. So far I've tried most and all but two were keepers. The only thing is the ingrediants are not what you would normally keep on hand but if you follow the shopping list in each section and put them in your pantry you'll be set. The best thing about this book is that the recipes are quick, easy, low in calories and taste delicious. I find that most of the recipes taste like the restaurant dishes without the high calories.



2. Easy recipes and most use everyday ingredients. Taste so good even my kids like it, especially skinny chimi's and brocolli beef.



3. I was really excited about this getting this book, but I have to say it is not my favorite. First, after using the book just a few times, the binding has cracked - one of the reasons I prefer the binder style cookbook. Also, one of the most common reasons I get take out is because its quick. None of these recipes are really quick. You can also find many of these recipes in other ww cookbooks. Since I got it for such a great price, its not that big of a deal, but there are definately better weight watchers or healthy cooking cookbooks to choose from.



4. I was hoping that this cookbook had more traditional american take-out recipes, but was disappointed to see too many exotic recipes for my taste.



5. This recipe has all kinds of great recipes. When I started dieting, I was disappointed that I had to give up several of my favorite asian and italian recipes. This great cookbook has several healthy versions of these recipes including general tso's chicken and orange spicy beef.
   
   My only complaint is that the binding for the book isn't good, and pages started falling out almost as soon as I got the book. Maybe I got a defective book, though. Why do they make cookbooks with anything other than spiral binders anyway?

5 comments about Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany (Vintage).

1. The book is boring, and what is worst, the author is always making racist comments. Very disappointing.Don't bother reading this book.



2. Bill Buford writes a highly entertaining book. Heat is good for 3 reasons.
   
   One, Bill is humble. It's very easy to forget that the author was an editor for the New Yorker. It's also very easy to forget how successful/famous Mario Batali and his restaurants are; which is for whom and where Bill worked. These facts seem to disappear because the author is so humble. This makes him appear more human and allows the reader to connect with him more easily.
   
   Two, he's extremely self-deprecating. After working at Babbo for a few months he described his role as the, "kitchen bitch, cleaning the kitchen's bitch." Little quotes like this speed the book along.
   
   Three, he's passionate. Bill Buford loves food. He loves learning about it, preparing it and most of all the timeless tradition of eating it. Whenever he's describing something food related his excitement begins to permeate through his writing.
   
   Together these points make Heat a very entertaining book that is difficult to put down.
   
   A note to all the foodies - you may be disappointed by this book. This book is more about the journey than it is about the food.



3. This is a very fun book. It is especially fun for those of us who have worked in restaurants. The literary images of poor Mr. Buford being thrown to the fire--quite literally--is a delightful ride. It is a foodie's paradise and a self-deprecating memoir of the author's offbeat culinary education (at a somewhat mature age).



4. In reading through the 1 star reviews, I'm awfully confused. There's not much "foul" language, particularly if you contrast it with Bourdain's books. I'm 7/8 of the way through and can't think of anything other than a very few sprinkled f-bombs at all. For the folks who complain about the lack of an in-depth look at French food and life in France - well, its title is pretty much the major clue - pasta and Tuscany don't scream French cuisine. I'm constantly amazed at people's ability to complain. That said, I enjoyed it but it's not a great book. It offers one person's experiences in a celebrity driven kitchen (I've never watched Mario Batali on TV and I am less likely to now) and in some other settings. I never caught his passion for cooking - it seemed more like an adventure so he would have something to write about than an adventure of his life.



5. Anyone who has ever worked at a continental-style restaurant should read this book.
   
   I picked up "Heat" in the interests of reliving my experiences in two continental restaurants, run by two totally different-in-temperament chefs, one Austrian, one Swiss. Neither one embodies quite the insanity exhibited by Mario Batali, the owner/operator of Babbo in New York City,and known via TV as The Iron Chef. I must confess I have never watched The Iron Chef, although I have heard of him; but most of what goes on here does not impact him in that show.
   
   Mr Buford, who seems to have had an open-ended commitment with his real job at the New York Times, decides upon interviewing and further visiting with Mario Batali, that he would like to apprentice to him, to learn the art of Italian cooking. Mr Buford knows just enough about cooking to get into trouble, and it doesn't take long for him to do so when he arrives at Babbo to begin his apprenticeship. I found myself nodding my head at the things that happened to him; I recognized all the personalities in the restaurant, all the petty jealousies, all the various traumas that go on in a busy, popular restaurant on a weekend night. Mr Buford's traverse through the stages of hierarchy was entertaining to say the least. Some things that went on there made me cringe; I'm pretty sure some of the things Mr Buford reported have never occurred at the restaurants I worked at, but it's possible; I was never on the line, but my chefs were nowhere near Mario Batali in style or performance either. (And I mean that in a good way; the man is clearly nuts.)
   
   My favourite part of the book, however, was when Mr Buford, in the interests of furthering his education as a butcher, went to Italy to study under Dario Cecchini in Tuscany (further indication that Mr Buford has ample funds stored up to entertain these conceits about becoming a chef, as it seems apparent that he wasn't earning anything in Italy either). His style of writing made the little hill town where he was very vivid in my mind; the personalities he encountered were highly likable; and overall I wanted to pack up and go over there for a protracted visit myself. It didn't make me any more enamoured of pigs or their products (I only had to find out what pancetta was to know I didn't need it in my diet), but I was greatly entertained by his excursion over there and, having long wanted to visit Tuscany, it just makes me want to go there even more.
   
   Mr Buford is a thorough examiner of his environment, and I felt like I knew everyone he worked with afterwards. The joy of food, the joy of the preparation of food (or not), is clear throughout the book, and while I found hilarity within it, I also found great insight in the entire restaurant experience, from cooking to management. I'm not sure I could work with Mr Batali, but I have a greater insight into the world of food preparation for the public, on all levels. A very entertaining book. I felt like I had a pretty good education in the topic at the end of it.

5 comments about The French Laundry Cookbook.

1. even tho i dont cook much, i love giving this gorgeous gift as a special wedding birhday xmas gift. its beautiful on a table, to savored and appreciated as art to eat. and i do love to eat. great combined with some fun kitchen item, gorgeous french towels, cake server or plate, wonderful serving bowl or plate. we are blessed to be able to have chef keller sign ours, an even more special gift



2. Keller steps out and does something amazing with this book. An absolute pleasure to read and learn new ideas from.



3. Beautiful in its design, photography, inspirational story telling and food. There is wonderful attention to detail and accuracy in terms of the recipes and methods. A timeless classic from one of the world's best.



4. Physically speaking, "The French Laundry Cookbook" is dense, somewhat cumbersome, and teetering on intimidating--it will surely be the largest cookbook you'll ever own, and the statement is clear; this is not a cookbook for amateurs. On the contrary, this is a dense, meticulously-structured culinary opera aimed at those courageous enough to attempt to recreate 4-star dishes out of the home kitchen. Visually, the cookbook features countless, beautiful, full-page photographs of food so perfectly conceived that it comes off as easy, although once you read through any one recipe, you're sure to realize the difference between fantasy and reality. Keller is quite obviously a food perfectionist, and takes every extra step, every precaution, every effort, to make every component of every dish as flawless as possible. If this sounds like your cup o' tea, then you should order this cookbook with no delay. Granted, some recipes are on the easier side, but that's on the French Laundry spectrum, where easy is still more difficult than what you're probably used to. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this cookbook features recipes that, despite Keller's obvious and applaudable efforts to make his masterworks' a possibility for the at-home chef, are nearly impossible to pull-off, unless you have skill, patience, and around 4 days with nothing else to do.
   
   If you're very serious about cooking and want to take the difficulty level up quite a bit, then consider this cookbook. Every recipe you complete will make you a more well-rounded, knowledgeable cook, and that's the bottom line--this cookbook is like a portable culinary school. Just be aware that unless you go into the cooking process dedicated, patient, and determined, frustration could take over and the dish might not be worth the effort. If done right, some of the dishes in this cookbook, from sight to taste, are simply stunning, and like nothing else out there.



5. This is book is amazing. It came just as described and shipping was on time. I'm so glad that it was all wrapped up as promised in the original plastic seal.

5 comments about Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.).

1. I am giving this book a 5/5 because throughout the whole book, you are entertained, and want to keep reading. You find out how he makes his way through the cooking career, how he makes his way to the top. This book describes to you what goes on behind the scenes in the kitches and how crazy it can be. I recommend this book to everyone!



2. This is a great book, a MUST have for any chef!!! Bourdain is one of a kind.



3. This guy rocks, and his books are as good as his tv show (No Reservations).;)



4. For anyone who's ever done any kind of commercial cooking this book, and it's earlier version, is a MUST read. I'm a retired line cook and I can assure all potential readers that Tony knows of what he speaks. For 'civilians', the avid home cook or the addicted restaurant patron, this clever work gives an engrossing, entertaining and sometimes scary peek behind the restaurant kitchen door. Chefs and cooks are, well, just people, but there is something special about people who want to please hundreds of anonymous diners; stay true to their own standards and achieve the respect of thier peers. As Tony says, it is one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, and crazy jobs in the 'every-day' world.
   Anthony Bourdain is one of my 'cooking gods' because he specialises in classic, time-proven dishes; he knows that all the world's great food is, basically, 'peasant' food, not the titivated, sculpted, value-added 'art works' on a large white plates -- and he's a good writer. I too write -- was once a food writer and journalist -- and I know how hard it is to combine the two jobs. This work is honest, controversial yet extremely fair in its assessments of the high-pressure world of the New York and American restaurant scene, then and now. I strongly recommend that you buy this book and then graduate to Bourdain's absolutely fantastic "Les Halles" cookbook. I use it, refer to it or just fawn over it at least three times every week. With over 25 years experience under my (large) belt, his Les Halles book 're-taught' me and gave me new inspiration to take up semi-professional cooking again, just for the pure joy of producing really special, simple, dishes. Please buy all his books; Bourdain is an honest, decent and admirable cook (I hate the term 'chef').
   (No I'm not Tony Bourdain!) Just a genuine fan who appreciates his sharing of a once 'hidden' and unsung profession.
   William Kenneth Halliwell
   Hobart, Tasmania, Australia



5. I was a frequent viewer of Mr. Bourdain's program "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel so I purchased this book already knowing and loving his style as an edgy chef/traveler.
   
   This book did not dissapoint. Bourdain reveals some of his history as a "low-life" (he would not object!) struggling to make it in the food industry. He discusses his early life as a child and later cutting his teeth in the world of food. Much of the book is Tony passing along some hilarious, and some shocking, stories of the restaurant biz during his time in the kitchen.
   
   I recommend this book for anyone with at least a marginal love of cooking or eating. Basically everyone!