Reviews (11)

Not Just for Backpacking, Truly Lipsmacking Recipes!
We have 8 backpacking cookbooks including both of Christine's books.Lipsmackin' Backpackin' is by far our most used book in our kitchen.The recipes are easy to follow, use easy to obtain foodstuffs, are tasty, quick to prepare, and are even great out car camping where storage space is still at a premium in our little VW campmobile or for a quick busy nite at home dinner.
Perfect expedition kayak cookbook
This book will become my bible for simple, fast & tasty outdoor meals.

Lipsmackin' Backpackin' - a compendium of excellent recipes
Tim and Christine spent many hours researching this book which was published in 2000. Drawing on their own experiences and that of acquaintances, Tim and Christine have provided us with yummy recipes that reflect many cultures and tastes. Read more

Subjects:  1. Camping    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Hiking    5. Methods - Outdoor    6. Outdoor cookery    7. Sports & Recreation / Hiking   

Reviews (19)

Easy To Love
I can boil water except I usually burn it, so imagine my joy to find a cook book with so many easy to use and tasty ideas.My favorite cooking item is my George Forman grill and everything I have tried so far comes out great.Her varied uses for chicken are most welcome to those of us on special diets or just trying to cut the fat from our diets.The ingredients are easy to assemble and instructions easy to follow.I also gave a copy of this book to my uncle in Missouri.He is a legendary griller.The back yard is his kingdom.He has enjoyed her bookand has gotton some great new ideas from it. Thank you Grill Power for bringing me and myGeorge Forman even closer than before.

1 star because 0 stars was unavailable!
Do listen to the sour grapes reviews. This book is for people looking for meals that you cannot pull together without first shopping at multiple locations to purchase the ingredients.I prefer simple recipes with items I can find in my pantry or pick up on my way home from work.Save your $$$!!!!

Excellent Book...Ignore the sour grapes review
This book has been fantastic even for an experienced griller.The recipes are excellent and the organization of the book makes it user friendly. I do not find the "fluff" I have found in many pop cook books and absolutely don't know where the sour grapes vindictive reviewer below is coming from.
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Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Outdoor    5. Reference    6. Cooking / Barbecue   

Reviews (11)

Bobby Flay is the Grill Master
Thought his first book was great, check this one out.Even better.

If you love Bobby, you will love this book!
This book is great, Bobby Flay is one of our favorites, and it is great to be able to use his recipes to cook things that will wow everyone!

Outstanding
Nothingless than perfection from BFlay, as we like to call him!The cookbook is filled with awesome looking recipes - and nothing too difficult to handle.Very happy with my purchase. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Barbecue cooking    3. Cookery    4. Cooking    5. Cooking / Wine    6. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    7. Methods - Outdoor    8. Cooking / General   

Editorial Review

A fine whole tenderloin of beef is a great piece of meat to roast and serve on a special occasion, and is expensive enough it could give one pause at the open oven door--that great What If, as in what if I don't really know what I am doing. The editors of Read more

Reviews (3)

An Informative Guide for Meat Lovers
If you are not familiar with Cook's Illustrated magazine and their numerous cookbooks, let me introduce them to you. What they do is they take a recipe into their test kitchen, prepare it over and over again until they reach the very best way to make it, and then publish the recipe, along with a detailed report on their testing and how they arrived at their findings. This is a wonderful concept for the serious home cook and baker, because aside from their delicious (mostly) foolproof recipes, the cook is invited to learn the science behind the recipe, and this is a valuable learning tool. To me, the people behind Cook's Illustrated and their cookbooks are more than just a source of good recipes, they are EDUCATORS. And I have learned a great deal from them in the couple years that I have been exposed to them. "Steaks, Chops, Roasts and Ribs" is one of the wonderful cookbooks in the Cook's Illustrated series that I wholeheartedly recommend to the home cook who wants to learn more about the art of preparing various meats. Although some of the recipes within can be found in their much more comprehensive and all-encompassing cookbook "The New Best Recipe", this book stands apart if not solely for its wonderful and fully detailed section on the various cuts of meat. Every type and cut of meat imaginable is addressed in the beginning of the book, with a description of the cut, its alternate names, a rating of its flavor and an idea of its cost. There is also an informative section about the primal cuts of meat, what "branding" means and basic cooking methods. The information doesn't stop there, however, because scattered throughout the book are many other tidbits of information, like how to successfully make pan sauces, the best wines for cooking, product reviews, and helpful cooking illustrations. The recipes themselves (and their cooking methods) are varied enough to placate any home cook, from the grill maniac to the stew lover. There is something for everyone in this wonderful book. And unless you're already an expert on meat, I feel confident that you will learn something new from this book!

This is an amazing books
I first encounted this book in the library, I was attracted by the title. I was a little skeptical at first, thinking it would be extremely boring since there is no fancy picture in the book, but as I started reading it, I was amazed by the info in the book, they tell you every single detail involved to make sure everything turns out perfect. And they tell you the every single little things e.g. the science behind aging your beef...
If You Like Meat, Buy This Book
In general, this book is reliable, complete, and extremely useful to anyone who eats meat more than once in a while. It is good addition to your bookshelf and recommended highly.The primary value of this book is completeness. No matter what type of meat or cut you have, there is a relevant chapter and recipes for it; this book covers it all. Systematically developing recipes for all types of meat must have been a daunting task. Although this book is seriously flawed, if you cook based on the wonderful piece of meat you got at the supermarket or butcher rather than cooking from a cookbook from a famous celebrity chef, this book is pretty much the only game in town and rather indispensable. My main warning about this book: the recipes are focused on the proper procedure and technique, not on what is easy or convenient; some of the fussiest recipes I have ever seen come from this meat cookbook (I will refrain from complaining about the futility of Yankees trying to cook oriental food, chili, or barbecue).
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Subjects:  1. Cookery (Meat)    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Holiday - General    5. Meat    6. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    7. Specific Ingredients - Meat    8. Cookery by ingredient   

Reviews (26)

Covers all the basics for surviving and maybe even thriving!
Great book (well, 10 books) with an easy to understand narrative style liberally illustrated with pretty good black and white photos.Sure the authors won't win any grammar awards, but that's not the point of this book.This book belongs in everyone's survival kit right next to a good knife and maybe a flint & steel - the information inside might just save your life one day.Thanks John & Geri!

One of the best out there.
I've studied, practiced, and taught wilderness survival on and off for around ten years, now. I've read an enormous amount of material on the subject of survival; some of it is quite good (Brown Jr., Wiseman, Davenport, among others), some of it is at best mediocre (e.g., FM 21-76).
Incredibly disappointed: not a good "first book"
It is rare for me to feel almost completely negative about a publication.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Methods - Outdoor    3. Outdoor Skills    4. Outdoor cookery    5. Outdoor life    6. Sports    7. Wilderness survival   

Reviews (3)

This guy's no expert because he's fat!!!!!!!
While this is a folksy kind of travel guide to barbeque, Bob Great BBQ Guide
I just moved to North Carolina a few years ago, so this guide to NC BBQ has been indispensible.Garner has spent many years sampling and reviewing NC BBQ, and he really seems to know what he's talking about in his reviews.He's picked the 100 best BBQ joints in NC and gives a wealth of info about each, including address, phone number, hours, menu items, etc.Of course, he spends the most time talking about the BBQ. A "must-have" for barbecue epicureans
Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbecue is a regional restaurant guide to what are arguably the best barbecue joints North Carolina has to offer. Each individual restaurant is presented with its address, its hours for serving barbecue, and a brief yet mouth-wateringly descriptive of its barbecue styles, special touches, and occasional, its limitations. Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbecue is recommended as a "must-have" for barbecue epicureans who either live in North Carolina or are simply passing through -- even if only briefly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Guidebooks    5. Methods - Outdoor    6. North Carolina    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    8. Restaurants   

Editorial Review

Barbecue is not about grilling food fast over high heat. That's something else, delicious in its own right, but something else entirely. Barbecue is about marginal cuts of meat (for the most part), about smoke, about fires burning so low and slow you hardly ever see the flicker of a flame. Barbecue is about succulent pork ribs as dark as sin just falling off the bone and dripping with glorious sweet pork godliness. Or enjoying the effects that 12 to 18 hours of smoking has on beef brisket.Read more

Reviews (45)

How to learn the difference between BBQ and Grilling
OK.I know I'm about to open a religious war here.So let me define my terms:Grilling is when you are using direct or indirect heat to cook your food, usually at high temps.BBQ is cooking at lower temperatures for longer periods of time and is especially good for tough cuts (like brisket) or items needed to render over time (like pork roast).You can also apply BBQ techniques to foods usually grilled, like chicken or hamburgers.
All you need to know
An excellent book with not only recipes but also the 'how to' and 'where to find' information. I was given an electric smoker and needed as much information as possible about how to use it and a selection of recipes. THIS is the book.

A whirlwind tour of Techniques and anecdotes
This was the first of these books that I bought and it really gave me a heads up on the variations across the country.
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Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Barbecue cooking    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    6. Smoked foods    7. Spices    8. Cooking / General    9. General cookery   

Reviews (12)

BBQ Guide
This is a Great Story/Cookbook for bar-b-que. It focuses on smoking, but includes recipes for everything from drinks to desserts to ribs of course!

Peace Love and Barbecue makes me Happy
Barbecue is a way of life and Peace Love and Barbecue gets it right.This is a great read, captures the essence of Barbecue and infuses you with spirit.This book made me happy and hungry, got my juices flowing and got me thinking.Loved it.
Good read
I really enjoyed reading PL and BBQ. Mike and his daughter put together a fun social read along with many tips and recipe's. If you are interested in BBQ at all this is a must read ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Essays    5. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    6. Methods - Outdoor    7. Cooking / Barbecue    8. General cookery   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Entertaining - General    4. Methods - Outdoor    5. Outdoor cookery    6. Picnicking    7. Seasonal    8. Tailgate parties    9. Cooking / General   

Reviews (8)

can do!
i was wondering if the adverage cook could do these meals without getting frustrated and i ventured out to Williams Sonoma to see what was available , easy to find or get organized.actually, no problem but deciding plank flavor, and what to try first!!!we decided fish first and everything needed was easy to find but which recipe!good book.we bought four for birthday gifts to cooks we know and they were equally impressed and liked the meals selected in the book.good job!!!

No flameout, just wonderful flavor
Skeptical at first that anything could be cooked while sitting on a wood plank in a red hot grill, I made sure to have an open beverage container handy in case of flameout. What a surprise when I first looked in to see how things were going. Beatifully controlled smoke was really infused into the steaks we were cooking, and I couldn't believe the flavor. The cookbook realy helped with suggestions on how to soak the plank, how long, what type wood to use and the receipies are well written and simple to follow. From now on, it's the only type of grilling I'll be doing. Can't wait to try all the other receipies, and plank combinations.
New Flavor Sensation
Grilling on a plank adds a new twist to flavor and these recipes are incredibly delicious. Its a must for hunters - the recipes for game are really good. Just a note, the recipes work without a plank too - they don't have that added "twist" of the wood flavor - but they are still very tasty. The book has good instructions and some interesting reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cookery    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    6. Wood    7. Cooking / Barbecue   

Reviews (3)

Not only basic but for the experinced also
I am not a big fan of Cliff , but having said that, this book is one of his best. Many great tips are given and will keep food on the table/lap on those long trips.
A Good Amount of Unique Information
Although I found a lot of this book to be useful, I was most impressed with the author's system to conserve fuel and speed cooking time while cooking outdoors in colder climates.

great basic book
This is a great basic book 70 page book on this subject. I have about 10 different books on camp cooking, and this one covers many areas of outdoor cooking including camp stoves, fire making, selecting the right pots and pans. How to pack lightly is covered as well as sources to find things. Then there are the recipes which all work great and tste delicious. The writer has a homey style that is very comfortable to read, kind of like an old friend or uncle explaining things to you.The book is affordable. The interior illustrations are nice too. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Camping    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Outdoor    4. Outdoor cookery    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Active outdoor pursuits    8. Cooking / Outdoor    9. General cookery   

Reviews (1)

vintage recipes
I highly reccommend this charming book produced by the folks at the National Forest Service non-profit museum in Montana, and chock full of recipes from forest ranger districts all over the country, celebrating 100 years of service. So it is filled with historic stories and photos of early ranger camps and cooks. Some of these vintage recipes have been around for awhile, and are very nostalgic. Most recipes list the contributing ranger, and their district.Spiral binding makes it easy to cook with, as you can keep the book open and flat on the page you need. All cookbooks should be made like that.
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Subjects:  1. Backpacking    2. Beverages - Bartending    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Forest Service    6. Methods - Outdoor    7. Outdoor cookery    8. United States    9. Alcoholic beverages    10. Cooking / Outdoor    11. General cookery   

Reviews (6)

Excellent resource
I've reviewed many books for both my site and Amazon and this one is a real gem. I was a little skeptical at first but the recipes were great. The food tasted delicious when we took it on our trips.
A Really Helpful Guide
It was really helpful for me in pre-preparing easy to transport tasty meals. I have used a few other backpacking cookbooks but found this one the most helpful. I really loved the Sierra Spaghetti and the summer lasgna. I even make them to eat at home. I thought all the meals when rehydrated tasted amazingly fresh. I was really happy with my purchase and use of this book.

Not enough variety
This was the first backcountry cookbook I bought. I was looking for recipes that could be mostly assembled at home, would be lightweight to transport, and were easy to cook over a backpacking stove.
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Subjects:  1. Backpacking    2. Camping    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Drying    6. Equipment and supplies    7. Food    8. Hiking    9. Methods - Outdoor    10. Outdoor cookery    11. Active outdoor pursuits    12. Preserving   

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    5. General cookery   

Editorial Review

Cheryl and Bill Jamison, authors of Read more

Reviews (4)

Authoritative, thorough and friendly
With 850 recipes, including 200 sauces and rubs, big and thorough are the operative words for this James Beard Award-winning team's latest (after "Good times, Good Grilling").
terrific book
Have not by any means read, or tried, the whole book. But the section on equipment is very helpful. The entire book looks really very good, as are all of their books. This is one of the 2 weeks of the year in which it is nice, as opposed to cooking ON the sidewalk sort of heat where I live. So outdoors is great.
Satisfy your hunger for the best
The Jamisons have done it again. If anyone knows grilling and bbq-ing and entertaining it's this amazing couple. This book is a great collection of classic recipes, many with an unsual twist. Not to mention the drinks, the rubs, marinades. Ilove to entertain out int he backyard, and I think it's the best book on outdoor entertaining perhaps ever. It's a party from the very first page. I can't recommend it enough. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cookery    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining    6. Entertaining - General    7. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    8. Methods - Outdoor    9. Outdoor Life    10. Cooking / Outdoor   

Editorial Review

Why cook by the hearth when our modern stoves offer such convenience? William Rubel's remarkable Read more

Reviews (7)

A Beautiful and Fundamental Book
Cooking in fire and coals wasn't important to me until I ate in a humble farmhouse kitchen in the mountains of the Veneto a few years ago.The flavors of woodsmoke in the roast squab and the wild-mushroom risotto were magical.They transformed simple, lean ingredients into something amazingly rich, complex, and soul-stirring.I was haunted for months after by the memory of those flavors.Then I had one of the greatest meals of my life at Chez Panisse, which featured flame-broiled rabbit sausages and coal-roasted lamb, which was finshed in the kitchen fireplace in a puff of rosemary smoke.From my vantage in the dining room I watched the utterly simple preparation, an immemorial process, and vowed to learn whatever I could about hearth cooking.In lieu of a grandmother with traditional hearth-cooking skills, I had books, and The Magic of Fire continues to stand out above the others.
Perceptive, literate, and useful...the trifecta.
This is written by a man who thoroughly understands his subject. The well-produced, beautiful book will take you from being the owner of a fireplace (or, for that matter, any contained open fire) and make you into an accomplished open-fire cook. Rubel shows clearly that open-hearth cooking is not only an old-fashioned way to cook, but a method which offers unparalleled control of the cooking process, sufficient to entice those without any interest in its history. Having lived for 5 years "in 1867" in a one-room apartment on Boston's Beacon Hill, lighting by candle and oil and heating and cooking on an open, Rumford fireplace, I think I can offer a unique perspective on Mr. Rubel's methods and practice. Buy this book--you will not regret it!

A magical presentation of an advanced yet natural topic
The Editorial Review provided above by Amazon is a very good technical description of the book contents; much practical and detailed information is indeed contained on this advanced cooking technique.I say "advanced" rather than "primitive" because open fire cooking offers a much greater variety of possibilities for combinations of convective, radiative, and thermal processing of food.Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Fireplace cookery    4. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    5. Methods - General    6. Outdoor cookery    7. General cookery   

Reviews (15)

more than just recipes
This is a very informative and useful book.It contains lots of information about the different cuts of meat and what to look for when buying food for grilling.The separate instructions for gas or charcoal grilling are helpful, too.Lots of little hints to help the novice or expert griller.

Every recipe is perfection
We're long time subscribers to CI magazine, and got this book as a gift a few years ago.We've cooked many recipes out of it such as the kebabs (chicken and beef), portabello mushrooms, beef ribs, and cornish game hens as well as their basic burgers and steaks.And true to form, CI has us cooking (in this case, grilling & smoking) to perfection every time.The how and why in each case educates us further and often comes up in conversations with friends and family.Excellent guidebook!

Would Have Been 5 Stars, but...
The only reason I did not rate this book at 5 stars is that I purchased a very similar book (which I did rate 5 stars) along with this one. The other book, "The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbeque: A Practical Guide for the Outdoor Cook," was copyrighted in 2005, whereas this book was copyrighted in 2001. I expected the two books to be somewhat different, but the 2005 book appears to me to be an updated and revised version of this book. Both books are excellent, but I have found nothing in this book that the 2005 book doesn't contain. And, as you would expect, the 2005 book has more pages, more recipes, and more instructions and information than this 2001 edition.
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Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    5. Methods - Outdoor    6. Seasonal   

Reviews (2)

Recipes for BBQ Lovers!
I love to browse through different cookbooks.I have quite a collection, and usually go to the library to find new recipes to try before I decide to purchase the entire book.I normally look for 3 things in a cookbook, besides delicious recipes that will work for my family.This includes:
Best one yet...
Ray Lampe has generously continued to share his expertise and more.
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Subjects:  1. Barbecue cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Barbecue & Grilling    5. Cooking / Barbecue   

Reviews (4)

Just another gourmet cookbook
I was hoping that this would be a more useful camping cookbook.It is really a gourmet cookbook that tries to be a camping cookbook by using"sierra cup" as a unit of measurement (a "sierra cup" is a fancy backpacking cup purchased at trendy outdoor stores, and holds about 9 ounces)and by illustrating it with camping pictures and artwork.The ingredients for most of the recipes require access to gourmet and specialty stores.
Move Over Wolfgang Puck
For those of us who like to cook, camp and eat well,this book has no peer. If you love to cook anyway, this is the book foryou.If you don't, stick with the premade stuff you buy at the sporting goods stores as the home prep is critical and time consuming.For me, it was heaven.And the rewards paid off in spades at the campsite because you merely "just add water" to create meals worthy of the finest home dinner party (as proof - we're home and I made one of the recipes for a dinner party this week!).Thank you Rick and Hal for changing the face of camp food -- and for your bright, witty text that made it even more of a pleasure.I can't wait for the sequel.

Gourmet Ultralight Backpackers Rejoice
The fact that everything tastes good outdoors has kept campers eating shoe leather and birdseed for years. This is for the serious back country gourmet who will go just about anywhere and do anything to eat well once they get there. Be prepared to break out the food dehydrator and camping oven. However, recipes like steamed Chinese dumplings and "The Most Dangerous Cake in the Wilderness" are good enough to serve at home. The book is lightweight at 17 ounces, yet packed with tasty ideas. "Leave No Crumbs" is the best kind of camp companion: it kept us well fed and laughing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Camping    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Outdoor    5. Outdoor cookery    6. Cooking / Outdoor   

Reviews (5)