Reviews (21)

Proudly serve your family
I have been so pleased with the recipes in this cookbook.
I love this book!
Don't let the word "gourmet" intimidate you.These recepies are easy and delicious.They do take a little prep work, but it is worth it.I am a new crock-pot user, and have successfully cooked three recepies.I can't wait to try more.

Excellent book, quite different than most books on the topic
A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years, concentrating on Italian cooking for the last 10 years, writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry". With more than 500 cookbooks in my collection I am usually disappointed in my recent cookbook acquisitions. As a time crunched workingwoman that likes to serve delicious home cooked food I am always looking for ways to make my life easier.With that in mind I picked up this book to see if it had anything new to offer.The recipes contained within this book have pleasantly surprised me.
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Subjects:  1. Casserole cookery    2. Cookery    3. Cookery, International    4. Cooking    5. Cooking / Wine    6. Methods - Gourmet    7. Methods - Special Appliances    8. Gadget cookery   

Reviews (1)

Not for the home cook, but the book doesn't professes to be for the home cook.
These are the best cookbooks together now (I have read and used a lot of Belgian and French cookbooks!).
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Regional & Ethnic - American - California Style    6. COOKING / Methods / Gourmet    7. Cooking / American / California Style    8. General cookery    9. New York   

Reviews (4)

great treasure
This is a great treasure.One needs to look at each recipe and try to anticipate how the original plate should have been like.No need to follow the exact instructions as they are only hints.Lot's of fun.

Brilliant, if bulky
High priced absurdity? Hardly. Compared to Adria's or Pierre Gagnaire's texts, Ducasse's tome reminds me of a blown up, bulky version of the French Laundry. There are no foams. There are no overtly experimental techniques; save the odd sous vide recipe.
Serious cooks only need apply -
First and foremost this is a cookbook for serious cooks/chefs. No compromise in the ingredients or the techniques required executing the dishes. The recipes are very detailed and very complicated, and, as with many chef cookbooks, it assumes you know how to cook! Don't be in a hurry to produce the dishes, read many times, absorb the essence/idea of the dish and then you should go!
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Gourmet    4. Regional & Ethnic - French    5. Cooking / French    6. General cookery    7. Reference works   

Reviews (1)

Better than the First
I like this cookbook better than Alley's first slow cooker book.Because it's regional foods, the recipes are still varied, but the ingredients are a little less exotic. This book contains close to 60 solid recipes with beautiful photography.Best of all, the author admits she tested the resipes on various brands of slow cookers, something that didn't quite happen with the first book.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Methods - Special Appliances   

Subjects:  1. Cookery, American    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    6. Restaurant Michael Mina    7. Cooking / Gourmet    8. General cookery    9. USA   

Reviews (22)

Excellent Raw Cookbook
The Raw Gourmet should be owned by everyone who desires better health! Just flipping through the pages looking at the photos is simply mouth-watering! The recipes are easy to prepare and are simply delicious!

Saves me a lot of time and thrills my taste buds!
What first got my attention is the section in Nomi's book called "Ten Raw Food Kitchen Essentials". Without this, preparing raw recipes can require a lot of time in the kitchen, and a lot of planning ahead. ("Darn, I forgot to soak the almonds last night.") This guide shows you how to be extremely efficient, the ingredients you need are always at your fingertips.
So Pleased
I love this book!It has great information and wonderful recipes!The pictures are beautiful too! I have a lot of raw cookbooks... but this one is such a favorite!You'll be delighted with how good you feel and look eating this way too! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Diets - Special Conditions    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Specific Ingredients - Natural Foods    6. Vegetarian cookery   

Reviews (1)

Can't believe he was doing this back then.....
This book is like the Star Wars Prequels... It tells the story of how El-bulli has come along to being the Major Innovator..Great book... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Methods - Gourmet    3. Methods - Professional   

Editorial Review

Books on nutritious eating abound, but none seem as comprehensive as Read more

Reviews (8)

Another classic from the people at CIA
To put this review into perspective for you, it is written by a serious student of cooking that has been actively studying food on their own for 25 years.I have been focusing on Italian food for the last 10 years.My favorite cookbook is "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute of America.
the book i bought
item received in a reasonable amount of time and was the correct item.

Healthy Cooking
There are very healthy ideas in this cookbook. However, the recipes usually contained recipes that seemed to have an odd ingredient or two that I don't keep on hand. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Health & Healing - General    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Methods - Quantity    6. Nutrition    7. Quantity Cookery    8. Quantity cooking    9. Cooking / Health    10. Health & wholefood cookery    11. Hotel & catering trades   

Editorial Review

If you have somehow never cooked and yet want to, there's always that troublesome problem of where to begin. Fortunately, Read more

Reviews (8)

Beautiful book to own
Beautiful book and great "techniques" depicted.Have still not cooked from it, but I collect cookbooks and unlike "America's Best Recipes" type books which ponder on and on about what they don't like, this one shows you "how to do it" but also have some "lux" meals that you can try.the el bulli master decomposes foams.you can make that "foam soup" you tried at haute restaurants.the japanese section is mouthwatering and taste good just from the recipes.the pasta and dairy section written by Union Square grill master. the recipes seem doable.
Great book
THis is a grat book has almost everyhing in it. I really enjoyed the way it showed pictures to make sure you knew exactly what the chef was doing.

This is an amazing book
Today I found it on borders. I compared it to the professional chef (7th ed) and I was blown away by this book. Don't get me wrong professional chef is a good book but I was more in need to learn "techniques" and this book delivered it with beautiful step by step color photographs. I especially loved the seafood section. I don't know how to skin or filet a fish and this book showed it. If you are more into techniques like me this should be the first book for you. I can't comment on the recipes as I only brushed through them and this book has plenty of color photographs to give you guidance (I do mean plenty unlike most cookbooks). It's a good book for both new and experienced cooks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. General    6. Methods - General    7. Methods - Gourmet    8. Cooking / Reference   

Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Methods - Gourmet   

Reviews (24)

Very Pleased...
I was very worried about making bread, but Bette's Four Flour Bread was so easy and tasked great..I was very pleased.. I can't wait to try another.

Looking at Bread in a Whole New Way!
This book makes it easy to have a new relationship with baked goods.

I have not even read this and I know it's good
I have her first book (fabulous, I have already worn it out!). I don't own this one - yet. However, I have been baking bread for months in my bread machine using a recipe (adapted for my machine) from this book (the gluten-free white bread - can anyone tell me how many calories this has???). I am so thankful that I can still eat pizza and other treats I would miss so much, and it's all thanks to Bette. These breads may be too sweet, but that is relative. Use applesauce instead, or some other liquid replacement. Get creative. Learn to be a daring cook. As for these ingredients being too expensive: I don't buy it (especially not if it's too expensive!). You do have to be ingenuous and tenacious, but you can find local ethnic markets that carry these for much, much less than the distributors she is touting. Garfava flour can probably be found at an Indian market for dollars less per pound. Rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch are available at any Asian market for about 50 cents a pound. That's about $2 less per pound than the brand name flours at the health food store!!! See what I mean? This is a piece of cake. A gluten-free piece of cake. Bon appetit!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bread    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - Bread    5. Gluten-free diet    6. Health & Healing - General    7. Methods - Baking    8. Methods - Gourmet    9. Recipes    10. Wheat-free diet    11. Cakes, baking, icing & sugarcraft    12. Health & wholefood cookery   

Reviews (1)

A must-have book for every chef
This book has everything going for it. It's one of the best cookbooks I've ever seen. The whole "Best of Gourmet" series is great, but this is one of my favorites. Do not let the year (1992) deter you, because this book has stood the test of time beautifully, and if the date wasn't printed on it you'd never know. It is chock full of beautiful pictures, entire menus, and recipies for everyone from the novice cook to the gourmand chef. The recipies are easy to follow, delicious, and beautiful. When I don't feel like cooking, I even just enjoy flipping through and enjoying the photos - they're THAT good! Every serious chef should have this incredible book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. General    5. Menus    6. Methods - Gourmet    7. Cooking / General    8. General cookery   

Reviews (3)

The Natural Gourmet
As the sbtitle says, "delicious recipes for Healthy,BALANCED eating". Recpes are keyed to the Five Phase Theory of eating.

This Book has the Best Tasting Wheat-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe
This is a great cookbook.The pumkin pie crust is wheat free and it tastes great.It's always a hit at the holidays, and the pumkin pie part of the recipe is dairy free, this recipe is so nutritious that you can eat it anytime.The entire book has some great solutions.And if you are in NYC you should try to take a class at Ann Marie's Cooking School.

Very useful
This is a great follow-up to The Book of Whole Meals, because the food gets more creative. The first part of the book explains how to balance meals using the Chinese 5-Element system, which really helps in overcoming cravings for junk foods. They also label the recipes so you can figure out how to fit them into the system. I have to admit I've mainly used the book for this purpose. For the recipes, I adjusted them to suit my own taste, and found them satisfying. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Health & Healing - General    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Specific Ingredients - Natural Foods    6. Cooking / Health   

Editorial Review

When Read more

Reviews (117)

Massive and masterful!
With over 1000 recipes, this cookbook is going to take some time to truly put through it's paces, but I've had great results with the few dishes I've tried so far.The Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayo rocked, with a gem of a condiment included - pickled red onion.I'd use that on any sandwich, anytime.The sauces for Halibut with Spicy Asian Vinaigrette (really a sambal vinaigrette) and Wasabi Cream were awesome.Veggie dishes like Asparagus with Shallot and sesame seeds add a special touch to everyday dinners.
It's not supposed to be The Joy of Cooking
I recently moved to Mexico, and as weight and customs tariffs limited my importation of books, I chose this cookbook to be my overall basic resource. I have been glad ever since that I left my "Joy" behind, along with my "Best of Cooks Illustrated" and the Childs volumes. Unlike B. Marold, I have not been disappointed by any of the recipes I've tried, and I've been delighted to find so many of them to be Latin or Caribbean themed, so that I can use the products most readily available here yet branch out from the usual Mexican fare. To complain that the omelet-making or brioche-making techniques are not what they would be in a teaching volume is to ask more of this compendium than what it is: the best recipes published in Gourmet Magazine, period. I find the sidebars useful and the unfortunate yellow titles a minor irritant. The index is excellent, which is not often the case with cookbooks. Everything for which I've needed a recipe I've found in one way or another through it. Try the Cuban Roast Pork Loin; the Avocado, Orange, and Jicama Salad; the Beets with Lime Butter! My only complaint is that several times I've proceeded with a recipe and added all of an ingredient only to discover that some of that ingredient was to be saved for a later step. I've since learned to read more carefully through a recipe before plunging in.

Great cookbook for ingredients you might actually have at home
I love this cookbook.It is exceptionally well indexed with so many recipes that I can invariably find one that fits the items in my refrigerator or pantry. The recipes are easy, even for an average cook.The preparation time listed for each recipe is right on target.For example, the fruit crumble really DOES take only 15 minutes (and tastes like something I would be happy to pay for at a restaurant) and the blender hollandaise really does work in a snap.It has become the cookbook I use 90% of the time.It's true it has no pictures, but given the choice between recipes and images, I would take the former any day. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery, International    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Methods - Gourmet    6. Reference    7. Cooking / Reference   

Reviews (8)

Just desserts
I have celiac disease, which is essentially an allergy to wheat protein, and I've been GF for 5 years now. (Why does that sound like I'm at an AA meeting?) Bette Hagman's books are the first couple of books that I got, and I still use them every day. "Dessert" is one of the best for the extra information it includes.
Recipes so good, even non-celiacs savor them!
I was recently given this book by my celiac mother-in-law, and I am so grateful.My sister and I are both celiacs, and desserts like cake and cookies have been missing from our lives for years. (I mean, REAL cakes and cookies that taste like their gluten-laiden counterparts.) From the very first recipe we tried- frosted macadamia nut bars (p.145) to my 25th birthday treat- whoopie pies (p.118), my entire family has devoured the outcomes. Including those who can eat wheat.This book explains evey detail about gluten-free flours, right down to thier protein contents, and how and why they work.This is an absolute must for anyone who wants to enter back into the realm of heavenly desserts, or anyone catering to their beloved celiac.Just be prepared to stock your shelves with a bunch of new flours, and you'll be on your way!

I love Bette
I recently made one of Bette's cakes from The Gluten-free gourmet makes dessert.It was so good that my wife (who is NOT a celiac) and I finished the whole cake in one sitting!Not all of the recipes will be to everyone's liking and some of the recipe proportions need tinkering.However, considering what's out there for celiac's to use this book is a life saver.The pumpkin cake is great and the danish is incredible.A must read for any celiac. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Courses & Dishes - Desserts    4. Health & Healing - General    5. Health & Healing - Weight Control    6. Methods - Gourmet    7. Desserts    8. Health & wholefood cookery   

Reviews (13)

the bible on GF cooking
This is the bible when it comes to baking gluten-free. Long ago, before the Internet was publicly available, people had to find information anyway they could on living GF and coeliac disease. When this book was first published in the early to mid-1990s, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Before this book, I had a few recipes from the Celiac Society of America (CSA) and the Gluten-Intolerance Group (GIG), and a couple of really bad cookbooks from the UK (which usually relied on GF flour (wheat flour with the gluten washed) that wasn't readily available in the US and didn't bake all that well. The recipes in all of Bette Hagman's books are great -- staples that you longed for. Lentil chocolate cake -- even the non-coeliacs will want some!

The original and still the most comprehensive
I have celiac disease, which is essentially an allergy to wheat protein, and I've been GF for 5 years now. (Why does that sound like I'm at an AA meeting?) Bette Hagman's books are the first couple of books that I got, and they're pretty good. *GFG-Revised* is a really great book with a lot of the staples that you need in there. The initial couple of chapters about what you can and can't eat are worth the price of the book (sure, you can't have wheat, rye, or barley, but how about quinoa, teff, spelt, or millet?) (Answers: yes, yes, no, yes.) but the recipes are what you should buy it for. The "Revised" edition has been updated with the new "four bean flour" blend.
OK, but not exactly "gourmet"...
I was disappointed in this book.I guess I expected more than meatloaf, cheese balls, tuna casserole and beef stroganoff...
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Subjects:  1. Allergies    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Diets - General    5. Gluten-free diet    6. Glutin-free diet    7. Health & Healing - General    8. Methods - Gourmet    9. Recipes   

Editorial Review

Barbara Kafka, inveterate food professional and cookbook writer, she of Read more

Reviews (9)

Quirky but great
Kafka is opinionated and I don't always agree with her. (For instance, she hates dilly beans, thinks lambs quarters are far inferior to spinach, and loves ramps). But, I don't mind that - the world would be boring if we all agreed all the time. This is a fun cookbook with imaginative, good, and easy to prepare recipes, and I use it regularly.

Excellent Cookbook - Essential for any kitchen
Barbara Kafka's _Vegetable Love_ is one of the best cookbooks that I have ever purchased. I have made some twenty recipes (of the 700+), and every single one has turned out delicious.
Not just for vegetarians
First of all, in spite of the title, this is not a book filled with almost religious zeal on vegetarian cooking. Instead it is a book on vegetables. It's all about vegetables. And beyond vegetables there are some other things like avocados, which she thinks is technically a fruit rather than a vegetable. And she has some recipes on some unusual vegetables like hominy, well, perhaps not unusual, but not often seen in mainstream cookbooks. And how about a discussion on amaranth or burdock, maybe that's part of your standard diet, but my mother never cooked either one of them.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery (Vegetables)    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Essay    5. Essays    6. Methods - Gourmet    7. Specific Ingredients - Vegetables    8. Vegetable Cookery    9. Vegetables    10. Cookery by ingredient    11. Cooking / Vegetables   

Reviews (13)

Microwave Gourmet
This book is filled with ways to cook in your microwave, things I would not have thought could be done. It is an especially good book for beginning cooks, and I would highly recomend it for a wedding present.

A Good Introduction
This book provides a good introduction to Microwave cooking techniques and it gives several useeful tips on selecting and buying Microwave Cookware.The only drawback are the recipes included.Several of them are too gourmet and they should put more emphasis onn basic and popular dishes.However, I have found about seven dishes which I will prepare.There should also be more emphasis placed on dishes and cooking for the Single person.

A serious cookbook for the microwave, truly excellent!
Don't cook in the microwave without this book.Transversely, if you don't have this cookbook, then you will miss out on many wonderful things you CAN cook in the microwave with superior results.Don't be fooled, the finished product will be truly delicious. I was highly sceptical of many of the recipes in the beginning but they turn out perfectly every time.Have relied on these recipes for many years.You will cook more often, quickly and easily, (saving you money as well) when you use this cookbook. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Gourmet    4. Methods - Microwave    5. Microwave cookery    6. Microwave cooking    7. Cooking / Microwave    8. Gadget cookery   

Reviews (6)

Bible of Modern French Cuisine, at a budget price! Buy It.
`The Escoffier Cookbook' is an English translation of the `Guide Culinaire' by the renowned French chef, Auguste Escoffier, the most important figure in modern professional French culinary practice. One may argue that Antonin Careme is more important simply because Careme influenced Escoffier and write many books on culinary technique, but I suspect every culinary professional reads Escoffier today and few outside academic circles read Careme's original works.
Fascinating to read, but not a "cookbook" in the modern sense
"The Escoffier Cookbook" is a heavily abridged American version of Auguste Escoffier's 1903 book "Guide Culinaire". It is a fascinating look at the art of professional European cookery at the beginning of the 20th century.
A Beginner/Intermediate Cook
Things that I cannot finds in this book (for whatever reasons) which Ihoped would be included: 1.recipe for coq au vin 2. recipe for onion soup3. recipe for lobster thermidor. Things that are in here that I can livewithout : 1. how to lard a joint of meat which a. I don't understand interms of doing this b.under no circumstances do I need this in terms of thefat 2. a recipe for boeuf bourguignone which is so old ( it could also betraditional) that it uses a piece of rump roast or top round roast that isnot cut into pieces ( it was originally for a tough piece of meat--so saidJulia and Jacques the other day on PBS--and his boeuf bourguignon also wasa "pot roast" --and I am prejudiced against pot roasts and willnever make it that way). However, therre is another reviewer who isabsolutely right, there is an excellent presentation and overview of thesauces. Also of cooking methods. I just got it--and it's not the onlyone--I do expect to be at least referring to it, and probably using it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, French    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - General    5. Methods - Gourmet    6. Reference    7. Regional & Ethnic - French    8. Cooking / French    9. General cookery    10. National & regional cuisine   

Reviews (2)

Once again, not impressed...
This book had many of the same recipes as the first Betty Crocker Slow Cooker cookbook--even the same pictures! The recipes are OK, but many are dull and made with prepackaged items. I'd rather know what's in my food, thank you. Not impressed. The new Southern Living Slow Cooker cookbook was a million times better.

Fantasic Crockery Cooking
I have to admit that my crock pot is a lifesaver, when you can start dinner in the morning and have it done with no problem by 6:30 p.m., how can you go wrong? But I had a problem finding new recipies that are family friendly. I have no problem making beef stew, chili, corned beef, you know the usual slow cooker fare. But that gets old.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Electric cookery, Slow    5. Methods - Gourmet    6. Methods - Special Appliances    7. Cooking / Gourmet    8. Gadget cookery