Review of Gifts from the Kitchen for Dummies (Paperback)

This book was written for someone like me!Because I have very little in-kitchen experience, even cookbooks intimidate me, since they tend to assume at least some prior knowledge of cooking and baking.Finally, I have encountered a cookbook author who started at the beginning and who explained the basics in a clear and straightforward way!She then went on to spell out fun and interesting recipes that even I could follow!I'm so excited to be able to give gifts that take time and energy, that are clearly made and given with love, and that also look and taste impressive! -- Home-spun and polished at the same time!I am going to give this book as a pre-Christmas gift, so that my friends will be able to actually use it at Christmastime!I'm thrilled with it!

Product Description
Get inspired with tips on cooking, gift-wrapping, and presentation

Delight your friends and family with tasty, attractive, homemade treats!

Whipping up delicious edible gifts for any occasion is a snap with this fun cookbook and packaging guide. From easy-to-follow recipes to creative presentation ideas, you'll find everything you need to make special, personal gifts that taste great and look terrific.

From the Back Cover
Get inspired with tips on cooking, gift-wrapping, and presentation

Delight your friends and family with tasty, attractive, homemade treats!

Whipping up delicious edible gifts for any occasion is a snap with this fun cookbook and packaging guide. From easy-to-follow recipes to creative presentation ideas, you'll find everything you need to make special, personal gifts that taste great and look terrific.

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Review of Crab: Buying, Cooking, Cracking (Hardcover)

I've made both the Garlic-Roasted Dungeness "Killer" Crab and Crab and Fuji Apple Salad and they both have become favorites. While it is difficult to get live crab where I live, I substituted with large freshwater prawns in the Killer Crab recipe. The garlicky, peppery sauce that clings to the seafood is to-die for and incredibly addictive. Our friends devoured the plate in minutes - and we even used bread to mop up the sauce leftover on the plate. Next time, I'm going to double the sauce/spices just so we can dip!

Overall, it's a cute little book with great recipes - makes me homesick for San Francisco - with recipes like Foggy Wharf Salad and Fisherman's Wharf Crab Cakes.

Product Description
There's something about crab that makes any dish decadent--whether in a rustic, weeknight pasta or atop a cocktail party hors d'oeuvre. And no matter the species, those sweet hunks of crabmeat always taste like pure indulgence. Along the Pacific, Dungeness crab is most popular, and with crab season extending from November in San Francisco through early fall in Alaska, locals and tourists alike can be found at crab feasts and festivals nearly year-round. Packed with ideas for enjoying this most succulent crustacean, CRAB offers new inspiration for making the ultimate crab cakes, crab chowder, crab Louis, and more.

From the Publisher
* A complete guide to buying, cleaning, preparing, and eat-ing crab, featuring 35 recipes and a primer on crab culture and lore.* Includes 30 location and styled food photos.* Versatile recipes provide crab weight and volume measures, so that any type of crabmeat--whether it's from a Dungeness, blue, Alaska snow, or other native crab--can be substituted.

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Review of The Rituals of Dinner (Paperback)

Margaret Visser's advice has been quoted on Sage Asian Advice on Soup Etiquette, and the advice looks to me entirely misleading.It reads: "A Chinese banquet often begins with fruit and ends with soup."Being a Chinese myself and have attended numerous banquets, I have never seen fruit being served at the beginning and soup at the end.It will help if Ms. Visser can clarify what kind of banquet she had actually observed or attended.The regular way is soup being served close to the beginning after the cold and hot appetizers, and fruit is served at the very end together with dessert.



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Review of The New Food Lover's Companion (Paperback)

This is one of the most fascinating reference books I've stumbled upon in a long time. The 6700 plus entries cover everything imaginable used in food preparation. Most are non-English in origin, but a good phonetic translation is provided. The terms are not just European; this book is loaded with Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and regional U.S. terms. The descriptions may run to several paragraphs- much more than a dictionary provides- though many of these words are too obscure to appear in any other source. Furthermore, it's compact enough to be carried in a coat pocket or handbag. If you eat in foreign restaurants even occasionally, this book will pay for itself in a month. (Your waiter will not know how most of these dishes are made.) It is not a recipe book, but it contains every culinary term that has ever seen print. If you are a novice in the kitchen, you may learn what many cookbooks assume you understand. Also, the appendix is loaded with all sorts of useful metrics and categories. The Herbsts' have compiled an indispensible source for anyone curious about what they eat.



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Review of An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a Pro (Hardcover)

Chad Ward - An Edge in the Kitchen

I own two books on kitchen knives and knife skills, this one and Weinstein's Mastering Knife Skills.Chad Ward's book is the best of the two by its breadth and wealth of information and is objectively a very good book.

Physically, the book is a medium sized hard cover, well edited.There is a number of good B&W pictures through the book to illustrate specific points, and there's a central section of 48 pages of glossy color pictures depicting specific knife techniques (battonets vs. julienne, onion, tomatoes, cutting a chicken, butterflying a piece of meat, skinning salmon, carving a turkey, steeling a knife, several sharpening methods, etc).

The book is organized as follows:
1 - Choosing the right kitchen knife:
This section is about 90 pages, so it's a sizeable part of the book.The author goes through the various knife types, costs, etc.Generally, Chad advocates staying away from knife block & sets, and explains that a home cook can do most everything with 3 knives: 8" to 10" chef, paring, and a serrated (or scalloped) bread knife.So his recommendation is to get the best of those.What is really helpful is that the author gives specific recommendations for all budgets - below $100, $200, or "the sky's the limit".Too many books just say "get what feels best".Chad goes beyond this to give a range of specific endorsements.This part also includes 10+ pages on cutting boards and how to take care of them.

2 - Kitchen knife skills:
This section is about 30 pages but also has most of the color pictures in the center section.This is where the key knife skill concepts are explained, how to hold the blade and the item to be cut, etc.This is similar to other knife skill books, but with one major improvements which is a few recipes to practice the skills.Those recipes are really welcome, and because they are basic recipes that can be used as base for a number of varied dishes, they are great recipes to include in this book.

3 - Knife sharpening:
This section is about 70 pages and covers the theory & science of knife sharpening as well as specific reviews and advices for several methods.Chad reviews the sharpening of Western as well as Japanese style knives, and several sharpeing systems (e.g., Spyderco, EdgePro, etc).

At the end of the book are several pages of resources to buy knives, boards, sharpeners, etc.

In short, I think this is a complete book that covers the key concepts of knife skills, but also addresses knife selection and care.If you buy only one kitchen knives & skill book, I would recommend it.



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Review of The New Steak: Recipes for a Range of Cuts plus Savory Sides (Paperback)

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.

Product Description
Steak is synonymous with big flavor, but home cooks often dismiss it as "eating out" food on account of the expense and care it takes to prepare the perfect tenderloin or strip. In this substantive take on steak entrées, Cree LeFavour shares convenient recipes for all-American, bistro, Far East, and Latin meals that are big on taste, convenience, and value. Using fresh ingredients and a variety of methods--sautéing, roasting, broiling, grilling, braising, and wok-frying--these recipes teach novices as well as experienced cooks how to cook steaks well.

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