Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I'll admit, I skimmed a lot of it. The recipes didn't really strike my fancy, but there is a lot of good info. If this wasn't a library book, it could be a really good reference - maybe not worth buying though.
Has a lot of useful information for beginners, and some interesting recipes. Would make a great gift for a graduate moving out on their own and cooking for the first time.
meh. I expected better. Only one recipe I would actually try and it was just in the appendix...
A good basic cookbook for a novice, maybe? The design is nice enough, but the one recipe I tried - the peanut butter banana bread didn't win me over. My husband, on the other hand, was very happy to snack on that loaf until it disappeared. Pass. Back to the library it goes.
Contains a lot of basic information which covers what I already know, so I usually skip those. A few recipes I bookmarked and I'm willing to try:
Almond Brioche Sticky Buns (Though my sticky buns are pretty unbeatable, I'm curious to try other people's approaches)
Summer Vegetable Farro Salad (I'm always on the lookout for a beautiful farro salad!)
Balsamic Caramel Chicken with Roasted Eggplant
Indian Style Braised Butter Chicken (Again, my butter chicken is perfected, but I still want to try new things)
Coconut Chai Coffee Cake (Can't get enough of coffee cakes)
Almond Brioche Sticky Buns (Though my sticky buns are pretty unbeatable, I'm curious to try other people's approaches)
Summer Vegetable Farro Salad (I'm always on the lookout for a beautiful farro salad!)
Balsamic Caramel Chicken with Roasted Eggplant
Indian Style Braised Butter Chicken (Again, my butter chicken is perfected, but I still want to try new things)
Coconut Chai Coffee Cake (Can't get enough of coffee cakes)
The reference part was great and I got some ideas from the recipes. Unfortunately, the recipes are not gluten-free.
The book only partly lives up to it's name.
-An essential reference, yes. Lots of great beginner cooking tips/techniques, kitchen and pantry set up, general food knowledge, and some basic recipes in the Set-up and How to sections.
-Becoming a more accomplished cook, yes. The final section, titled The Rift, contains go-to recipes for cooks that are confident enough in their own skill and don't really need to have their hand held through the cooking process, or "from the hip" as Mollenkamp refers to it.
-Becoming an adventurous cook, I'm not so sure. About half of the main recipes are what you'd expect and explained simply but with good detail. But the main issue with the book is when it tries to get adventurous, it's not very successful. Twists to classic recipes or combining multiple ethnic techniques, ingredients & dishes (to make one conglomeration that can't be described as anything in the end) doesn't give me much ambition to try theses recipes. I was mostly confused trying to figure out how it were supposed to be appetizing and in the end wasn't very hungry...which is a pretty rare feat for a cookbook.
This is better as a technique guide, especially for beginners, than for recipes. I gave it a 4 recipe audition and nothing was worth repeating or tweeking. Back to the library for this book and back to Smitten Kitchen for me.