If
you visit your local bookstore looking for a cook-book
then you are likely to find yourself staring at an overwhelmingly
large selection. Dozens of books by Celebrity Chefs, all
sorts of faddy diet cookbooks and hundreds of no name general
recipe books. Much of this mountain of “remainder
pile fodder” is not really worth the effort of reading. Standing
out from this crowd are just a few cookbooks that really deserve a space in your
kitchen library. They are good enough to take a permanent
place alongside those family recipes from your mother and
tried and trusted recipes that you've clipped from food magazines.
By the way, if your clippings are in alphabetical order,
then please seek medical help.
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| James
and Gordon recording an interview. What a nice fellow
and what a fantastic cookbook . |
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My all time top ten recipe books are diverse and eclectic.
Most are new. Few are classics. All share the simple characteristic
of being fun to cook from and guarantee as large as possible
number of “ooh” and “aah” reactions
when the dishes are served.
Gordon Hamersley’s “Bistro Cooking at Home”,
is such a cookbook. Hamersley is one of Boston’s iconic
chefs. His restaurant Hamersley’s
Bistro represents the sum of his considerable wisdom and cooking skills and is
a really fine dining establishment. “Bistro cooking
at home”, is a
superb cookbook that gives you a chance to create some of the best dishes from
the bistro in your own kitchen.
I have cooked extensively from the book over the last few
months. The recipes are easy to follow, detailed, professional
and very well organized. The results are stunning. I annotate
my cook books (OK scribble all over them). The margins of
this one are full of “yum” and “great”,
etc. This really is a marvelous recipe book!
| What is Bistro Cooking?
Opinions really vary, just try a Google search. My
definition is that it is the exact opposite of haut
cuisine. Nothing stuffy here, no tiny portions or
drizzled sauces, just French home style cooking at
its best. Slow cooked stews, roasted chickens, seared
steaks and great deserts. Comfort food, tasty food,
classic dishes. |
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Ok, so you think I like it? Well perhaps a bit more detail
for those of you who like a few facts to go along with the
hyperbole.
The book covers bistro cooking (see the side bar) and has
around 150 recipes. These cover everything from salads to
deserts. There are many color photographs and the recipe
pages are laid out in a commendably logical style. There
is a description of each dish, the ingredient list and then
detailed instructions on preparation, cooking and serving.
Ingredients are easily sourced and most of the spices are
already in your spice cabinet, no Peruvian Yak’s milk
or Wildebeest’s liver needed to be successful here.
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