Ok, I admit it. I've been a big time slacker. It isn't that I haven't been cooking...the past few months I've been cooking a lot of new things, putting recipes aside, and telling myself I'd get to sharing the recipes. But then something else would distract me, I'd be in a mood, whatever. I didn't get to blogging. I WILL post some recipes for some new favorites soon, I promise.
In the mean time, there was Cookbooktober. I've been gleefully up to my neck in new cookbooks. Many good, a few flops, and all of them pissing off my husband when they arrive at the front door.
He'll get over it.
One of the books I found intriguing was Tyler Florence's new Inside the Test Kitchen book. I don't usually watch Food TV, and most of the celebrity chefs on there just don't interest me. Beginner cookbooks also hold little interest becuase I've sone my time in culinary school and don't often find a lot in those books I find interesting or challenging. Some still make it to the shelves, however, because I like the content, they've done something new, the photography is inspiring....something. This is one of those books.
I like that instead of teaching you some bullshit Rachel Ray lowest common denominator recipe it actually shows you how to cook with step by step pictures and techniques. I also think it's really cool that the chapters are divided into things like Barbecue, Burgers, Eggs and Souffles, Pasta, etc. It's not the standard breakdown with slight variations on the recipes your mom made. Instead, it's step-by-step technique to make something you'd be proud to serve your friends whether you know how to cook or not. Yes, it teaches you how to make waffles--but they're orange waffles, bacon waffles, pumpkin waffles and banana waffles. Want to loearn how to roast a chicken? Cool! Everyone should know how to roast a chicken. And when you have leftovers, it will also tell you how to make a Thai chicken salad with those. Everyone likes grilled cheese....here's how to do it using an isi CO2 siphon for a modern take. THAT'S COOL!
There are a few recipes in here that make me cringe: Spaghetti carbonara with scrambled eggs. THAT'S A FUCKING ABOMINATION!!! But his bolognese is decent, the pomodoro passes muster, and he makes everything approachable. That combined with the creativity makes this a book worth having, IMHO.
To sum it up:
On a 1-5 Scale:
Content: 3.5
Photography: 2.5
Ease of Understanding / Use: 5
Overall: 3.5
Full disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.