What is a best American recipe?
It's simple but sophisticated.
It tastes exceptional.
It's one you want to make again and are dying to share with your friends.
It introduces a surprisingly easy technique or gives you a new way to use a favorite ingredient.
It produces the best possible version of a dish.
For this edition, Fran McCullough, one of the nation's most respected cookbook editors, and Molly Stevens, a cookbook author and contributing editor for Fine Cooking, searched through hundreds of sources and then selected the very best -- 150 recipes in all.
You'll find recipes from the biggest names in food, such as the celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Bobby Flay; from esteemed cookbook authors, including Marion Cunningham and Deborah Madison; and from renowned food journalists, like Gourmet's Ruth Reichl and the New York Times's Amanda Hesser. You'll also get superlative recipes from home cooks, such as a scene-stealing side dish and an heirloom holiday dessert.
The Best American Recipes includes notes on the most popular ingredients, time-saving techniques, and the most useful kitchen tools. With crowd-pleasing recipes like Party Cheese Crackers, such weeknight suppers as Simple Salmon, and special-occasion dishes including Spice-Rubbed Turkey and Chocolate Truffle Cake, The Best American Recipes equips you with everything you need to be the most confident cook on the block.
Since 1999, the Best American Recipe series has offered top yearly formulas from books, magazines, the Internet, and even product labels. The Best American Recipes 2002-2003, edited by series founder Fran McCullough with Molly Stevens, offers 150 doable recipes that range from starters to desserts and drinks. The selection embraces both the dressy and the down-home, ranging from, say, Porcini Mushroom and Red Onion Tart to Shrimp with Garlic and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Dessert stopovers include Butter Toffee Crunch Shortbread and Valentino's not-to-be missed Chocolate Truffle Cake. Are these the year's best recipes? It doesn't really matter, as McCullough has cast her net wide and drawn in a diversely appetizing selection. With a section on the year in food (sage, for example, is dubbed the herb cooks wanted "more than a little of lately"); headnotes that put the recipes in context ("New riffs on guacamole seems to spring up every year," say the authors in respect to Guacamole with Lemon and Roasted Corn); and Cook's Notes that make the recipes even more useful ("you can extend the marinating ... it will only add to the flavor," advise the authors of Pork Stew with Leeks, Orange, and Mint), the book is a something-for-everyone addition to a welcome tradition. Readers will also enjoy the foreword from Kitchen Confidential author Anthony Bourdain, which ends with a characteristic injunction to "cook free or die." --Arthur Boehm
|
Larger Image
Other titles you may be interested:
