The Cook's Bible: The Best of American Home Cooking

I have been enjoying Cooks Illustrated magazine and editor Christopher Kimball's editorials for several years now. So recently when I discovered this book and The Kitchen Detective were available, I thought I would enjoy the approach I can only call unique in mastering basic, quality cooking. And I do! For Mr. Kimball, a recipe is never taken for granted, and obtaining results worthy of one's effort is a challenge he takes on with the persistence of a pit bull. And yet this is not gourmet cooking, which would be impractical for me. This is down to earth cooking and writing style, complete to very believable references to wife and kids and staff having been part of the process of obtaining results in the kitchen worth striving for. If you are a person who cooks regularly and enjoys cooking, curious about the dimension of chemistry and mechanics that influence whether your final product is just so-so or fabulous, you will love this book and The Kitchen Detective companion.

The book that arrived was not the book pictured on the site. This is important because the printing in the newer version is not easy to read at all when it comes to the main titles and subtitles. The version pictured on the site had much better printing. I only ordered it to get the pictured version as I knew that version was okay. Thus, I feel customers should be told that this is not the book they will be receiving and that the printing is not easy to read. Several members of my family agreed that the printing was not good so this is not an eyesight issue; the printing is not good.

Comprehensive and easy to understand. Lots of variety and great to browse through for ideas. Now that this is old it is a real bargain so suggested you get it.

Subtitled "The Best of American Home Cooking", this volume presents a series of master recipes within the context of recipe analysis, equipment recommendations and illustrated techniques.Chris Kimball & Co. define what they consider the perfect dish, talk to experts, test dozens of recipe variations and then report back. Like a Consumer Reports for cooking, they name names and tell you what brand or supplier of ingredients and utensils is superior -- and why. And like Harold McGee's classic 'On Food and Cooking', they explain the history, the chemistry, the physics .... whatever interesting facts help explain what goes on in your kitchen. It really enables you to experiment more intelligently. One caveat: if you are a curious cook, give yourself some extra time to read the always informative and entertaining chapters leading up to the recipes.I own about 60 food and cookbooks. Many are useful for a few recipes and a few are regularly useful, but I would rank The Cook's Bible as one of the top three I own. Recipes are consistently, and authoritatively, first rate -- and delicious.Subjects include equipment for the kitchen, using a microwave oven, how to use knives, potatoes, steaming vegetables, roasting vegetables, how to build a salad, dried beans, shellfish, pasta, fish and shellfish, frying or roasting a chicken, turkey, stews, stocks and sauces, barbecue, pizza, stir-fry, yeast breads, eggs, cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, souffle, and baked and poached fruits.Line illustrations and charts augment the text, and there is a comprehensive index.Highest recommendation for curious cooks.

So far used the Dessert Bible and the recipes are easy to follow and taste great.

Made the beef stew. Followed the recipe to the letter. Worst stew I've ever made. Should I waste groceries on another recipe? The stew and the cookbook went into the trash.

Not liked

Good primer for beginning cooks like my grandchildren. Kimbal tells a good tale that makes cooking fun.

El libro que recibimos no tiene nada que ver con las imágenes mostradas. El interior parece fotocopiado y las cubiertas son VIEJAS. No vale lo que cuesta.