Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen Author: Kathy Brennan | Language: English | ISBN:
B00AFU62ES | Format: PDF
Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen Description
Whether they're parents, married without kids, or single, most people want to do better at mealtime—they want to put good, nutritious food on the table, they're looking for a more diverse repertoire of dishes to prepare, and they'd like to enjoy the process more. The problem is they don't believe they have the time or ability to do it night after night. But it can be done, and
Keepers will show them how.
Drawing from two decades of trial-and-error in their own kitchens, as well as working alongside savvy chefs and talented home cooks, Campion and Brennan offer 120 appealing, satisfying recipes ideal for weeknight meals. There's an array of master recipes for classic dishes with options for substitutions, updated old favorites, one-pot meals, "international" dishes, super-fast ones (shrimp with orange chipotle sauce), and others that reheat well or can be cooked in individual portions. Along with timeless recipes,
Keepers is filled with invaluable tips on meal planning and preparation, all presented in an entertaining, encouraging, and empathetic style.
Keepers gives cooks all of the tools they need to become more efficient, confident, and creative in the kitchen. It will help them survive the Monday-to-Friday dinner rush with their sanity and kitchens intact, and also have some fun along the way.
- File Size: 4565 KB
- Print Length: 256 pages
- Publisher: Rodale (August 20, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00AFU62ES
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,375 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #31
in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking Methods > Budget - #39
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional - #67
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Meals
- #31
in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking Methods > Budget - #39
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional - #67
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Meals
I'm a bit of a cookbook maven, so have thought about what makes a great cookbook. Keepers gets an "A' on all five of my categories.
First, of course, it has to have well-written recipes for dishes that I would actually make. While Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook is beautiful and descriptive, realistically I'm not making too many recipes from it. Keepers on the other hand, has dozens of recipes that I will or have already made. The instructions are very clear, and the authors provide ideas for modifications. The range of recipes is impressive, and all are written with families in mind. Let me be clear though - these recipes have actual FLAVOR. My 11-year-old daughter actually licked the sauce off the saute pan that I cooked one of the fish recipes in.
Second, a great cookbook is fun to actually read. I don't just want a list of recipes - I can get that by searching epicurious.com. A great cookbook should be just like a novel - you look forward to finding the time to sit down and enjoy. Keepers is just that - it's written so well that you don't want to put it down. I "stole" three hours on a Saturday morning to read the book, and still wasn't finished. The style is casual and somehow "intimate" - like you're chatting with your best friend over coffee (or wine). Not your typical hotshot chef cookbook.
Third, a great cookbook teaches you something. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about cooking. I've had a subscription to Cook's Illustrated since its inception. But I learned a bunch of tricks from Keepers (e.g., "glueing" puff pastry to the pan sides for the gorgeous cover-photo dish - it worked!
Not quite comfortable cooking? Stuck in a rut; always seem to be making the same dishes? Can't think what to make for dinner, again? Overwhelmed? Need help? Need a jump start? If so, and if these are questions you've been asking yourself, this is a cookbook you should consider.
If you are looking to add to your collection of real "keeper" recipes: Those recipes that have stood the test of time; those that are requested by family and friends over and over again; those that have been handed down through generations; those that have your name in the title; those that give you comfort just thinking about them: Well, this book may add a few "keepers" to your list, but overall, I think you'll be disappointed. These recipes are not those kinds of "keepers".
My actual rating of this cookbook is 3.5 stars. I know: I rounded it up to 4 stars--it is not a cookbook I'm going to buy, but it might be perfect for you, and I didn't want to dissuade you from taking a close look at it. My rating came with my realization that I require more from my "keepers" than these two authors who are past-editors of "Saveur" magazine. They just need their "keepers" to taste good and be quick and easy. I've been assembling my own list of "keepers" for a very long time, and I need my "keepers" to be over-the-top AND suitable for week-nights or the harried early day of a family-coming-for-holiday-dinner event. Some of these recipes fall into this category, but most are tweaks on recipes I've seen before in many other cookbooks and websites. So, I think the true value of this book depends on a mix of the experience level and the time schedule of the cook.
There are a lot of helpful tips and suggestions for the less experienced cook.
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