Sunday, January 9, 2011

The First Crack Down! Food Network Kitchens Cookbook

For the first crack down, I chose Food Network Kitchens Cookbook. I thought this cookbook would be a good purchase because it's not inflated with TV personalities, but rather the real chefs who make the food so the TV personalities can present it.

I have had this book for a while now and just got around to really take a hard look at it. The book costs about $20 dollars, but you can find it all over. I personally bought it at Kohl's on sale and with an additional coupon (gotta love Kohl's!)  The book has a lot of great pictures, good tips and interesting information. I decided to try five different recipes in the book. I tried to get a breakfast recipe, followed by a meal in one pan, a meal with a side dish in the book, and one recipe just for fun!

First off, I will try out the cornmeal pancakes with blueberry maple syrup. I chose this because Andy loves blueberries and I have never had a cornmeal pancake. After that, I will test out a few chicken dishes since everyone loves chicken (chicken ragu with farfalle and Provencal roasted chicken with honey and thyme) followed by parmesan, pepper and lemon biscuits (to accompany the Provencal roasted chicken) and finally Mory's honey challah.

At first glance, the book is set up nicely and offers a lot of different dishes and side dishes. The book offers a list of master recipes, such as homemade chicken stock and parslied egg noodles, in the back of the book. There is also a nice list of gadgets you should keep in your kitchen, although the information kind of comes as an afterthought.

At times, the book can also be a bit hokey and even condescending.One such sentence reads, "Homemade chicken stock in the freezer is like gold in the bank". I know, awkward right? Although the book is a bit silly, I have yet to actually test it out.


As for the recipes, I will decide how they work after I give them a spin. I will try them out and post my thoughts later. If you would like, you can grab the book from the library and cook along with me and then decide what you think for yourself!

Abbie

1 comment:

  1. Well, cornmeal pancakes are Andy's mom's favorite, so I think she should be invited. Or when you find out they are great, you drive straight to Stow to make them for her!

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