Customer Reviews

Alfred Portale Simple Pleasures: Home Cooking from the Gotham Bar and Grill's Acclaimed Chef

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book is called Simple Pleasures not Simple Cooking !!

If you want to set your tastebuds alight, then go through some of the recipes in this book.

Sure it isn't a book of simplistic recipes, of how to make your evening meal in 30 minutes or less, but that isn't what you buy this book for.

If you want a book that shows you the recipes and thinking of one of the best modern American chefs, then you buy this book.

Having gone through the book, I think that this will be one of the cookbooks that I will use the most.

On a par with Bistro Cooking at Home by Gordon Hamersley, and Cooking One on One by John Ash.

Some of the best of modern American cooking is contained in these pages.

I own a large number of cookbooks, and this wonderful book by Alfred Portale is one of my favorites. The recipes are creative yet relatively simple and easy to follow. In particular, he is an absolute master with seafood. Recipes such as "Asian Stripped Bass en Papillote", "Lime and Butter-Braised Fluke (or Sole)", and "Roasted Halibut with Lemon-Caper Butter" have all become favorites in our home. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book years ago when first embarking on my culinary adventures. Mr. Portale has shown me that cooking can be a simple task, leading to glorious results. I adore the pasta section. This cookbook will make you look like a rock star in the kitchen. Mr. Portale's other books are for more advanced cooks. This is definitely a great one to start off with.

First off, the recipes in this wonderful cookbook are easy, no matter what other reviewers have said. They do often require an additional ingredient or two that you might not have on hand, but nothing obscure,perhaps a mango, a hunk of slab bacon or pancetta, or a few Nicoise olives. Every dish has suggested variations and substitutions, pairings with other recipes in the book for the side dish, and quick optional "flavor boosters" such a some sliced fresh chiles or a cup of diced tomatoes. The recipes do make use of the basic fresh herbs. For people who like dried parsley, I suppose this is a problem!

I have cooked my way through this book for the last year or so, during every season and from starters through desserts. It has the look of a glossy picture book, so you do not realize at first what a great book it is to cook from. The pages of mine are now grease splattered and well thumbed through. Many recipes have become my fall-back favorites. I may have to order a second copy, which I have only done with the "greats", like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, or my old Jacques Pepin, "Julia I", and the one that began it all, Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook.

For starters try Asian Striped Bass (or flounder, halibut, or cod!) "en papillote"(which is to say an aluminum foil packet) accompanied by Sauteed Spinach with Garlic, Ginger and Sesame Oil. Or Grilled Marinated Pork Chops with the excellent pairings suggested, like White Beans with Apple Smoked Bacon. Or just a pasta. You will become a convert!

This is a cookbook for people who love to cook and would like some new ideas and combinations. The directions are good, the recipes work, and the food is delicious. It's easy to take off from the recipes, too, and use his ideas for the basis of a great new dish. As far as the truffle oil comment in a previous review, substitute good olive oil. I used three of his recipes for jumping off points for a large wine tasting dinner, and they all got raves. Portale's recipe for White Bean Crostini with Truffle oil, for example, is a simple and excellent do-ahead dish that can be assembled at the last moment. I substituted Moroccan olive oil for the truffle oil, and the crostini were a big hit. I expanded his Oxtail Braised in Red Wine with Mashed Root Vegetables in a lot of directions to serve eighteen--substituted short ribs for half of the oxtails, added 6 anchovies, and added taro root and potatoes to the root vegetable mix, but kept the essential recipe for the sauce and the procedure intact. It produced an incredibly flavorful dish that was easy to make the day before and just stick in the oven for the party. The dish is very wine friendly, too. I think that people who love food will love this book, and although Portale's a chef, the recipes are very simple and accessible for anyone who knows the way around a stove.

Interesting info also given with some delicious recipes. Not for the "Semi-homemade" kind of cook. No gourmet ingredients necessary; truffle oil is readily available in most supermarkets.

This cookbook contains recipes that are simple enough to cook during the week and at the same time sophisticated. I have learned good techniques and ingredient combinations that I have applied to my own recipes.

I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but have some immediate comments. The Modern Pantry chapter is nice and informative. It opens up the mind to consider some relatively exotic ingredients. He usually doesn't list any brands but they are quite obvious from the pictures. And the pictures are excellent - in the same league as O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine. The next chapter, Modern Equipment, mainly addresses some out-of-the-mainstream equipment. Since the Knives section begins with "I could write a whole chapter on knives" why didn't he include it? - the chapter is only two pages long!

The recipes in this cookbook aren't simple, nor would I call this "home cooking." The ingredients required for some of these recipes are diverse and very, very gourmet-oriented. Truffle oil is often mentioned, for example. This is not to say that the recipes are bad, but if you're looking for easy, simple recipes, this is not the book to be buying.