The Best American Recipes 2002-2003 (Best American) (Hardcover)

~ Fran McCullough (Editor), (Editor), Anthony Bourdain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

The latest volume in this annual series, with a foreword from enfant terrible culinaire Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential; A Cook's Tour) that concludes "Cook free or die," strives to be of-the-moment, but sometimes feels generic. The recipes collected from books, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet are perfectly serviceable and occasionally truly innovative (Grape Salsa from the San Francisco Chronicle). Each recipe appears with a source, a cook and a header from the editors, as well as helpful cook's notes derived from the testing of approximately 700 recipes during the process of compiling the book. For example, a recipe for Laksa (Malaysian Noodle Soup) from a handout at Ramekins, a California cooking school, has a header that offers an aromatic description of the finished product, as well as notes on variations, a recommendation for buying laksa paste and suggestions for leftovers. Certain recipes are notable for their techniques: Chickpea Salad with Four-minute Eggs from Food & Wine includes a reliable method for soft-cooking an egg so that it coats a salad like a dressing. McCullough (Low-Carb Cookbook) and Stevens (One Potato, Two Potato) produce a list of top-10 trends, and while some observations may seem stale (the return of butter, the popularity of grilling and the national obsession with chocolate) others (bread as an ingredient rather than on its own, "eggs over everything," and cabbage) do surprise.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618191372
• ISBN-13: 978-0618191376
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,849 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Turkey, November 26, 1999

By	Deborah Janklow (Riverdale, New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Recipes 1999: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazine, Newspapers and the Internet (Best American Series) (Hardcover)

After 26 years of cooking turkeys, I finally cooked one that everyone including myself loved. It's the cider-brined turkey in this book which is as good as the authors say. I also made the great pumpkin and goat cheese gratin which is delicious. Now I'm sorry I didn't make thw whole meal from the book. Everyone at our Thanksgving table wanted this book for Christmas.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great cookbook!, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Best American Recipes 1999: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazine, Newspapers and the Internet (Best American Series) (Hardcover)

The polenta recipe alone is worth the price of the book. It is a no-stir recipe, and very easy.

There is also a great chili recipe with lamb and beans. It is a very eclectic collection with some unusual and delicious dishes. It is a cookbook well worth having.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Applause!, January 5, 2000

By	Scriba "Concerned consumer" (Hudson Valley, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Recipes 1999: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazine, Newspapers and the Internet (Best American Series) (Hardcover)

Having gotten this great cookbook for Christmas, I've been cooking from it almost non-stop since. I have a large collection of cookbooks and think of myself as an accomplished cook, but I have never had a bookbook like this one in which all the recipes not only work but are delicious. My only regret is that I can't ask the authors to dinner; they sound delightful.I just had a dinner party for 6 very discerning friends and made the stracotto oflamb with olives and oranges and the oven-baked polenta. For dessert we had the butttermilk panna cotta with lemon jelly. My guests were in heaven! At New Year's I made the strawberries in Champagne Jelly which was quite a hit. And if anyone is still making cookies out there, make sure to include the apricot walnut biscotti. A big thank-you to the talented authors!