Customer Reviews

Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks: 5,000 Ingenious Kitchen Hints, Secrets, Shortcuts, and Solutions

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If you've gotten this far, you probably already know the premise of this book. Rather than arranging recipes and tips by course or type of food (as in most cooking books that are arranged in chapters on appetizers, breads, etc.), Joachim has given us an alphabetical listing of cooking terms and tips.

What makes it useful? It's definitely a valuable resource for new cooks. Personally, when I was starting out in my new kitchen, I hadn't the slightest clue what a reduction sauce was, and a friend sent me a recipe calling for one without explaining exactly how I was supposed to go about making it. I was saved by this book, which has a simple explanation of reduction sauces that was very easy to find. This book provides simple explanations of the cooking terms and techniques that a lot of recipe books (and friends) assume you already understand.

It's also handy when it comes to creating the last-minute menu. Murphy's Law states that you'll only have last-minute supper guests when your refrigerator is mostly empty. (Okay, so it doesn't exactly say that, but humor me.) But if I'm going to have last-minute guests and I find that I have plenty of pasta on hand, the pasta entry in this book can give me ideas on how to make a meal out of it. There is a chart listing the best types of sauces to use for each pasta shape, as well as recipes for artichoke pasta sauce, fettuccine alfredo, macaroni and beef, shell pasta with lentils, and so on and so on.

My misgiving about the book is that, as I've gotten better and better at cooking, I use it less and less often. If simple and quick homestyle cooking is your forte, you'll probably like the recipes, but they didn't work too well with my fancier tastes. All in all, I find myself picking up this book when I need to whip up something easy at the last minute, and I would highly recommend it if that's your goal. But if you're looking for something a little fancier, you're better off looking elsewhere.

An interesting concept is at the base of this book. It provides hundreds of recipes--as a part of what is described as 5,000 "ingenious kitchen hints, secrets, shortcuts, and solutions."

Coverage is from A to Z. Some examples of helpful hints. On page 3, substitutes for alcohol in recipes are noted. Instead of one tablespoon of sherry or Madeira, use one tablespoon of apple juice. Another item under A is the choice of the right apple for the right purpose. For example, Golden Delicious apples can be used for sauce, baking, salads, and eating; McIntosh apples are best for eating and sauce; and so on. And immediately after these hints, there is a nice recipe for spicy applesauce (using McIntosh apples). On page 75, for those readers addicted to Buffalo Chicken Wings, there is a recipe for Buffalo Hot Sauce. While I would prefer old-fashioned Tabasco Sauce, the recipe calls for somewhat milder hot pepper sauces, for palates that aren't as willing to burn. In addition, there are a couple recipes for using the sauce other than on chicken wings. What about making Mango Salsa? Page 268 features a simple, easy to make recipe. Polenta? Pages 377-378 provide a veritable "how to do it" mini-manual, including what to do if you err in making it (such as burning the bottom of the polenta). On Page 531, you can read how to prepare vegetables for grilling. For asparagus, snap off the tough ends and use direct heat to grill the vegetable. And so on and so on. A to Z? What about getting the zest from oranges to use in recipes? Here is one of the few places that I have run across this "how you do it" tidbit.

All in all, a very nice and useful volume.

If I am about to cook something that I am not completely sure about, I will spend a few seconds looking it up in this book first. My cooking has improved dramatically since I have been using this and Bittman's wonderful "How to Cook Everything," which I find to be more exhaustive than this terse treasure. Brilliant is a joy to leaf through, a reliable reference, and a wonderfully instructive kitchen guide. My dining guests are envious of the skills I have gained from this book and I am constantly tempted to try new dishes and old ones prepared in novel ways. I recommend this as the most rewarding cooking reference to reach for first.

my girlfriend had this book on her bookshelf, new, untouched. if it had a wrapper, it would have still had it. I started to browse it while I waited to go out for dinner and I found several recipes that called my attention and were well explained. the author uses simple measurements like 1/2 cup of this or 1 cup of that, not like others that say everything in grams or used seasonings impossible to find. I also noticed the recipes looked doable for a guy like me that loves to eat well but hadn't had much practice preparing the meals. Anyway, I decided to try a few things at a time and the results were good and got better as I familiarized myself with the process. in just a few months, of mostly a weekend day, I've prepared some delicious stuff that I love to eat but thought it would be impossible for me to make it. Ah, I also like the tips, tricks and stories shared. the overnight cheesecake came out great, the double crusted apple pie... oh my mouth waters just thinking about it and relatively simple to make. I've prepared several soups including the tomato cream, the butter squash, yes,the butter squash cream, delicious! ah, my personal favorite, the french onion soup. With a little effort and wine to go with it, you'll be cooking in no time. I've already bought a new book for my college bound daughter. Von apetite. Luis

How many tablespoons of juice are in a lemon? What size dish is a "two-quart casserole"? For questions like this, you turn to "Brilliant," a truly great reference that belongs on the shelf with "The Joy of Cooking" (if you haven't ordered the latest edition, be sure to; there are lots of new recipes that no one had heard of when my first copy was published in 1963).

"Brilliant" is a pure kitchen reference book that is as useful as any dictionary, encylopedia, or the Internet. Buy it and then browse through it to familiarize yourself with the contents. You'll be amazed at how often you refer to it.

I love this book. I collect cookbooks and it is really hard to find something that gets me going. Many of the submissions (which are very well organized) also have great recipes. His long, slow oven cheesecake is worth the price of the entire book!!!

Everyone needs this in their culinary library.

When I got married in March 2007, we received many cookbooks. This one I'd never heard of and was not on our registry, but I now consider it my kitchen Bible! Every time I'm cooking anything I go to it. If there's not a recipe in there that appeals to me, they have other ideas. For example, I bought several ears of corn for the 4th of July and wanted to see what they suggested. While the recipe ideas weren't what I was looking to do for a cookout, their tips on how to remove the husks and what to do with leftovers was very helpful! I highly recommend and even have two copies of this in my cart right now - it'll be a go-to item to add to all wedding gifts we give in the future!

I've read several books with food tips and I have to say this one has left me feeling a bit more inspired and more excited to cook. I know that's a bit corny to say but this book offers that extra information a cook needs, stuff other books only offer a small portion of. I definitely recommend this as something to add to your cooking collection.

I bought this to replace the copy I shared with my family. I should have ordered several. It is a great first cookbook and a good reference manual for experienced cooks. The alphabetical layout makes more sense and the book is full of good basic ideas for all types of food and methods.

I love this book! It's organized alphabetically making it an easy reference for quick questions, yet is written in an easy-to-follow, enjoyable tone that keeps me reading after I've found my answer. Listings include ingredients, techniques, and culinary approaches (ie "Cooking for the Week") and encyclopedic answers are enhanced by recipes, illustrations, "fascinating facts" (onions neutralize paint fumes) and endless tips. I've read many books on kitchen science but I return to this one most often for speedy references. As enjoyable for absolute beginner chefs as it is for seasoned pros.