Customer Reviews

New Classic Family Dinners

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

 

 

This is a cookbook that you will keep open on your kitchen counter. The pictures are inspiring, and Mark Peel's voice throughout the book is encouraging and mentoring. I truly enjoyed just sitting down and reading the cookbook, like a book. The book is more like cooking classes, not only recipes. Truly enjoyable is how each recipe has an intro. to it, and a tip to make it work.

The surprising part was how much time was spent on the foreward. Rather than just a cookbook, with an index of recipes, Mark talks you through how to begin sparking up family dinners. I received the book Sept. 24, and have used it nightly since.

It is more fun to cook, when you have the reasons for doing it the way you should, right there. Complete with explanations on how to avoid lifeless green beans, or how to fry chicken just right. It's all in the know how...takes your family meals from plain to top level, just by knowing the secrets here and there.

This cookbook is a lot of fun, and is just like going through a lesson with a friend. There is a lot of personality in this book, so it is just not another dry cookbook, with no one encouraging you to try something new.

I am having fun with this cookbook, and my family of 5 looks forward to the change in the kitchen atmosphere...the boys lay out the ingredients, and my youngest reads the directions. We do it together, and they have learned something from each recipe. Now we know why our fried chicken just wasn't crispy enough before! We followed the recipe in Mark's book, and it was out of this world.

Thank you Mark Peel (and Martha Rose Shulman), for taking the time to write thoughtful recipes; for including the details that improve our technique, and elevate the meal. Before I made the "Tuna Noodle Casserole", I knew it was going to be the best tuna noodle casserole I've ever made. The recipe includes little things that make a big difference....oil-packed tuna, straining the béchamel, slightly undercooking the pasta (something I always do, but you rarely see it mentioned in a recipe). I appreciate and learned from the notes included in the book..."It's important to cook béchamel long enough to rid it of any raw flour taste. This is one reason you always add COLD milk to your roux."
So when you explain to me why you are using a rough chop of parsley, rather than a "fine" chop, I get that. I learn from that. You make sense. And I appreciate that you share the details that will make me a better cook.
I read a lot of recipes. These are beautiful and thorough; and they represent food I really want to eat!

So far from this beautiful cookbook I've made: Unabashed, Unashamed Southern Fried Chicken [which included a homemade brine], Coleslaw, Garlic Mayonnaise, Remoulade Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Salad with Walnuts, and Sauteed Halibut with Seasoned Breadcrumbs.
Each recipe has produced a divine dish. I'm not going to say it was effortless, but the effort was enjoyable and well-spent, as well as educational. I made my first homemade mayonnaise! Truly, it was easy and delicious. The fried chicken was the best my 5 dining companions and I have ever eaten. I love the way Chef Mark Peel and Martha Rose Schulman have divulged restaurant secrets that are easy to replicate in a home kitchen. My next attempt will be the Beef Goulash meal suggested in the back, which includes Beet Borscht, homemade Spaetzle with Wilted Spinach, and Chocolate Pudding for dessert. Oh, YUM. It's sure to be outstanding.
Yes, some of the dishes take time, but a little forethought, a helping hand or two in the kitchen, and a smidge of extra care help tremendously. Besides, many are quite easy -- the seasoned breadcrumb-encrusted halibut was picture-perfect, uber tasty, and super fast. I have a feeling I'll make every recipe out of this book; they're all so enticing [and the photos are mouthwatering!].

The tone of this book is based on the author's experience taking his restaurant cooking style and converting it to a home kitchen. It doesn't take into account the fact that if you are really cooking for a family, you are probably juggling cooking with refereeing fights, supervising homework, dealing with pets, and the fact that you may have worked all day yourself before setting out to cook the evening meal.

I did consider returning the book, because I don't see many of these recipes that I can actually use as they are. They take at least an hour, and some literally take days to make. I usually have thirty minutes before the house explodes around me.

I did decide to keep the book as a reference, rather than a direct source for my dinner. I tried a quick version of the cream corn and it worked. I think I can take the 3-day Bolognese and make it in an amount of time that will actually get food to my family.

But as for following the recipes as they are, I suppose if you are already a highly experienced home cook it might work; and if you have childcare for your cooking time (or children who can safely be in the kitchen for extended periods - like HOURS), then it might even be fun.

But I was disappointed. I give it three stars because I do understand that it is a well-written book, and the photos are lovely; and the professional chef author genuinely tried to experience life in a home kitchen. But I'm guessing he didn't cook with very young children and multiple pets to attend to at the same time.

This review is only based on two recipes shown in Amazon's email ad. I am not a professional chef but I am an experienced cook and BBQ pit master with 40 years experience. My first criticism is this chef's use of refined rapeseed or Canola oil in lieu of olive oil for frying. He seems to have the wide spread conception that olive oil has a low smoke point. Alton Brown of the Cooking network's research debunked this myth and many chef's including Mario Batali use olive oil to fry with exclusively. Canola oil has a skunky odor as soon as you add food to the hot oil. Olive oil is a much more healthy product. This chef's treatment of egg plant is ridiculously unnecessary and his referral of having miraculously found one vine ripened tomato in a field of tomatoes headed for the market is silly. Go ahead and buy good canned tomatoes. We are fortunate to have home grown canned tomatoes at my house and the canned variety are much better for sauces than the fresh. Hunt's are a good brand. Buy whole tomatoes and crush them by hand or with a knife in the can.
Has anyone every heard of canned anchovies which have not been salt treated? And this chef pan fries steaks in Canola oil. A good cut of beef demands to be grilled but if you must pan fry - please! use half extra virgin olive oil and butter such as for Steak Au Poivre or just rub the pan with a little fat cut from the steak, sprinkle the pan with a thin layer of salt, place the pan over high heat until the salt starts to brown but not smoking, add the steak and cook for about 10 minutes per 1-1/2 inch of thickness, turn the meat and cook for 10 minutes on the other side. Rare steak but not bloody. This man is probably a wonderful chef but he really should just cook and read, but please, don't write.
I could name at least 50 cookbooks with better advice than given in this one.

The title is very misleading! While they may be delicious, these recipes are NOT classic, nor are they family-oriented. Very few are recognizable dishes that a normal family would think of making. In the whole book there was only one or two recipes I would consider for an everyday family dinner.