Customer Reviews

Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I love to cook. I am an excellent cook. I am also a huge fan of the Food Network. I am not in the least bit however, a fan of this cookbook. The one and only redeeming part of this cookbook is the interesting short little interviews at the beginning of each different chef's section. Apart from that, the recipes were not worth the paper they were printed on. Why? Well, unless you are a dedicated seafood nut, then the majority of these recipes will not be to your taste. No less than 80 percent of the recipes in this collection are fish based. Finally, although I am impressed with what all these talented folks can do, I do not personally need recipes that I cannot ever fathom using. How about some down home normal recipes with a wee bit of flair? Being a foody, I am desperately disappointed in this cookbook and glad that I bought it on ebay cheaply. I will certainly be re-selling it today!

Food Network Favorites is a collection of 10 recipes each from 11 Food Network stars and 10 recipes from the Food Network Kitchens. The 10 featured chefs are Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Dave Lieberan, Emeril Lagasse, Giada DeLaurentiis, Mario Batali, Michael Chiarello, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Tyler Florence, and Wolfgang Puck. At the beginning of each chef's section, there is a one page Q&A consisting of personal questions such as "What's in your fridge?", "How has fame changed your life?" and "What three ingredients can't you live without?". Each chef generally answers 5 questions.

I think the chefs that have recipes in this book were, for the most part, well selected. As I flipped through I thought that some of the actual recipes from the chefs were a strange choice to be put in here but, the 121 recipes featured are overall a nice varied collection.

Beuatiful color photos are scattered throughout the book - on average, a picture of a recipe can be found every 3 or 4 pages. Throughout the book there are also various quotes from that particular sections' star chef on anything from the dish on that page to where a chef gets his or her inspiration for new recipes.

On almost every recipe page, you can find a "Note From The Kitchens" - a little 'fun fact' about the dish or an ingredient in it. There are also a bunch of "Kitchen Tip"s near recipes that are helpful when cooking. Some are obvious, but others can really come in handy.

I was pleasently surprised that Dave Leibermen was included in the selection of chefs. I haven't tried any of his recipes from this book yet, but I will. I've seen a few of his shows when they're on, and I really like his recipes from there so far. I haven't seen Wolfgang Puck on Food Network for a while, but most of his recipes in this book look scrumptious. I like how this book includes recipes from older Food Network stars as well as those who are newer and still rising.

Also, "Food Network will be donating half of its receipts from the first printing of this book to our chef's favorite charities"

I checked this book out from the library to preview before I decided whether or not I should buy it. I really like it - it's organized, photographed wonderfully, and has a lot of great recipes. I suggest you do the same thing I did - check it out first at your library or just flip through it in a local book store first if you can - that way you can decide if you like it enough to pay for a copy. After I try some more recipes out and return it to the library I'll see if I'm going to buy one for myself. Enjoy :)

Or I should say I used to. I bought this one without really looking inside because I had had such good experiences in the past with FN books. I haven't made one recipe out of this book. I was also dismayed to find repeat recipes found in the other cookbooks by the same chefs (I already owned)! It was like a compilation of a few recipes from already published cookbooks.

If you want a good FN cookbook...buy the one that the people behind the scenes put together...it's called Food Network Kitchens Cookbook. It's much better than the celebrity chef compilation.

Recipes didn't seem like their favorites or best; more like one that didn't make it on TV.

While it is interesting to have the chefs gathered together, I found the Food Network Kitchens recipes to be better written and better tasting (so far). I would suggest buying one of the Food Network Kitchen books and a cookbook from whichever of these chefs you like.

Great cookbook! The side comments by each chef makes the book more interesting. A big plus is the range of easy simple to complex "fancier" recipes. Also, this book gives you an idea of the types of recipes each chef presents in their own cookbooks. Highly recommended.

I just read a cookbook from the staff at The Food Network. Lots of fine looking recipes (a couple of which I have already tried out); this one represents a sampling of recipes from some of the chefs themselves--from Mario Batali to Rachael Ray to Emeril Lagasse to Bobby Flay to Alton Brown to Wolfgang Puck to Paula Deen and so on. One nice touch: part of the receipts from this book goes to the chefs' favorite charities (e.g., Alton Brown and Heifer International, Giada De Laurentis and Second Harvest, Bobby Flay and Meals on Wheels).

Each chef provides 10 recipes (and, as a bonus, the staff at Food Kitchen adds an extra ten as well). Each section begins with questions of and answers from the chefs, adding a nice personal touch.

Let's take a look at some illustrations of what is in this book. Alton Brown's recipe for French Onion Soup looks delicious. He adds touches that have never been a part of my recipe--but those extras look pretty cool (e.g., apple cider and a splash of cognac). An example of Bobby Flay's recipes--Spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with ancho chile-mustard sauce. I have tried for a long time to come up with tasty recipes for pork tenderloin. Many end up pretty lame. This one is not likely to be considered lame. One creates a spice rub, including ancho chile powder as well as three other chile powders. The ancho chile mustard sauce includes creme fraiche plus chipotle and ancho chile. Then, the tenderloins themselves.

From Emeril, a tasty salad, Baby arugula with country ham, goat cheese, dried cherries, and walnut vinaigrette. The dressing is exquisite, including walnuts, vinegar, honey, shallots, and oil. Add some ham and goat cheese. . . .

Finally, Mario Batali's simple recipe for Penne with Cauliflower (by the way, some of the recipes in this volume will be awfully challenging to home chefs). Olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, cauliflower, salt, penne, parsley, pepper, and some cheese (such as pecorino or parmigiano-reggiano). Put it all together and a tasty, simple, and pretty healthy dish.

So, a nice change of pace, featuring some recipes of well-known Food Network chefs. I enjoyed simply looking at the recipes, imagining how some of these would taste, and eying the photos of some of the resulting dishes.

I really enjoy this cookbook between the wonderful recipes & pictures. Had a dinner party last night & made the Corn Casserole. Its a keeper EVERYONE raved & it was soooooooooooo easy. I can't wait to try others.

I purchased this book for a gift for my granddaughter who watches the Food Channel every day and she loved it ! It has all the great chefs in it and their recipes which was right up her alley. Photography is great too! Great gift for anybody that likes to cook or likes to watch the Food channel.

This book contains a good sampling of recipes from different chefs. The good part is that each of the chefs cooks different style of food, which makes the book more interesting.