It's About Time: Great Recipes for Everyday Life [Hardcover]

Mario Batali (Foreword), Michael Schlow (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 19, 2005

This unique cookbook will be used again and again for its inspirational stories, informative sidebars, helpful tricks, and most of all, for its broad range of never-fail recipes that are easy to follow and always special. It’s About Time contains more than 150 meticulously tested recipes that range broadly from 30-minute meals and summer barbeques to elegant entertaining. There’s even a chapter on spending an entire day in the kitchen – a bottle of wine, music on the stereo – engaging in some much-needed “culinary therapy.” It’s About Time honors the traditions and social importance of food and eating while recognizing the realities of life today. Visually stunning and indispensably useful, it breaks the cookbook mold in ways that are exciting and refreshing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The reference to time in this work's title has multiple meanings for Schlow, executive chef of Boston's Radius. The author divides his book into eight "times," or moods: Chapter Two, for example, is titled "Time to Get the Family Together," while Chapter Seven, "Time to Look Like a Pro," teaches readers how to pull off dishes that look as if they require far more time to prepare than they actually do (e.g., Tomato Confit). The foods benefit from Schlow's substantial experience in both French and Italian cooking, although the range of cuisines he covers is wide, as the chapter on barbecue attests. Schlow is invested in handing over the reins in the kitchen to readers, not basking in his own glory (he was a James Beard Award winner in his first year of eligibility), so a fair number of the recipes knowingly cater to cooks who are not CIA-trained. Schlow also uses "time" quite specifically; he advocates slow cooking for certain dishes. Slow Roasted Salmon with Cabbage, Bacon and Dill, for example, is cooked in a 250-degree oven. Not all of Schlow's recipes pertain to his subtitle; his Hamachi Tartare with Warm Scallion Compote and Caviar hardly seems like an "everyday life" kind of concoction, but his jazzy, engaging humor may encourage curious readers to attempt his more difficult creations. (Apr. 19)
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Review

Amazon Editors' Pick - Top 10 Cookbooks for 2005

 

"The recipes we tried in the test kitchen are every bit as good as they sound. . . . If you think you don't have time to cook, trying Schlow's techniques might prove revelatory, and provide you with some terrific dining as well." — Chicago Tribune

 

"Fun to read, instructive and easy to use. It's one of the best cookbooks of 2005. . . . Well indexed and attractively illustrated with photographs of the dishes. . . . A cookbook worth reading, and one worth using again and again." — The Valley News

 

"Michael Schlow is one of those rare professionals who can think like a home cook. . . . His hearty family food will bring me back to his book often." — New York Times Book Review

 

"A thoroughly engaging and useful cookbook that shows home cooks how easy great food can be. Schlow stresses the importance of planning ahead and using good ingredients. He offers tools and tricks, a boatload of foolproof recipes, funny stories and inspiring ideas." – Fine Cooking Magazine

 

"This big, beautiful book ranges from quick meals to elegant dinners, mixed with mini essays on the importance of family dinners and socializing at the table." – USA Today

 

"Chef Michael Schlow has written the perfect cookbook . . . Like Schlow's lauded cooking at Radius in Boston, this book is distinctively and deliciously his own." – Santé Magazine

 

"One of the warmest and most lovely cookbooks recently published." – Metro

 

“It’s About Time and I agree; this is Michael Schlow’s time. I have been an enthusiastic aficionado of Michael’s cooking for close to 20 years. From the Hamptons, to New York City, and to Boston, I will follow Michael wherever he goes. His understanding of the fundamentals of great cuisine have consistently delighted my palate.” —Billy Joel

 

“In IT’S ABOUT TIME, Michael Schlow has created a very personal cookbook with original ideas well formulated for the home cook. The result is a serious book that is also fun.” —Jacques Pépin

 

“Most of us would like to eat well, but feel we just don’t have enough time. We assume that because we’re so busy, then we have to grab something on the fly. This book sets out not only to teach you how to cook and eat well when you’re on the go, it also works in reverse for when your soul is crying out for a little bit of culinary therapy. . . . The chapters in this book are meant to be a guide or source of inspiration for whatever you’re in need of today. I know it’s impossible to dedicate the same amount of time, every single day, to the meal period. I’m guessing you need some variety, you need some flexibility, and of course you need me to understand that you are busy most (but not all) of the time.” – Michael Schlow (from the introduction)

 

“Time is so often the most important factor in determining what one cooks, nay, even whether one cooks at all. Time is equal for all: no one has enough of it, and while there is constant pressure to get by with less, we all need to remember to make more. . . . Time is why people will buy this book. It is the reason they will find themselves cooking not only from it, but with it, through it, and because of it.” – Mario Batali (from the foreword)

 

“Michael Schlow is my favorite chef and this book is just like he is – warm, funny, real, and brilliant in the kitchen.” – Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Steerforth (April 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586420879
• ISBN-13: 978-1586420871
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.9 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The simple delightful cookbook of the year May 22, 2005

By JFB

Format:Hardcover

I am not an experienced cook. But I have purchased many cookbooks and shared others with family and friends. It's About Time is at the very top of my list. It is really a book. Chef Schlow has managed to write a story that you want to finish reading, and at the same time make it a cookbook. To me a cookbook is a book that teaches you to cook and allows you to cook the receipes. That is exactly what Chef Schlow does while telling you a family story. The pictures are beautiful, but at the same time informative. I have tried several of the recipies and were able to plate them just as shown (well maybe not exactly) but at least very close to what I see. The pictures give you the added incentive to make the recipe. The recipes work. That is what is so amazing about the book. Also, although Chef Schlow provides professional advise to his readers, he also really teaches the beginner how to cook the recipe and maybe more important he teaches you how to "cook" not only his recipes, but also in a general sense. After reading this book you will have a far greater comprehension of product, technique and style that will improve your general ability to cook. Or at least that is what I found to be true. This is the best cookbook of the year. One other thing, the size is perfect. It is not a coffee table size book, but it is a little bigger than an ordinary reading book. The size allows you to keep the book in your book case, but a the same time gives you that little added size while using it. Five stars and thank you to Chef Schlow.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time For A Cookbook Like This! May 20, 2005

By Cookbook Collector

Format:Hardcover

This is my favorite cookbook for several reasons....it's well written and funny, the recipes are clear and easy to follow and the pictures are gorgeous -check out the photo of the Schlow burger. I've made several of the recipes and Schlow has transformed my approach to cooking to slow roasting. Truthfully the best tasting salmon recipe and the key is to turn the oven down. This book is a must for any cook.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to dinner! May 20, 2005

By L. Ward

Format:Hardcover

I am an avid home cook and have an extensive cookbook collection. I bought Chef Schlow's book about 2 weeks ago and have been cooking from it nightly. I am incredibly impressed with it's recipes, menus, cocktails and techniques. Everything I have made has turned out beautifully even the more intricate Radius section was made easy! It's about time speaks not only to those that can cook but also the beginner, my husband tried it last night and WOW (he usually burns toast)! I am looking forward to many more wonderful meals.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterfully written and executed... May 20, 2005

By Boston, mA

Format:Hardcover

Well done Chef Schlow! I highly recommend this book for both beginners and advanced cooks, and it's perfect for anyone who is short on time. Many of the recipies can be prepared in about an hour, and the anecdotes throughout the book make it a welcome addition to any collection.....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars must have July 25, 2007

By Lisa Peters

Format:Hardcover

I am a chef and this is hands down one of the best cookbooks I have in my collection. Very versatile and different approaches to cooking the "sme old things". Every recipe has come out better than imagined. GET THIS ONE TODAY!

24 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insprational and Educational Professional's Cookbook May 20, 2005

By B. Marold HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

`It's About Time', the first book by award winning Boston restaurateur, Michael Schlow cuts across all my criteria for evaluating a restaurant chef's book in that it both violates some of my most important criteria while strongly fulfilling others. The author's credentials are good enough so that it brings into question some of those very criteria, and leads me to high recommendation for the book in spite of myself.

For starters, the book does not follow through on its major promise as signaled by the title. The title and introduction suggest that this book will give us a totally new point of view on time and cooking, in somewhat the same way Alton Brown looked at all cooking methods as different ways of applying heat. Time is an only casually applied theme in that some of the chapters focus on dishes, which can be done either very quickly (within the familiar 30 minutes), or which take a very long time. In the absence of strongly positive qualities in other areas, failing to follow through on your major stated premise is usually a sure demotion from five to four stars.

As luck would have it, recently crowned best chef in the country (James Beard Awards, 2005) saves the day in his foreword when he points out the truly distinctive and unusual aspect of Schlow's cooking. Unlike restaurants around the world, including Mario's hot spots, Schlow uses a low heat oven, with 300 degrees Fahrenheit as his norm rather than the more usual home temperature of 350 degrees or the blistering inferno found in restaurant kitchens. I have often questioned Mario's love of blisteringly hot saute pans for many dishes especially for inexperienced cooks who can have the saute ingredients go from hot to charcoal in a heartbeat if you are not paying close attention to what you are doing.... And, if you are inexperienced, you don't always know to what to pay attention! Thus, I am enthusiastic to see another well-credentialed advocate (along with Tom Colicchio) of moderate temperatures for various cooking techniques. Schlow does often use high saute temperatures and I agree that there are many cases where this is important, but with the promise of high success comes high risk. Happily, Schlow comes to the rescue near the end of the book when he says that you will simply not get dishes right the first time all the time. Something may always go wrong. But keep at it and learn from your mistakes.

Another area where Schlow violated one of my key criteria is in his very long cooking stock recipes. On the one hand, I have seen good books on home cooking techniques create very good stocks with about three (3) hours of cooking. I have also seen restaurant chefs call for ten to twelve hours of stock cooking. For home cooking, I definitely prefer the shorter times, but in this case, I will bow to chef Schlow's opinion, with reservations.

The thing that sells me on Schlow's recipes in general is the fact that they are exceptionally well written. I have found more good new cooking tips in this book than I have in the last several dozen I have reviewed. And this is without a single mistake that I can find. As I became more and more impressed at the care and level of detail applied to the cooking methods, without resorting to very many exotic ingredients, I discovered Schlow's inspiration to be the collaboration of Patricia Wells and Joel Robuchon on the book `Simply French', which I reviewed and found to be a true paradigm of a good restaurant cookbook. And, my reasons were the same as those cited by Schlow, in that Robuchon's attention to detail is better than any I have seen, with the possible exception of Thomas Keller.

The single best recommendation for this book for novice cooks is the same thing I like about Jamie Oliver's books. Both authors have a truly infectious enthusiasm for cooking and both are able to make that enthusiasm jump off the printed page and into your psyche. And, Schlow and his team have been able to do this without some of Oliver's misdirected typographical pyrotechnics on his printed pages. In fact, Schlow has had his photography done by Shimon & Tammar, the leading culinary photographic team in the business.

The very high quality of the recipe writing and the infectious enthusiasm are more than enough to overcome any objections to this book and its somewhat high price per recipe. This is really a super book for beginners. I would suggest this volume immediately after reading a good introductory text such as the Alton Brown opus cited above `I'm Just Here for the Food' or Anne Willan's `The Good Cook'.

If the recipes in this book were not of such a high quality or if I found some factual errors in this book, the organization of the chapters would annoy me, as they are organized by occasion rather than by major ingredient or course. In fact, this organization is the one aspect of the book which is consistent with the title and theme of time, in that the first chapter (`Time to Eat and Now') is about fast cooking and the last chapter is about spending the day in the kitchen (`Time to Celebrate'). But, if you need something to spark your creative cooking juices, this book will provide the inspiration.

The book also provides one last thing I expect in a professional chef's writing, which is some insight into professional cooking practice or the inspiration that brought the author to cooking. The book provides a little of both, with a glimpse at the kind of networking between leading chefs which makes the culinary world go around.

On a par with Colicchio and Stitt and Kinkead and O'Connell. Almost as good as Keller and Robuchon. Read more ›

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick easy to follow recipes July 19, 2005

By J. D'Agostino

Format:Hardcover

We have thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook! I was amazed at how easy it was to find the ingredients and following the recipes. The author has placed excellent suggestions within the chapters. If you are an expert in the kitchen or a beginner you will find the selection and the abilities well within your reach! Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for anyone who likes Italian cooking May 1, 2009

By P. Williams

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I ordered this book based on one recipe that he did on morning television. I liked his style and personality and when I tried the recipe, it was wonderful! I read other reviews and they were all good. Some made mention about the stories he wrote to accompany each recipe. They were right, the stories were very funny and informative.

I have picked quite a few recipes that I will try. The original one I tried was red wine braised brisket. I am going to cook it for my Mom on Mother's Day. If you like Italian food, you should add this to your cookbook collection!