113 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I got inspired!, April 16, 2008
This review is from: The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show (Hardcover)
I love to cook but was in a rut with my weeknight standard recipes, and heard Lynne talk about this new book on NPR. I immediately bought it just for the Hoisin Noodles 4 Flavors recipe, which I made this weekend for a very appreciative audience of husband and dad - it was easy and delicious of course, but most happily it was something different. I can't wait to try many of the ideas I've found there - now I need a bottle of fish sauce to add the umami to lots of recipes - and am excited about weeknight cooking again. I'd recommend this to anyone who isn't afraid of red pepper flakes, roasting a vegetable, or the occasional pat of butter or dollop of cream. It's full of tips, clear explanations, realistic cooking times for recipes, and a great "Here's a basic equipment list," plus great little stories and quotes. I love this book! I'm ultra-confident that new recipes will put the "Wow" back into our weeknight AND weekend cooking! Thank you, Lynne and Sally!
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An utterly satisfying cookbook... and reading material for foodies, June 12, 2008
This review is from: The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show (Hardcover)
I like, not love, The Splendid Table. I enjoy it when I happen to turn on the radio, but I don't market my calendar to ensure I catch the radio show.
On the other hand, I'm completely taken with this cookbook. It fills a specific niche: real non-shortcut cooking, with the awareness that you probably have to start dinner after you get home from work. The recipes are all chosen with that desire/limitation in mind, and give you an estimate of how long it'll take from start to finish.
There's a pretty wide range of ethnic flavors, from Italian pasta to Chinese stir fries, which can keep the supper table interesting. So far, I've made only one recipe, but it was a clear winner: tarragon chicken breasts with buttery leeks. It promised to be done in half an hour... which was really more like 45 minutes, but we spent less than ten minutes in the kitchen. Many recipes suggest improvisations, simple or complex; she suggests other herbs instead of the tarragon for that chicken recipe, but another recipe for pasta with butternut squash and greens extends to a fennel garlic roast. I have my eye on this recipe for corn chowder and on the tamarind-glazed pork chops.
Among the features I like in this cookbook (and wish others would adopt) is that the ingredient is in boldface. That is, "2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice" has the "lemon juice" in bold type, making it easy to scan through the ingredient list while you're composing a shopping list or cooking.
A more major component of the cookbook is the little essays that come from the radio show, such as the discovery that consuming different cheeses before bedtime affects the nature of your dreams, and an explanation of the seed savers' exchange. Plus, a "building your library" sidebar will recommend cookbooks that you probably want to explore. The result is an inordinately *readable* cookbook, not just one to grab when you're wondering what you can possibly feed the family.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious and inspiring, October 19, 2008
This review is from: The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show (Hardcover)
I received this book from my girlfriend, who knows how much I love Lynne's show and collecting cookbooks. I am usually skeptical of books written by media personalities (e.g., nearly everyone on the Food Network) because the books are almost always hyped and are no more special than cookbooks written by others. A pretty face does not always a good cookbook make.
Many others have commented on the book's layout and design, so I'll focus on the recipes contained within the book. Most of the them require a lot of little ingredients, especially spices, oils, and herbs, so most of your time in the kitchen will involve gathering and preparing these than actually cooking the food. I found that nearly all of these dishes tasted better the next day and needed more salt than specified.
Nearly every recipe has been a revelation of some sort:
1. The Pan-Crisped Deviled Eggs are a new take on the American classic: you brown the the recipe's deviled eggs in a skillet, which enhances the taste and texture.
2. The Cuban Black Bean Stew is hearty and simple; it's perfect for a chilly fall day. It's inexpensive, too: my grocery store practically gives away smoked ham hocks.
3. The recipe for Tomato-Cheddar-Packed Turkey Burgers produces wonderfully moist burgers and the splash of wine adds a welcome (but light) complexity. Word of warning: You'll think there's something wrong after you mix the ground turkey with the rest of the ingredients: the patties will be very wet and not hold shape. Don't worry: drop them on the hot skillet and everything will work out in the end.
4. Lynne's Winter Tart of Roast Vegetables and Endive demonstrates how easy it is to use frozen puff pastry and how well it works as a "pizza" crust. The use of Asiago cheese adds a nice tang and makes the dish so savory. Lynne's variations show how easy it is to improvise on this recipe so it can work with nearly whatever vegetable you have on hand. Happily, she even includes a page describing how to roast vegetables. My mouth is watering just remembering this dish.
5. Lynne's recipe for pho is divine. The "cheater's Asian broth" that is the base of this recipe is savory, a wonderfully balanced blend of onion, garlic, ginger, cloves, pepper, chicken broth, sugar, and fish sauce.
6. Jane and Michael Stern's broccoli casserole calls for 3 tablespoons of sugar, white bread, 3 eggs, a cup of shredded cheddar, and half a stick of butter. The sugar really is the surprise in this dish; I never expected that in a casserole in which I would assume salt to dominate.
7. The 21st Century Mac 'n' Cheese is definitely an adult take on mac and cheese. The use of cheddar, cream cheese, and Gruyere, along with a finely minced onion, give this dish a real zip that is so often lacking in traditional recipes.
8. The Pork Tenderloin Pan Roast with Black Olives and Orange is delicious, juicy, and tender. I never had before thought of the combination of black olives, orange, and white wine.
What hasn't worked? It was the Sicilian corkscrews with white beans. I'm not sure what happened, but the dish lacked any flavor. I had to pour salt on it, even though I generously salted the pasta water, as Lynne is always recommending. And I am just not sure about the iced cantaloupe soup with jalapeno and basil. I think the recipe called for *too* much salt. It just may not be a taste that I like.
In conclusion, Lynne has an impressive sense of how to boost the savoriness and depth of flavor through the use of sensible amounts of simple ingredients, like wine, onions, and tangy cheeses, all without sacrificing the balance of flavor in a dish. The overall effect is a filling supper without extraordinary amounts of added fats. I would recommend this book to the amateur cook who likes cooking, new tastes, and isn't afraid to try using wine as a cooking ingredient.
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