Customer Reviews

Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce With More Than 350 Recipes

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After hearing an interview with Jack Bishop on NPR, my wife and I were intrigued enough to order the book. Four of the five recipes we've tried thus far have been outstanding, to the point where we're building entire meals based on them. For instance, we both like broccoli, but didn't know the best way to cook it. Now we do. I've never liked green beans, but we tried Bishop's recipe for roasting them, and I'm suddenly hooked! In short, if you've been wanting to bring more vegetables into your diet, buy this book!

The book is not just a simple compilation of recipes, but also includes information on how to buy and store each vegetable. The book also discusses the various cooking methods (poaching, steaming, braising, grilling, broiling, etc.) and how they affect the flavor.

Even if you don't use a single recipe in this book, you will still benefit from the basic preparation instructions given for each vegetable.

This book will also give you the information you need to try out the produce that you've previously bypassed in the store because you had no idea how to pick it out or prepare it.

First, I would like to note that I am an experienced cook with an advanced knowledge of vegetables so please keep that in mind while reading my review. Someone with less experience in the kitchen will definitely get even more out of this book than I did.

Good news: Jack Bishop brings with him the credibility of being a part of the Cook's Illustrated staff. To those unfamiliar with their work this means that the recipes are diligently tested over and over to achieve optimum cooking technique and flavoring. Furthermore, I was impressed with the variety of vegetables this book contained. The expected veggies are include in addition to the more unusual such as malanga, boniato, sorrel, salsify, etc... which altogether add up to over 60 different vegetables. Each vegetables 'chapter' begins with a description of the veggies origin, flavor, availability and how to select, store, prepare and cook it. This is followed by several recipes. Some of my favorites include: "Roasted Asparagus with Peanut Sauce, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Basil and Spicy Orange Sauce, Broccoli with Spicy Balsamic Dressing and Black Olives, Braised Brussel Sprouts with Mustard Cream Sauce, Sauteed Chayote with Fresh Corn, Chile and Oregano, Soy Braised Collards with Five-Spice Powder, Corn and Mushroom Saute, Cucumber-Watermelon Salsa, Grilled Eggplant Salad with Thai Flavors, Green Beans and Corn with Tomato-Herb Vinaigrette, Jicama and Carrot Salad with Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette, Shredded Kohlrabi with Butter and Parmesan, Mexican Mushroom Soup with Chiles, Tomatoes and Cilantro, Grilled Plantains with Citrus Glaze, Roasted Radishes with Soy and Sesame Seeds, Taro Soup and Butternut Squash Soup with Cider and Cardamom". As you can see there is much to love!

And now for the bad news: I had three problems with this book that prevented me from rating it five stars. But first I want to be clear that I am not saying any recipe is bad. It is just that...

1. I found some of the recipes way to basic, therefore wasted space. On the other hand, for those new to cooking (or unfamiliar with the "Best Recipe Series" these will be great staples and very valuable. Examples would be: "Baked Potatoes, Roasted Red Peppers, Grilled Artichokes, Steamed Artichokes, Grilled Zucchini, etc... However, I was really looking for recipes that went beyond the ordinary and presented veggies in new and exciting ways.
There were also several well known recipes included, even though they are well done, they are common. Examples would be: "Potato Salad, Ratatouille, Basic Guacamole, Carrot Salad, Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, etc... again great in composition but not useful to an established cook (see my introductory note).

2. I found some of the recipe ideas to be a little repetitive. For instance there are several recipes for vegetables with a "Mustard Cream Sauce" that only vary slightly. Also the recipe for "Curried Carrot Soup" and "Curried Parsnip Soup" to be very similar.

3. Lastly my biggest disappointment was the photography, or rather the lack thereof. Other than a few small single-hued sketches the book is devoid of any pictures. This is by no means a reflection of Jack Bishops culinary abilities, rather an err in design. As you may know we eat with our eyes first and boy am I hungry. Or maybe I am just being too demanding??? :)

All told this is an EXCELLENT book. And despite my particular disappointments there is NOT a bad recipe to be found in this delicious ode to the flavorful world of vegetables.

`Vegetables Every Day' is by Jack Bishop, a very intelligent craftsman of cookbooks similar to James Peterson, Molly Katzen, Rose Levy Beranbaum, and Pam Anderson. Each is skillful at creating very useful reference books on various aspects of cooking. And, it should be no surprise that both Bishop and Pam Anderson are current or past senior staffers at `Cooks Illustrated' magazine.

It is a great treat to have two of these skillful authors both do excellent books on vegetables, and to have the two books done from two so different points of view that one will feel no pangs of waste by owning both. Bishop's book is certainly the more accessible of the two, as the material is presented in a very straightforwardly encyclopedic presentation. There are uniform articles on 66 different vegetables, a veritable celebration of the variety of vegetables available through part or all of the year round. Among these 66, there are the old favorites such as broccoli, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. Alongside these there are new favorites brought to our attention by hours of watching Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Jaime Oliver such as Artichokes, Broccoli Rabe, Cardoons, Celery Root, Dandelion Greens, Fava Beans, Fennel, Soybeans, Turnips, and Zucchini. At the far end of familiarity are Boniato, Burdock, Calabaza, Chayote, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kohlrabi, Malanga, Sorrel, Taro, and Yuca. These are the veggies which should be approached with one of my favorite Alton Brown `Good Eats' moments when he recommends that you walk into your megamart with fresh eyes on the lookout for unfamiliar products and investigate what can be done with these little gems.

Bishop is not only intent on providing things to do with newly available produce, he is intent on making cooking all vegetables, especially the old standards with a new set of recipes to make them more interesting and to make cooking them more fun. One excellent case in point is asparagus that everyone either boils or steams and dresses with some creamy sauce. Since everyone already knows how to do this, Bishop doesn't bother to give recipes for these. Rather, his nine asparagus recipes include three roasting methods, a grilling recipe, two sautee recipes, a recipe with Chinese noodles, a recipe with a vinaigrette, and an asparagus frittata.

Every article, regardless of how many recipes may be given, has the same seven (7) paragraphs in the introductory article. The first paragraph simply introduces you to the vegetable and gives you a general idea of the appeal and usability of the vegetable. The next paragraph on availability gives the best season for the produce and whether or not the vegetable is currently available year round in American markets. The third paragraph on selection gives us criteria for whether we want to pick up today's selection of a species or let it alone. The paragraph on storage is especially useful, as there is probably very little wisdom handed down from your Eastern European grandma on storing tomatillos, taro, or jicama or from your Mexican mom on dealing with arugula, bok choy, or burdock. The basic preparation paragraph can be simple for leafy greens or very complicated for artichokes. The very short section on best cooking methods is primarily useful for totally unfamiliar vegetables. A very useful last entry gives recipes on other vegetables in which the titular ingredient appears.

One may not think there is anything controversial about vegetables, but you may be surprised, especially if you read Bishop's and Peterson's books side by side. On the matter of asparagus, Bishop prefers thin to medium thickness stalks and prefers not to peel them. Peterson prefers medium to thick stalks and strongly recommends peeling the stalks. To a certain extent, this is a matter of personal preference, but much of this difference comes from the fact that Peterson is a former restaurant chef / owner while there is no record in Bishop's biographical information that he ever worked in a restaurant kitchen. If time is less important than money, then Peterson's position is definitely the better. If time is at a premium, Bishop's position may be preferable. On almost all other issues, the two authors agree.

One corollary of Bishop's objective in preparing this book is that this is not a reference for the most commonly prepared recipes. But, this is not universally true. While the traditional steaming or poaching methods for asparagus is absent, classic mashed potatoes and the traditional Greek salad with tomatoes are here. Bishop is certainly on the side of the gourmet when it comes to discussing tomatoes. He is in love with fresh homegrown tomatoes in July and August, but recommends canned `maters all other times of the year.

One of the most enjoyable discoveries in Bishop's book is to find ways to treat certain vegetables in totally unexpected ways. Two cases are shallots and garlic. Both are most commonly thought of as herbs to enliven dishes where some other vegetable or protein is the main ingredient, but if you are willing to pay the price, shallots make a great main ingredient, not really much different in cost from, for example cippolini or wild mushrooms.

In choosing between Bishop and Peterson, I find that Bishop is much better for the average cook who does not spend a lot of time reading cookbooks. The organization is much better for finding a good recipe for the veg that happened to be on special today. Peterson's book is much more oriented toward the foodie and the professional. It is organized more by method than by ingredient and it is much better at presenting instructions on difficult techniques such as cleaning an artichoke. Peterson has the one thing I miss the most in Bishop's book, which are good pictures of vegetables. Neither comes with the lyrics of Frank Zappa's `Ask Any Vegetable'.

Very highly recommended as a vegetarian and general cook's reference for recipes and buying advice.

This author was interviewed on National Public Radio awhile back, which motivated me to buy it. We eat a lot of veggies in our home, so I was very interested. Although many of the recipes are very basic, and I have better recipes myself, the background info he gives is invaluable! He tells you when the item is in season, where to find it, how it should look when you buy it, etc. He also discusses veggies that I would never have thought to look for, so he does a good job of expanding your horizons. A great cook book!

I'm a reasonably decent home chef who's trying to expand his vegetable repetoire, and I love this book!

The genius is the organization - by vegetable! Each chapter explains how to buy the vegetable, then gives you a half-dozen ways to prepare it. If you've ever felt lost or overwhelmed in the produce aisle (Can humans really eat kale? What can I do with jicama?), this book is for you. Or if you're just in a hurry (I need a side dish, and there's still broccoli in the fridge), turn to "B" and flip through a half-dozen recipes.

I stopped using Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" after I got this book. Jack Bishop's approach is straightforward, easy to follow, and the recipes taste great the first time.

I ordered this book because I want to make vegetables a central part of my meals. However, almost all of the recipes in this book are for vegetables as a side dish.

If you want an "encyclopedia" of vegetables, with information on how to choose them, basic preparation and cooking, and which spices/herbs go best, then Vegetables Every Day is an excellent choice. But if you want a book full of recipes with vegetables as a main dish, then look elsewhere.

I don't know that I have much to add to the previous 23 reviews, but I cannot say enough positive things about "Vegetables Every Day." I own 30-40 cookbooks and after five years of ownership this one remains by far the one I use most often -- multiple times every week.

This cookbook is simply without peer for its incredible breadth of vegetable side-dish recipes; its ease of preparation, with minimal exotic, hard-to-find and hard-to-afford ingredients; and its healthful preparations that really highlight (rather than masking) the vegetables involved. Bishop is no fat-phobe, even calling occasionally for a tablespoon or two of butter, but these certainly aren't recipes where health takes a back seat to taste.

Most importantly, though, this book succeeds by making EVERY vegetable lovable. I can't tell you how many vegetables I used to *think* I hated, before I tried them as prepared by Bishop. Beets, turnips, parsnips, cauliflower, kale -- he makes all not only palatable but wholly enjoyable. I can't recall ever having had a misfire with any recipe in this book, and by now I've probably made about two-thirds of them.

I work in PR and have joked to friends (while proselytizing on behalf of Jack Bishop) that someday when I leave my current job I will go do PR on behalf of "Vegetables Every Day." If you are a home cook who uses cookbooks, do yourself a favor and add this one to your collection.

Jack Bishop, together with the rest of the Cook's Illustrated crew, can be seen each Saturday on most PBS affiliate stations in the marvelous tv show " America's Test Kitchen". He has spent a lot of time in Italy (and obviously in the kitchen too) and is an expert on vegetable cooking in general and Italian cooking in particular. It should come as no surprise then that he is the author of this and several othe excellent cookbooks on Italian and vegetable (including Iialian- vegetarian) cooking.

Mr. Bishop has a marvelous way of presenting recipes that are simple yet utterly delicious. His approach to cooking is thoroughly modern in terms of technique, even innovative at times, especially when simplyiying recipes for the modern kitchen. But in terms of flavor, he never strays from the classic and the authentic. There is nothing quirky in his carefully selected recipe offerings and taste is never sacrificed. As one reviewer noted when reviewing his "Italian Vegetarian Cooking" (an earlier cookbook), he doesn't take classic meat dishes and turn them vegetatarian (always a mistake) but instead offers delicious vegetable dishes that are part of the vast heritage of great Italian cooking. These dishes are well able to stand on their own as they've often had to do in Italy's frequent lean times, when meat has been scarce and expensive.

The current book is a more encyclopedic vegetable guide and cookbook, but by no means a "vegetarian "one. Virtually every vegetable available in makets in North America today, including not only the well known ones, but also burdock, malanga, boniato, taro, yucca,cardoons and others are covered.

The one puzzling aspect about this book however is that it doesn't cover all of the southern and cajun specialties like speckled butter beans, purple hull peas, lady cream peas, and butter peas; not to mention cucuzza (a three foot long squash introduced to cajun/creole cooking by Sicilian immigrants to Louisina) or cushaw (a gourd like winter squash also used by cajuns and creoles). Even everyday lima beans (as in succotash) receive no mention, though fava beans do. This is in spite of the fact that he offers southern approaches to cooking (ham hocks and all) in recipes for several different vegetables.
While it's a puzzle, it doesn't detract from what is in this book, which is every thing else. If your a farmers market foody and want to make the most of what's out there or just love your vegetables don't hesitate to buy this book. A good southern and/or cajun cookbook should cover the rest.
I also would just as strongly recommend "The Best Recipe: Vegetables" cookbook by the editors of Cook's Illustrated. Mr. Bishop is one of those editors and his influence is evident on every page. This too is an excellent cookbook. While it doesn' cover the full range of exotic vegetables that "Vegetables Everyday" does, it usually offers more (and more varied) recipes for the ones it does cover.

This unique cookbook, organized by vegetable, is invaluable. I keep it on my counter so when I open the refrigerator to prepare a meal and find only radishes, mushrooms, and/or celery in the vegetable bin, I can turn to that vegetable and find a delicious way to prepare it. I consult it when I want to know how to store a vegetable. I consult it when I've found a new-to-me vegetable in a recipe and have no clue how to select one in the grocery store. I've found many recipes that have become favorites. I couldn't believe how delicious asparagus is roasted. And it's the same with mushrooms; roasting concentrates their flavor amazingly; you'll never think of plain button mushrooms as boring again. I've served them to guests for appetizers; they always love them. And who would think to braise radishes?? It's a GREAT way to use those radishes that have been in the fridge for too long. There are lots of gems in this cookbook. It's one of my TOP FIVE COOKBOOKS that sit out on the counter and get used again and again. No glossy photos, just plain good advice on every page.

Update 2010: Believe it or not, seven years later I stand by this review. This book has never left the top of my kitchen counter and I turn to it regularly. I'm just sayin ... :-)