Customer Reviews

Without Reservations: How to Make Bold, Creative, Flavorful Food at Home

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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WITHOUT RESERVATIONS is one of those rare cookbooks that come along and inspire you to actually cook the resipes! the delicious sounding combinations and photography made my mouth water immediately. i will say that this is for people like me who like to be in the kitchen and stir things up. altman has made his enticing dishes seem very doable with his easy to understand "think like a chef"tips and many "how to"photos.his suggestions for ingredient substitutions also make it easy to customize many of the recipes to my palate..... great new addition to my kitchen bookshelf

Joey Altman and Jennie Schacht have found a way to make you shine like a trained chef in your home kitchen. Joey is a chef who understands home cooks want to make wow dishes without spending hours doing it. Jennie captures his enthusiasm, point of view and delicious, often surprising recipes with clear directions and personal insights about the chef/musician. My favorites: a rarely seen chapter on hip cocktails; curried chicken in radicchio cups; ahi poke with wasabi cream; the surprising easy and show stopping duck confit; thai grilled prawns with emerald noodles; the whole chapter on sauces, salsas and chutneys; and the drop dead fabulous sweet potato puree. Detailed, color and large-ish How-to photos will help novice chefs feel comfortable they are executing some of the trickier recipes/steps correctly. Finally the authors provide a dozen excellent start to finish menus for a range of occasions.

This occasional cook needs things spelled out clearly and this cookbook does exactly that. My favorite part is that the basic recipes also have tips on things to add to change or adapt to guests, an overall menu, or just for interest. I bought one as a gift for an accomplished cook, who really liked the tips and ways to customize recipes. Even the photos seem to clarify, rather than just being eye-candy. A very helpful and useful book indeed.

My experience using Joey Altman's cookbook "Without Reservations" has been extremely rewarding. I can honestly say "with out reservations" that Joey's recipes can be executed in the home kitchen with ease. His tips and additional suggestions open a whole world of tastes and ideas to each recipe. He provides a foundation for cooking each dish with hints which enable you to create your own variation. I have found the results to be always delicious and well worth it. I recommend this book to beginners and experienced cooks as well.

I'm afraid to cook and I don't cook often but when I do I want receipes that are memorable as well as doable. The How-to's and demonstrations are an education. There is an encouraging air of instruction that let's you take wing. And the tastes are what you demand from a four star - truly special.

This cookbook is great fun...I've tried 9 recipes in the first two weeks and we have loved them all. He uses combinations of spices and food to creative more complex flavors and yet the recipes are easy to follow. Several of the sauces and salad dressing can be used with other dishes as well. My favorite cookbook in years!