The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook (Hardcover)

by David Rosengarten (Author), Joel Dean (Author), Giorgio DeLuca (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Any food fan visiting the culinary emporium Dean & DeLuca for the first time can't help but be overwhelmed by the possibilities--rows upon rows of the high quality ingredients that almost make you wish you were in the catering business so you could spend your days, and your clients' money, stocking up at the store. Now Dean & DeLuca has sponsored a cookbook that is as chock full of eye-popping food as the store itself. The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook is bulging with 400 recipes, many inspired by the pan-International trend in cuisine that is America's contribution to the world of cooking. David Rosengarten, the book's writer, is a television cook who brings a distinctive voice to the proceedings. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Dean and DeLuca, famous proprietors of the New York City gourmet-food store that bears their names, present themselves as the Thomas Jefferson of what they call the American Gastronomic Revolution, as if it were they who declared our independence from a diet of Mrs. Paul's Fishsticks. But the attitude is largely forgivable, because it's packaged with what is, in fact, a terrific and exhaustive cookbook. Developed by TV's Food Network host Rosengarten, the collection begins with a somewhat self-serving intro that is followed by such chapters as Salads; Soups; Rice, Beans, and Grains; Fish and Shellfish; Meats. There is no dessert section. Chapter introductions offer generalized tips on purchasing, preparing and cooking ingredients. The authors are purists in all things, regardless of the cost in money, time or labor: whole fish is better than fillets; lump charcoal is better than briquettes, but you should really use hardwood, preferably mesquite. Concerning the preparation of steaks, they have contempt for home broilers (not hot enough) but offer a good word for pan-frying in a bit of butter and olive oil. Many of the 400 recipes draw on Asian (Grilled Japanese Eggplant with Orange-Sesame Miso Sauce), Mexican (Ancho- and Chipotle-Rubbed Pork Loin, roasted in a clay pot) and regional American influences (Rack of Cervena with Texas Barbecue Sauce), as well as standard French (Bouillabaisse in Three Courses) and Italian (Roasted Tomato Sauce with Pancetta and Herbs) cooking. Obsessive foodies can follow the recipes to a tee. But even cooks who have not, from childhood, dreamed of raising quail and growing Belgian endive in their backyards will find inspiration for their own experiments. Good Cook main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (October 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679434631
• ISBN-13: 978-0679434634
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #594,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nearly peerless cookbook, but the authors are annoying, November 12, 2000

By	Michael Bulger (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are not in the habit of taking the greatest of care not only in the choice of what you eat, but how you eat it, prepare to be mildly offended. David Rosengarten, and one presumes Dean and DeLuca as well, have very definite ideas of what ingredients should go together, and in what quantities, and the way they tell you is, well, downright snooty. If, like me, you enjoy balsamic vinegar on your salads, or your pasta swimming in tomato sauce, you will also be told, very clearly, what a Philistine you truly are.

So be it. I can get over the slights sent my way in this book, because I have now prepared upwards of 20 to 25 recipes presented here, and there hasn't been a bad one yet. Soups, meat dishes, poultry dishes, pasta sauces, sandwiches, you name it, it's been a hit on my table and on my palate. I'm not sure I would classify any of the recipes here as "easy," but they are far from the most elaborate that I have encountered. This is one of the top two or three cookbooks currently on my shelf, and one of the first I turn to when I want to try something new. From a purely gustatory standpoint, I give this my highest recommendation--unless, of course, you are easily offended.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lush and luscious, March 20, 1998

By A Customer

When most of us think of cooking dinner, we think of a quick saute of chicken, a splash of wine, a simple salad.

Rosengarten's book is NOT for most of us.

Still, that fact does not detract from its considerable appeal and accomplishment. This is a book to break open for the two or three times a year when you MUST impress: a romantic dinner for two with top quality ingredients, candlelight, and a diamond sitting atop the tiramisu; a gorgeous array of sumptuous courses for the firm Partners; a slow-cooked, soul-warming pot of (updated) cassoulet, sans the 7-times-broken crust.

What Rosengarten has created with "The Dean and Deluca Cookbook" is a fascinating insider's look at the culinary world, where food and drink hold center-stage at all times. His chapter on salads, for instance, describes in detail dozens of varieties of greens, offering tips for mixing them that sometimes seem more appropos to a chemistry lab than a salad plate. While most of us would not seek out these kinds of ingredients for an everyday meal (a truly up-to-snuff salad may run $15 in ingredients!), being able to read about it is the voyeuristic next-best-thing.

The anecdotes and advice are almost as rich as the food. Soak up Rosengarten's considerable expertise, and you'll be well on the way to creating dazzling menus and timeless memories--just be sure to plan to spend the better part of a weekend creating the meal itself.

Not for the faint of heart,the hurried,or the harried, this book is nevertheless a treasure. It richly deserves be proudly displayed (a gorgeous parchment-papered cover and the visual layout of the book are as appealing as the recipes inside) next to the Classics on the cookbook shelf of every epicure.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious, yet simple. Buy it; you will not regret it., September 26, 1999

By	Grandpiper "grandpiper" (HOUSTON, TX United States) - See all my reviews

I am still in the cooking experimentation stage (read: I usually have no clue when it comes to cooking). I love food and my philosophy has always been 'genius lies in simplicity.' This book epitomizes that philosophy. I have tried several recipes and to my utter surprise, not only were they easy, but also tasted great ! I highly recommend this book.