The Relaxed Kitchen: How to Entertain with Casual Elegance and Never Lose Your Mind, Incinerate the Soufflé, or Murder the Guests Review

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(More customer reviews)A terrifically funny tome of entertaining troubles and how to avoid them. The recipes are refreshingly simple and so far, very easy to use. Delicious! Can't wait to plan a pig party. Give this book to all of your friends and family this season - it's the best!

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Did you ever have a dinner party disaster? Yes, I'm afraid so.Have you ever bitten off more than you could chew by cooking a complex main course? Well, yes. Did you ever find yourself barbecuing a large pig in your swimsuit and sarong when uninvited porn stars show up for dinner? Uh'now wait just a minute'If any or all of these things happened to you, fear not. They've all happened to Brigit Binns, the globe-trotting expert on relaxed and elegant entertaining, and she's here to help turn disasters into delight. Brigit's not afraid to admit that she's had plenty of dinner party nightmares because she's learned from her mistakes. In The Relaxed Kitchen, she's here to share some hilarious stories of her failures, her embarrassments and, happily, her triumphs; but, most importantly, she's here to share her hard-won entertaining secrets. From a precariously balanced Napoleon dripping with deep red berry sauce - served in a pristine, just-decorated, all-white London flat - to frying an almost hallucinatory overabundance of duck breasts and potato cakes on a blisteringly hot terrace in Spain, Brigit's learned what works beautifully and what doesn't. From her years as a cookbook author,she's developed a surefire plan that insures casually elegant entertaining. The recipes? Well, they're just what you'd expect from someone in love with bold, Mediterranean flavors:- smoky shrimp escabeche - fried almonds with turmeric - Tuscan style artichokes - roasted pepper and sausage torta rustica - butterflied leg of lamb with rosemary - roast chicken strewn with thyme branches - chimichurri skirt steak - grilled lobster with smoked paprika mayoAs Brigit says at the opening of the book, "I fell in love with food before I got my first bra." Only someone like Brigit, who is passionate about cooking, whose insatiable quest to entertain often and well has led to some questionable decisions and amusing results could persevere and arrive at a fail-safe plan for entertaining with elegance and ease. So invite Brigit Binns home, and make your own kitchen a Relaxed Kitchen.

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Dishing with the Kitchen Virgin Review

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(More customer reviews)I was thrilled to see a new book by Susan. Even though I know my way around a Cuisinart, I can certainly relate to her wacky culinary mishaps and last minute improvisations. Her concoctions and calamities crack me up, and remind me fondly of growing up in the South and the surprises awaiting us at the dinner table. Reinhardt's recipe for humor always leave me wanting more. What a gem she is!

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"She's like a modern-day, southern-fried Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry." --BooklistIs the brand sticker still affixed to your sauté pan? Is your wok used solely as a receptacle for potato chips?Does your blender only see the light of day when Baccardi or Tequila is involved? If so, then welcome to the Kitchen Virgin Club. But don't despair--you're in the illustrious company of Susan Reinhardt: syndicated columnist, spokeswoman for skewed southern bellehood...and one truly lousy cook. In this cleaver-sharp new collection of food stories, culinary missteps, and recipes from yummy to yucky, Reinhardt comes clean--way clean--as the unapologetic product of a long line of talented, fascinating, funny women who have regular brushes with homicide by pot roast. From "The Toaster Oven is a Bee-otch" to "When Road Kill Makes it to Mikasa," as well as the titular tale of the socialite who shaved her fuzzy greens, these stranger-than-fiction accounts will have you laughing until milk spews out of your nose. And for those inspired to graduate from Kitchen Virgin to Kitchen 'Tute, there's "Bone Apple Cheat!"-- Reinhardt's own shortcut-to-real-food recipes. So next time you're tempted to make Taco Bell your last (okay, first) resort, crack open this book, have a laugh...and get cookin'. "So engaging...so honest...will make you laugh out loud." --The Asheville Citizen-Times"Like hanging out with your bluntest, most mischievous friend, the one who never fails to crack you up." --Chicago Sun-Times"Funny and touching...Reinhardt is not afraid to put it all out there." --The Pilot (N.C.) "Susan Reinhardt takes the naked, honest truth and sets it on fire in a blaze of laughter... will have you holding your sides the whole time." --Laurie Notaro, Autobiography of a Fat Girl"She can break your heart in one sentence and leave you laughing till you're breathless in the next." --Julie Cannon, True Love & Homegrown Tomatoes

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Sam the Cooking Guy: Awesome Recipes and Kitchen Shortcuts Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been a fan of Sam Zien's for some time now. I love to cook for my family, but I would not say I am an expert in the kitchen. I have always wanted to be more adventurous with recipes, but never knew where to start. Sam's new book, Awesome Recipes and Kitchen Shortcuts, really surprised me in a positive way. This is not only a great recipe book, it is also a true cooking guide book that every food lover should own. Sam busts out of the box of traditional cookbooks in that he also teaches you how to have flexibility and enjoyment with the entire cooking experience. His book shows you how cooking and fun should be synonymous and that food should not only look good, but taste good! Oh, and I love his sauces. They taste awesome and they are a breeze to make. This book has changed the way I cook, completely!

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The Kitchen Witch (Accidental Witch Trilogy, Book 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was annoyed at the beginning of this novel. It starts with a drop-dead gorgeous but unemployed woman, Melody, using her sex appeal to manipulate her way into a starring role on a cooking show. Never mind that she can't cook.
From there, however, it becomes a cute, lightweight romance that isn't bad at all. Melody matures a great deal throughout the book, becoming more mature and responsible while retaining her spunk and spirit. The male lead, Logan, becomes more annoying as Melody becomes less so. He's looking for a woman who can be a good mother to his son, ignoring his feelings for Melody and the constant proof the she's great with kids--from her adorable bonding with Logan's son to her rescuing abandoned kittens--because he has the idea that only a staid, conventional woman could make a good mother. The rest of the novel is devoted to finding out whether Logan will ever wise up.
I did hope there would be a little more *witchcraft* in this book! If it's going to be titled "The Kitchen Witch", and star a witch and a man who's a little afraid of witches, and be set in Salem--I want a little more magic than, say, a red candle getting lit when the characters are about to get it on. I don't like novels that read like Witchcraft 101 primers--but this goes too far in the other direction. The story could have been better either by dropping the witch angle entirely or by having more fun with it.

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Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one cookbook to cook with, ahead of your other cookbooks, and then just let your friends or guests rave..over your cookery skills.
This is as if a master chef, genie like, comes to your home and dispensed countless pearls of cookery knowledge..elevating a simple recipe to one that has you say "Oh my Gawd, why didn't I think of that...it's SO good".
He tells how to get certain foods "crunchy" to excite the experiences of taste..making vegetables and meats alike crunchy with flavor, yet not overdoing it. At the same time, he tells how to heat vegetables so they are soft and tasty, without overdoing it and giving that overcooked taste to them. Try his All-Crust Potato Gratin to see.
He "works" a vegetable to bring out it's best...with carrots, he braises whole carrots in chicken stock and orange juice, to give body, brightness and intense flavor, then finished off with touches of unusual spice combinations, and sprinkles the end product with orange zest. Heck, outside of glazing carrots, or eating baby ones raw, I didn't realize the fun I could have with the crispy critters. And onions..what magic he conjures up with cooked onions, as their soft sweetness, sometimes heightened with caramelization, are used as stuffed shells, a pasta-less pasta, a tart, and as a delicious component of a burger!
Have you read about trendy sous-vide cooking and the $2000 thermal circulator set-ups? Get a Foodsaver* to vacuum pack your food in plastic bags, or just wrap it in Saran-wrap* or other cellophane to keep in the flavors while cooking it at ~ 160 F. A steady burner/range, thermometer and some ice cubes will get you through most any sous-vide recipe in your home.
Want to WOW your guests, try his pureed sea scallops, and cook on low temperature as he describes, or make Chicken Faux Gras, Corn Nugget Crab Cakes, or various desserts even.
Try even his version of a lobster roll as a burger, for a fun appearance, and all the luscious taste of lobster.
I cook "higher end" meals for 8-24 people at a time, and often wonder how to serve something new and stunning...well, here's my source of ideas for the next few years! It's easy to see his recipe, and dream up another use for his technique with a different food or other variation. This is the measure of a great teacher..you are not bound to one recipe...he opens your eyes to all sorts of riffs, or variations you can do, and it's not too involved at all.
By the way, this is his second book, the first, Michel Richard's Home Cooking with a French Accent (1993), is a wonderful collection of fairly easy to make recipes with excellent general advice on preparation. Back then, he "tweaked" foods to reveal their best, i.e. adding a little mushroom to enhance a curry sauce, and possibly adding a little cayenne, for a different variation. These hints are even better in Happy in the Kitchen.
There are stunning photographs, and each recipe is well written.
BUY this book and start cooking and eating, and find yourself also Happy in the Kitchen.

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