Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen: An Indispensable Guide for Anybody Who Likes to Cook Review

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(More customer reviews)I've tried recipes from virtually every cook/chef on the Food Network but Tyler's recipes are the only recipes that have consistently turned out good, if not great. His show Food 911 has provided several staples in our household which are very easy to cook and prepare, due to the nature of the show.
With that in mind, I decided his book would be an excellent idea to buy and quite frankly, it is. The recipes are wonderful, savory and enjoyed by everyone - even kids. But I do have to agree with what some of the reviewers are saying, which is that you do need to have a little cooking know-how with this one to make it effective. I can see how someone who isn't very comfortable in the kitchen can make mistakes - perhaps Tyler's logic was that since it's the printed page, he could afford to make it a little more complicated as opposed to a tv show.
All in all though, if you're comfortable with your kitchen skills, by all means, this is a GREAT recipe book to keep in your kitchen.

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Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trails by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)I love cooking, books about cooking, chef's autobiographies, television shows about kitchens and cooks. If it's chef-restaurant related, even if it's not top-quality, I'll likely give it a chance and enjoy it on some level.
Spiced, the story of a New York pastry chef's rise from student to hugely successful, seemed a book right up my alley. Not only was the book going to take on the perspective of a woman in the kitchen, but it also was going to focus on desserts. Women and desserts famously don't get a lot of foodie respect. What would Dalia Jurgensen have to say for herself?
Well, honestly, nothing too surprising. The book seemed to cover a lot of the same ground of the hard work and burn marks that were covered better in books like Heat, or those by Michael Ruhlman. And guess what? Restaurant kitchens are full of sexism and hostility toward women.
The best part of the book was discovering how she learned the art of pastry and dessert making at Nobu,
and then built on that knowledge until she was able to create her own dessert menus that earned her national acclaim at restaurants she helped open.
The worst part of the book was the sexual talk that didn't seem to add to the story and seemed out of place.
Dalia had a lesbian affair with a waitress? So what? Another chef talked in graphic terms about his previous evening? Allrighty then. I am not sure why the out-of-the-blue sex talk bugged me, but I think it's because they didn't seem to add to the story and therefore struck a weirdly false note.
Maybe this isn't the best chef memoir ever. But certainly, if you have the food fascination that I have, you'll enjoy enough of the book to make it a worthwhile read.

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Growing up in a Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)The first word that comes to mind is FINALLY! Finally, there is a Korean cookbook that contains almost every Korean recipe you could ever want. Finally, there is a Korean cookbook that keeps recipes authentic. Finally, there is a a Korean cookbook that I can turn to when my finicky in laws come for dinner! Growing up Korean-American it was hard to get recipes from my mother since as any other Korean-American knows Koreans never measure ingredients! I own at least 5 Korean cookbooks written in English and not one of them can compare to this one in it's comprehensive addition of recipes. There are 164 recipes in this book! In the author's attempt to remain authentic the gamut of recipes runs from the well known to the more obscure for those unfamiliar to Korean cooking. The recipes are fantastic.
This is a book for those who are both serious about Korean cooking and somewhat familiar with the techniqes involved. It is also a great book for those who are looking to fine tune their Korean cooking skills or add onto their repertoire of Korean dishes since after almost every recipe there are suggestions for ways to modify the dish. Just as every individual has a way of personalizing a recipe, the author does the same however, the author's personalization does not detract from the flavor that the dish should have.
I would think that this is not a book for those who are just looking to begin because the book lacks specific technical description of preparation and presentation. It would be difficult for someone who is unfamiliar with Korean food to know what the outcome should look like since pictures of the final product are rare. If you are just starting out or if you prefer detailed step by step pictures and instructions "Practical Korean Cooking" by Noh Chin Hwa is a great book, although not quite as thorough as this one but still authentic.

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