The Gypsy Kitchen: Transform Almost Nothing into Something Delicious with Not-So-Secret Ingredients Review

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(More customer reviews)If you've ever been to Lisa Lamme's shop in Quincy, MA, it's easy to see why she was awarded Boston Magazines Best of Boston gourmet wine shop for the products carried in her Gypsy Kitchen shop. Now, getting access to the receipes that really bring those gourmet specialty ingredients to life in lively, spicy dishes that can add interest to any menu is an exciting asset for any kitchen. Among my favorite recipes are the sugar monster meat rub, the garlic aioli sauce for calamari, & habanera-spiced chocolate topping. Another awesome feature is the selection of condiment recipes along with their uses.
One of my favorite things about this book is that although each dish is elegant & plays with a complex array of flavors, the actual preparation process for these dishes is surprisingly simple and straightforward. This is a book you can keep out on the counter for every night of the week; the results are black-tie but the time & energy investment is minimal. That's my idea of great cooking: deceptively spectacular results.
The artistry and the level of refined simplicity that define these dishes--the kind that only comes as the opposite of simplicity: the distilment of all that is not perfect away from the perfect final product--that's what this book is about. I can't wait for the book signing; I want my copy autographed in person.


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Have you always wanted to learn to cook? Never knew what ingredients you needed and where to start? Let your fears disappear with a little Gypsy Kitchen magic! Discover how to take simple ingredients and create tasty dishes that friends & family will rave about. Lisa Lamme' will inspire and show you how to . . .
Cook basic comfort foods such as turkey meatloaf, fried chicken with white gravy
Use a few simple ingredients to create an entire meal
Learn to make your own rubs and BBQ seasonings for pork,chicken, steak and fish.
Master global cuisines with a few simple items already in the pantry
Use marmalade and spices to take salmon to a new level
Make your own dressing, tarter & cocktail sauce, salsa, flavored oils and save money
Add a simple ingredient such as cayenne to spice up a chocolate sauce
Transform ordinary foods into something gourmet
Learn how to fry favorites with healthy oils
Learn how to use spices and sauces to create easy appetizers and sides
And more!
Turn those empty cupboards into a gourmet feast!

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The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter Review

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(More customer reviews)The Kitchen Series with Charlie Trotter is an inspirational book. The photos are glossy, beautiful, textural, and alluring. The recipes are innovative and they work.
I made one of the more elaborate recipes (Chicken Dumplings with a Stir-Fry of Shiitake Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts, and Mung Bean Sprouts in a Ginger-Soy-Hijiki Sauce) for a group of eight. It took a lot of time to prepare, but the reward came when my guests practically fainted from the gorgeous flavors.
Another recipe met with stunning reviews from my guests (Pumpkin Soup with Pheasant Breast and Fried Ginger), although I did serve it as a main course, and not as a soup.
Recipes are broken out into groups: Soup; Salad; Lobster; Scallop; Catfish; Salmon; Tuna; Pasta; Poultry; Pork; Duck; Beef; Dessert; including a Pantry section explaining how to make herb oils and other sauces used throughout the book.
I also purchased the Kitchen Sessions video set and became glued to the TV when I watched them. The videos are exciting and Chef Trotter's enthusiasm will send you off into your own kitchen to try it for yourself.

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The Spice Merchant's Daughter: Recipes and Simple Spice Blends for the American Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)If you notice the other reviews I think they all know the author personally or have taken her cooking classes at some point. Most of them have only written one review for Amazon and that being this book. A couple of them have written 2 so that leads me to believe that the other reviews while well meaning aren't necessarily unbiased. I would like to offer that review as I do not know the author, have never taken a cooking class nor have been paid by her to review the book.
This is it.
I enjoyed reading the book. While it is a cookbook it is also almost a diary. I enjoyed the first chapter where the author describes her childhood and growing enchantment with spices. I too have a similar memory but in rural Kentucky our smells were fat back and chitlins. Everyone remembers their own sweet smells from childhood. Ms. Arokiasamy does a wonderful job of leading us to hers.
One of my pet peeves is people describing most asian cooking as Thai cooking when in fact it is not. And the author knows that and shows us the differences between broad southeast asian cooking and its traditions. The author suggests introducing these spices slowly so that your family will become accustomed to their taste. I think I've heard you need to expose a child 10 times to a new food before they can truly decide if they like it or not.
She as many recipes for making your own spice blends and suggests adding the spice at the beginning of the cooking process if you want it milder in flavor and at the end if you want it strong. Helpful information to know about any spices.
There are recipes for curry powder, garam masala, fiery curry powder, lemon pepper rub, steak and chop rub. The steak and chop rub was delish. I used it over t-bones and the whole family loved it, even the kids. It was not too harsh and added a different flair. I made mine with Worcestershire but you could use soy as well.
The official review by Amazon included words like luscious photography...that is not so. The book is printed on recycled paper so the pictures look like they've been printed on recycled matte paper. They are not beautiful and not really appealing. There are only a few pictures anyway so it doesn't really add anything.
I would have liked more white space in the book to add my own notes and my own takes on the different spice combinations. But I can still do that if I want.
I hope this provided an unbiased review of the book if you were considering getting it I would suggest you do so. And if I'm ever in the Pacific Northwest I'll have to make a point of meeting Ms. Arokiasamy and taking one of her cooking classes.


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It was the aroma. The exotic scent of spices: rich, alluring, and almost magical. A scent that would sometimes overpower the freshness in the air and sometimes subtly mingle with it to create a tantalizing bouquet. A scent that would always bring me back to my childhood.Growing up enveloped in the aromas of her mother's spice stall in Kuala Lumpur, Christina Arokiasamy developed an artist's sense of how to combine and use spices in traditional and innovative ways. In The Spice Merchant's Daughter, she shares her family's spice secrets, expertly guiding and enticing home cooks to enliven their repertoires.Christina weaves evocative stories of cooking at her mother's side with real-world practical advice gleaned not only from working in professional kitchens but also from tackling the nightly task of getting a home-cooked dinner on the table for her family of four using American ingredients. She shows how easy it is to build layers of complex flavor to create 100 tempting Southeast Asian–inspired recipes, including Lemon Pepper Wings, Spicy Beef Salad, Steamed Snapper with Tamarind-Ginger Sauce, Cardamom Butter Rice with Sultanas, and Coconut Flan Infused with Star Anise. She unlocks the transformative power of homemade spice rubs, curry pastes, and sauces, as well as chutneys and pickles, enabling home cooks to bring new depth and dimension to their favorite dishes. With lush photography and a chapter identifying and defining key pantry ingredients and aromatics, The Spice Merchant's Daughter both inspires and empowers, awakening the senses and unlocking the alluring world of spices.

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Thai Home-Cooking from Kamolmal's Kitchen (Plume) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have five Thai cooking books and this is by far my favorite. It has easy to follow instructions with descriptions of desired results, such as "stir fry until golden brown but not crispy", instead of "stir fry 5-7 minutes". Most all of the recipes I've tried are delicious and I return to them time and time again. And all of the ingredients required are easily available at your asian market. This isn't the newest Thai cookbook out there, but it's the best one I've tried.

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Rich, unusual flavors and hot and spicy combinations have made Thai cooking the newest exotic cuisine that is sweeping the country. Now 157 classic dishes from the authentic Thai restaurant Kamolmal have been collected and re-created into easy-to-follow recipes for American cooks.

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Gourmet's Quick Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)I have owned this book for years and have ordered and given several copies to friends and family. This is a great little book for the two-person household. Best of all, the recipes are easily accessible for the novice as well as the experienced cook, and can all be made quickly.
Organized as all the "Best of Gourmet" series are (i.e., appetizers, soups, quick breads, fish & shellfish, meats, poultry, breakfast and cheese and egg dishes, vegetables, salads, desserts), with a few suggested menus at the beginning, it is a very easy book to use. I have made about 75% of the recipes in this book over the years, and there are only a couple that I would not make again -- not because they are "bad", but because they did not suit my palate or my partner's or daughter's. There are a number of recipes in the Vegetables section that make wonderful vegetarian entrees -- for example, the pita pizzas are delightful and quite filling. The Indian menu at the beginning of the book is absolutely wonderful! On a day to day basis, the chicken and fish dishes can't be beat for weekday cooking. Many of the recipes double easily for four people, too.
I highly recommend this book. It is difficult to find recipe collections tailored for two, and this is a very good one.

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With 205 recipes and 45 full-color photos, this is a beautifully packaged, easy-to-use cookbook. Gourmet's Quick Kitchen presents ten complete menus in a format tailor-made for today's busy lifestyles, and is a captivating collection of recipes designed for people who enjoy eating good food--even when they don't have a lot of time to prepare it.

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Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens Review

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(More customer reviews)I guess you could say I have a small and crappy kitchen by the standards of most cooking shows. This you could say for pretty much all Americans. I found this book to be very helpful! The recipes are not overly complicated and the author gives you tons of tips on how to save time and space. But here is the best part: the meals you learn to make are actually extremely GOOD! You can tell this lady is a talented chef. The book shows you how to make very complex dishes in a simple manner. If you've been wanting to get into cooking but don't seem to have the time or the space this book is for you. It's already helped me a ton.

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If you think gourmet meals in crappy little kitchens is an oxymoron, think again!In her debut cookbook, Jennifer Schaertl tackles the myths about gourmet cooking (you don't need expensive cutlery and a gazillion ingredients!) and shows you how to make delectable meals despite the lack of counter space. Everything from appetizers and salads to soups and one-pot wonders to side dishes and entrees, and of course, dessert is included along with Jennifer's tried-and-true advice for working with limited space, appliances, cookware, and ingredients all on a limited budget.More than 130 Crappy Little Kitchen (CLK) recipes await you inside, plus:Why a CLK can actually be an asset, not a liability

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Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this book last week and have had it on the table, flipping through it and reading it all weekend. The recipes look great, they really do, contemporary and tasty, and I can't wait to try them. I doubt this book will hold up for cooking, though, because the binding is already breaking and those cute little green ribbon bookmarks popped out immediately. At over a thousand pages, this book should have a heavy-duty binding, and it doesn't. I think Houghton Miflin should have published it in two volumes to be more manageable and should have used much higher quality binding and materials. I would be willing to pay more for a book like that that would last. Addendum: WOW--these comments do get noticed! The publisher of this book contacted me and is sending me a new one. They were very apologetic and concerned and said that since I got an early run of the book, that might have explained the poor binding. I was very impressed with their response and how quickly they worked to resolve the problem--the true mark of quality customer service. I'd now give it five stars, but the app doesn't want to let me do that.

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Meat: A Kitchen Education Review

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(More customer reviews)I own almost all of Peterson's books. He is truly a master of teaching how to cook. His recipes focus on the most basic techniques and using the natural flavors of the foods themselves to make them stand out. I have never found better recipes for stews, pot roast, steak, etc. No celebrity chef will teach you the way Peterson can. You cannot go wrong with any of his books.
So on to Meat.
This is a very good kitchen education on meat. You will learn all of the basics about how to grill, braise, sauté, etc. The photos are marvelous and the recipes are very good. There's literally every type of meat you can cook here--squab, rabbit, brains, kidneys, I mean it goes on forever.
There's not much contained in here that is not contained in his work Cooking, though. It seemed like he used this book more as a medium for showing off his photography than for delivering new recipes. There are a few, certainly, but goose with sauerkraut, that's not too innovative, and few of us really want to know how to cook brains. There's a great recipe for if you can find a really old rabbit, which Peterson acknowledges is close to impossible.
So I enjoyed reading it and I will keep it. But this is not in-depth like Glorious French Food: A Fresh Approach to the Classics or Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, which really get into the explanations about how and why you cook a certain way. It's sort of like he took out the meat recipes from Cooking, added maybe a couple dozen useful new recipes, and some really pretty photos.
But I will end the review on a high note. If you haven't read Peterson before and you all you want is a book on cooking meat, this is it, you'll love it. If you need a new cook book and don't know where to start, start with Cooking--that book changed my life. If you have Cookingand you want more in-depth information about meat, you'll find a few bits here and there that you'll like. If you are really hungry for an in-depth education from Peterson, track down Glorious French Food: A Fresh Approach to the Classics--light on photos and heavy on teaching.
Four stars because it's Peterson, and it's a great work. One star penalty for being a little redundant.



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