How to Boil Water
by Food Network Kitchens
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Book Summary Information
Author: Food Network KitchensEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-21
ISBN: 0696226863
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Wiley
Book Reviews of How to Boil Water
Book Review: I Boiled the Water...Now What?
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a decent cook, but working fulltime, I don't have time to make frilly recipes, so I'm always on the lookout for stuff that's not time-consuming or complicated. So when I got *How to Boil Water* as a gift, I thought it would be right up my alley. Well, as someone with actual experience cooking and planning meals, I found both good and bad things in the book.
I noticed right off that many recipes call for stuff like arugula, miso, and so forth, that are not that easy to find, are hard to obtain in such small quantities, and aren't used often. If you're single or in a household of two, which seems to be the target audience, you will end up having to throw these products away before you're ready to use them again. I would've liked to see recipes that use the real basic staples everyone keeps (ground beef, for instance, which can be packed in the freezer in small quantities, or bell peppers) instead of fancy ingredients that aren't much good on a day-to-day basis in the real world.
Then we get to the salad section. As the cook in a household of two, I couldn't believe what I was reading. First, the editors advocate bagged greens. Well, bagged greens are already stinky when you first open the bag, and then they go bad within 40 seconds of being out of the bag, so they're a terrible choice for a small household. The other choices, such as baby spinach, watercress, etc., also go bad fast and are never available in the small quantities called for. Worst of all, though, there is no information on the real staples--celery, carrots, peppers, and the like. How much should you buy if you want to make salads for two on Monday and Thursday? How can you plan your week's menu to use them up before they go bad? How do you keep them from going bad since you won't be using them all up at once? (For instance, carrots and celery can be kept for at least a week and a half if packed in water, but there's no mention of any techniques like that.)
As for the good, I think the "upgrades" idea is great because it helps you start thinking like a cook--what else can you use that will add to the recipe and/or use up leftovers from other recipes? Also, there are some recipes that do sound good and not too hard to make. There is also abundant information on how to choose produce and meats, sanitation, and food preparation.
I think the value of this book is handicapped by the desire of the editors to purvey "hip" food instead of stuff that's actually easy to make and uses widely available ingredients in realistic quantities. *How to Boil Water* can be a helpful book, but I don't think it can stand on its own as an introduction on how to cook and run a kitchen. A good companion to this book would be *The Fannie Farmer Cookbook,* which has a lot of information on staples plus many recipes that call for few ingredients, are fast to make, and taste good.
Summary of How to Boil Water
? Shows beginning cooks how to do just what the title implies?and a lot more?without a hint of intimidations.? Features classic comfort foods such as no-flip fried eggs and soul-soothing grilled cheese for one and bolder, ethnic recipes like Tacos Picadillo and Southeast Asian Beef Salad.
? Exquisite photography and Food Network recipes, both inspire and build the confidence needed to make every dish a success.
? Hundreds of must-know hints, tips and short-cuts for those new to the kitchen.
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